The Beginning (The Life 1)

“Close them!” I felt more than saw her open her eyes to look out the window. It was the tension in her fingers that gave her away. “Ready?” I felt her nod and pressed play on the iPod where I’d left it earlier. I wasn’t surprised to feel her start to relax, but then there was a different kind of tension coming from her, which had nothing to do with fear.

Her fingers moved beneath my hand, her thighs tensed, and her breathing changed. My eyes came open slowly as I recognized the signs. I have the same reaction when listening to this song, but her excitement was slightly different from mine. Her body swayed a little at first, then her head began to move ever so gently, and she got the most angelic expression on her face.

“What is this? Who is this?” She lifted the headphone from her ear to ask.

“It’s the OST from an Asian historical drama, sung by Huo Zun.”

“It’s so pretty. What’s it about?”

“Empress Dowager Xuan. She was the first stateswoman of China, the first female regent as well.” I stopped before going any further, only now realizing the correlation I was about to impart.

“Although she was the daughter of a king, she lived worse than most commoners as a child. She was treated horribly by her stepmother, the queen. She even watched her mother die because of the other woman’s schemes. And yet, she rose to accomplish that.” I squeezed her hand, and she put the headphones back in place with the other without another word.

The rest of the flight went without incident. She had no idea that I was watching her from behind the dark tint of my shades. That I saw her put the song on repeat, or that I could feel the way she moved her legs to the music. A natural-born dancer, it’s in her blood—something else they took from her and one of the things I mean to give back.

Ma went into overdrive as soon as we landed less than an hour later. “We’re barely going to make it in time to meet Justine and her girls.”

“Don’t worry, love, Carlo knows to let them in.” She kissed Pop’s cheek in gratitude making their three teenage kids roll their eyes in faux disgust.

The family was hustled into the two SUVs that were waiting on the tarmac. I doubt Gianna noticed the security team that surrounded us as we made our way from the airport through the streets of New York since she was too busy looking out the window in amazement at things I’d stopped noticing long ago.

I could see the questions forming when we pulled into the private underground garage of the luxury mansion on fifth that was once home to one of the leading industrialists in the country. The twins nabbed her as soon as we walked off the elevator, throwing me her overnight bag. “Take care of this. Come on, Gia, it’s going to be a long day.”

The reminder brought her hand to her head, where at least for a little while, she’d forgotten her dilemma. I’ve purposely avoided any mention of her hair for fear of making her even more anxious than she already was. “Come here a minute Gianna.” I pulled her away from Rosa and walked her upstairs while the others headed to the kitchen just as the doorbell chimed throughout the house.

When I reached the third floor, I stopped in the middle of the hallway. “This is my wing, only Lance and I stay on this side of the house. Are you comfortable taking the other guestroom up here, or do you want to be with the girls?”

“I’ll stay with the twins if that’s okay."

“Sure!” I headed in the opposite direction and showed her into the guestroom on that wing.

She stood in the doorway and looked around the room with moon-sized eyes. “Wow! This is a guestroom? Or is this where the twins sleep?”

“No, this is a guestroom. No time for gaping. I think they’re here to take care of your hair.” I touched the new scarf on her head for the first time, holding back the anger when I felt the hard crust of dried glue beneath the silk.

I felt weird about leaving her even though I knew Ma and the girls would be with her getting their hair done as well. It was a new and very foreign feeling, one that I wasn’t about to investigate in front of her. Without thought, my hand reached out and pulled her in close. I guess my body had decided on its own to do whatever the hell it felt like.

My eyes closed when my lips connected with her forehead, and my heart kicked against my ribs, causing me to break contact in surprise. I hid my reaction behind a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “Let’s go get you taken care of.” I took her hand again, my new favorite pastime, and led her back downstairs, where the others were in the kitchen stuffing their faces while the stylists set up in the home salon.