Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“This is amazing,” he said, putting down the box in his arms and reaching for me instead. He pulled my back to his chest, and we both stood watching the goldfish swim around for a long moment. “Thank you,” he said, pressing a kiss to my neck. “My turn.”
“Your turn?” I asked, twisting in his arms.
“I may have asked Luca to pretend to send me out of town so I could work on something for you,” he admitted.
“Wait, what? I asked him to send you out of town so I could work on this.”
“So he played both of us,” Milo concluded with a little huff of a laugh.
“I guess he’s a romantic,” I said, sliding my arms around his back and leaning up for a slow, lingering kiss. “Okay. Enough of that. Where’s my present?”
Milo chuckled but went to retrieve his box.
I was excited as hell.
Milo was a phenomenal gift-giver.
And I never realized how much I liked getting presents until him.
The box, though, wasn’t super promising.
It was an old grocery store box, beaten up and dirty.
But I followed Milo over to the desk, where he set it down and pulled the tuck on the top.
“Go ahead,” he said.
I reached inward, feeling something velvet.
Then pulled out… my grandmother’s jewelry box.
“What?” I asked, gasping. “How?” I added, tears flooding my eyes. “I thought my grandpa’s daughter sent this to my mom when she cleaned out his house.”
“She did. I… persuaded your mom to give her effects to me. The car is fucking packed.”
“You paid her,” I concluded, my stomach dropping.
Because I knew my mom. If she knew there was a revenue stream, she would keep coming back to take buckets of it.
“Paid cash. And didn’t tell her my name,” he said.
Of course.
It wouldn’t be the first time Milo dealt with someone who looked at him and saw dollar signs.
I flipped open the jewelry box and was shocked to see it was all still there—every little piece I remembered my grandmother showing me.
“I can’t figure out why she didn’t sell all of this…”
“There were so many boxes. Your grandmother saved everything. I don’t think she got through them all. There are two more jewelry boxes in there. You also have some of her outfits, heels, headdresses, photo albums, and even some letters.”
“Letters?”
“Love letters. Your grandmother wasn’t exaggerating about all the rich and powerful men who fell in love with her. It’s no wonder, though. You look just like her.”
God, I landed the best man ever.
“I love you so much,” I said, dropping the ring I was holding into the box to fold myself into his arms.
“I love you more,” he said, wrapping me up tight and pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
That wasn’t possible.
But it felt good to hear.
Milo - 2.5 years
“Your ma is wasted as fuck and pulling the slot arm like her life depends on it,” Remo said, moving in beside me to hand me a coffee.
It was the day after our wedding.
Early.
Roe was still sleeping in.
“It’s not even ten in the morning,” I said, wondering if I should be worried about her or not.
“To be fair, she hasn’t been to bed yet.”
“No shit,” I said with a bark of a laugh.
“The bartender started watering down her drinks a few hours ago. She hasn’t noticed yet. When I talked to her, she said she was worried about the hangover, so she just… wasn’t gonna stop drinking. I like her,” he added with a devilish smirk.
“My sisters will get her up to bed once they notice she’s still celebrating. She win anything?”
“Ten grand.”
“How much has she spent?”
“Nine,” he said with a laugh.
“The place looks good,” I told him.
The casino was hopping, despite how early it was.
Remo had offered to shut the whole place down for our wedding weekend. We’d decided that half the fun of a casino wedding was the thrill of it actually being open. So while we reserved the ballroom for the ceremony and reception, we all filed in and out of the pit to have some fun between dancing, drinking, and eating.
The photographer had some great shots of Roe at a blackjack table in her wedding gown, her arms thrown in the air when she won.
“It’s been good. People are responding to the renovations.”
“And they let you up the prices of the rooms.”
“Exactly.”
I knew the money had been good. I’d been getting my monthly kick-up and watching it increase month by month.
The overhead and payroll on places like this were insane, and Remo had to kick up to Luca and me, pay Roe, and cut in his brothers. Even so, with the casino alone, he was doing well for himself. Add in the mob shit? He was creating something generational for himself.
Suddenly, all the work he did to get the place made a lot more sense.
“You two still heading out tomorrow?”