Page 62 of Born a Queen

Mateo leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Exactly." He left his empty glass on the table and strode back to the house.

* * *

Mateo and Raina spent the next week settling into a new normal. Raina hired a new interior decorator who came with a plethora of recommendations and awards. He also passed an extremely thorough background check and interrogation style interview with Danny, Angela and Mateo. Once Mateo was satisfied the new designer was on the up and up, Raina was back to renovation planning.

The biggest change in routine the past week had brought was Mateo's presence at her door every night at around 11 PM, asking her to join him in bed. He was always polite, almost distant, and he never touched Raina without her permission. She was lulled into a sense of security to the point that she willingly took his hand and followed him to his room, spending each night in bed beside him. The routine had become such a pleasant one that she would’ve been disappointed if he hadn't come for her.

Raina felt happy and ready to start planning her wedding. She was excited for the arrival of both of her mothers within the next few days. They would know what she should do and how she should act when it came to both the mafia and a big wedding.

Diane Duncan arrived first. She brought with her a giant ray of sunshine, homemade baking, Raina's favourite stuffed unicorn and a warm heartfelt hug. She gathered Raina in her arms and held her close. Raina melted into her mother, wrapping her arms around Diane's ample waist.

"You look so beautiful, Raina." Diane tipped Raina's chin up to look at her face. She clucked her tongue and ruffled Raina's hair. "You'll need a haircut before the wedding."

They toured the mansion arm in arm, Raina showing off her new home to her mother. Raina was particularly proud of the renovations and lingered in the rooms that had been under construction. She was proud to show her mother to a bedroom that Raina had a personal hand in decorating.

The two women spent most of the day talking and discussing wedding particulars. Diane was especially interested in the food and had ideas about catering. Diane was generally easy-going; she wasn't one to shove her ideas down another person's throat. That is, except when it came to the wedding; Raina had never seen her mother so pushy. It was almost amusing to watch Diane lay out all of her catering plans and show Raina a plethora of menus she gathered online from local Miami caterers.

Mateo joined the two women for supper and received a warm hug and kiss from his future mother-in-law. Raina was reminded that the two had been in cahoots together for the past few years. She wanted to be pissed off about the subterfuge, but she was happy to see that her mother and Mateo getting along. It was like they skipped the awkward in-law phase and jumped right into years long friendship. They had a pleasant meal together, one of the easiest that Raina’d had since arriving in the house. The tension that always simmered between Raina and Mateo eased off with the arrival of her mother.

Unfortunately, a different kind of tension vibrated through the mansion with the arrival of Elvira Sotza the next morning. Vee was the epitome of calm cool sophistication. She gathered her daughter against her and held her close. Both women were the same height and build and could have been sisters. Once Vee assured herself that Raina was being well taken care of, she turned to greet Diane, accepting a warm hug.

"Oh, it does my heart such good to see you two together," Diane said of Vee and Raina, brushing a tear from her cheek.

Raina felt truly blessed with having two such mothers. The two women were complete opposites, yet respectful and loving of each other. There was no jealousy, no competition for Raina's attention.

To Raina's disappointment, Vee wanted little to do with the wedding. She shrugged it off as not her thing but listened carefully to whatever plans the other two made. Occasionally she would drop a comment, but mostly kept her thoughts to herself on Raina's upcoming nuptials. The only time she offered her two cents was when it came to Miami's local businesses. Vee knew where to find the best of everything and wasn't afraid to interrupt and tell Raina and Diane.

The one thing that Vee did want to discuss at length was Raina's contact with the imposter interior designer. She seemed deeply concerned by Raina's description of events.

"How old would you say she is?"

Raina shrugged. "Hard to tell. Definitely older than me, maybe around your age? But not older."

"Hmmm, interesting." Vee lapsed into thoughtful silence, then asked, "You say she's Latina?"

Again, Raina shrugged. "I assume so. She was definitely posing as Latina when she stole Daniela Velasquez's identity. But who knows if she actually is."

Diane shook her head. "It gives me the shivers to think that you were in such close contact with that woman. She could’ve done anything to you and no one would've stopped her."

Raina's smiled affectionately. "I can take care of myself, mom. And there are usually bodyguards close by, even in the house. It would've taken real effort for her to harm me here."

"Well, that's a relief," Diana said, hand over her heart.

"I don't like it." Vee frowned and reached for her water, taking a long drink. “This isn’t over, whatever it is.”

---