I looked around the room, then back at him. “Pardon?”
He had a saucy smile. “You my darlin’.Bellissima. You will make my work very easy, Bella.”
I frowned, slightly put out. “Ummmm…..my name is Sophie. Not Bella.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “No no darlin’. You are my new Isabella Rossellini.” He rolled his eyes dramatically. “Well, the 80s and 90s version of the goddess anyway.” He smiled big at me.
I could feel myself blushing. Isabella Rossellini was a beautiful cinema goddess back in her day. To be compared to her was the best honor a woman could be given. Either that, or it was a very cruel joke.
I retorted defiantly, “I am nowhere near in league with her. She is the most beautiful woman of all time. Well, next to Elizabeth Taylor.”
Valentina’s eyes sparkled. “Ah yes. Liz. Famous for being one of the most beautiful women in the world. Ever. It was the eyes, really. But no, nocara, you are definitely a runner-up to ourmagnificaBella.”
Valentina was not what I would have expected. He was not dry, uptight, or cruel. In fact, I enjoyed his personality.
“Ummm, I hate to be blunt, but why do you go by the name Valentina? Wouldn’t it be easier to be Valentine?”
His hands moved in a flourish wave. “Ah my dear beautiful woman. I am as gay as they come. I have no time for hiding who I truly am. If people do not like it, I move on. Besides, I haveproven myself many times over. I may be no Bernardi,” he rolled his eyes over dramatically and whipped his head like he was swinging his hair away from his face. His hair was cropped short. He brushed a strand of his short bangs to the side. “But I do well enough.” He gave me a mischievous smile.
“Now,bellissima, let’s get you going. In the shower while I get my people ready for you.” He clapped his hands loudly, jolting me. “Chop chop. Let’s make this a night to remember. If only so all eyes are on you.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but jumped in the shower quickly. When I got out, Valentina was holding the dress up, admiring it. I did not like the color. But apparently Dominic enlisted Ms. Fancelli to find me a dress so I could appreciate her taste.
“This will look magnificent on youcara. It will show off your beautiful curves and complexion.”
I would beg to differ, but I wasn’t about to argue with the stylist. Valentina’s team consisted of three people, including himself.
While I was being primped, I took more time to observe Valentina. He was an impeccably dressed man, in white slacks, a silky light blue button downed shirt, and slip-on dress shoes. His dark black hair was buzzed short in the back, a little longer in the front, giving him some bangs. Most people couldn’t pull off that look, but he did it well. He was slim, but agile looking, and had medium brown skin that made him look even more beautiful. He was a very beautiful gay man.
Once I was primped and dressed, Valentina had me stand and pose for a picture that he took with his phone. He had what looked like tears in his eyes, a hand to his mouth. He said he wanted the picture for his portfolio, but I had a feeling there was another reason, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
In a breathy voice, while still looking me over, he said, “Bellissima.”
I couldn’t help but smile and blush. “Thank you Valentina.” I turned to his team of two and thanked them as well with a big smile. I knew what it was like dealing with the society’s riches and their arrogance, so I felt they deserved a real, heartfelt thank you. Even if I wasn’t thrilled with why they were doing their job.
Both women also said I looked beautiful and that I would “have eyes on” me for the night. That made my stomach uneasy, but I also didn’t believe their compliments. I was the hidden, invisible daughter after all. I had accepted that identity, and I would not be swayed differently.
When I met Dominic in the car, he gave no notice to me. He was being rude, but to be fair I was certain he was on edge about having to finally take me out in public as his “wife.” I could feel the tension rolling off of him as I made all efforts to keep myself as physically far away from him as possible. I was dreading a run-in with my sister, which apparently he heard me voice out so he reminded me of my bodyguard, Gregor. Poor guy got the shit job of babysitting the fake wife. I gazed out of the window in an attempt to avoid looking at him. I knew he would look devastatingly handsome in his suit, but I couldn’t focus on that. He was an arrangement. I was just a pawn in a scheme. I wasn’t sure yet what that scheme was, but it didn’t matter. I was still a pawn.
Once the car pulled up to the curb, I took a deep breath, and put my facial mask on. Showtime.
A staff member helped me out of the car. Before I could turn to Dominic, he grabbed my arm roughly and turned me sharply to him when I heard him say, “What the hell are you wearing?”
My head whipped up to meet his eyes. His voice sounded irritated. Did I look that horrible? Valentina did lie, that little ass! I still liked him, but I did not appreciate him lying to me.
“Ouch, Dominic. You’re hurting me.” He eased off my arm and actually looked apologetic. He slid my hand on to his arm, and proceeded to guide me to the entrance. One of Dominic’s men, Marco, was chuckling behind us. I didn’t understand what was happening, but chose to ignore it.
Once at the entrance, we paused, allowing me to take another couple deep breaths and plastered my fake half-smile on my face. Let’s get this over with.
Dominic brought me around to meet some of the players in the room. I didn’t want to tell him, at least not now, that I had a pretty good idea already who the players were. It was part of what I was good at. I observed and took mental notes around my father’s “business.” You never knew when that information could become useful. After some time, he guided me to a single table near a corner of the room. He said he needed to go talk to Maximo Ruiz about some business and would leave me to rest. I sat for about five minutes, but felt agitated being in this room dressed up like I was, so I headed to the food table. Along the way, I grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing staff member. It was more about having something to hold in my hand before I began to fidget. There were too many people in this room I didn’t care for. As I was picking at some stuzzichini, I felt a presence near me.
“Hello Mrs. Gutierrez.” To be honest, that title still threw me, but it was the voice that set me on edge.
Aria Dominguez. Oh, I meant, Aria Ruiz.
I turned slowly and calmly, trying to gain my composure as best I could. This woman scared the toughest men in our world. Hell, word was she even scared her own husband. But he probably deserved it. Maximo was considered the scariest and hardest man to deal with in our world. Which was likely why he was the number one Don across the nation.
“Mrs. Ruiz. Nice to meet you. Please, do call me Sophie.” I wasn’t sure if I wanted her to call me that, but it was the respectable thing to do. I may have reached a point of giving up on whether my life was worth fighting for, but dying by the hands of one Aria Ruiz nee Dominguez was not top on my to-do list tonight. And from what I’ve heard of the woman, she probably wouldn’t hesitate to kill me here, in front of all of these party guests, without a second thought.
