Taking the glass from me, she swallows half of the water in one gulp. I wait for her to finish before I ask the obvious question. “What’s going on tomorrow?”
Her gaze slides over my bare chest. I slipped on a pair of sweatpants before I left the bedroom. I would have been fine walking around with a naked ass, but I’ve yet to figure out how the hell to operate the blinds in this place.
The penthouse is wired to a home hub that controls virtually everything. I don’t have the patience to sit down and program the thing.
“Tomorrow?” She tilts her head. “Who said anything was going on tomorrow?”
I hold back a smile. Isabella can’t play dumb. It doesn’t work for her. “What are you helping your grandmother with tomorrow?”
She hands the glass back to me. “Calvetti Sunday lunch. Any Calvetti in the five boroughs has to be at the restaurant at one o’clock so we can eat a meal together.”
I wait for her to ask me to tag along, but she just stands in that sexy-as-fuck lingerie looking like every dream I’ve ever had.
She gazes down at her thumbnail before she starts rubbing at it. “My grandma started it forever ago. It happens every couple of months. She does it so she can see her children and grandchildren all in one place.”
I’ve never met the family of any woman I’ve been involved with. Alyssa pushed for me to meet her parents, but I put it off until I broke things off between us. It’s different with Bella. I want in on this and if I have to invite myself, I will.
“Does your last name have to be Calvetti to score an invite?”
“No.” Her head shakes. “We don’t all have the same last names. There will be Calvettis there and Joneses. And two of my cousins are Dalens.”
“What about Adler?” I scratch my chin. “Can an Adler come?”
“You?” Both of her brows perk with the question.
I’d go for a joke here about my dad not being the life of the party, but I want to be at the Calvetti family gathering, so I stick to the serious approach. “I’d like to come with you.”
Her gaze narrows. “You want to meet my family?”
“I do.”
“There are a lot of us,” she says simply. “Some of my family is overbearing. Are you sure you’re comfortable with that?”
“Positive.”
Her face lights up with a smile. “Lunch is at one at the restaurant. We can meet there.”
The manners Monica instilled in me kick in. “Should I bring anything?”
“Peonies,” she answers without hesitation.
I can handle picking up flowers on my way to Calvetti’s. “Done.”
“Marti’s favorite is pink.” She claps her hands together. “She’ll love you forever if you bring her pink peonies.”
It’s a step in the right direction. I have a feeling Marti’s approval means everything to Isabella, so I’ll do whatever it takes to earn it.
Chapter 51
Bella
“You invited Hot Boss to meet the parents?” Max adjusts the hem of the dark blue sweater he’s wearing. Underneath is a white dress shirt. “How do I look?”
I stand back to take him in. “You’re killing it today.”
“If I knew we were inviting boyfriends I would have asked Dr. Dan to join us.”
I’ve failed miserably in the best friend department lately. I’ve devoted so much time to my job and my boss, that I haven’t made time for Max. “Barrett kind of invited himself and he’s not my boyfriend.”