章節 65: Chapter 65 - Hyenas

It was Dante, he waved at me and walked up to meet me. He took the bags from my hand and gave me a large hug. "I have been waiting for you. Did you have fun?"

I was glad I was facing away from Felix. As good as I am at keeping a poker face, nothing could suppress my utter surprise at Dantes presence. I could see from the corner of my eye Felix's car parked a few feet away from mine. And his mother who sat inside looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel.

She was red and fuming. I gently hugged Dante back and pulled him to my car. "I did! I got some things for you which we can check out later. We don't want to be late for our lunch reservation."

I opened the trunk so he could settle my bags in the back and he took the keys from me so he can drive. I settled into my seat and saw Felix still standing in the middle of the lot with a dumbfounded look.

I felt a strong sense of deja vu. I was reminded of when Dean came to Rebeccas engagement party and he too threw me a line to pull me away from Felix. I stifled a laugh at that. As I thought more about it there was a lot of similar traits between Dante and Dean. Aside from their names beginning with the same letter, they also were kind enough to step into uncomfortable situations.

However, personality wise Dean was more wild and loud with his emotions and feelings. Dante was similar to myself in the sense he was not easy to read. Looks wise both had dark luscious hair and athletic builds. I wondered if Dante had tattoos.

"Hello Celeste, everything ok?" I was startled from my train of thought. Dante had pulled over to a secluded alley while looking at me with a mix of concern and amusement.

"Ahh I am terribly sorry I was thinking about something. Oh wait what are you doing at the mall?" In all the chaos I forgot to even ask why he was there. "Ah I wanted to check out the mall and walk around for a bit but lunch sounds good right about now." He fluidly responded which at the moment I could accept but a small part of me did not.

As much as anything in life could happen, he could not have just arrived or known what car I was driving. The times I have driven around him it has been dark or I used a different car entirely. However, right now, I did not want to question it when we were alone. "Sure any cravings in particular?" I tried to keep my voice neutral and keep my fears grounded.

He thankfully did not seem to notice. "Hmmm how about some seafood?" Considering the things I needed to prepare for Rebeccas party I suggested a place close by so I can drop him off right after. It wasn't until later in the evening when I would need to head off to her bachelorette destination on her private jet.

Once seated he began asking me about my day and what I did. "I was at the mall picking up some wedding materials I needed for my friend who is getting married this week. Her bachelorette is actually tomorrow."

"Oh that is nice, glad we met up today then so I could see you." I nodded briefly and sipped at my water. "Actually I was wondering if you would like to come along. My invitation is for two people."

I decided to keep my explanation short. To be honest I was not too sure how much Dante knew regarding my previous engagement. I knew my grandparents discussed a potential marriage agreement but I had no clue how much he knew about me aside from what I already shared.

"Oh what about your other plus one?" He looked at me quizzically but I had a weird feeling about the look in his eye. Like he was all to aware of the truth. I pushed down those thoughts. 'I must still be on edge from everything that happened last night.'

"Ahh well the person who was initially supposed to come with me is someone whom I am no longer on good terms with. I know it may seem odd considering we just met officially a few days ago but I figured this might be a nice opportunity for you to see and meet the people in my inner circle."

Our food had just arrived which saved him from having to answer right away. After a few bites of my fish taco I brought up the topic again. "If you don't want to no worries, don't feel pressured."

After all I got my end game unexpectedly today. I would never want to use someone for my own personal gain, however, just having Dante around and our image in the minds of my peers was something I could not deny would be beneficial.

For starters I could give my parents some peace. Though my father never told me directly, after the breakup I know he has been bombarded by proposal offers from various business partners. Initially he could hold people off because I was too young. And when I got engaged to Felix I was just old enough.

Now I was not that young anymore. Time for producing an heir in others mind was slimming down, so the intensity of the emails and calls increased. So by showing I was taken, it kept the hyenas at bay. Secondly, it would spite Felix.

"I would not mind. But there is something you should know. My parents are coming down to visit, they wish to meet your family as well as visit their only son on one of the few holidays I observe and not work. Their flight comes in tonight. I was just informed of this, so I don't think I will available then."

I clenched my napkin which was on my lap. I was not actually upset that he said no. Rather, I was concerned about his family. 'They just told him? Do my parents even know?' What was supposed to be a relaxing couple of weeks turned out to be more of a headache than I thought.