Page 9 of Boundless Love
“Maybe Summer can get it out of her,” he suggested, and the hope in his voice made me feel sorry for him.All he wanted was to help her.“I already fucked up by offering start-up capital if she needs to start fresh… should the whole thing collapse on itself.”
“Oh fuck…” I groaned, rolling my eyes.Rowan and I weren’t exactly close, but I could smell a misfire a mile away.
“I know,” he muttered.“She didn’t take that very well.She tried to hide it, but I could see I’d fucked up.”
“I’ll ask Summer if everything seems okay with her after they get back from their lunch,” I suggested.Then, I had to laugh at myself.“Listen to us.Who have we become?”
“You know something?”He smirked.“I was asking myself the same question.”
After we finished our game, we headed to the clubhouse for lunch and drinks.There was a lot of good-natured banter as we compared our scores.“Now I know everybody had to be taking it easy on you since it’s your wedding weekend,” Clay told Dante, who boasted the lowest score.
“Either that or it helped that he was the one keeping score,” Sebastian joked.
“Nah, these hotel guys have nothing to do but sit back all day and watch as the money rolls in,” Vaughn insisted with a grin.“Try having time for golf when you’re running a casino.”
“Oh, fuck off.You came in second place.”Grayson showed him the list of compiled scores.Then we laughed when he lowered his head.
“Because money doesn’t just roll into a casino,” Dante pointed out.“You all are notoriously in need.Might as well beg for change on the street corner.”
“Maybe we should start a GoFundMe.”Sebastian was barely fighting back a laugh as he raised a glass of iced tea to his lips.
“Fine, point taken,” Vaughn grumbled.“I swear to Christ, you all could beat a dead horse until it’s nothing but pink mist.”
Clay was distracted by something on his phone, which he held out to Dante.“Sure, that works fine,” Dante agreed.
“Everything okay?”I asked.Dante and Mira were handling everything related to the wedding, and frankly, I didn’t envy them.There would be hundreds of guests in attendance and the standards were high.This would mark the Manning-Rinaldi group’s first major event in Nevada after earning accolades in California.
We had all worried Clay lost his mind when he married Mirabella as one of the conditions of her father selling his properties.I would be the first to admit I considered an intervention, but by the time he told us about the marriage, the wheels were already in motion.Not that he would’ve listened anyway.
Now, however, it was obvious the two of them were a perfect match, complementing each other and pushing each other to work harder—the way all successful couples did, including Summer and me.
“It looks like there was a little bit of a mix-up with the timing of the florist’s arrival,” Clay explained.“Not a big deal.It might mean shifting the photography schedule since the bridal party won’t have their bouquets until later in the morning than we expected.But we can work around it,” he insisted to Dante, who seemed unbothered.
Clay, on the other hand, was clearly thrown off.He caught me watching him when he looked up from the message he must’ve been sending to the florist or to Mira.Either way, I saw the strain in his eyes.The nod I intended to reassure him with didn’t seem to do the trick, but he lifted his chin anyway, nodding back.
“What I want to know is what’s the bridesmaid situation look like?”Grayson practically salivated, looking around the table.“Who should we keep an eye out for?’
“They’re a handful of friends she’s made over the past year or so,” Dante explained.“One of those post-divorce things.She ended up cutting ties with a lot of the people from that life, but she has a habit of making best friends wherever she goes.I swear, you would think she’s known some of these women her entire life.”There was a lot of affection in his voice, including admiration.
“I need to head back to the hotel,” Clay announced, more than a little strained.“It’s always something.See you guys at the rehearsal tomorrow.”
“Damn,” Travis murmured once Clay was on his way out of the clubhouse.“I’ve never seen him like this.”
“He wants everything to go well,” Dante reasoned.“There are a lot of moving parts.And Lenny’s first wedding was rather… inadequate.Like her marriage.We’re pulling out all the stops.”
I hoped Clay and Mira would be in one piece by the time it was over.
“So, really.”Vaughn grinned, leaning in.“Out of all the bridesmaids, who would you say is the easiest?”
5
TRAVIS
Penny had a habit of leaving whatever purse she used near the door.At home, in a hotel room, it didn’t matter.That was where it ended up.
After entering the suite, I kicked off my shoes and scanned the room for any sign that Penny had returned.Since the small table inside the door was bare, I guessed I had beat her back to the hotel.
As I moved farther in, I held the phone to my ear, listening to Sofia on the other end.
