A minute later, Mariposa took a seat next to me. She kept fidgeting with the napkin on the table.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” I said.
“Nothing.”
Standing, I gave her my hand and told her we were going to take a walk in the groves alone. Keely flew past us, her neck red, and I turned to look at her family before I turned back to Mariposa and urged her to move.
The groves were lit up, lighting our way as we walked. The men who worked the fields had helped me string up countless solar lights in the trees for the special occasions.
Mariposa was quiet until she wasn’t. “A walk in the groves, huh?”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you in private.”
She nudged me with her arm. “Getting cold feet?”
“My mind rules my feet, and my mind is set.” I glanced at her dress. She looked like a Roman goddess. The color was light blue, the material almost sheer, and it draped over her arms. When the wind blew, the dress fluttered like wings. The hem swept the ground as we walked, and I noticed she didn’t hold it up. “Your favorite color. Blue. It looks beautiful on you.”
She looked at me, right in the eye, and I had to catch her before she fell over a crate left on the ground. She exploded with laughter. “Too much wine.”
She hadn’t had a drop to drink.
“Is that what the kids are calling fun these days?”
“Are you accusing me of lying, Capo?”
“Depends. If that’s what the kids are calling it.” I shrugged. “You’re telling the truth. If not, your pretty nose is going to grow like Pinocchio’s.”
“Ooh!” She laughed even harder. “Who’s lying now?Pretty nose.”
“You’re beautiful,” I said. “The most beautiful woman to me.”
She wiped something from my face. “Are you sure about that?” She showed me her hand. It had a smudge of red lipstick on it.
Gigi. She had kissed me on the cheek earlier. Mariposa noticed it. I even caught her mocking Gigi. She’d pretend to laugh like her and then shake her tits. Gigi hadn’t noticed, but I did. Mariposa hadn’t even met her yet. They never seemed to be in the same place at the same time. And when Gigi would appear, she’d talk to me when Mariposa wasn’t beside me.
“I don’t say things for the fun of it, Mariposa.”
I almost laughed at the sour face she made in response, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to fight the night before our formal wedding. There was nothing to fight about.
We became quiet after that. She had her thoughts and I had mine.
Then she inhaled, bringing me from mine. “I love the smell here. It reminds me of the new perfume.” She lifted her arm and I inhaled the scent on her skin. It was from the same designer who made her other one, but this one was different. It had notes of orange flower and the sea. Both perfumes seemed made for her, but the new one even more perfect.
I kissed her pulse and then held her hand. “This way.” I led her deeper into the groves, wanting to go as deep as possible, as far away from people as we could get.
“Capo,” she whispered, not looking at me. “That was a nice thing you did for me tonight. Switching my dinner.”
Before she had the steak at Macchiavello’s, she had told the planner to serve it for dinner that night. After she ate there, she had fallen in love with the pasta and crab dish. I had the planner switch her order at the last minute, after I’d found out that she’d ordered the steak before she knew what the pasta tasted like. She wanted to thank me for it, but we had a deal and it wasn’t necessary. We both did for each other.
I nodded. “You’ve been great with my grandfather. He really enjoys spending time with you.”
She stiffened. “My arrangement is with you,” she said, keeping her face straight. “Not with anyone else. I enjoy spending time with him. BecauseIwant to.”
I hadn’t meant to offend her, but I did.
“Tell me, Mariposa, if you were to ever fall in love, would love cancel out your kindness law?”
“Law?” She almost scoffed, but she took a moment to answer. “I’m not sure. I’d need time to think about it.”
