Page 69 of 4 Weddings and a Feud

“Evening, gentlemen. Congratulations.” He handed the club soda to the father of the groom and the scotch to the father of the bride. “Are we enjoying ourselves so far?”

“It’s certainly…entertaining.” Ray nodded at Luca, the gladiator.

“Speaking of entertainment, what’s happening on that stage back there?” Omar asked.

“Ah-ah-ah,” Alex teased. “We’ve got a surprise lined up. No one will forget Rochelle and Rohaan’s wedding.” Cierra’s aerialist would be a pale shadow of tonight’s spectacle.

“For what I’m paying, I hope not.” Ray chuckled. He sipped his scotch. “You have something special here, Alex. A surprisingly pleasant balance of elegance and over-the-top panache. I think you could bring a fresh perspective to the heart of the Strip.”

His heart pounded. “Thank you. If I’m approved to purchase the Paradise, you won’t regret it. La Villa Prime will be even more spectacular.”

The lights dimmed. When he looked toward the stage and spotted Mary standing behind it, his heartbeat slowed, and warmth spread through his body. She was here. Everything would be all right.

“Gentlemen, would you like to come with me to get a better view of the entertainment?” he asked.

Omar eyed the crowd pressing closer to the stage. “I think I’ll enjoy it from back here.”

“So will I,” Ray said. “Where can I get another glass of this? Somehow, I don’t think it’s the scotch I paid for.”

“It’s my gift to you. Go see Elton.” Alex waved toward the bald bartender. “He’ll take care of you.”

With a nod, he made his way toward Mary. He’d just reached the roped-off safety zone around the stage when the entertainers emerged. Wearing slim-fitting leather trunks, Dante Campo and two other muscular men stepped onto the stage. They carried staffs and chains, and Dante set a pair of buckets at the front of the stage. The guests gasped and stepped back when fire erupted from each container with a whoosh.

One man lit the ends of his staff and twirled it, the flames leaping in a hypnotic circle. The crowd oohed, and Alex relaxed. This wedding was going to be magnificent. Unforgettable. Not only that, but he was helping the Campos. Donna Campo’s curse didn’t stand a chance. Everything he wanted was in his grasp.

Dante lit his prop, a small ball that dangled from a chain. He swung it slowly, then faster. When the third man lit another staff, the spectacle was complete. Heat billowed from the stage and prickled Alex’s skin. The whirling fire whooshed over the sound of the crowd’s gasps. The guests cheered when the three men synchronized their movements and three wheels of fire spun in parallel.

Alex glanced over at Mary to share a look of triumph. But she wasn’t there. Instead, Rochelle stood against the wall in her dazzling white gown, gazing at the performance, her lips open in awe.

This. This was perfect. Rochelle would never forget her wedding. No one would. Especially not her father. The Paradise was his.

But where had Mary gone? She should be here, at his side, so he could whisper to her about the great work they’d done together to pull off the wedding of the year in less than two months. So she could whisper back that his idea for the fire dancers was brilliant and not the potential disaster she’d called it when he’d first suggested it. Maybe she’d brush her fingers against his, acknowledging the less public side of their partnership and reassuring him that everything in both his professional and personal life was coming together in a way he’d never dreamed possible.

He glanced back at the stage, and that was when it happened.

Something flew off Dante’s chain into the audience. No, not into the audience. A flame ignited on the spaulder covering Luca’s right shoulder. He shrieked, a higher-pitched sound than Alex could’ve imagined coming from such a large body. He ripped off the blazing leather and flung it off, making his champagne glasses rattle ominously. The spaulder hit the wall, and less than a second later, fire licked up the red window curtain.

Half of the guests kept their gazes locked on the stage. They must not have seen the fiery projectile. The other half backed away from the flaming curtain.

Alex pushed toward the fire. “Luca, are you okay?” he asked the gladiator.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to?—”

“Help me put it out.” Alex grabbed two glasses of champagne from Luca’s chariot and tossed the wine at the curtain. Although the velvet had ignited quickly, he knew it had been treated with a fire retardant. No casino owner worth his gaming license would allow any flammable furnishings in his establishment.

But panic was almost as damaging as fire, and he couldn’t allow it to take hold. He and Luca splashed the flames with glass after puny glass of champagne. They managed to keep it from spreading further, but fire blazed through the velvet. So much for that fire retardant.

Foam exploded from his right and coated what remained of the conflagration. Mary was a Valkyrie with her legs spread, bracing against the extinguisher’s kick, her curls wild, an inferno glowing in her eyes.

He had never craved her more than in that moment.

She dropped the extinguisher, shook out her hand, and turned to the closest guests. “Are you all right?” she asked. That was Mary, always looking out for everyone.

“You good, Luca?” Alex asked.

The gladiator’s hand trembled as he picked up a glass of champagne and poured it down his throat. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I think so.”

Alex turned back to the guests. “Everything’s fine. Here, have more champagne.” He passed glasses from the rack to the guests. The smell of burning chemicals prickled in his nose.

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