Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“What is her name?” she demanded.
“Effie,” Aldo replied for me. “She’s a pretty little thing. Vi adores her.”
“Vi has met her and not me?” Her voice indicated her dismay.
“She has been helping me care for her. Effie is a private person, and I didn’t want to embarrass her.”
Nonna nodded. “Good boy. Now you bring her Sunday for lunch.”
I opened my mouth to say no, but she shook her head. “I do not care about bruises or prettiness. The heart matters.”
“She’s got a huge heart. Everyone loves her,” Aldo insisted. “She makes Roman act human.”
She nodded firmly. “Sunday.” She glanced at Aldo. “You too.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
I was going to kill him—and he knew it. Nonna stood to go get something in the kitchen.
“You are going to pay for that stunt.”
“Really?” he said, not at all worried.
“Your kneecaps are in danger of meeting my bullets.”
He picked up another pastry from the plate, humming. “Your nonna and her pastries. Those are dangerous. You, not so much.”
“How do you figure that? My gun is far more painful than a few pounds.”
He grinned. “You shoot me in the knees, you’ll be dealing with my wife. A very angry, very frustrated wife. She likes it when I go down on my knees for her. You shoot me, I won’t be able to. Then she is gunning for you. Probably your balls. My knees will recover. You can’t sew balls back on, so I suggest you keep your gun safely where it is.”
I cursed, taking a pastry. He was right. Vi was scary when she was pissed. And I liked my balls right where they were.
“Watch it,” I growled.
He laughed.
The bastard laughed.
“Oh, I am. And it is so fucking amusing to watch.”
I ignored his remark.
We were silent on the car ride back to the hotel. Part of me was fuming. Another part annoyed. And strangely, a small part didn’t mind the thought of taking Effie to meet Nonna. Maybe if she thought I was doing what she wanted and seeing someone seriously, she would leave me alone.
“I was wondering something,” Aldo mused.
“No doubt you’re going to share,” I muttered.
“Just thinking, Effie is feeling better? The danger of a concussion has passed?”
“Yes.”
“Why haven’t you moved her into Nonna V’s room? Or another suite?”
I had asked myself that a hundred times. The past few mornings, I had woken up draped in Effie, with a raging hard-on I had to take care of myself. Those moments were torture, yet I had slept perfectly content with her wrapped around me. The thought of her sleeping next door or, God forbid, on another floor, made me anxious.
“I’m being cautious.”
“Cautious. Right,” he drawled.
“Shut it, Aldo.”
He glanced out the window, humming again. It pissed me off, but I stayed silent.
We arrived at the hotel, and I glanced at my phone. “I need to check in with Alfred. He has a question.”
“You want me to handle it?” Aldo asked, his eyes still far too amused.
“No.”
He followed me through the busy floor, the machines and tables already full. Piped music filled the background as we left the louder part of the casino for the more private blackjack rooms.
I stopped, the tune once again familiar. It was the same one Aldo kept humming. The one annoying me to no end.
Except now, hearing it, I recognized it. “Feelings” by Morris Albert. A sentimental, sappy love song from the seventies.
“Good thing you’re not catching feelings,” Aldo had quipped.
The bastard had been making fun of me all this time.
I spun on my heel, glaring at him. He instantly knew why.
“If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…”
It wasn’t taking out his knees, but it felt good to punch him in the face. My fist wasn’t thrilled with it, but I would live with the pain.
“You talk to Alfred,” I snapped and walked away.
“So worth it,” he called with a laugh.
I shook my hand in the elevator.
Then for some reason, I began to laugh.
CHAPTER 10
ROMAN
Iopened the suite door, pleased to see the cases I had sent upstairs by my desk, waiting. I picked them up and headed to the bedroom. It was empty, but I knew Effie was there. A small bag was on the bed, and the shoes Vi had brought her were neatly by the door. Effie was very tidy with everything she did. I had noticed that.
The bathroom door was shut and I waited, but she didn’t come out. I listened at the door, hearing some odd sounds and became concerned. Was she ill? Crying? Without hesitation, I flung open the door and stepped in, freezing.
Effie was climbing out of the tub. The air was heavy with steam swirling around us. She stopped her movements, shocked into immobilization. I stared, transfixed. She was exquisitely formed. Her legs were shapely, her ankles and feet small. Wider hips set off the sweet curve of her waist. Her breasts were surprisingly large for someone so petite. Her nipples were rosy, a dark pink color, and the narrow thatch of curls between her legs matched the deep raven color of her hair, which was piled on the top of her head. Her mouth formed a shocked O. My cock hardened instantly, and in the flash of a moment, I decided the type I had sought my entire life was incorrect. Effie was my perfect type. She became irresistible as she blushed, the color suffusing her body, turning her skin pink and her nipples a darker hue. I was mesmerized.