Page 115 of Bellini Bound
“Nonsense.” My husband shook his head.
“Enzo,” I sighed out his name. “I’m not going to blow five hundred grand just to have a little ‘fun’.”
He reached forward to take my left hand. “Honey, you’re wearing more than that on your finger right now. Besides, we can afford it.”
I groaned. “That’s not the point.”
A cocky smile tugged on the corner of his lips. “Okay, enlighten me then.”
“We just came from a massive fundraiser. How can I, in good conscience, gamble away that kind of money when we could have used it to help the less fortunate?”
“How much did they raise tonight? Fifty million?” he asked.
“Fifty-one,” I corrected.
“Even better. Now, do you happen to know how much of that Bellini Real Estate is responsible for?”
I gave a slow shake of my head. “No.”
“Five million, baby. Ten percent of the total came from us.”
My jaw hit the floor. “Are you kidding?”
Enzo’s grin grew wider. “Anytime you start to feel guilty about our lavish lifestyle, where money is no object, just remember that we take our responsibility to give back very, very seriously.”
A shocked exhale escaped past my parted lips. “I had no idea.”
“And now you do.” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “Can I go settle up? I’m dying to find out if beginner’s luck is actually a real thing.”
Swallowing, I nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
Gripping my chin, he kissed me. “That’s my girl.”
Why was that always so effective at melting me into a puddle? It worked every damn time.
After releasing me, Enzo turned back to the man inside the cage. Once the transaction was completed, he received a printed voucher.
I frowned at the piece of paper. “I thought you said we were getting chips.”
“We will,” he assured me. “But even though we had the chips specially made for tonight, there are only so many colors that can be used. So, how it works is you’ll hand over your voucher at the table of your choice and receive your total allowance of chips. When you leave the table, you’ll exchange what you have for high-value chips in the amount you have remaining, which you can then carry to the following table and have broken into smaller denominations again.”
Impressed, I let out a hum. “Wow, you guys have really thought all of this through.”
He blew out a heavy breath. “We’ve never attempted something like this before, and there’s a lot riding on it, so we had to be meticulous with the details.”
No wonder he’d seemed so stressed earlier. This one night had to have been a ton of work, and from the sounds of it, it was his brainchild, so he felt responsible for its outcome to be a success.
“What would you like to try your hand at first, babe?”
Pursing my lips, I looked around the space. There appeared to be a side room full of poker tables, a game that relied on reading other people almost as much as it did on the cards you held. Then there was blackjack, where the hands were dealt quickly and you played against the dealer. Craps and baccarat were far too complicated for my brain to comprehend the rules this late at night. That left only one option that didn’t require much skill.
“How about this one?” I pointed at the least crowded of the roulette tables.
Enzo’s eyebrows rose. “That’swhat you want to try?”
“Mm-hmm.”
He huffed out a laugh, guiding me forward. “Okay, then.”
