“It’s alright. I’ll be fine here,” I interjected, leveling Rafe with a look that told him I could handle staying home while he conducted his business in Sweden. We would need to get used to it at some point. “You have to do what’s needed for your business, and I will need to become more familiar with staying home without you here.”
“You’ve misunderstood,mi reina,” Alejandro said, his lips quirking up into the hint of a smile. “It would be considered a great insult for Rafael to leave his wife at home for this kind of outing. It is very much an opportunity for the wives to get to know one another and form their own friendships.”
“Then I definitely don’t want to go,” I said, chuckling as my attention shifted back to Rafael. He was silent, studying me intently as if he could silently command me into going.
“This is the kind of event where marriages are arranged between children. Everyone will be expecting to discuss a potential joining through marriage with the pregnancy,” Alejandro added. I went still, staring at him with wide eyes as my head drew back sharply.
I maneuvered my body to a sitting position, slowly turning my head to look at Rafe sitting behind his desk. He said nothing, giving me the first reaction to Alejandro’s words and what they might mean for our future. “I will kill you before Ieverallow you to do such a thing. Do you understand me?” I asked, clenching my hands tightly as I tried to convey just how much I meant the words.
Using the marriage of our children as an excuse for a business alliance was unforgivable, almost on the same level as human trafficking.
Rafe tapped his fingers on the desk, standing and walking around as he approached me. Those harsh, unyielding fingers grasped my chin and tilted my face up to his as soon as he stood in front of me. He towered over me, reminding me of how small I was in comparison to him. Something dark glittered in his eyes, the gleam of arousal sparking after my threat. “I do not believe in arranging marriages between children,” he said, waiting until my features relaxed and the anger drained out of me. “But I will approve of the people my children choose for themselves, and I willguidethem to make the right decisions regarding who might be an appropriate match.”
“Right. Can’t have your daughter end up with someone like you if we have a girl,” I said, tearing my face out of his grip.
He smirked, his fingers snapping closed. “Of course,” he said, shrugging as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
It was comforting in an odd way, that Rafael wouldn’t approve of someone like himself for his own daughter. That gave me hope that her future might be slightly less traumatic than mine.
If the alternative was me stabbing her father then well,thatprobably was the definition of traumatic.
Rafe spun in place, leveling Alejandro with a look. “Have Regina arrange a dress for Isa. Something fitted,” he instructed. Alejandro nodded, leaving the office to make sure it was done as soon as possible. There wasn’t much time.
“Not something fitted,” I protested, dropping my hand to the soft swell of the baby bump that grew a little with every day that passed. “I’m not pregnant enough that people will be able to tell the difference between a baby bump and bloating.”
“They’ll know,” Rafe said evasively, shrugging off my concern as his eyes dropped to my stomach and where I clutched it as I sat.
Sighing, I asked the real question that mattered in the choice of whether or not I could go. “What about Dima?”
“The Tessins have been allies for quite some time. The summit is being held in their private estate that will be filled with security and we’ll be surrounded by friends who agree with our purpose. It’s as safe as you can be off the island,” he answered, reaching down to pluck an orange slice from my bowl. He pressed it to my lips, letting the citrus flavor explode over my senses. “I wouldn’t take the risk if I didn’t believe you would be safe.”
“I don’t know the first thing about making alliances and interacting with people like this.”
“Women fight their wars with their words. They manipulate and strategize and befriend when they think it will benefit them. You have never had any lack of ability to communicate or play the game with words. You always know just what information to give to leave the biggest impact. You’ll be just fine,mi reina,” Rafe murmured, leaning forward to touch his lips to mine softly. “They won’t know what hit them.”