Page 40 of Daddy's Little Spy

“Amara, we’re a soon-to-be retired cop and a mafia princess who, despite still disagreeing on pretty much everything, have managed to become friends. I doubt there’s anything you can say or do to change my opinion of you.”

Chewing at her bottom lip, Amara studied her wine. “All right. But I swear to god if you laugh, I will stab you.”

“I won’t laugh. Promise.”

Draining her glass again, Amara rolled off the bed and disappeared into a closet on the other side of the room. It wasn’t the same one they’d chosen Diana’s tiara from and from her angle on the bed, Diana couldn’t see what was inside the closet.

So she was completely unprepared for Amara to emerge decked out in a short, dark blue dress, with layers of tulle and lace puffed out around her long, slender legs.

“Ta-da,” Amara said weakly, striking a pose. “When I’m not working, this is what I usually wear around the house.”

“It’s cute,” Diana said, tipping her own glass back. She was going to need more wine for this. “Does this go with the whole ‘Daddy’ thing?”

“It does for Emilio. I hated it at first, but now I look forward to it. I don’t know, it’s like I can relax when I’m up here in my silly dresses, pretending to be a little girl.”

It made a strange kind of sense. Enough that Diana felt a pull in some part of her, a longing to just forget about the investigation, her inevitable betrayal of the people she was starting to consider family, and just… be.

“Can I try one on?”

“Really?” Hope lit Amara’s face. “You don’t think I’m weird?”

“Not at all. Do you have any in pink?”

Rolling her eyes, Amara beckoned her into the closet. “That used to be all I had. Daddy still makes me wear them when he thinks I need to be reminded I’m not in charge.”

Ten minutes, two more glasses of wine, and innumerable bouts of giggling later, Diana stood in front of the full-length mirror and studied the dress she’d chosen. It was like something inside of her clicked and she let herself slide into that headspace she’d previously only found with Benito.

“I’m starving.” Giving her reflection a mischievous smile, she turned to Amara. “Let’s go get some snacks.”

“I’m supposed to stay in my room until Daddy gets home.” Amara seemed to consider the request for a moment before shrugging. “What the hell. I’m already in trouble. Might as well make it worth the punishment.”

Giggling maniacally once again, they raced from the room and down the stairs to the kitchen.

“Score!” Diana cheered when a quick search turned up a triple chocolate cake Benito had obviously made that morning.

“Yum! What wine goes with chocolate cake? We need more wine.”

“I dunno. Just pick something and grab some forks.”

They settled at the island with the cake between them, not bothering with plates or glasses as they dug in and passed the bottle back and forth. It was, hands down, the best day Diana could remember having in her entire adult life.

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