Page 54 of Born a Queen

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The next day, at precisely 1 PM sharp, Angela escorted Daniela into Raina's office. Daniela inclined her head gracefully and gave Raina a tight smile before sitting primly on one of the leather seats. She was sophisticated, efficient, elegant, utterly beautiful and kind of terrifying.

Raina stood and came out from behind her desk, dropping onto the sofa across from Daniela. She narrowed her eyes at Daniela and watched as the other woman opened her leather portfolio and started spreading out samples on the small table in between them.

Despite Raina's every attempt, Daniela refused to warm up to her. Raina couldn't put her finger on why. There was usually a reason if someone didn't like her, but with Daniela, Raina sensed that whatever it was it wasn't personal. At least not personal to her. Perhaps, Daniela had a grudge against her mother.

"Did you happen to know an Elvira Montana?" Raina asked as casually as she could. "She would have lived here about five years ago. Perhaps used your services?"

Daniela looked up sharply, a frown marring her perfect Latina features. "No, I haven't heard of her, but if she requires interior decorating then please give her my card." Daniela’s voice was cool and professional. "Now if I could bring your attention to…"

Raina pushed her feelings aside. If Daniela chose not to like her, then that was Daniela's problem, not Raina's. Maybe Daniela was one of those women that didn't particularly like being around other women. Saw them as competition.

Raina buckled down and worked with Daniela for the rest of the afternoon, pouring over paint, tile, and texture samples. Raina wanted to enjoy the process; she really did, but the reality was, she really didn’t care at all about matching anything. She was not a domestic goddess.

However, she did appreciate being surrounded by beauty, so she attempted to put some real effort into the project. Frequently, Daniela would give her head a small shake and redirect Raina if she believed Raina was going off the rails when it came to choosing samples.

It didn't take long before Raina realized that her home was going to be mostly fashioned by the elegant interior decorator. She decided not to care. If the outcome was beautiful, then Raina was more than happy to accept it. What she wanted out of this whole project was to erase any trace of Ignacio Hernandez from the home. So far, so good.

She was in the process of turning the man's office into a library. This was the one room that she was taking a heavy hand in decorating; it was to be a gift for Mateo. Knowing his love of the written word, Raina poured over hundreds of library designs on Pinterest and had chosen a few to combine.

The room was dark, but the windows and French doors leading out into the gardens would keep it from feeling oppressive. The bookshelves and the desk were made from cherry oak and she'd commissioned a couple of original paintings. When it was finished, the room would have a gothic romantic theme without crossing over into feminine. She thought that Mateo would appreciate his new library.

After she finished with the interior decorator, Raina settled back behind her desk to make a few phone calls. She decided to take Mateo's advice and speak to her mothers. Both of them. At the same time. She needed advice. It helped that they loved each other as well and made it clear that they had Raina's best interests at heart.

Raina set up the three-way call and waited breathlessly for the two women to connect. Vee was first.

"Raina?" Her voice was clipped but eager.

"I'm here," Raina said happily, smiling at hearing her mother's voice.

"I'm here too!" Diane's voice chirped. "So good to hear both of you. This was such a wonderful idea, Raina. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to figure out the mechanics of it, but Joe helped."

Raina smiled at the image of her mother struggling to understand a new technology. Diane was an extremely capable woman in many ways, but she had no appreciation for modern technology. Every time smart phones received a new upgrade, Diane was the first to shake her head. It had taken a lot of convincing for Raina to get her mom to give up her BlackBerry and buy a smart phone.

"Talk to me about this wedding," Vee demanded. "I want to know everything."

"Yes, everything!" Diane gushed.

It was funny that both of her mothers had the same reaction, but for very different reasons. Vee didn’t want Raina marrying into the mob and had spent many hours over the past few weeks grilling Raina on her future plans. Vee made it clear that she didn't entirely approve of the wedding, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. If she had been able to help Raina escape again, she would've done it. Diane, on the other hand, loved Mateo and was extremely excited for the upcoming nuptials.

"To be honest, that's why I'm calling. I need help," Raina said. "According to Mateo, our wedding is supposed to be in a few months, but I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I don't know anything about flowers, dresses, wedding invitations. The whole thing feels like a nightmare, but he insists that it has to happen."

Vee snorted. "I've been in that boat and it wasn't particularly fun."

Vee had been completely against marrying Sotza, but he hadn’t given her a choice. He had essentially locked her up until the moment she was forced to take her vows with him. Despite that, the marriage was a happy one.

"It'll be fine, honey," Diane said reassuringly. "Once we finish seeding the fields, I should be free to fly down to Miami and help you with some of this. I don't know if my tastes are any good for the fancy people that’ll probably be coming to the wedding, but I'll help where I can."

"Thank you, mom, that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"If Diane is heading your way, then so am I.” Vee’s voice had more of a menacing quality than Diane's had. Raina bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"I prefer if my fiancé stays alive until the wedding," Raina said dryly, pointing out the dislike between Mateo and Vee.

"I won't kill him," Vee assured her. "Not unless he tries to kill me first."

"Well that makes me feel better," Raina said sarcastically.

"Oh, you two," Diane said with gentle chiding. "So much alike."

Raina felt a rush of love for both women. It was beautiful to her that they were both able to love Raina and be part of her life while maintaining a friendship themselves. There was no jealousy and no fighting over Raina. They wanted her to be happy. It was hard not to feel loved when she was surrounded by such difference, but strong and independent women.

They made plans for both Vee and Diane to fly out the following week. They would stay for several days and help with the wedding plans, then they would be back in a couple of months for the actual wedding.

Raina hung up feeling content.

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