The Italian Billionaire’s Nubian Queen

***

Matteo knew that Alyssa was looking at him as if he was slightly crazy, and to be fair, he couldn’t really blame her for it. But she would see. She would see, because he knew that he loved her, and he was sure that they were fated to be together. She would see that, too.

Matteo wasn’t a fanciful man. But he saw patterns, and he had an open mind. He believed in souls and he believed that pain lingered. He believed that some dreams were more than just dreams.

But he believed it because he’d seen it—he’d seen himself going to her that night, and he’d tried to fight it, until he’d given in. The weather forecast had mentioned no storms. The skies had turned gloomy right after he’d landed. Sometimes, dismissing signs because they simply could not be true was another way of being obtuse. Of being too arrogant to admit that you do not have all knowledge.

He believed in fate too. Without that belief, he would never have been able to risk everything his grandfather and his father had built. He’d believed that he would make his grandfather’s dreams come true, and he’d done so. His grandmother, God rest her soul, had instilled enough respect in him for what you couldn’t see and touch.

Now he’d seen it, and maybe he’d even touched it. What kind of arrogance must a man need to deny it?

He didn’t blame Alyssa for not believing him. Not yet, not fully. But he knew she’d felt it, too. She’d felt it when they’d touched. No matter what, they were meant to be together, in the home of his ancestors, doing the thing they both loved, that they both had so much passion for. Why, look at what she’d done with her shop! That was just more proof that she’d always been meant for him.

His grandmother, thought Matteo, would have loved her. She would have loved her practical nature, her desire to work hard and succeed, her commitment to family, and her values for her own children. If he had one regret, it was that his grandmother had not lived long enough to meet her. But she would look on and bless them both. He knew she would.

The clouds cleared as he stepped out of the car—of course his woman was unpredictable in her choice of car, he appreciated that about her, too, just like everything else—and walked up to her porch. It was a sweet house. Of course, not anywhere near as big and comfortable as the mansion that would be their home, but it was sweet, and it reminded him of her. It was her grandmother’s, too. Another connection, thought Matteo, though perhaps he was stretching it a little bit there.

“I have a washer and dryer out back, we’ll pop our clothes in there and then I’ll put dinner together. Does that sound good?”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“All right, then. Now, I have to warn you. It’s a bit of a mess…”

“I’m sure it’s as lovely as you are.”

“I hope I’m better than that,” she muttered, and opened the door. The lock was inadequate. Once the press got wind of their relationship, she would need much better security. He added it to the list of things he needed to do.

“I like your house.”

“Thanks, so do I,” said Alyssa, picking up a pair of shoes and a scarf from the floor, setting a few books straight. She was, he decided, adorable. It was adorable that she wanted her house to look nice for him.

He would give her so much more.

“Here,” said Alyssa, interrupting him from his close examination of the photos displayed on the mantelpiece.

“What?”

“Clothes.”

“Oh, right, of course.”

“The bedroom is there.”

“Sure. Thanks,” said Matteo, and walked in, leaving Alyssa alone.

***

Alyssa figured that as long as she kept moving, she wouldn’t have to start thinking. She didn’t think she’d be able to stop screaming if she started thinking. Her life was going batsh*t crazy. She had no idea how anybody was supposed to handle any of this.

When her phone rang, she grabbed it gratefully. For once, she was happy her phone was ringing.

“Aly?”

“Bree! Tell me you need me.”

“No, it’s just… Is Matteo there?”

“What?”

“I knew he was wrong. It made no sense, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Gabriel has been acting a little off for the last couple of days. He’s been saying that Matteo has his eye on you.”

“Oh. Why would he say that?”

“Something about knowing his brother. Anyway, I just had to call and make sure, because he told me that Matteo is a bit of a playboy. He doesn’t sound all that great, to be quite frank.”

“A playboy? Really?”

“Sure. He travels a lot for work and he has a girl at every port, says Gabriel.”

“Oh. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, Gabriel wouldn’t lie to me. Anyway, he’s been telling me that Matteo has had his eye on you and I should warn you. I thought it was all irrelevant. I mean, if you were involved with somebody, you’d tell me about it, right?”

“Right,” said Alyssa, a little weakly.

“Yeah, that’s what I told Gabriel. Anyway, he planted that little seed in my head and I had to call and check because I couldn’t really get it out of my mind, but I was sure it was nothing. He said that Matteo has been engaged to somebody for the longest time, too.”

“What?”

“Somebody named… Martina? Martina Totti? She’s a socialite in Milan. I think we might have seen photos of her or something.”

“He’s engaged to Martina Totti?”

“They’ve been engaged for about four years, apparently. A very cosmopolitan arrangement, according to Gabriel. I guess it suits some people, but not people like us. We like honesty and loyalty, don’t we?”

Alyssa swallowed, hard, and tried to keep her head from spinning by pressing her hand to her forehead.

It didn’t really work. Her head kept on spinning, anyway.

It couldn’t be true. It really couldn’t be true, could it?

“We do,” agreed Alyssa, not sure what she was saying they did.

“They make a gorgeous couple, though. Hold on, I’ll send you a photo.”

“What?”

“They held a family engagement party or something. Well, Gabriel’s mother threw a party for the couple. You know who she is, right?”

“Alexandra Tiffany,” said Alyssa.

“That’s her. Gabriel has her eyes. Anyway, I wanted to call and warn you about it, but obviously it’s not necessary. There, I sent you the photo. Did you get it?”

Her phone beeped.

“I guess. I’ll have to check later, data isn’t turned on,” she lied.

“Oh, all right, no rush. It’s not important or anything. Oh, Gabriel wants to come by the shop and see you, and then take us both out to dinner. Wouldn’t that be nice? And he wants to go home on Sunday to have dinner with mom, too. I’m telling you, Aly, he’s wonderful. I can’t believe how much he likes me. I really can’t believe how well this is all going.”

“Bree, has Adam been in touch with you?”

“No. Not yet. And I don’t care. He can live his life however he wants to, with that secretary of his.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, I’ve got to go. I’m on an ice cream run, I have to get back home. Gabriel said he’d come by later.”

Brianna hung up, and Alyssa tried to hang on.