I nodded curtly. “Good.”
The elevator whisked us away before four new security guards I had hired followed us out to the town car. I opened the door for Bonnie and helped her inside, which gave me a moment to gather my bearings. I knew I’d kick up some dust with this. I knew my father wouldn't like this at all, especially since I had that lunch date with Mrs. Esposito the very next day.
But I knew where I stood with Bonnie, and I knew what we were trying to do.
And no one would take that away from me.
I slipped into the car, and one of my security officers closed the door. Then, the driver took off towards the party destination. I already knew what the place would look like, but I was anxious to see what Bonnie thought of it. If I knew her as well as I thought I did, her reaction would be a refreshing one.
“You okay?” she asked.
Not really. “I’m fine, yes.”
“In my world, ‘fine’ isn’t good.”
I peered down at her. “Well, in my world, ‘fine’ is just fine.”
She smiled. “Good to know, then.”
I took her hand. “Good to know, indeed.”
The way our fingers intertwined made me feel rooted. Feeling her small hand swallowed up by my palm, made me feel powerful. Manly. As if I could conquer the world that laid itself out for me. I scooted closer to her as we got closer to the venue. We slid into the long line of black, gaudy limousines owned by people who wanted to flaunt their wealth rather than actually doing something with it.
As we pulled up to the front of the hotel my brother and I rented for this party, I looked over at Bonnie. “Ready?”
She peeked out the window. “I take it there’s a ballroom inside or something?”
I nodded. “There is. We’ll also get a key as we pass by the front desk.”
“A key? To what?”
“A hotel room, of course.”
She furrowed her brow. “We have a hotel room for the night?”
I opened the door. “For the weekend. Everyone gets one. We booked out the entire hotel for the weekend.”
She frowned up at me. “Wait, you did what?”
I helped her out of the car and slid her sash back her shoulders. I offered my arm to her as she gawked up at the facade of the building, gazing up at all of the darkened rooms.
“Every single one of those is for the party tonight?”
It was rather impressive, wasn’t it? “They are, yes.”
She shook her head. “If it were me? I’d have been just fine with a cookout beside a pool.”
Bingo. “Well, my parents are a bit more uppity than that.”
She giggled. “You did not just call them that.”
I grinned. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
She smiled up at me, and it filled me with strength. I led her through the opened double doors of the hotel, and we were automatically given a key. The penthouse key, of course. My father never did like a penthouse suite. He much preferred smaller hotel suites. “Less to secure,” he’d always said. That meant Bonnie and I could spend a weekend in a luxurious penthouse with meals brought right to our door and a bed we didn’t have to make ourselves.
It wasn’t much of a change from how we lived now, but sometimes a change of scenery could breathe life back into something.
Or someone.
“My God, Israel?” Uncle Rickie’s voice called. “Is that you?”
I turned to see his smiling face.
“It is you! Holy shit, you’ve grown. How’s the family business treating you?” He clapped me on the back.
I returned the pat. “It’s going well, thank you for asking.”
He turned his attention to Bonnie. “And who is this lovely woman you have on your arm?”
“This is Bonnie Moretti. My date for the evening.”
My uncle blinked, concern blanketing his gaze. “Moretti?”
Here we go. “Yes.”
He nodded slowly. “Ah.”
Bonnie tapped me on the arm. “I think I’m going to get a drink. Are you thirsty?”
I kept smiling at my uncle. “No, beautiful. I’m all right. Let me at least escort you into the ballroom like a gentleman.”
I brushed past my uncle, and we headed straight for the ballroom. We weren’t even announced by the man standing at the door because he looked too shell-shocked at the sight of Bonnie. I removed her arm from mine and wrapped my tight grip around her waist. I kept her close while people stared. I kissed the top of her head just to give them something to gawk at.
“Israel?”
“Yes?”
“Could you have at least warned me before throwing me into this plan of yours?”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. “What plan?”
She looked up at me through her eyelashes. “I’m not an idiot. You brought me here to make a statement. You could’ve at least told me that before we got here.” She had a smile on her face, but there was frustration in her murmured voice.
I brushed it off. I wouldn’t fight with her that night, not in front of everyone. If she still had grievances once we got up to the room, we could hash things out there. Right now, though? We had to keep up a facade of happiness. So, I plastered on my best smile and turned to the person beside me.
“Hello, Mrs. Gabriel. How is your daughter doing? Have you met Miss Moretti yet?”
Her hazel eyes lit up with interest. “Israel, it’s wonderful to see you. And I don’t believe I’ve met Miss Moretti yet, no.”
“Well, this is the infamous Bonnie Moretti. Isn’t she a beauty? I’m a lucky man; I can tell you that.”
I wanted to accomplish two things that night. One, I wanted everyone to know that Bonnie was at my side so long as I kept her there. And two, I wanted everyone to know that I knew they knew. Half of my business was brute force, but the other half was psychological warfare. I knew my family’s lips were much too loose to keep under wraps the
