The Italian Billionaire’s Nubian Queen

She was just raising her glass to sample the wine again when she felt the atmosphere in the room change. It was the kind of thing she wouldn’t say out loud, because she didn’t share Naomi’s belief in all things witchy and magical, but she still felt it. It was as if everything came into sharper focus, and everything became more potent. When she tasted her wine, she found that it had become more potent, too. She savored flavors and felt things that she’d missed the first time around.

She let the red liquid flow down her throat, absorbed everything it offered, and looked around, not quite sure what she expected to see.

Then she saw him.

She recognized him, of course she did, but that came after a moment. First,there was breathlessness, as if she’d been punched in the gut by something much bigger than her. She had to fight the urge to look away, and to keep looking.

He was handsome, of course. He was tall, dark-haired, green-eyed, and had the perfect chiseled face that men would envy and women would sigh over. He looked toned and fit, and she had no doubt that he was both.

He was also alone.

She thought for a moment, even if it wasn’t like her to be so fanciful, that he radiated so much power that he both drew people to him and kept them away, as if only the daring could approach him.

It made no sense, of course. She didn’t believe in such things.

She shook it off, looked again, and he was just a man. A very handsome man, obviously a very rich one judging by the excellent clothes he wore and everything else about him, but just a man.

A powerful man in his own right, but the kind of power that all rich men held.

Matteo Colombo.

So it was true. He really was there. She hadn’t really believed that he’d be there. His company must sponsor dozens of events, probably hundreds. She didn’t think he usually made an appearance at many of them.

Maybe he was missing a trick by not making an appearance everywhere. It would guarantee visibility. He didn’t look like he had the kind of presence that became less impactful with exposure.

Thinking the word exposure in connection with him made her bite the inside of her cheek. Oh no, she wasn’t going there.

Maybe it was a good idea to keep him away from events. Nobody would pay attention to anything he was selling if he stood there like that.

And anyway, why was he glowering? Sure, the whole brooding thing probably worked for him, but he was at a festival to celebrate his wines and his investments. Sure, there were other labels, but his wines were the main event. Surely he should look happy.

“So, he did come,” said Howie with a whistle.

Alyssa looked up, startled and feeling more than a little foolish. She’d thought, somehow, that she’d been the only one to feel it. Obviously not. She’d been fanciful. Everybody had felt it.

It hadn’t been anything special.

“Makes an impression, doesn’t he?” commented Naomi.

Alyssa shrugged.

“He looks grumpy.”

That drew a laugh from Brianna.

“Grumpy? He’s possibly the handsomest man I’ve ever seen in my life, Aly!”

“Sure, I guess, but he looks grumpy, too. I mean, look at him. I guess he’s here to do the announcement personally. There’s a lot of buzz, isn’t there?”

“That we’re going to be the first to sample the new wine from Colombo? Yes, I heard it,” agreed Howie.

“Well, wouldn’t that make you happy? I mean, really! He looks like he was ordered to come by his evil stepmother or something.”

“Maybe he was,” said Naomi with a giggle.

“What?”

Distracted, Alyssa turned to her friend.

“He does have an evil stepmother. Didn’t you know?”

Alyssa shook her head.

“I’ve only been interested in his wines, remember? And his reviews and recommendations. I haven’t really paid attention to the man himself.”

Which, she was beginning to think, might have been her loss. Sure, he looked like one grumpy, sulky, self-important bas*ard who wouldn’t know what joy was if it bit him in the undoubtedly very fine ass, but every bit of him looked as fine as his ass did. She had to admit that. She believed in being fair.

“Well, his grandfather started the wine-making, his father got land and started his own vineyard, but he’s the one who expanded it into what it is.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that.”

“It’s not as easy as that, though,” went on Naomi, eager to spill the beans. “Apparently, after Matteo was born, his mother got sick and passed away. His father decided to just focus on his vineyard. He poured all the love and passion he had into his wines, but that got his wines noticed. He never really understood that a woman like Alexandra Tiffany wasn’t in it for him.”

“What?”

“Alexandra Tiffany? Remember, she used to be a pop star? She disappeared after getting married?”

“No idea.”

“Oh, you never keep up with things.”

“I thought this happened ages ago,” said Alyssa, bewildered.

“Yes, but still. He was just beginning to get pretty rich and his wines were winning awards when Alexandra and daddy Colombo met. It was love at first sight for the elder Matteo. Unfortunately, not quite so much for Alexandra. She didn’t mean to get pregnant, and when she did get pregnant, she decided that it would work just fine and married him.”

“Wait, how do you know all of this?”

“It was quite the scandal. My mother still talks about it,” explained Naomi.

“Oh. Well, so he does have an evil stepmother. Though that doesn’t sound very evil to me, it just sounds… I don’t know, sordid.”

Naomi shrugged.

“I guess. Anyway, Alexandra’s son, Gabriel Colombo, is a bit of a… well, I haven’t heard the best things about him. There was some scandal with some supermodel.”

Alyssa chuckled.

“Seriously? Are things like that still scandals?”

“I believe black eyes were involved.”

“Oh.”

That was a scandal, and unacceptable. It should be, at least.

“So what happened?”

“Matteo Colombo swooped in and smoothed things over. Of course, the young woman got a hefty check. I guess it made up for it. Word has it that Gabriel Colombo doesn’t appreciate being sidelined in the family business. World also has it that he doesn’t have Matteo’s nose.”

Alyssa nodded. Now that she could believe.

“I don’t think anybody could have his nose. It’s exceptional. He really is good, isn’t he? His father must have been quite the wine-maker to teach him as much as he did. Still, he doesn’t have to sulk like that. What is he, thirty? At least? Old enough to stop sulking about his stepmother, I think.”

So saying, Alyssa put him out of her mind, aided by the bottle that Howie brought to the table.

She grabbed it and checked the label, then nodded approvingly. Of course, it was a Colombo wine, and it was one of the better ones.

“Pour, and don’t be stingy,” she ordered, and she put the brooding billionaire out of her mind.

He had nothing to do with her. She was there to have the time of her life, and she would.