Page 23 of Besties
I’d started a new job and couldn’t get time to go to their wedding. It was a small, informal affair, and she said she understood. What excuse did I have for not visiting over the years that followed, though? Mom said she was proud of me, but that’s more than I could say of myself.
“Once I’m done with my training, what do you think about coming back for a visit? Or I could come out to see you. Assuming my slavedriver of a boss will let me take off.”
Mom’s eyes misted over. “I’d like that.”
Richie cleared his throat, then when we turned to him, he gave a wink. “What if I get my folks to fly out from Arizona, and we all take a vacation together? We can go on a cruise, or just hang around Milwaukee.”
Mom made a weird noise, and we all looked at her. Walter chuckled. “She’s always wanted to go on a cruise.”
“Fine, we’ll all take a cruise to the Bahamas. Lay out on the beach, drink mai tais, go sightseeing. I’ll have my assistant make reservations.”
I thought he was teasing, but he pulled out his cell, tapped a button, then put the phone to his ear.
“Allyssa, I need you to book a cruise to the Bahamas for six people for…. One sec.” He turned to us. “Will December work? We could make it a Christmas gift.”
Mom seemed shell-shocked. “Yeah, December is fine,” she croaked.
“Okay.” He went back to his call. “Over Christmas. But we won’t be coming back by boat. We’ll fly home. We’ll need four rooms for five adults and Max.” He stuck his tongue out at me when I growled. “Make reservations for us to stay two weeks at the Rosewood Baha Mar.”
He listened, then answered some questions for Allyssa. I sat there, wondering how Richie had become so damned confident.
“No. You can put a deposit for the stay with my card, but I’ll be paying for it when we arrive.”
That pulled me up short. He’d already said he wasn’t wealthy, so where would he get the money for this? He talked with Allyssa for a few more moments, then hung up.
“Okay, that’s taken care of.”
“Can I speak with you?”
He cocked his head, eyeing me curiously. “Sure.”
I followed him from the room and into his side of the suite.
“What’s wrong? You don’t look happy.”
“How will you pay for this? You told me you don’t have a lot of money.”
He must have seen something in my expression, because he put a hand on the side of my neck and gave a firm squeeze. “I get paid a lot from the company, but I put most of my paycheck back in. I’ve never been about material goods, you know that. The money I keep goes into the bank. I don’t travel for pleasure or have any hobbies or anything like that, so I have a nest egg. It’s not huge, but it’ll be enough for this trip.”
I was about to protest, when he stopped me.
“You’re going to let me do this. When we were kids, we used to talk about places we’d like to see. While this cruise isn’t necessarily the whole planet, it’s a start. Maybe after we’ve got everything in place, you and I can take trips around the globe. Sure, it’ll be business, but we always find time to have some fun while we’re out. For now, this is my first real vacation in about ten years. Let me have it.”
His eyes were pleading with me, and I melted. He’d done so much for me this week, and how could I possibly say no to those puppy-dog eyes of his?
“Okay.”
He chuckled. “You see how much easier it is when you just let me have my way?”
The urge to throw something back at him hit me, but instead I shook my head. “Yeah, don’t get used to it.” He watched me, as if waiting for something. “Thank you for bringing my mom and Walter here.”
“Were you surprised?”
“Shit, I was shocked. Good thing I didn’t walk out of the bedroom naked.”
“Yeah, that would have been funny.” There was a twinkle in his eye as he thought about it, and then he snorted. “C’mon, now I’m hungry.”
He led us back to the suite, where Mom and Walter sat, nibbling on toast and bacon.
