Page 42 of His Queen

“No, Mira. I did not kidnap the flower girls. Don’t you think that would be front page news already if I had three girls kidnapped?”

Her curls bounce softly around her face as she strides toward me in those fuck-me boots. “I don’t know, Nicoli. You and your brothers seem to get away with just about everything. Don’t think I don’t know how far your influence stretches around this city.”

“Relax, would you? I did what I promised. Besides, why the hell is she phoning you? Does she not have a new wedding planner who can deal with this? It’s no longer your problem.”

“When it’s my husband who tried to sabotage her wedding, it has everything to do with me.”

I reach out to her cautiously, and she flinches at my touch. My hands slide along the fabric of her trench coat before they find her hips. I pull her toward me until our faces are close enough for me to feel her warm breath on my skin, her anger licking my flesh. “I didn’t sabotage anything,” I say softly. “I made it right just like I promised.”

“Well, clearly, you didn’t.”

“Mira.” I attempt to lean in for a kiss, but she thrusts her hands against my chest before I can make contact, widening the distance between us. Her eyes are hard, unyielding, and even more exquisite with embers of rage.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” she growls.

“And what am I doing?”

“You’re trying to distract me from this by seducing me.”

My mouth twists into an ironic smile. “And it’s clearly not working.”

She takes a deep breath then steps into my personal space again. “I promised her that everything was in place for this wedding. I swore to her that I made all the arrangements and finalized everything for her, which is why she chose not to hire another wedding planner.” Her voice rises before falling at the end of the sentence.

“Okay,” I start, a flicker of impatience tingling along my tongue. “The fact that the wrong flowers were delivered now sounds like aherproblem. Not anourproblem. I told you I fixed everything I had a hand in, and I did. I have no reason to lie.”

“Fine.”

“What do you mean, fine?”

“It’s fine, Nicoli. I’m done arguing about this.”

Words have never scared me more.

Mira takes a step back and tugs on her coat as if trying to anchor herself amid the chaos of our conversation. “I’ll talk to you later.”

As she moves toward the door, ready to leave without another word exchanged between us, I catch her wrist and pull her close again.

“You’re still upset.” It isn’t a question but more of an observation. “I’m not letting you walk out there while you’re still upset.”

“Of course I’m upset. Not only did I drop this poor woman two weeks before her wedding to ensure my husband doesn’t fuck it up, but now it seems it was all for nothing.” She takes a step back and moves away from me, and I don’t like it. Not one little bit.

“I told you, I fixed—”

“I gave this all up, Nicoli. Something I was truly excited about. Something I really wanted to do, because you asked me to and gave me your word.”

“Which I kept,” I growl.

“Clearly, you didn’t,” she snaps.

“Why is this such a big deal for you?”

“Because I know what it’s like to dream about a big, romantic wedding that’s perfect in every goddamn way and then have it be the exact opposite!”

Her words slam into my chest harder than a speeding train.

Tears start to well up in the corners of her eyes. “I didn’t have the wedding I’ve always dreamed of. I didn’t have the dress, or the church, or the romantic Sunday afternoon reception. Instead, I had a last-minute bogus ceremony while wearing tights, with my hair in a hideous ponytail, a groom who looked completely miserable, on a night I almost got raped, and in front of a bribed priest!”

A single tear slips down her cheek, and with it, a heavy silence breaks out around us. The look in her eyes drops a weight of disquiet in my stomach. I’ve hurt her so many times in the past. The look of heartache and despair is something I can instantly recognize on her beautiful face. But what I’m seeing now is something different. Almost like the night we went to Nunzio’s club, when she stepped out on the front porch looking like sin on heels. It’s a fusion of profound sadness and dark defiance—a lethal mix of emotion I can’t stop.

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