Page 114 of Bellini Bound
Taking my seat beside Enzo once more, I watched as Summer and Matteo shared a whispered exchange. There was concern alight in Matteo’s eyes as he scanned his wife’s face, his gaze dipping lower to her abdomen. It was a genuinely heartwarming sight to watch their love on display.
“Everything okay?” Enzo asked in my ear.
“Yeah.” A smile tugged onto my lips. “Everything’s fine.”
Everything would be just fine.
“Holy cow, this place is insane!”
I didn’t know where to look first when we stepped into the underground casino owned by my husband’s family. There were flashing lights atop several rows of slot machines, table games were placed strategically throughout the space, and the glittering bar on the edge of the room was beyond breathtaking.
In the car, Enzo had told me that this was their primary source of income, and I suppose it made sense. Legalized gambling might be on the rise now in the US, but for a long time, it was only allowed in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and on Native American reservations. The Bellinis had tapped into an entertainment avenue that wasn’t readily available tomost of the American public and, judging by the amount of money in our bank account, they’d made a killing in doing so.
“You like it?” Enzo beamed, giving me the first genuine smile since I’d walked down the stairs back at home hours ago. Whatever had been bothering him earlier appeared to have melted away after a couple of drinks and a good meal. Maybe he’d just been hangry. I hoped that’s all it was.
“It’s crazy amazing. Do I get to play?” I asked, my voice hopeful.
He gazed down at me, an eyebrow lifted in surprise. “You want to play?”
Sheepishly, I admitted, “I’ve never been to a casino before.”
Growling, he slid his hand from my waist to grab a hearty fistful of my ass. “Look at you, letting me pop all your cherries.”
Heat curled through me, my breathing coming in shallow pants. “I want my first time to be with someone experienced, who can teach me all there is to know.”
“Fuck, Allie.” Those beautiful hazel eyes of his slid shut, and he swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed. “You’re killing me.”
With a quick peek down, I saw exactly how those words had affected him. There was a tent pitched in his black tuxedo pants. God, it was satisfying to know that he wanted me just as badly as I wanted him.
“Chips,” he grunted. “We need to get you chips.”
I let him lead me to a row of cages, where there was a line of elegantly dressed people who had come from the same gala as us and were eager to keep the night going. The gate on a stall at the far end opened, and a man shouted, “Enzo, over here!”
My husband guided me through the crowd until we came to a stop at the window.
The man inside asked, “You playing tonight?”
“Nah.” Enzo shook his head. “But my wife would like to try her hand.”
“You need me to explain the rules?”
Laughing, Enzo replied, “Considering this whole thing was my idea, I think we’re good.”
The man reared back. “No shit.”
Enzo tapped his head. “Not just a hat rack, my friend.”
“All right then. Just gonna need your signature acknowledging that you understand the risk of losing it all, then we’ll move on to the wire transfer.”
The tablet off to the side was spun on a swivel, and Enzo used a fingertip to scribble what looked more like a doodle than his name in cursive. Then the screen changed to one requiring bank information. He took a minute to fill that out, but when the payment button appeared, showing the transaction amount to be five hundred thousand dollars, I grabbed his arm and hissed, “Are you crazy?”
Turning to me, Enzo calmly said, “I told you we were hosting a special event tonight, right?” I nodded, so he continued, explaining, “The only way to play tonight is with a buy-in of half a mil. Everyone gets the same amount of chips, and there’s no cashing out. Even if you go up, you have to keep playing, or you forfeit. The last person standing wins everything.”
My eyes bugged out of my head. Gesturing wildly to the lines of people waiting patiently to fork over more cash than most spent on a new home, I asked, “Dotheyknow that?”
He chuckled. “Yes, but that’s why we’re covering our asses by having them sign the same waiver I did. No one will be able to come back at us and say they didn’t understand the risks.”
Mind racing as I processed this unexpected turn of events, I began to back away. “You know what? I don’t need to play. I can just watch tonight.”
