The Italian Billionaire’s Nubian Queen

“It is, by their standards. Colombo has a stake in the property, I think.”

“I didn’t realize that.”

“Acquired it recently. There she is. Given up, Naomi?”

“Never! I’ll find a way. I knew I should’ve been a serious witch.”

Alyssa laughed.

“You’re still on that?”

“Did we or did we not win the lottery after I picked the number?”

“You won twenty dollars, Naomi.”

“Which is more than most people do, so don’t knock it, Aly! I’ve been learning about emotions and relationships.”

“You have?” asked Alyssa, amused, falling into step beside Naomi. Brianna and Howie walked ahead, zooming straight for the open-air area where the introductions and meet-and-greet were being done. Trust them to be practical about it. But it did give her a chance to look around and really take it all in.

“I have, and this is the perfect time of the year to start something new. I brought some rose quartz. It helps.”

“But you’ve been married to Howie for five years. I think it’s a bit too late to start something new. Look at that, it’s blooming! Isn’t that gorgeous? And look, there’s a garden! We have to go and see the garden later. Will there be an event there? You know, I pretty much memorized the entire website and all the literature so well that I could recite it in my sleep, but I can’t seem to figure out what to expect. All of it’s just gone.”

“It’s still there, just a little buried right now. Anyway, the rose quartz isn’t for me, it’s for you.”

Alyssa just grinned and shrugged. She was used to people in her life trying to set her up. She did seem like a prime candidate for a blind date—busy but a romantic who loved making connections.

“Thanks, Naomi, but you know how I feel about that. I don’t have time for a relationship right now. I’ll have time for a serious relationship when I get to a point where I can go for a honeymoon for two weeks without going nuts with worry about the shop.”

Naomi laughed.

“That day will never come. You’ve got a business that practically runs itself right now, Aly.”

“I do not. It runs because I do the work.”

“Yes, but you know what I mean.”

“I do not,” maintained Alyssa, glad that she’d steered the conversation away from rose quartz and relationships. Besides, Brianna didn’t need to hear such talk. She had enough to worry about.

“Well, we’ll see how it works out, shall we? Now, here, keep this in your bra.”

Alyssa was glad she hadn’t started drinking the wine yet because she would’ve choked on it.

“What”

“Keep this rose quartz in your bra. The left cup. Keep it close to your heart and you’ll find love.”

“You,” said Alyssa, slowly, making sure he enunciated, “are going completely cuckoo.”

“Maybe but you know, Lane doesn’t have the entirely wrong idea.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

“Seriously, Aly! This place is full of people who share your biggest passion. Where else would you find a mate?”

“I’m not looking for a mate, Naomi. Now come on, let’s get our name tags on and get some wine. Bree called and got a table for the four of us, so if it turns out that everybody’s a jackass, we’ll have a table.”

“In your bra, Alyssa.”

Alyssa sighed. Naomi hadn’t built a successful business by giving up when she hit a roadblock. It was easier to just give in. Alyssa took the little chunk of rose quartz, looked around, and quickly shoved it down her dress.

“It’s sharp,” she complained.

“You can’t expect love to be comfortable. Come on, then. Wow, look at that! It’s gorgeous. Look at that gazebo, do you think it’s old? It’s probably new, built to look old, don’t you think? Look, there are fairy lights! It’s going to be gorgeous when it gets dark and we can see them all turned on!”

Alyssa had to agree, it was so gorgeous that she did forget all about the pokey rock in her bra.

She wasn’t going to let anything ruin this. It was a beautiful day, with such blue skies, and the sun would set in a couple of hours. The skies would be glorious when the sun set. They had such a beautiful view. The uphill walk to the gazebo had been worth it, just for the view. The hills rolled in front of them, the valley full of such green, and there were small gardens and smaller gazebos dotted everywhere. It was one thing to know how big a property like this was. It was another to really see it and understand it.

It took her a few minutes to pay attention to the people.

There was no sign of Lane, which was a mercy, but there were lots of people, and Howie was already meeting people. Brianna had headed for the table, but she had found somebody to talk to as well. A good-looking man, noticed Alyssa. Tall, blonde, looked fairly fit—and he seemed quite interested in Brianna. Hopefully the attention would make Brianna feel a little better.

Alyssa put her game face on and started circulating, too. It was made easier with Naomi by her side. Naomi knew almost everybody. The introductions came quick and relentlessly, but Alyssa kept up. By the time they got to their table and sat down, she was energized but definitely ready for a glass of wine.

“Cody Garnet was definitely checking you out,” declared Naomi, and Alyssa sighed.

“He was not, Naomi. He’s gay.”

“He’s not. He’s bi. So he was checking you out.”

“Maybe he’s bi,” conceded Alyssa, and promptly forgot the rest of what she had to say as Howie opened the bottle of perfectly aged red wine that had been waiting for them.

She watched, reverently silent, as Howie poured and offered.

She swirled, breathed it in, tasted it, and closed her eyes in pleasure. Her sigh was straight from the heart.

“That’s everything it’s supposed to be.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“I can’t wait for the wine tasting tomorrow. It’s going to be so amazing!”

The conversation flowed as easily as the wine did, and Alyssa was glad that it was moving away from relationships. Particularly, she told herself, because she didn’t want Brianna to be affected.