Buy Me (The Complete Series)(39)

We still own the casino, but work from home a lot. Thankfully, we only have to go in one or two days a week for some basic housekeeping. Otherwise we are here with our family.

After Stella agreed to be ours, we got married about a minute later. She was, in fact, pregnant before the thirty days were up, and Justin and I were all too pleased about it. I knew she was our lucky charm from the first moment I laid eyes on her.

We put her dad Frank in a rehab program while we had Lucky under contract, and after he got out things were okay for a little while. She ended up giving the farm to Tim, the foreman, and gave him enough money so he never had to worry about lean years again. She said she had plenty of money, and being married to two rich casino owners had its perks. I laughed, but hey, I’d keep her any way I could.

I think once Frank realized she’d sold the farm, he got depressed thinking about how he’d lost everything, and went back to drinking again. It took Stella a long time to see it, but in the end she realized he was too selfish to do anything for anyone but himself. We see him on occasion, but mostly he stays out of the picture.

It may be cold, but I always thought if he was willing to put his daughter's life on the line for an addiction, he wasn’t worth having around anyway. I thought maybe when we had grandkids it would change his mind, but sadly that didn’t do it either. Justin reaches out to him a lot, so maybe one day he’ll come around. As I look at Lucky and our babies, I really hope he does. He’s missing out on a fucking great life.

Don is beyond ecstatic we finally gave him the grandkids he’s been begging for, and he’s on his way over to grill out with us today. He’s probably got presents for them too, even though we keep telling him to stop buying them stuff. He says, “What’s the use of all this money if I can’t waste it on my babies?” The old man really is turning into a big marshmallow in his old age.

Stella, Justin and I are living the perfect life surrounded by people we love. I couldn’t have written a better story if I tried. Well, maybe I would have left out that Natasha bullshit, but that’s life, right? There’s always a little something you’ve got to get through when it turns out this good.

I smile to myself, thinking about Mandy and the mess we got her in back then.

“What’s so funny?” Stella asks, swimming over to the edge where I’m sitting.

“Nothing, baby. Just thinking about Mandy.”

She rolls her eyes and then laughs. “You two are the worst.”

I ignore her statement, get in the pool with her and swim us over to Justin and the boys. I smile and kiss her while rubbing her belly and thinking about how I’d have done the same thing to keep her, and still would.

Love is crazy, and so are the two of us when it comes to Stella.





BUY ME 2



1

Mandy



“This is freaking delicious.” I lick the rim of my lemon drop martini again.

Tiffany lets out a snort and it somehow comes out sexy, just like everything she does. Hell, she’s one of the main attractions here at the Snake Eyes; her burlesque show sells out every night there's a show. “I'm pretty sure you said the first one tasted like ass.”

“Well, they must have gotten a new bartender, because this one tastes like sweet heaven.” I prove my point by gulping down the rest of the drink, enjoying the sour burn at the back of my throat.

“Hmm, it could be that. Or the fact that it’s your fourth one, but we can go with the bartender thing if you like.” Smiling at me over her own martini, she kills hers too. Tossing her perfectly manicured hand in the air, she signals for two more drinks. The young pretty-boy waiter with short blond curls hops to, hoping to get any of Tiffany’s attention that he can.

I glance down at my outfit. Maybe I’d get more male attention if I dressed the part. It wasn’t something I’d wanted before. A long time ago I caught the wrong man’s attention, but that had been years ago. Since the two men who kind of took me under their wing and raised me fell in love with the woman of their dreams, I found myself feeling envious. Seeing what they have makes me long for something more, only no one seems to notice me.

I’m still wearing what I wore to work today, having just met Tiffany down in one of the casino bars for a drink. I’m celebrating my final day here, and Tiff said we had to have one last hurrah. Looking over at Tiff, I see her watching me.

“I look out of place next to you.” I can feel myself scrunching my nose as I compare the two of us.

“No, you just need to loosen up.” Hopping down from her chair, she straightens her short dress before standing in front of me. The lights of the bar bounce off her blonde wavy hair. “May I?” she asks, but before I can agree, she does what she wants anyway.