Arranged

13

I heard my mother's car coming down the dirt road and tapped my foot anxiously. I seriously doubted she wanted to see me, but I had to try one last time before writing her off. Dominic squeezed my hand and offered me half a smile as I stood up.

I waited in anticipation as I listened to her car door close and her heels grind against the cement walkway.

She stumbled in the house. It didn't take a fucking genius to see that she was obliterated drunk. She reeked of alcohol and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"I told you to get the fuck out," she slurred.

"You're drunk?" I asked tightly. "And you were driving? You could have killed someone!"

"Too bad it wasn't you," she shot back.

She had never said anything that hurtful before. I was caught totally off guard by how damaged our relationship was. The worst part about it was the damage came from a dead man.

"Your Highness, we have a flight," Dominic intervened.

I glanced at him over my shoulder before looking back to my mother.

"You know, when I heard he died, I was relieved. I thought you would finally get your head out of your ass."

Tears streamed down her face and for a moment I actually felt bad.

Just a moment though.

"I wish it would have been you instead of you father." Her venomous words spilled from her lips.

My breath caught in my throat. We were never close, but she had truly grown to despise me. I couldn't describe the feeling that came with my realization because it was such a deep loss it didn't feel real.

I didn't cry. I didn't yell or call her names. I simply walked out the front door and didn't look back. Dominic followed my lead. He didn't say anything as he opened the car door for me and I was thankful. I knew I would be able to hold it together as long as he didn't ask whether or not I was okay.

I didn't know if my mother was going to be okay. At the moment, I didn't give a fuck.

The drive back to Fresno was silent. Dominic didn't ask and I didn't offer anything up. I wondered how I could go from one of the best hours of my life to one of the worst.

Being with Dominic had been one of the most freeing and liberating experiences of my life. He wanted me exactly as I was and I couldn't thank him enough for that. It was a strange feeling to be confident telling him exactly what I wanted. I had never been able to voice my needs to any other guy I had been with. They always just assumed they knew what I wanted. Dominic was different though. He wanted control, but not at the expense of denying me anything. Being with him was like breathing. It just made sense and it was effortless.

And then my drunken mother had to fuck it all up.

"The royals have representatives here, right?"

"In the states?" Dominic asked.

"Yeah."

"Yes," he said slowly.

"Why? If everything is centralized in Russia, why have people here?"

His eyes slid over to me for a moment. "Uh, I guess for situations like this?"

"Does the royal family own any companies here?"

"A few. What are you getting at?"

I stared out the window for a moment as I thought. "I'm going to buy my dad's vineyard."