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I catch Gina’s eye for a second and use that time to flash her a smile.
She glares at me before she turns and walks away, leaving me to stare at her perfect ass as she does.
“You like her, don’t you?”
I glance briefly at Bella’s face to find hope in her eyes. Not sure how to answer that question, I change the subject. “Are you interested in joining me at a poker table?”
“I’m interested in whether you like my sisterthatway.” She stresses the last two words and adds a perk of her eyebrows for good measure, so there’s no mistaking the hidden meaning in that question.
“That way?” I repeat, using the same tone as she did.
She tilts her head. “Gina carries a cloak of indifference around with her because she’s been burned a thousand times, but inside is this sweet, wounded heart. She needs someone like you to show her not all men are rotten to the core.”
I’m struck by her words, but not because her sister needs me to show her a thing. Gina is fearless. In my eyes, that cloak is her strength. If she’s holding her heart tight, it’s because she’s wise enough to know it’s not worthy of the losers who have undervalued her.
“Your sister is a remarkable woman,” I tell Bella.
She reaches up to tug on the lapels of my suit jacket. “You’re a remarkable man, and together you’d made seriously beautiful babies.”
Laughing, I grab her hands to cup them in mine. “Speaking of beautiful babies. Do you have any new pictures of Luisa to show me?”
My request accomplishes exactly what I intended it would. It sends Bella on a new mission, and it’s one that doesn’t involve setting her sister and me up. While she digs in her purse for her phone, I look back to where Gina was, only to find her disappearing around a corner with a dark-haired guy by her side.
CHAPTERNINE
Daniel
I don’t knowhow the hell I just lost almost two grand to Bella Adler, but while it was happening, she had a sweet smile on her face.
When we sat at a poker table in the casino, she handed me her phone so I could leisurely scroll through the hundreds of pictures of her daughter. I admit I stalled around the twentieth because that photo was taken outside Calvetti’s on a sunny day. I know that brick exterior anywhere, and the woman holding little Luisa in her arms took my breath away.
With barely any makeup on, Gina was smiling at her niece.
I was tempted to send myself the picture so I could stare at it for the rest of my life, but I didn’t because Bella would have jumped all over that with a discussion about our pending wedding and future children.
Bella’s love for Gina is solid and unwavering. She wants only the best for her older sister, so I consider it a huge compliment that she believes I’m the man for her. I admit that I’m attracted to her. It’s more than attraction. I’ve thought about Gina in every compromising position imaginable, but I doubt like hell she’s ever thought about me that way.
I know for a fact I’m not on her mind right now because she’s sitting in a booth in the VIP area of Veil West with some goof who is staring at her cleavage like he’s never seen a pair of tits before.
At least when I was checking out Gina during this trip, I was somewhat subtle about it.
“Gina!” I call out to her with a slim sliver of hope that she’ll ditch the guy in the black silk shirt for me.
The loud music bouncing off the walls drowns me out.
I try again, “Gina! Over here!”
I get nothing from her. There’s not even a glance in my direction. Hell, I’d take a middle finger salute at this point, but all I get is ignored.
“I don’t think she can hear you, Daniel.”
The sound of a woman’s voice behind me turns me around.
I come face-to-face with one of Everest’s granddaughters. It’s not the woman I gave the extra drink to at the pool. This one is younger, blonder, and looks a little glassy-eyed.
I was introduced to her earlier, but since my focus was on Everest, I can’t match the face with the name at the moment. I take a stab in the dark since I know all three granddaughters have names that start withE.
“Hey, Edith!” I smile, hoping that will soften the blow if I fucked up her name.
