Page 23 of Born a Queen

Chapter Thirteen

Once again Raina slept well in Giovanni's mansion. She was growing more comfortable around Giovanni and his home. It was almost a shame that she had to leave. She suspected that spending more time with the proud Italian would give her a real glimpse of Italy. With that in mind, she decided to try to convince him to let her visit sometime in the future.

She pulled herself from the bed, wincing as her back muscles pulled on her stitches. The healing process was going to be long and painful, but she was grateful that no permanent damage had been done. It could've been much, much worse.

There was a pile of clothing for her on one of the chairs. She pulled them on one at a time, grateful that a dress had been chosen for her because it was so much easier on her injury. She could pull it over her head and tug it down, she didn't have to deal with a waistband pressing against her bandage.

She brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her blonde hair. She eyed it critically in the mirror. It was getting long again and she preferred to keep it around shoulder length. Her hair was fine and there was a lot of it. It tended towards the curly side and would get hopelessly tangled if she wasn't brushing it often. She placed the comb on the counter, gave her appearance one more critical look, and left the bathroom.

She meandered down the stairs slowly, lightly touching her fingers against the banister and looking around her as she descended. The house was definitely much less gloomy during the day. The darker furnishings, the austere pictures on the wall, there was a certain charm to them. Though she wouldn't want them in her own home, they suited Giovanni.

She found him at the dining room table, which had been uncovered and dusted off. On his placemat was a plate with toast, a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee next to his elbow. Spread out in front of him was a newspaper. He looked up and caught sight of her, a smile stretching his lips.

"I’m going to miss you when you’re gone, bella." He folded the newspaper and set it aside. "You have brought life to my home. I’ve always been careful of who I allow inside, becoming guarded throughout the years. It was necessary, as I have many enemies, but still, you’re like a breeze of fresh air in this place."

Raina sank into the chair beside him and smiled. They had only known each other for two days, yet they seemed to have forged an unlikely friendship. The Italian Godfather and the young daughter of American mafia royalty. The child of farmers. She felt an appreciation for Giovanni. Though he was somewhat old-fashioned, quite arrogant, and liked to have his own way, he wasn't completely unreasonable. He’d helped her when she needed him. She was grateful and always would be.

"I've been thinking about that," she said, reaching for the pile of toast and taking one off the top. It was still warm to the touch, butter making it soft. She placed it on a plate in front of her and spread jam on it. "Maybe we could see each other again sometime."

She felt as though there were a connection between her and Giovanni. Completely platonic, but kindred spirits. The thought of never seeing him again was depressing.

"I would like that very much," Giovanni reassured her. "You’re welcome in my home anytime you want, my dear. Even if you bring a boatload of trouble with you."

Raina didn't bother to point out that it was Giovanni's own son that had started the boatload of trouble. She glanced down at the time on her phone. It was 9:28 AM. She was expected in Mateo's hotel suite soon. She would have to leave the house right away if she wanted to get there on time.

Giovanni seemed to sense her mood and reached out to squeeze her hand. He studied her thoughtfully. "I’m curious about your feelings towards the young man that professes himself your fiancé."

Raina's heart sped up as an image of Mateo flashed through her mind. As always, her feelings were conflicted. Part of her wanted him desperately, wanted the dark power that he possessed, that rock solid body, the devotion that he offered her. But the rest of her shied away from the idea of marriage to a man as entrenched in the mafia as Mateo was.

"I can tell by your expression that you’re not sure of your feelings. Do you want to go to him? Do you want to leave Italy with him? Go back to your stepfather?" He studied her carefully as she thought about it.

"I don't know," she murmured. She spoke her thoughts out loud. "On the one hand I would love to see my mother again. But doing that means going back to Venezuela and facing a wedding that I'm not sure about, that I haven't agreed to."

"And this wedding, "Giovanni said. "It is something that you do not want?"

Raina shook her head. "I don't know. I… I feel like I'm too young to get married. I haven't seen enough of the world. I don't know what the future holds and I fear if I marry Mateo, I’ll never get a say in my own future. I'm not afraid of my feelings for him and there are some very strong feelings. No, I'm terrified of what the future holds. I'm not quite ready to face it yet."

Giovanni nodded thoughtfully. He picked up the napkin that was across his lap and dabbed his lips then dropped it on the table. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Raina, but his gaze was in a different place, maybe thinking of a different person.

He confirmed her thoughts with his next words. "My wife, Antonia, was very young when we married. Nineteen years. She was so beautiful, so bright, so full of life. She was thirty-four when she died."

Raina could hear the longing and the love in his voice and it made her heart ache with sympathy. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Giovanni."

"It’s been many years since I lost her and I still see her face in my head as clear as day. She might have left me, but I haven’t lost her." Giovanni stopped for a few seconds, overcome by emotion. He gathered himself. Raina surreptitiously swiped at her eyes. "Ours was an arranged marriage but we were happy."

Raina believed that he was trying to tell her something. Perhaps it was that her and Mateo's passion might overcome the origin of their relationship. That their story could end as happily as Giovanni’s and Antonia's.

Giovanni's eyes sharpened, away from the past as he looked toward the present again. "We married too young. There were too many things that we both should have done before we settled down. And though ours was a great love, I have many regrets. I didn't treat her as well as I should have. I didn't have the patience for my family, didn’t spend enough time with them. As evidenced by the way my son has treated you. My wife should’ve been given many more years of freedom before she was tied to the mob."

Giovanni reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled something out. He placed it on the table in front of Raina. She recognized it instantly, because she had made many forgeries of these documents before.

"A passport." She reached for the document and flipped it open. It was a replica of her old passport photo, the one that would have been in her studio apartment when Antonio's men had shot it up. The passport looked completely legitimate, though she knew it was a skilled forgery.

"You will use this to go anywhere in the world that you want." Giovanni reached out to take her wrist in a tight hold. His hand was as tense as his voice when he spoke. "You must choose very carefully where you will go, because Mateo Gutierrez will be directly on your heels. He doesn’t like to lose and he’s world renowned for his tracking abilities."

Raina looked at Giovanni with a smile filled with relief and happiness. She wouldn't have to make a decision about Mateo. At least not right now.

"I've managed to elude him for two years, I've no doubt that I can get myself lost somewhere in this world."

---