“You sure you want lunch from a fast food place on our anniversary?”
I grabbed his hand and led him towards Park Avenue so we could circle around New York-New York to head down Tropicana. “Yeah, but it isn’t just any fast food place. It’s In-N-Out.”
“I’ve never been to one.”
“Well, then consider this part of your anniversary gift because In-N-Out is an experience everyone has to try at least once in their life.” My gaze dropped to his abs. “I just hope you don’t get addicted on your first visit or else you’re going to have to do a heck of a lot more skating sessions with Greg to work off all the double-doubles. Although, I think you can order it off-menu with lettuce instead of the bun. They have this not-so-secret menu that all the locals order from. Except for me today since I promised to skip the grilled onions on my usual animal style.”
“Get the onions,” he chuckled. “I’d hate for you to miss out when you sound so disappointed. I’ll just get them on mine, too.”
“Yay!” I did a little hop in celebration, and almost tripped over my feet when my cell rang. It’d been mostly silent over the past week. Ariana hadn’t texted much, but we met up for dinner with her at the hotel a couple of times. I didn’t have an employer who needed me for anything. I’d cancelled my classes before I met Alec. I’d been too busy trying to keep our heads above water for my friendships from high school to survive graduation. And my mom was avoiding me.
Or at least she had been since it was her number on the screen when I pulled my phone out of my purse.
Chapter Twelve
Alec
One second Alessia was grinning and dancing in excitement while we walked to In-N-Out, and the next she looked like her world was about to fall apart. I led her off the sidewalk and under a tree where we were out of the way from everything. It took everything I had in me to stop myself from yanking the phone out of her hand when she took a deep breath before answering it.
“Mom?”
Shit. No wonder she was freaked out.
“I can’t do that, Mom. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t have any of your stuff. Didn’t you get my messages? Or the ones Ariana left? The landlord had us evicted from the apartment. We only packed up our own things. Not yours.”
My fists clenched as she teared up while listening to whatever it was her mom had to say.
“You’re going to have to call him yourself if you want to know if there’s anything left that he didn’t sell. You had until Wednesday to grab what you wanted to keep. At this point, I think the only way you’re getting anything back is if you can pay what you owe.”
She leaned against me, dropping her gaze to the ground while her mom spoke. I was just starting to think things were going to be okay between them when her head jerked up and she looked at me with startled eyes.
“How much?” She shook her head. “No way, Mom. I was fired on Friday. I can’t come up with that kind of money when I don’t have a job anymore.”
That was enough. I’d had it with listening in while Alessia’s mom tore her apart. I’d promised Ariana that I’d protect my wife’s soft heart, even from their mom. It was time for me to step in.
I gently pried the phone from Alessia’s fingers and pressed it to my ear. “Mrs. Valenti? This is Alec Rourke. I think I can help with your situation, but you’re going to have to meet Alessia and I at the In-N-Out near the Strip just off Tropicana to talk to me about it in person. We’ll be there in about ten minutes, and you’ll have up to thirty minutes after that to get there or else we’ll be gone and so will the offer of help.”
“Alec, no!” Alessia cried, yanking on my arm in an attempt to grab the phone out of my hand. I waited for her mom to agree to what I’d proposed before I let her succeed. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“I had to, beautiful.”
“You don’t even know how much she owes!”
I laced our fingers together and led her back to the sidewalk so we could continue on our trek to In-N-Out. Once we were on our way again, I explained, “I wasn’t kidding when I told you I’d figure out a way to clean up the mess your mom got herself in. If it takes a little money to do that, then so be it.”
“It’s not a small amount, Alec. She lost thousands of dollars she doesn’t have.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Your mom’s situation is one of things holding you here. It’d be well worth the expense to free you of that burden.”
“I can’t let you do it.” She shook her head swiftly. “Absolutely not.”
Most other women I’d met would have gladly taken me up on my offer without thinking twice. The fact that Alessia didn’t just made me like and respect her even more, especially since she was my wife. She hadn’t realized it yet, but my money was already hers. Either that, or she refused to think of it like that. Luckily, I had another alternative to offer. “I got an email from the lawyers this morning. I wanted to wait to tell you until they had it in hand, but they got a call from the accounting department at where you used to work and they expect to have a check in hand from them by Monday. So how about I float your mom the money today, and then you can square it with me later when you have your severance package.”
I didn’t mention that if she insisted on paying me back, I was just going to figure out a way to spend that money on her. That would only serve to piss her off when she was already upset.
“Oh! I didn’t even think of the money I have coming to me. Do you think it’ll be enough?”
“The threat of a lawsuit scared the shit out of them. Their check will more than cover whatever your mom owes.” Alison’s lawyers had gone above and beyond the call of duty and managed to get an entire year of pay out from the company. The amount was still smaller than it should be, considering the shit her boss had pulled, but Alessia didn’t need to worry about money with me around so it wasn’t that important. This way, she could put the whole matter behind her and move on. With me. In Chicago.
“We probably shouldn’t tell Ariana. She’d kill me if she found out I gave my mom five thousand dollars. How she managed to take all of the rent money I’d given her for three months and still wind up in the hole by that much is beyond me.”
We walked for a while in silence, as I thought about what Alessia had just said. The restaurant was within sight when I suggested, “Maybe giving her the money isn’t the best idea. She could just gamble it away, too.”
“Crap. Good point,” she grumbled. “But I feel like I need to do something because I’ve got the money. I hate to leave her in a bad situation when there’s something I can do about it.”
“Then we’ll put strings on the offer. She doesn’t get the cash. Instead, we pay her bookie for her.”
“Meet with a bookie? I don’t think I could do that,” she whispered as we walked into the restaurant.
I gestured for her to tell the girl behind the counter what she wanted, and poked her in the side when she giggled because I ordered mine as a lettuce wrap instead of on a bun. When we had our food and were settled at a booth in the corner, I resumed our conversation. “By ‘we,’ I really meant me.”
Her brow wrinkled while she chewed on a fry. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You said you couldn’t go to pay off the bookie,” I reminded her. “But that’s not going to be an issue because I’m not taking you with me.”
She leaned over the table to glare at me. “You can’t go by yourself! What if something goes wrong?”
“It’d be a fuck of a lot worse if you were with me and things went sideways because the only thing that would matter to me would be getting you out of there.”
“Alec,” she sighed, slumping back in her seat. “I can’t argue when you say sweet stuff like that. What am I going to do with you?”
“You’re going to wait at the hotel for me while you let me handle your mom’s bookie. That’s what you’re going to do.”
“If she shows up,” she muttered before taking a b
ig bite of her burger.
The moan she made while she was chewing reminded me of how she sounded when I was inside her, and my cock flexed in response. Considering we were in the middle of a fast food place waiting for her mom—who I’d never met—to join us so we could talk about paying off her bookie, it was an inopportune time for a hard on. So I tuned out her sexy little sounds and focused on finishing my meal. It was damn good, even without the bun, and I was glad she’d suggested I give the place a try.
When she finished, she dumped her trash onto the tray between us and patted her belly. “At least if my mom doesn’t show up, the trip won’t have been wasted because I got my double-double fix.”
“She’ll be here.”
“Part of me hopes so”—she placed her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her palm—“but there’s another side that almost wishes she decides not to come because it might just be the start to an endless cycle of her asking us for money every time she needs to be bailed out of trouble.”
“Let’s add another string to the deal,” I suggested. “She has to agree to enter a rehab facility to help with her gambling addiction. That way, we’re not just enabling her to do the same thing all over again. It’ll only be harder for you when we move to Chicago because you won’t just be worried about her, you’ll feel guilty about being so far away.”
“It’ll only work if she really gives it a chance,” she whispered.
“That will be up to her, Alessia. But at least you’ll know you did everything you could for her.”
“You’re right,” she agreed, her eyes going wide when she looked over my shoulder.
I turned my head and spotted a woman walking towards us. Her hair was blond, but streaked with gray, and she had green eyes. Odds were good she was younger than my mom, but she looked at least a decade older. I quickly slid out of my side of the booth and scooted in next to Alessia, before her mom could take that spot. I knew it was the right decision when I laced my fingers through hers and she squeezed tight.
“Mom.”
“Alessia,” her mom returned her one-word greeting before shifting her focus to me. “And who exactly are you, Alec Rourke?”
“Your son-in-law, Mrs. Valenti.”
She gasped at my response, sending an accusing glare at Alessia. “You got married and didn’t tell me?”
“You didn’t exactly give me a chance to share the news with you, Mom. You were ignoring my calls, remember? You only bothered to call me back because you needed money.”
“Still,” her mom muttered.
“Treat Alessia with respect, or we’re out of here,” I warned.
“Fine,” she huffed, switching her attention back to me. “Since we’re not bothering with the pleasantries, I guess I’ll cut to the chase. I owe my bookie five thousand dollars. You said you could help.”
“I can.”
“He only takes cash.” Her gaze darted down to where Alessia and my hands rested on top of her purse. “Did you stop at the bank already? Or should we go there now?”
“That’s not how this is going to work,” I informed her. “You’re going to give me the name and contact information for your bookie. I’m going to set up a meeting with him to pay off your debt.”
“I don’t think—”
“It’s nonnegotiable.”
“But—”
“You’ve got five minutes to decide.”
It didn’t even take her one. “I’ll text the information to Alessia’s phone.”
“Go ahead and do that while we wait.”
We watched as she pulled out her phone and sent the message. Alessia checked her cell when the notification came through and nodded at me after reading the text.
“Now that we’ve got that part over with, we need to discuss you entering a rehab program for your gambling addiction.”
“I’m not addicted! I can quit any time I want,” she denied.
“Mrs. Valenti, you’re lying to yourself if you think that’s true.”
Alessia squeezed my hand tighter. “You stole rent money from me—your own daughter—and didn’t even let Ariana and me know that we were going to be evicted. Either you’re addicted to gambling and the disease has you spiraling out of control, or you’re just a horrible mother. And I refuse to believe it’s the latter because you were a good mom to us before Dad left. So please, for Ariana and me if not yourself, get the help you need.”
“I don’t know if I’d be able to find a place that would take me, and the decent ones are expensive,” her mom tried to rationalize her way out of it.
“We’ll take care of the details,” I offered. “All you’ll have to do is show up and put in the work to beat your addiction.”
Her green eyes, so similar to Alessia’s but without the bright light of her daughter’s, filled with grief. “You really got married, and I didn’t know about it?”
Alessia nodded jerkily. “On Friday. It’s our one-week anniversary today.”
“And your sister? Is she okay? Did she find somewhere to live?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. Pissed at you, but doing good,” Alessia answered.
Her mom’s head jerked back like she’d been physically struck, and her eyes filled with tears. She stared down at the table for a couple of minutes before taking a deep breath and meeting Alessia’s gaze again. “Will you let her know I’m going into rehab? If she’s mad at me, it’s probably best that I wait to reach out to her. Once I’m in a better place, and she’s ready to forgive me.”
“Yes, I’ll do that,” Alessia promised. “And I’ll call you with the information on the rehab center as soon as I have it.”
“Okay.” She slid out of the booth and looked down at us. “I guess I’d better get going. Take care of a few things so I’ll be ready for that call. Thank you.”
Alessia’s hold on me tightened further. “You’re welcome, Mom.”
She waited until her mom was gone before she buried her face in my shoulder to cry. “Oh my gosh. I can’t believe she said yes.”
“I’m glad she did, beautiful.”
Leaning her head back, she stared up at me with wet eyes. “You know how you said me agreeing to think about moving to Chicago with you was the best anniversary present I could give you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you out-did me,” she whispered. “But I’m done thinking. My decision is made. I’ll move to Chicago with you.”
“I think that makes it a tie for which one of us gave the other the best anniversary gift, especially since you’ll be giving up In-N-Out. But once you get a taste of the Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs at Portillo’s, I don’t think you’ll miss it too much.”
She shook her head. “Sorry, but you’re wrong on both counts. Nothing will ever take the place of my beloved In-N-Out double-double.”
I smirked, positive that our first trip to Portillo’s would prove her wrong.
“And we’re going to have to agree to disagree about the gift-giving thing because nothing is better than getting my mom to agree to enter a rehab program.”
“I can live with that.” What I couldn’t live without was her.
“Then let’s get out of here, stop at a bank to grab wads of cash to pay off a bookie, and find a rehab facility for my mom. It’ll make for one heck of a busy anniversary, that’s for sure,” she joked, poking me in the side until I slid out of the booth.
“It’ll set the bar for the rest of them.” And I fully intended for there to be many more anniversaries to come.
Chapter Thirteen
Alessia
“I can’t believe I let him go by himself to a freaking bookie to pay off our mom’s debt.”
I paced back and forth in Alec’s hotel room, my arms wrapped around my body.
“Sit down and have a drink,” Ariana suggested, picking up the bottle of wine she’d brought with her when she’d stopped by to wait with me.
I glared at her and shook my head before pivoting on one foot an
d stomping in the other direction.
“C’mon, Alessia. It’s not like your white knight was going to let you go with him. He’s way too protective of you to let you put yourself in any danger.”
“Danger!” I parroted, turning around to stalk back towards her. “Exactly! He’s not out there buying us Girl Scout cookies for heaven’s sake. He should have at least taken someone with him. If only his brother or friends were still here, he wouldn’t be out there handling this alone. I told him to ask his hockey friend, Greg, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Said he didn’t know the guy well enough to pull him into a situation like this and he was better off on his own.”
“You do realize you’re ranting, right?”
“Of course I’m ranting! What if he gets hurt? Or caught up in an illegal gambling sting? Or the paparazzi snaps his picture and accuses him of having a gambling addiction, which I’m sure would not be a good thing to happen to a professional athlete? Or—” I paused while I tried to come up with another worst-case scenario.
“Have you run out of bad things that could happen to Alec?”
“No!” I stomped my foot.
My sister lifted one eyebrow and gave me her best unimpressed look.
“Maybe,” I sighed, dropping down onto the chair next to her and stealing her glass of wine right out of her hand. I chugged it down and handed it back to her.
“Have you figured out why you’re so worried about him yet?”
“There isn’t much to figure out.” I shrugged and sank farther into my seat, kicking my legs up and stretching them out until my feet were on the chair across from me. “If anything happens to him, it’ll be my fault because he’s only there because of me.”
“I get why you’d feel guilty, but that’s not what I asked you.”
“I’m confused. What was the question again?”
She bumped her shoulder against mine. “You’ve only known Alec for a week, but you’re acting like it would be the end of your world if something happens to him tonight. Why?”
“Because—” The answer that popped into my head was too crazy to say out loud.
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