Page 97 of The Red Queen

When the blanket was spread out to Giovanni’s satisfaction, Desi sank down onto it, sliding her shoes off her feet and sighing in relief. Giovanni placed the picnic basket in front of her and sat down.

“When did you stop coming out here?” she asked.

He opened the basket and pulled out a bottle of wine, his label, of course, and two wineglasses. He filled each one with the rich red liquid and settled with his back to the tree. He coaxed Desi into settling next to him, in the curve of his arm, which she happily did, snuggling her head against his shoulder.

She thought he hadn’t heard her question, then he answered, his voice a rumble against her ear as he spoke. “I don’t remember when I stopped coming. I found this spot as a boy and used it for meditation as I got older. Looking across the vineyard and out at the ocean has always calmed my soul, but I suppose I lost the desire to visit this spot. It didn’t feel right.”

Desi wondered if it was because he blamed himself for what happened with his wife and son. Maybe he felt he didn’t deserve his special spot.

“And now it feels right?” she asked softly.

He nodded, his chin brushing the top of her head, the bristles catching the soft strands of her hair.

“It does,” he admitted. “I feel… whole again.”

A rush of tears threatened to ruin Desi’s makeup, so she willed them away and smiled. “I’m glad,” she whispered. “I feel the same. Whole, I mean.”

He nodded again, then smoothed her hair back away from his face, his hand resting on her head. He looked down at her. “Do you think you’ll be happy here? In the long term?”

She frowned at him. “What makes you ask that? Of course I’m happy. This feels like a fairy tale. Only I’m the evil queen who didn’t deserve the happy ending but got one anyway.”

He chuckled and squeezed her shoulders. “You deserve the world at your feet, regardless of good or evil.”

She laughed. “Only an evil consort would say that.”

“Then we’ll be evil together.”

They sipped their wine quietly for a few moments, then Giovanni spoke again. “I asked because your life in Mexico was very different from here. You had more freedom and fewer limits, whereas I make you take bodyguards everywhere and check in often. You have to run all of your trips into the city through me or Dino before you go. It must be stifling for a woman who once commanded an entire cartel.”

Desi thought about it, then asked, “Would you let me go if I said no, I can’t be happy under your regime, that I need my freedom?”

His answer was swift. “No, never.”

She nodded against him, her chin pressing into his chest over his heart. “It doesn’t matter, Gio. This is the happiest I’ve ever been, and each day just gets better. I adore our son and his father isn’t so bad either.”

He tickled her ribs and she jumped and giggled. “As for the bodyguards and having to run my schedule by you, I know that you’re simply protecting me. I’ve always known that, which was why it was so easy for me to run away and get on that cruise ship, go back to my mother in Mexico. I knew your men were there to protect me, not watch me and report back.”

He grunted his acknowledgment. “Si, perhaps I should become stricter with your freedom, so you don’t take it for granted.”

She laughed. “You know I’ll just find a new way to mess with your bodyguards.”

“They’re already taking bets on what evil plot you’ll come up with to torture them.”

Desi blew a breath out. “They’re just complaining because you insisted I teach them takedowns. They’re a bunch of infants when I drop them on the mat. I swear, Gavino has more backbone than some of your people.”

Giovanni laughed, the sound a delight to her as it erupted spontaneously from him. “My dear, you don’t just drop them. You beat the shit out of them without holding back. I’m not sure Dino’s balls will ever be the same.”

“You Italians seem to think you have to be a gentleman in the boxing ring, pulling punches and never hitting below the belt. I’m teaching them the art of freestyle street fighting.”

“And that’s why I’m allowing you to unman most of my men,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “One day they’ll appreciate your efforts.”

“I doubt it.”

He chuckled and agreed with her, then asked, “Are you ready to eat? I think Mari packed some of your favourites.”

“That woman is determined that I keep the baby weight,” Desi said of their housekeeper and chef. As much as Desi grumbled about Mari’s mothering ways, she was beginning to adore the woman.

“She appreciates the new curves as much as I do,” Giovanni said, a lascivious tone to his voice.

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