The Italian Billionaire’s Nubian Queen

“Oh, sure. Sure, it’s all insane but maybe I should talk to Naomi. For, I don’t know, a placebo spell or something.”

Brianna chuckled.

“I don’t think that’s how it works. I don’t think… Aly, do you really love him?”

“Oh, yes. Yes, I do. Isn’t that wonderful? I absolutely, insanely, love that man. It’s going nowhere and he doesn’t understand me even a little bit so of course it’s going nowhere, but I love him. Can you imagine?”

Brianna nodded wistfully.

“I can. I fell in love with Adam the moment I saw him. I made him chase me, of course. He needed that, he needed to win me. But I loved him from the moment I saw him. I didn’t need to know anything more. It was as if my soul recognized him. If he’d asked me to elope with him right then and there, I would’ve done it without a second thought.”

“Seriously?”

“Absolutely.”

“Batsh*t crazy. Love makes people batsh*t crazy.”

“I talked to mom about it back then. She said she fell for dad like that, too. That’s why she’s never dated anybody seriously after that. She says that if she doesn’t feel it again, it’s not worth risking the heartbreak. She’s felt the real thing, so she will never settle for anything less.”

Alyssa frowned.

“You talked to mom about all of that?”

“We weren’t excluding you, Aly. You wouldn’t have understood without feeling it. It does sound absolutely batsh*t crazy from the outside. But now you understand, don’t you?”

Alyssa sighed.

Something occurred to her.

“Did you feel that way about Gabriel?”

Brianna smiled a little.

“No,” she admitted, shaking her head. “No, I didn’t. If I had, I wouldn’t have been able to say no when he asked me to go to bed with him. I wouldn’t have been able to say no to a lot of things. I was flattered.”

“I should’ve been there for you. I knew you were having a difficult time and I just left you there with that manipulative bas*ard and ran away.”

“You needed to take care of yourself. You can’t spend your life taking care of me, Aly. You should go and get your man.”

“What?”

“You love him. You should go and get him.”

“What? Now that’s even crazier. He’s gone back home to Italy. He’s in his vineyard in Sicily.”

“I know. You should go.”

“But he’s in Sicily,” repeated Alyssa slowly, as if saying the words slower and enunciating would get them through Brianna’s head.

“There are,” said Brianna, matching Alyssa’s tone, “things called airplanes. They fly very fast. They can take you all the way to Italy.”

“Are you serious? I can’t just drop everything and go to Sicily!”

“I’ll take care of the shop. Diane will be here, too. I’ll handle it.”

“You will?”

“Yes, of course. I’ve been thinking of going back to work. I think I need to do it. I don’t have Adam in my life anymore.”

Alyssa looked at her sister, saw the heartbreak in her delicate face, and she came to a decision. The decision was powered by the batsh*t craziness that love apparently drove the Benjamin women to, but it didn’t matter why. All that mattered was that it would make at least something right.

“All right,” said Alyssa, slowly, “I’ll do it. If you call Adam and talk to him. And hear him out completely, and sign up for counseling. Both of you, together.”

Brianna frowned.

“I can’t…”

“You can,” interrupted Alyssa. “You’re asking me to chase my heart even if it will probably end in a great deal of unhappiness and intense humiliation. I’ll do it. But you have to do this. Bree, I honestly don’t think Adam is cheating on you. I mean, I’ve known the guy for so long. All the things you’ve done to fit in with his life—I don’t think he cares even a little bit about that. If you decided to be a tie-dye hippy who does energy readings, he would still be just as much in love and just as proud of you as he has always been. I know you want to fit in and I absolutely respect that. He always has, too. But I think you resent him for things he honestly doesn’t care about. If all his family turned around and talked smack about you, he would cut them off without a second thought. I don’t think he would cheat on you, Bree. The man adores you. He’s as batsh*t crazy about you as a Benjamin woman has ever been about any man. You should talk to him.”

Brianna was silent for a long moment.

“But his secretary…”

“I know he didn’t defend himself. I think he didn’t because he was pissed off that you didn’t trust him. You didn’t even ask him, you just accused him and then jumped to the worst conclusion when he didn’t defend himself. I mean, come on, Bree, even you have to admit that that’s a bit of an unfair thing to do.”

Brianna frowned.

“I don’t buy your theory. Not completely. If he’s so batsh*t crazy about me, he should have defended himself.”

“Maybe. But talk to him. You’ll have to, eventually, at any rate. You can’t be married to somebody without ever talking to them.”

“That’s what you think,” muttered Brianna, making Alyssa chuckle a little.

“So, do we have a deal?” asked Alyssa.

Brianna nodded.

“Deal. But you get on a flight tomorrow.”

Alyssa hesitated, but there really was no time like the present. If she had a night to think about it, if she slept on it, she would remember all the reasons why this whole thing was insane. Then she would never do it.

So she shook her head.

“No. I’m booking the first flight out before I can change my mind.”

***

Alyssa landed disoriented and full of nerves. She’d managed to get the address she needed, but she had no idea if Matteo would be home. She had no idea about anything. All she had was the number of somebody who could arrange everything, according to Brianna—Claudia. Apparently, Claudia had handled whatever had happened to get him back to Italy.

Alyssa swallowed her nerves and dialed.

“Claudia Giovanni speaking.”

Alyssa swallowed again. That was possibly the most efficiently cool voice she’d ever heard.

“Hello. I’m sorry to call like this, but I need to get in touch with Matteo. I need to see him as soon as possible.”

“I’m sorry but that will be impossible.”

“Please. Please, I came all the way here because I need to see him.”

“Who is this?”

“I’m Alyssa. Alyssa Benjamin. I met Matteo at the Napa Valley weekend.”

“Ms. Benjamin, I need you to hold for a minute.”

Alyssa did that, sweating profusely, wondering where she should get a room, because she desperately needed a shower.

“Ms. Benjamin, I realize this is quite personal but I need you to tell me, right now, why you need to see Mr. Colombo. And what you intend to do if you manage to see him.”

Alyssa took a deep breath. She did not want to tell a stranger this, but she had no other way. She had to swallow her pride. She would have to do it a lot if she was to get what she wanted. Or even have a chance of getting what she wanted.

“I need to tell him that I love him.”

There was a pause.

“Where are you?”

“I just landed.”