Page 125 of Bellini Born
“Would you like me to help you try it on?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Maya appeared out of thin air behind me to make that offer. She handed us full flutes of champagne, staring at me expectantly.
“No, thanks,” I gave her a polite smile, and she retreated once more.
Unlike the other stores, the items inside this one featured price tags, and my eyes bugged out of my head when I saw the cost.
“Six hundred dollars for a piece of dental floss?!”
Gabi’s eyebrows rose, and just when I thought she was finally going to agree with me that these scraps of lace and silk were grossly overpriced, she chirped, “Ooh, it’s on sale!”
My palm smacked into my forehead.
I wasn’t sure I would ever feel comfortable with this kind of frivolous spending. Not when I was constantly thinking about how far I could have made that six hundred dollars stretch a few short months ago. Then there was the part of me that felt guilty about dropping more than most people made in an entire year in a single afternoon. It didn’t sit right with me.
Gabi must’ve seen that I was warring within my mind, and her tone softened. “Do you know how much the Bellini family funnels into charitable foundations every year?”
Hand lowering from my face, I blinked at her. “What?”
“Millions, Summer. They donate millions of dollars to worthy causes, both here in Chicago and around the world. Every. Year. Matteo has been particularly generous. When Serafina was in the NICU, he insisted on footing the hospital bill for every baby that shared that unit with his baby girl during those three months.”
Warmth filled my chest. Everything Gabi said reaffirmed that Matteo was the good man I knew him to be.
She gripped my shoulders. “I can only imagine how hard it is to accept being mega-rich after struggling for so long. But you’re allowed to enjoy spending it without guilt, knowing you’re also using it to make a positive impact in the world.”
Swallowing, I nodded. “You’re right. Just gonna take some getting used to, is all.”
“That’s fair. We did go a little extreme today, and I’ll take the blame for that. If you want to, we can walk out right now without spending a dime.”
“No, it’s fine.” I plucked the hanger holding the string monstrosity from her hands. “But this one is gonna be a hard pass.”
Her laughter filled the air, and she teased, “Was worth a try.”
We were halfway home after making a detour to drop Gabi off when my phone vibrated in my purse. Pulling out my cell, I checked the Caller ID and answered with a smile.
“Miss me already?”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” Gabi deadpanned. “Did I forget to grab the bag with my Sophie Callaway shoes? I was hoping to wear them out tonight.”
“Um, let me check. I’m gonna put you on speaker real quick.”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
As soon as I unlatched my seatbelt, Rico said from the driver’s seat, “Mrs. Bellini, I’m going to have to ask that you buckle back up.”
“In a second.” I jumped through the space between the captain’s chairs in the second row to reach the third row.
“Mrs. Bellini, I must insist.” His tone grew firm.
“I will. I promise. Right after I check—“ The car swerved, cutting off my words when I was flung across the seat, my ribs aching where I crashed into the opposite window.
“Buckle, now!” Rico shouted, and when I peeked up, I saw him trying in vain to steer the out-of-control car.
With shaky hands, I gripped the closest seatbelt and jammed the metal buckle into the latch. That’s when several pingscaught my attention, and I saw starbursts scattered across the windshield.
Were those . . . from bullets?
What’s going on?“ Gabi was still on speaker, the phone having fallen to the floor out of reach. “Summer?”
