Her Mafia Daddy (Book 1) novel Chapter 19

Valentina POV

Great. Even here I couldn’t escape the Ravazzani concept of fate. “This is your boat?” I asked as he helped me aboard.

“It’s my father’s. Don’t you like it?”

“What’s not to like? This is a floating five-star hotel.” Dimitri chuckled. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

He briefly spoke with one of the crew members and then we set off. Each deck was more impressive than the last. Large living spaces, lounges, lush cabins, and a beach club pool area in the rear. In the front was a master suite complete with jacuzzi and helipad, plus a glass bottom window to the ocean below. I tried not to drool as we walked around, but it was a struggle.

“I would never leave if this yacht was mine,” I said, dragging a finger across the soft leather chair. We were already headed into the blue waters of the Ionian Sea, the salty breeze in our faces.

“Then you should prepare to stay because this will be yours someday. Ours, actually.” That significantly dampened my enthusiasm. I didn’t want to think about our pending marriage or Rafael Ravazzani.

I’d managed to avoid him by working outside in the vineyard and with the animals. The castle staff was kind and patient with me, especially considering the language barrier. Dimitri had bought me a book on how to learn Italian, though, so I was slowly getting better.

Do not ever try to tell me you weren’t made for this life, that you weren’t born to rule as a queen. I closed my eyes, unwilling to consider it.

That couldn’t be true. It couldn’t. I had a life in Toronto, a family that I missed. I wanted to go to school and choose my own husband. Marrying into my father’s world Rafael ’s world was out of the question. I would never have any independence if I did.

“Are you feeling ill?” Dimitri touched my arm. “We have medicine for that.”

“No, I’m fine. I won’t get seasick.” He smirked down at me. “Just like you won’t get sick from drinking?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “You are the one who let me drink so much grappa.”

“As if I could have stopped you. Now let’s go have some lunch and get some sun.” We went to the beach club area on the bottom deck. Lobster salad, fresh bread and crisp white wine had been laid out on the table near the pool.

Dimitri whipped off his shirt, leaving him in just a pair of tiny swim shorts and sunglasses. He was all bronze skin and lean muscles, with several tattoos on a torso with very little body fat. God, he was gorgeous.

Good genes obviously ran in his family, and I wondered what the elder Ravazzani looked like under his clothing. Probably just as ripped, but with more body hair and bulkier. Stronger. Thicker....

“You have the strangest look on your face right now.” Dimitri frowned at me. “Do you not like lobster?”

I mentally shook myself and removed my cover up. A tiny bikini had been waiting in my new closet, and it was a relief to feel the sun on my whole body. “I love it. This is perfect.”

His eyes swept down my body. “You are bellissima, Tina .”

“Grazie. You are quite bellissimo yourself.”

“Thank you.” He smirked. “I am thinking whoever purchased that bikini for you should be arrested. It is criminal how good you look.”

I glanced around to make sure we were alone. “You are gay, right?” I asked in a whisper.

“That does not mean I cannot appreciate beauty when I see it.”

“Is that how you’re planning on creating the next generation of Ravazzanis?”

Dimitri grimaced, his teasing forgotten. “I am hoping to delay that as long as possible. No offence.”

“None taken. I am also hoping to delay that.” Like never. “But you’ll have to make babies some day, right?”

“Of course, yes.”

“Will we be overheard while onboard?”

“Not here. It’s already been swept for bugs and my father doesn’t have cameras installed. I think it’s because he uses the boat with Katarzyna.”

His phone suddenly pinged several times from where it rested on the table. “Should you get that?”

“Would you mind?”

“This isn’t a date, Dimitri .” He grinned and lifted his phone. “I like you, Tina . You make this easy.” Whatever he read on the screen caused him to frown. “Trouble at work?”

“My father. He didn’t know I was bringing you out today.”

“Why would he care?”

“I stopped trying to understand him years ago.” He put his phone back on the table. “He is acting strangely. I can’t explain it, but he’s very interested in your whereabouts at all times.”

“No doubt worried I’m going to escape.” Which I would. My first attempt had failed, but it was only a matter of time before I succeeded.

“No, it’s more than that.” Cradling his wine glass, he leaned back in his chair. “I caught him looking at footage of you and Vincenzo in the winery.” I straightened. “What?”

“It was so strange. He closed the window quickly, like he didn’t want me to know.” Ravazzani was watching me? Why? If I was on the estate then I hadn’t escaped. “He’s probably worried I will seduce Vincenzo and ruin his plans to marry us off.”

Dimitri laughed. “Vincenzo is at least sixty years old. You’d give him a heart attack if you tried to seduce him.”

I would never. Vincenzo was like the grandfather I never had. In a very short time I’d come to really like him. Unfortunately, there was a lot I liked about Italy and the estate. I was learning tons about grapes and plants, wine and oil. They even had bergamot trees, a citrus species native to Calabria that I hadn’t seen before, and the fruit tasted sour and bitter and delicious.

And I couldn’t handle the baby lambs and their cuteness. I’d already given them all names, and I looked forward to feeding them every day. We finished lunch and a crew member cleared our plates, while we took our bottle of wine to the deck chairs by the pool. The yacht had stopped in an inlet, a tiny cove with crystal clear water and no one else around. “We can swim here, if you’d like,” Dimitri said. “Pool or sea?”

“The sea, definitely.” We swam for a long time, jumping off the back of the boat into the water, splashing and floating, while music blared from the speakers. Dimitri was a lot of fun and it turned out we had similar taste in music, preferring old school hip hop to anything new.

Finally we flopped onto the deck chairs and asked the staff to make us fancy tropical drinks. I rubbed suntan lotion all over while Dimitri checked messages on his phone. It seemed like he had a lot of them, but I didn’t pry. When we were sipping mai tais, Dimitri asked, “Did my father ever return your things?”

“Yes.” My satchel had been waiting on my bed when I returned from the dungeon fiasco. “Though he still won’t let me have a phone.”

“Holy shit, sis,” Gia exclaimed. “What the fuck happened to you?” Direct and to the point. Exactly like Gia. “Hey, Gigi. How are you?”

“Tell me what happened. Papà said that man caught you escaping and took you to Italy. Did he hurt you?” I thought about Rafael ’s hand gently brushing the hair off my face, the way he’d gripped me carefully in the kitchen. He hadn’t hurt me, at least not after drugging me. Still, I wouldn’t give my sisters anything to worry about.

“No one has hurt me. I’m fine.” I heard Em in the background as she told Gia about the yacht.

“You’re on a fucking yacht right now?” Gia asked into the phone. “I told you they were loaded. Is the castle amazing?”

My face felt like it was going to split apart from my wide smile. “Yes, it is amazing. They have olive trees and a vineyard. There are pigs and cattle and the most adorable little lambs.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see it. Papà said we are coming to your wedding in a few weeks.” The smile instantly fell from my face. “We’ll see.” I didn’t want to say more, not on Dimitri ’s phone. “Is this your new number?”

“No, this is Dimitri ’s phone. He let me borrow it.”

“Dimitri is your fiancé?”

“No. Yes. Well, sort of. For now.”

“Oh, shit. I know that voice. You are planning something.” Was I? Yes, I was planning to escape, but the planning part hadn’t really started. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure it out.”

“You always do,” Gia said. “Hey, did you hear what happened to David?” A weird knot settled in my stomach. With the kidnapping and Ravazzani’s general hotness causing my brain to malfunction, I hadn’t thought of David much.

Something told me I wasn’t going to like what came next. “No. What?”

“That Ravazzani guy beat the shit out of him. I guess they saw David crawl out of your window that morning.” I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. Rafael had hurt David? That asshole! He had no right to do that. David didn’t deserve to be beaten just for being with me. “Is he all right?”

“He’s fine, Tina .” She snickered. “Though I hear he pissed himself in fear.”

“That’s not funny,” I snapped. “Please tell him I’m sorry if you see him.”

“I will, I will. Jeez. Calm your tits.” Dimitri emerged from the depths of the salon and I knew my time with my sisters was over. “Love you, Gia. I’ll speak to you and Em later, okay?”

“Love you, too. I hope those bastards let you have a phone soon.”

“Me, too. Talk soon. Bye.” I hung up, then snapped a quick selfie of me, the boat, and my drink then sent it to Emma. Once it went through, I handed the phone to Dimitri .

“Thanks. That meant a lot.” He stretched out on the deck chair. “You’re welcome. Your sisters are well?”

“Did you know that your father beat up my boyfriend?” Dimitri rolled his head to the side and pulled down his sunglasses to look at me. “He caught your boyfriend sneaking out of your bedroom. So I assumed so, yes.”

Mafia thugs. I crossed my arms and stared out at the beautiful water. No matter the tempting trappings of a vineyard and a yacht, I had to keep reminding myself these people were dangerous, Ruthless killers. I couldn’t be blinded by broad shoulders and a chiselled jaw.

Underneath Ravazzani’s ruggedly handsome package was a monster. Wasn’t I supposed to be afraid of monsters?