Page 61 of The Red Queen

“Signora Savino,” he said with satisfaction.

Her lips curved in a smile that held equal satisfaction. “Signore and Signora Savino.” She leaned forward and sealed her words with a kiss.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Motherfuckerputason-of-a-bitch!” Desi hissed as pain streaked through her side.

“Sorry,” Donada said, not sounding sorry at all.

“You’re not sorry,” Desi accused. “If you were sorry, you wouldn’t have picked a dress with a fucking waistline that presses against this goddam bandage.”

“You swear more when you’ve been shot,” Alina observed from her place at Desi’s vanity. She was going through Desi’s makeup, using it to fix up her own.

Donada continued to force the zipper up Desi’s new dress. It was a gorgeous knee-length red sheath that left Desi’s shoulder bare but covered the wound. If she bled through the bandage, the colour of the dress would hide it.

“Stop being a baby. Suck it up and suck it in,” Donada said, yanking the zipper into place. “Beauty is pain.”

“I hate you,” Desi snarled, sucking in her stomach and gritting her teeth against the streak of pain in her side.

Donada finished with the zip, patted Desi’s shoulder and handed her a full glass of wine, which Desi drained as quickly as humanly possible. “You love me.”

Desi sighed and turned to look out the window. The sun was still bright in the sky. It was strange; it felt like so much time had passed since the attack, since she married Giovanni in the garden, yet it had barely been an hour.

Her gaze drifted to the smattering of blood across her plush white carpet. She supposed since she was forced to chase the housekeeper off, she would have to find someone else to clean it.

“Should we go back down?” Donada asked, raising an eyebrow at Desi.

Desi did her best to smile through the pain. “Si, let’s go down. Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course,” Donada replied, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend.

The trio made their way down the stairs together.

Giovanni stood at the bottom, gazing up at Desi as she descended. A man stood next to him, speaking, but Giovanni only had eyes for Desi. It made her heart ache, then take flight as he reached for her.

Desi slid her palm against his and allowed him to help her down the last few steps. He pressed his hand lightly over her side, curving his hand around her back, covering her wound protectively. He leaned in close, pressing a kiss to her cheek before speaking against the side of her head.

“Are you in pain?” He leaned back to look into her eyes.

“No.” She shook her head and answered truthfully. The wine Donada had given her, along with a handful of Tylenol, and the feel of Giovanni’s hands against her body erased the pain.

“You can meet our guests?”

A smile curved her lips. “I would like that.”

He tucked her hand against the crook of his elbow and led her through the house. She gasped as he took her through what had been their formal dining room. The large gothic table and chair set had been removed, and the room had been opened up into the sitting room. The French doors at the back of the dining room were opened into the vineyards, which were strung with lights.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

He lifted her hand and dipped his head to caress the back with his lips. “Desiree Savino,tu sei bella.”

A chill went up her arm, raising goosebumps.

As Giovanni led her through the room, introducing her to family, friends and business associates, Desi floated through a world of her own, murmuring what she hoped were the correct greetings. Her entire focus was on the man at her side, the heat emanating from him and warming her as they circulated. The timbre of his deep, measured voice, his crisp accent sending ripples of pleasure through her.

Desi was so distracted by thoughts of her new husband that she didn’t notice when they stopped directly in front of her mortal enemy. Not until Desi lifted her chin and raised her eyes up the tuxedo clad front of Mateo Gutierrez did she realize she was in the presence of the man who’d cut off her finger.

As their eyes met, a gasp flew from her lips, and she took an involuntary step back. Giovanni’s hand tightened against her back, giving her no choice but to stand within arm’s reach of Mateo.

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