Page 32 of 4 Weddings and a Feud

“Mama.” His tone was stern. “Umi and the rest of the staff here take excellent care of you. Better than I can do. You know that. We tried, and you didn’t like living with me. You were lonely. This is the best place for you.” He gathered her into his arms, letting her sob against his chest. To Umi, he murmured, “Did you give her the meds?”

The nurse nodded. “They should kick in any minute now.”

“Good.” He rubbed a circle on his mother’s back. “What’s all this about, Mama?”

“They won’t let me out,” she wailed. “Remember how I used to walk in the garden at night while I was waiting for your father to come home? There’s a park outside, and all I wanted to do was smell the moonflower and feel the cool air on my skin.”

Alex seemed to deflate. “You can’t do that at my place either, Mama. I can’t protect you outside the hotel.”

“They don’t want to hurt an old woman like me,” she argued. “It was eighteen years ago. Everyone’s forgotten. Besides, we paid them all back.”

What was she talking about? Mary stilled to catch every word.

“It wasn’t enough for some, Mama. You know that. And what would I do if something happened? What if you fell?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” she muttered, making Mary smile. The feisty woman was back.

Gently, Alex pulled back and looked his mother in the eye. “I’ll leave instructions that you can go outside tomorrow. There’s a small rooftop garden. Maybe the prickly pear will be in bloom. You’ll be safe in the daylight.”

Safe from what? Or whom? Mary didn’t ask.

Still, Mrs. Villa’s gaze caught on her. “Who’s that?”

As if he’d forgotten she was there, Alex looked back over his shoulder. “You remember Mary Forza, Mama.”

“Hi there, Mrs. Villa,” Mary said.

“Hm,” she sniffed. “I didn’t recognize her. She’s gotten so old.”

Mary couldn’t help it. She patted the shallow creases around her eyes. Did she really look old? She supposed after a full day of work and a night at the club, she might.

“Mama,” Alex chided her. “She’s gorgeous. Anyone can see that. And she’s the same age as me.”

Warmth filled her belly.Gorgeous.Was that how he saw her, even with dark circles under her eyes and her foundation sweated off?

“She should take better care of her skin,” Mrs. Villa said, like Mary wasn’t standing right there.

“I think it’s time you went to bed,” Alex said. He rose to his feet and held out his hands. His mother grasped them and pulled herself out of the chair.

“I’m not a child, you know,” she grumbled.

“I know. But you’re tired. You’ll feel better in the morning.” He tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and guided her to the bed like he’d have walked her into one of the Villas’ fancy parties Mary was never invited to twenty years ago. When he tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead, Mary’s heart melted. Who’d have thought Alex Villa, Las Vegas titan, could be so kind and gentle?

He murmured a few words to her, then a few words to Umi. Finally, he guided Mary out of his mother’s apartment, his expression growing darker as they neared the elevators.

When Alex waved his card at the security pad, she asked, “Is that to keep the residents in or other people out?”

“Both.” He didn’t meet her gaze. “Some residents have memory issues. Some, like my mother, have trouble controlling their impulses.”

When the elevator door slid open, he held it as Mary walked through. Alex again scanned his card, and the elevator doors closed.

“You said it was dangerous for her to go out at night,” she said. “What did you mean?”

His broad shoulders slumped as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “My father had enemies. Most he made himself. Others envied what he had.”

Mary had only the vaguest idea of what Alex’s father did. “He owned a casino. Like you.”

“Not like me,” Alex growled, his jaw like iron. “He dealt with the Family.”

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