Enzo laughs. “That was partly my plan.”
I shove his arm, but I can’t help laughing too.
“Okay, so what’s the most embarrassing Ava moment? I’d love to hear that,” Enzo says, smiling.
I cringe, waiting for my worst moments to be revealed.
“Where should we start, Evelyn?” my dad asks my mom.
“What about the time she tried to sneak in after her curfew and tried to get into the wrong house? That was pretty funny. For us, at least,” my mom says.
I pout. “That was not funny, mom! That was awful.”
“How on earth did that happen?’ Enzo asks.
“Yes, do tell,” Cassie presses, amused.
“Well, what we think happened is that when Ava climbed over the fence in the backyard, she didn’t notice that she was one house off. But the neighbor’s dog noticed and chased her across the yard. She was so scared that she climbed back up the fence and stayed on the ledge. Our neighbors heard the commotion and came out ready to call the police, until they saw it was Ava.”
Enzo tries to look concerned, but laughs. “Was the dog dangerous?”
“Not at all,” my dad replies. “He was just protecting his yard. I think Ava learned a good lesson that night. She never snuck out again.”
“How old was she when that happened?” Cassie asks.
“Fifteen, I think – right, Edward?”
“Yes, fifteen,” he agrees. “She was grounded for a whole month, mostly for scaring the neighbors.”
“Oh,” my mom starts, “when she was about six, she went through this phase where she wanted to dress like Wonder Woman every day. No matter what else she had on, her costume had to go on over the top of it. I finally found some Wonder Woman underwear and convinced her that wearing that was like having a secret identity.”
“I can just see you now with your little golden lasso,” Cassie tells me, cackling all the while.
I sit quietly, annoyed, but amused, in spite of myself.
“Then there was the time when you threw up in the middle of the school recital,” my mom recalls.
“Geez mom, really?” I say. “You came up with that?”
“I remember it because it was your first solo and you were so excited.” My mom pats Enzo’s knee. “Ava was a nervous wreck that night, and right before it was her turn to sing, she threw up on the poor kid in front of her. She gets a little queasy under stress.”
The smile leaves Enzo’s face just briefly, before returning. “Yes, we should guard against Ava having too much stress in her life.” He strokes my hand.
“I have one!” Cassie looks way too excited for my liking.
I pray she’s smart enough not to share one of my man escapades.
“New Year’s Eve,” she mouths to me.
I nod and laugh.
“Okay, so Ava and I had a New Year’s Eve party to go to for work, and we went shopping for dresses. You remember this, Chris?”
He laughs. “Heck, yeah, this is a good one.”
“Ava bought this gorgeous black velvet dress, which fit her perfectly. So, we’re at the party, right, and we’re having a good time. A bunch of people go to the second floor, where they’ve set up some food. Ava starts to walk up the stairs with me and Chris behind her. All of a sudden, spliiiittt!” Cassie spreads her arms wide. “Her dress splits all the way up the back! Chris took his suit jacket off and wrapped it around her before she even knew what happened.”
“That’s awful.” Enzo is laughing hard now.
“It gets worse. We took the dress back to the store and the little salesgirl accused Ava of being too fat for the dress. Ava went postal and the manager came out. Next thing we know, the poor salesgirl is apologizing and Ava has her refunded money in her hand. Priceless.”
“Okay, I admit that was very funny,” I say. “I couldn’t believe she called me fat.”
“Yeah, you don’t want to make Ava mad, Enzo. She’s pretty feisty,” Cassie tells him.
“I’m afraid I’ve already seen that side of her.” He kisses my cheek.
“That’s inevitable. Couples are going to fight. As long as you talk it through,” my dad says.
“We did talk it through,” Enzo replies, rubbing my hand.
“But your temper has cooled in recent years. The way you handled Steve proved that,” my dad adds.
Why did he have to bring up Steve?
“I agree, Mr. B. Five years ago, she would have torn the guy up and that woman he was with. Instead, you took the high ground,” Cassie adds.
“Can we talk about something else, please?” I ask.
“Amore, the past is the past, right? Besides, it’s so interesting for me, hearing about your life before me.”
“It has been much more interesting since I met you,” I whisper in his ear.
“Yeah, Ava, he should know everything about you,” Cassie continues.
“There’s not much to say,” I tell her. “He knows the story about Steve.”
“What else should I know?” Enzo asks. “If you had just five words to describe Ava, what would they be?”
My mom looks off into the distance. “Stubborn.”
My dad nods. “Smart.”
My mom adds another: “Beautiful.”
“Loving,” my dad says.
“Faithful,” Mom adds.
“I have one,” Cassie jumps in. “Brave.”
I smile and wink at her.
“Those are all lovely words. I have one too,” Enzo says, lifting my hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. “Precious.”
“Thank you, tesoro.” We stare at each other for a moment, ignoring everyone else in the room.
My mom breaks the silence, “The piano is a lovely gift, Enzo.”
“He got her more than that,” Cassie chimes in again.
“Oh? What?”
“A house in Italy!”
My mom’s mouth gapes open. “You bought her a house in Italy?”
“No, I bought the land to build her the house.”
“Doesn’t everyone get houses in Italy for Christmas?” Cassie teases, laughing.
I feel my cheeks turn red. I still feel uncomfortable sometimes when Enzo’s wealth is so obviously on display.
“Of course, we hope you’ll come out there with us as much as possible,” Enzo adds.
“We’d love to,” my mom replies.
“Amore, we should tell them about the investment property.”
“Oh yeah, Enzo bought a patio home for an investment. We thought we could set it up for you two, so you have a place to stay when you come out to visit. That way you can have your own space. It should be done in a couple of weeks.”
“That sounds great. What are you going to do with it when we’re not here?” my mom asks.
“Wait for you to come back. It’s a nice property, which should grow in value, and now is a good time to buy. Your daughter tells me you may retire in a few years, so it would be a nice place for you to stay and play with your grandchildren,” Enzo says.
My mom’s face lights up.
“We really appreciate how well you take care of our daughter, Enzo,” my dad says, smiling.
“It’s my pleasure. It is also very reciprocal as she takes amazing care of me, as well.” He reaches over and brushes his hand against my cheek. “I think we need a round of coffee. I’ll go make some. Everyone want a cup?”
We all nod.
My mom turns to me and asks, “Ava, dear, what did you give Enzo for Christmas? How do you top a house and a piano?”
“And bringing my parents to me,” I add. “He’s so over the top that I don’t try to keep up. I just gave him the one thing I knew he wanted more than anything else, and something he definitely doesn’t have yet.”
This is an awesome way to tell them.
“Well, I did wonder, what do you give a man like him?” she asks.
“A baby,” I say, softly.
“You’re pregnant?” My dad’s voice
rises several octaves.
“Not yet. I told him we can start trying.”
My mom breaks into tears while my dad embraces me. “Ava, that’s wonderful,” he says.
“Mom, don’t cry. Nothing’s happened yet.”
“I know, but it makes me so happy you’ve found someone to spend your life with. And now we get to have grandbabies.”
“Not yet,” I stress. “Soon though, I hope.”
“It’s awesome,” Cassie adds.
“I hope we can follow soon behind them,” Chris says, surprising everyone, most of all Cass.
Her cheeks burn red, but the sweetest smile sweeps across her face. “Me, too.”
I feel so happy. In a few hours’ time, Enzo’s family will fill the room, along with more friends. Excitement rises inside me at the thought of all the laughing, talking and eating that will happen later. I can’t imagine a more perfect day.
13 CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“I’m really excited. Our last trip to Vegas sucked,” Cassie says, squeezing my arm as we stand to exit the plane.
“Yeah, it did,” I agree. “But had it not been for that disaster of a trip, I wouldn’t have walked in on Steve, and all of this would not have happened.”
She nods. “True, but now we can start over and have an amazing trip.”
“I agree.” Looping my arm through Enzo’s, I ask him, “Ready for our next adventure?”
“Very much so,” he replies, smiling. “What a great week it has been.”
“It was incredible. It was so nice having my parents come out for those couple of days.”
“Christmas is for family, no?”
“The more the merrier.” I smile.
“And Vegas is for friends,” Cassie says, falling into a fit of giggles.
We walk through the terminal to reach the baggage claim. Once we’ve collected our bags, we head towards the doors and see a man holding a sign with ‘Milano’ written on it.
“We have a driver?” I ask. Every time I’ve been to Vegas in the past, I hustled a cab or got a shuttle to the hotel.
“We don’t have a driver, we have a ride to the hotel, that’s all,” Enzo replies.
“Ava, shut up,” Cassie says, laughing. “We get a limo. Some of us like this treatment.”
“My mistake,” I say.
“Driver, we’re heading to the Arabesque,” Enzo says.
Piling into the extra-long limousine, we make room for all ten of us. We traveled together, which made it far more fun, but it was very difficult to find a flight with enough first-class seats available. I tried to talk Enzo into flying coach, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Eventually, Mr. Early Bird found a flight at a ridiculous time, so we could all travel together. So, we arrived in Vegas at seven-thirty in the damn morning.
“Can we check in this early, tesoro?” I ask Enzo.
“Of course we can. The entire floor is ours while we’re here.”
“We all have our own rooms though?” Chris asks.
“Yes, I booked the penthouse floor. We have our own rooms and an amazing view of the strip. The party tomorrow night is in the hotel. I thought we could walk around the strip for a while before the party. Then at nine we can come back to our hotel. It should be a lot of fun.”
I start to feel the excitement of what’s to come. The best way to do Vegas is with unlimited funds and this is the first time in my life where that is a reality.
“Yes, Enzo, do we have plans tonight?” Checca asks.
“I made a reservation for us at the most exclusive restaurant on the strip, owned by celebrity chef Massimiliano Dolce. It normally takes months to get a reservation, but I consulted for him on his Boston flagship restaurant design. We’ve known each other a long time, so I cashed in a favor.”
Checca claps her hands while Cassie makes some sort of strange, guttural noise.
“Does that not please you, Cassandra?” Enzo asks, pretending to look hurt.
“Oh, it pleases me, Enzo. I just can’t believe how cool hanging out with you is.” She pats his back. “And for crying out loud, would you stop calling me Cassandra already?”
Enzo laughs. “Okay, since you asked so nicely.”
His comment makes her giggle. “I’ve been meaning to for a while.”
“It is okay, Cass,” I tell her. “It’s too early for you to be nice. Enzo should know better by now.”
“Yes, this is true,” he says.
I look over at Grayson, who is sitting next to Marisa. She is a charming woman with bright red hair and freckles everywhere. While her frame is small, she has a big presence. I guess you learn to be tough working in the security business. Marisa is pretty quiet and I hope we are not overwhelming her too much.
I glance out the window. Las Vegas is eerily quiet this early in the morning. Very few people are out and I imagine most of those are locals heading to work, besides a few diehard partygoers stumbling back to their hotels. The air is brisk, slightly cooler than in Phoenix. I’ve only been to Vegas in the dead of summer, so this is much more pleasant. I look forward to walking around without dripping in sweat.
After a quick ride, we pull up in the valet area of the Arabesque. It is the newest luxury hotel on the Strip, so I know part of this trip will involve research for Enzo on possible elements for Little Vegas back home. We step out and walk into a lobby with shiny, marble floors, decked out with glass. Everything sparkles. At every angle is a full-length mirror, which reflects the light bouncing around the room. It seems the perfect place for a narcissist.
I like the lobby, but there is no color here, just black, white, silver, and mirrors – beautiful but cold. We walk to the VIP check-in desk and are immediately greeted by a woman who looks straight out of Jersey with jet-black, teased hair. She is wearing a too-tight uniform and too much makeup. All boobs and legs, the woman is very sexy in a trashy sort of way. I look around and realize that all of the girls look very similar. Well, this is Vegas.
“Hello, sir. How may I help you?” Her voice matches her appearance.
“Check-in for Milano, please.”
“Oh, of course, Mr. Milano, one moment,” Jersey girl says, extremely professional.
She goes about her hefty task of printing ten room cards and whatever else she is doing back there. A man comes around the corner, smiling broadly at us.
“Mr. Milano, welcome to the Arabesque. I’m the general manager, Rick Monroe.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Enzo replies.
“While Janie is taking care of preparing your room, I have some information for you. Your suites have been stocked with various beverages and snacks, courtesy of the hotel. We’ve also extended a credit line for you and each of your guests in the casino. If there is anything else we can do, I ask that you call me or Janie directly.”
Enzo takes his card. “Thank you.”
I would be gushing like a crazy woman if I was getting this kind of treatment before I met my husband. But then, how would I possibly get this without him?
I glance over at my two girlfriends. Gabby looks nervous, like the day we spent too much money at Northlands, while so much energy is bubbling out of Cassie that she looks like she could fly. Marisa and Grayson stand back a bit, taking it all in. This is normal for Grayson, but I do wonder what his date is thinking.
I love that Checca is unfazed. Running her hands along the surface of the front desk, she is speaking quickly to Eduardo. If I know her, like I think I do, she is already making plans for the hotel back home.
Enzo turns and addresses the group, “Shall we go upstairs now? Our bags will be along shortly.” He hands each couple a room key as we head towards the elevators.
We step inside one and I gasp when I realize that the back wall is made of glass. It looks out over the strip. As the elevator rises, my stomach churns a little. I can’t believe how high up our rooms are, and I grasp my husband’s hand.
“Are you okay, amore?” he asks.
“Yes. I just don’t like heights
much.”
“But flying doesn’t bother you?”
“I don’t love it, but, honestly, just hanging by some cables over the Las Vegas Strip is not very comforting.”
“We are not hanging by cables,” Enzo corrects me. “This is state-of-the-art design. The elevators have a hydraulic system that prevents them from falling. Also, this glass is bulletproof. Nothing could break it. You are completely safe.”
Cassie jumps up and down, thoroughly pissing me off. “See, Ava, it didn’t even bounce.”
“Thank you for the demonstration. Now cut it out.”
In just a matter of minutes we reach the fiftieth floor of the hotel. We step out onto luxurious, pale-gold carpeting, into which my feet seem to sink as we walk. The hotel is circular, which is so cool, and the location allows for some amazing views, no matter what side your room is on.
“We can all meet up later, after we get settled in,” Enzo says as we walk towards our room. “Make sure you all keep your cell phones switched on.”
He opens the door and I practically run inside. First of all, the place is huge and posh, but I expected that. What I didn’t bank on is the breathtaking view. Our room looks out over two of my favorite Vegas hotels – Bellagio and Paris – but from up here, I can see all of the others too.
Big glass doors slide open onto a private balcony, offering sumptuous seating. I step out and look around. As long as I don’t look down, I feel good. My husband comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist.
“It’s beautiful up here, Enzo.”
“Yes, it is.” He moves my hair off my neck and kisses it.
“This is going to be a really fun time – the best ever.”
“Wherever you are is a really fun time,” he replies, nibbling my shoulders.
“Are you seducing me, Mr. Milano?”
He grins. “Is it working?”
“It always does.”
Enzo leans in and kisses me passionately, pulling me against his body. The hint of an erection presses against my leg. I reach down and rub it, and just as I start to unbutton his pants there is a knock at the door. He moves away just a bit. Smiling, and still holding me close, he says, “Our luggage?”
I watch as Enzo opens the door and lets the bellboy in with our bags. None of us brought very much, with the exception of Checca, but the hotel insisted they bring them up to our rooms. We are getting the full VIP treatment.
Turn Towards the Sun Book Two: After the Rain Page 23