Page 23 of Bastard Prince
Fuck, my woman was amazing. Not ten minutes in Jacqueline’s presence and she had made herself into a saint in the woman’s eyes, dedicated to the disenfranchised and desperate, and a future pillar of the community.
Not that she wasn’t those things; she absolutely was.
But, goddamn, the woman could work a room.
“Of course, Jacqueline. I’d love to speak to the mayor.” Pushing back from the table, Francesca shot another dangerous look at Gregor and Amber. “It seems I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.” She squeezed my hand as she stood, a silent reminder to stay cool, which I appreciated, even if I hated that I’d needed it.
I couldn’t believe I let that fuck get under my skin.
I gripped her fingers in mine, raising them to my lips for a kiss, before she moved away from the table and followed Jacqueline across the room.
“Well,” grumbled Amber, toying with her asparagus as she pouted my way, “isn’t she just a regular ol’ Mother Teresa?”
Both Gregor and I ignored her, which only served to piss her off more, and she tossed her fork on to her plate and crossed her arms.
“Why don’t we just cut to the chase, Gregor?” I said, lowering my voice and narrowing my eyes. “How about you tell me what the hell you think you’re doing, fuckin’ up all the things your uncle and I set in place, and then you get the fuck outta my sight, yeah?”
“What I want has nothing to do with my uncle.”
“Well, you tryin’ to step up and take my clubs, then? Is that it?”
“It’s cute that you think you’d have anything I would want,” he said, his face giving nothing away. “Or that I’d have any trouble taking it.”
“Well,” I began, smirking at him as I stood, tossing my napkin onto my plate and gesturing to Amber where she sat, still pouting, “you’re already wading through my sloppy seconds, Greg. Don’t see why this would be any different.”
I made to step away, not liking that Francesca was out of my sight, but Gregor had one more thing to say. “You’d be wise to stay out of my way, Enzo. My uncle may have been content to share, but I have never played well with others.”
CHAPTER SIX
Francesca
Jacqueline Holbrook was a hoot.
The woman was the definition of eccentric, her money and status making her completely oblivious to the realities of the world around her, but not in a malicious way.
She honestly believed in the good things in life, in the inherent goodness of people, and I found that to be a breath of fresh air. I had spent the majority of my life watching people for ulterior motives—just look at tonight’s dinner—and to see someone as genuine as Jacqueline living her best life was just...great.
I stood with her now, listening intently as she and the mayor, Robert, discussed zoning regulations with a man that I was actually familiar with.
Harold Pennington, a New York native, owned an international chain of hotels, their flagship location being a grand building overlooking Central Park, which I had visited on several occasions. He’d recently ventured into casinos as well, opening a huge place right on the Strip.
“I just can’t ever see myself returning to New York to live,” Harold was saying, smiling from ear to ear as he talked about his recent move to Texas. “Now that the headquarters for Pennington Hotels is located in Las Vegas, I never want to experience another New York winter again.”
“I second that, Mr. Pennington,” I said, laughing. “Although, I will miss Christmas at Rockefeller Center. There’s something magical about skating under the lights of that giant tree every year.”
As I said it, I realized it was true; I was going to miss that, and many other things about New York. But the longer I was here in Las Vegas, the less those kinds of things tugged at my heart.
“Well, Mrs. Argenti,” Robert said, smiling as he wrapped his arm around Jacqueline’s shoulders, “I am pleased to say that there are several wonderful holiday experiences for you enjoy out here, even if snow isn’t one of them. Darling,” he exclaimed excitedly, turning to his wife, “you’ll make sure to invite Francesca and Enzo to our New Year’s Eve party, won’t you? You too, Harold, if you’re still in town.”
“Oh, yes!” Jacqueline gushed. “Absolutely. Really, you both must come.”
“Thank you, Robert, but as soon as my son and his wife return from their honeymoon, I will be heading back to Texas.” Harold turned to me, his eyes alight with happiness. “He’s taken her to Paris, you see. Their first date was at theParis Hotelhere in Las Vegas,and he promised Penelope that he’d show her the real Eiffel Tower one day.”
I smiled. “He sounds like a true romantic.”
“Hardly,” Harold said, shaking his head with a laugh. “He’s a bit of a grump, actually. But the right woman has a way of softening even the hardest of men, and that’s what Penelope did for Stone.”
I smiled as my mind wandered to my own husband, though he was never really far from my thoughts. Hard and gruff as he was when we first met, Enzo had shown a different side of himself lately, and while no one would ever call him soft, there was a definite layer of tenderness that wasn’t evident at first glance.
