All In (Casino Nights #2) (12 page)

“Francesca, is that you?” A woman’s voice broke into her thoughts.

She glanced at the waving woman in a white fishnet tunic that barely covered the red bikini she wore. “Hi, Lacey. Yes, it’s me.”

The bride made her way to Francesca’s table. “I didn’t know you were here.” She pulled out a chair and joined her.

Francesca gave her a quick smile. “I flew in early. Remy’s mother lives down here, and I’m supposed to meet her.” Her voice sounded a little strained, pitched higher than usual.

“For the first time?” Lacey reached over and gave Francesca’s hand a squeeze.

“Yes. So, I was just sitting out here trying to prepare.” She knew that Lacey was a little spoiled, but she liked the woman.

“Are you nervous?” the petite woman asked, not letting go of her hand.

Francesca blew away a wisp of hair from her face. “Very.” It felt good to admit that.

“When I met Bruce’s parents, I spilled my wine all over my brand new six-hundred-dollar boots. I could have died right there,” Lacey shared with a small giggle.

Francesca laughed. “I hope I don’t do that.”

The younger woman’s gaze narrowed as she studied Francesca’s face. “So you and Remy are getting pretty serious, huh?”

She felt her cheeks heat, and she thought about giving Lacey a vague answer, but something stopped her. Lacey and Bruce would be in her life because they were Remy’s friends. “I think so.” She touched her warm cheeks. “Yes, I think we are.”

Lacey let out a whoop, and then threw herself back into her chair. “I’m so excited. I know—I’m going to toss my bouquet to you. So you’ll be next.” The petite woman beamed.

“No, you don’t have to do that. Throw it at one of your girls.” Francesca made it a practice to be out of the ballroom during the garter and bouquet toss portion of the reception.

“Oh, Francesca, you’re so silly. You are one of my girls.” Lacey pushed her chair back and rounded the table to wrap Francesca in a hug.

Francesca couldn’t help but laugh. The woman was like an overly affectionate puppy. She returned the hug, and it felt surprisingly good.

Lacey loosened her grip. “What time is it?”

Francesca tapped her phone sitting on the table. “One thirty-four.”

“Ooops, I gotta go. I’m meeting my honey to go paddle boarding.” She grabbed her bag and waved goodbye.

As she watched Lacey hurry away, Francesca smiled to herself. She’d learned during the girls’ weekend at The Red Rose that Lacey’s group ran on extreme emotions. They wore her out, but they were entertaining.

Footsteps approached, and she glanced to her right to see a tall woman with short blonde hair approach with Remy at her side. Francesca stood to greet them.

Remy pulled her into a hug and gave her a brief kiss on the lips, and then he kept his arm around her waist. “Mom, this is Francesca.”

Francesca blushed at the pride in his voice.

Lu Cooper looked her up and down, and then gave her a dazzling smile. She opened her arms, and without a thought, Francesca walked into them.

Lu hugged her tightly, adding a little side to side sway. “I’m so glad to finally meet you.” Lu’s voice was surprisingly deep. “Remy’s told me a lot about you, but I must say, he didn’t lie—you are gorgeous.”

“Remy’s talked a lot about you, too, Mrs. Cooper. I’m happy to meet you.” Francesca felt some of the nervousness leave her body.

“Lu. I want you to call me Lu.” She dropped her arms but kept smiling.

Remy grinned. “Mom practically jogged through the lobby to meet you.” He looked relaxed in his navy blue polo shirt and khaki cargo shorts. His hair was longer, and she liked the change. The length made him seem less severe.

Francesca waved toward her table. “Would you like to sit out here? I didn’t know if you’d be hungry, but I thought this was a good place. We can eat, drink, and enjoy the view.” Oh God, she was rambling. She looked to Remy for help.

He moved to pull out a chair for his mom, and then held out Francesca’s for her to take her seat. Then he pulled his chair closer to Francesca’s. He took her hand. “Was that Lacey I saw running off?”

“She’s meeting Bruce to go paddle boarding.” Francesca noticed that when Lu had glanced at their entwined hands her smile grew bigger.

“I bet she was happy to see you. You know she adores you.” Remy bumped her shoulder. “After you saved her friends from having to spend the night in jail.”

She laughed. “I think Lacey adores anybody who isn’t mean to her. She’s a very happy girl, uhm, I mean, woman.” She really had to stop thinking of Lacey as a girl.

Lu glanced at the huge hotel. “I hope she keeps that perspective as the big day approaches. Remy tells me the wedding’s going to be quite a production.

“Between her mother, her girlfriends, and the event coordinator, I think she’ll be in good hands.” Francesca had heard a little about the plans from the bride herself.

Remy grimaced. “Well, God help us all if something doesn’t suit. Bruce’s mom said she can pitch quite a bitch if she isn’t happy.”

“Remington, don’t talk about your friend’s fiancée that way,” Lu chided. “I’m sure she is a delightful woman, but all brides can be particular and emotional.”

Francesca shuddered. “In my experience, the rehearsal can be filled with many opportunities for drama and tears. Enjoy that. I’ll be sitting on my balcony with a cool drink and a book.”

“Smart woman. I approve of your plan. Stay as far away as you can, Francesca,” Lu said in a teasing tone.

Remy tsked. “Sorry to have to break this to you, baby, but you have to be there, too. You’re my date to the rehearsal dinner.”

“You can text me when you’re done rehearsing. I can meet you there.” She gave him a serene look. “See? Easy peasy.” She turned her head and gave Lu a wink to show that she was still teasing.

“No. I want you there with me.” He shot her a stern look.

She liked it when he got all alpha bossy. She rolled her eyes in Lu’s direction. “We’ll see.”

Lu chuckled. “Francesca, you make me laugh.” She leaned toward Francesca. “So Remy tells me that your family owns a hotel in Las Vegas. That sounds so exciting, but I imagine that it’s a lot of work. I want to hear more about what you do.”

***

As Remy waited for the elevator to arrive, he knew he had a smile on his face. The visit with his mom had gone really well. She adored Francesca, as he’d known she would. He had just left her room after having dinner with her. Francesca had insisted that the two of them dine alone on his mother’s last evening at the hotel.

The elevator doors opened, and he hit the “L” button. He was planning on packing up Francesca’s things tonight and moving her into his suite. He didn’t like having to hike to her room, but he did admit that she’d been right. She had scored an “A” by not staying in his room. His mother had said she “appreciated the consideration,” after he told her that Francesca had insisted.

These parental quirks made him smile. He had given his mom one last hug, and she had kissed his cheek.

“Now go. I know Francesca is waiting for you, and you are dying to spend time with her.”

He didn’t say anything because he didn’t like to lie to his mother.

His mother patted his cheek. “I really do like her. I know that you do, too. I hope you will have lots of patience with her, because that girl is a thinker.”

“What do you mean?”

“She thinks things through before she acts. She might even over-think things, and that might cause you a problem or two. Just be prepared.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You’re talking in riddles. Prepared for what?”

“I’m just saying, if she has the time on her hands, she might think of too many reasons to do or not to do something. You’re going to have to handle her with patience, show her that she can trust you and your judgment.”

“She trusts my judgment.” At least, he hoped that she did.

His mother held his gaze. “I know you, son. You’re the type that makes a decision and jumps in with both feet. Francesca is the type to wait and weigh the outcomes. Your different personalities aren’t a bad thing; you’ll just have to find the balance that works for you.”

Remy nodded. “And she likes you too, Mom. She told me.” Remy loved seeing the warmth in his mother’s eyes at his news.

“That’s good to hear, because the two of you are crazy about one another. You seem ready to drop to your knee and propose. She might not be ready for that just yet. You know she’ll need a little more time before making a huge decision.”

“I love her. She’s so smart, and she cares about things. She’s going to be there for the good and the bad.” He felt his heart swell as he listed the reasons why Francesca was so amazing.

“I’m so glad to hear that. In a marriage, you need to have that.” His mother’s eyes shone with tears.

“Mom don’t.” He gave her a quick hug.

“They’re happy tears. You know I loved your father, and we had a good marriage, but as good as it was, son, there were times when things got rough. There were days when I would look at him and think ‘what are we doing?’” She looked away for a moment.

“But you guys toughed it out, right?”

“Of course, we did. But even when I was mad at Rich, I knew he would always be there for me and I would for him. I made sure I fought fair, and so did he. We were considerate of each other. We had our share of arguments, but I tried to not hurt his feelings intentionally. We were loyal to one another, no matter what.”

“Gotcha.” He knew that Francesca would be there for him. There was no doubt he would support her and love her.

Finally, the elevator arrived, and it quickly took him to the fifth floor. He knocked on Francesca’s door.

“Who is it?” Francesca called.

“Who are you expecting?” He leaned against the doorframe. The lock snicked.

She opened the door and reached to put one hand on his chest as she rose up on her toes to kiss him. “I thought it might be Lacey.”

He followed Francesca into her room. “Didn’t you just go to dinner with her?”

“It was Lacey, her parents, and four of her friends. Dinner took forever, and now Lacey and her girls want to go out.”

Francesca’s purse was on the desk, and her suitcase was open on the bed. “Does she want you to go out to the bars with her?”

“Yes. I told her I had some work to do, and I shared a cab back with her parents.” She blew her bangs out of her eyes.

“Did you get enough to eat?” He was starving. His mother had decided on a sushi place she’d read about in a local magazine. He wasn’t a big fan and had picked at his plate. Now, he hoped to find food very soon.

“It was tapas style, so yes and no. You know you never get enough of the food you really want, and there’s always plenty of the stuff you don’t want. So I could eat.” She dropped onto the bed.

 “So, I was thinking that you should get packed, and we can move you into my suite. Then we’ll find something to eat.” Although the thought of being alone with Francesca pushed all thoughts of food aside, his hunger for her was stronger than his need to eat. He felt the driving need to have her in his room.

“Give me a minute. I just have to grab my stuff out of the bathroom.” She moved to the smaller room.

They ran into Lacey and some of her friends in the lobby.

“There you two are.” Lacey threw herself at him.

He gave her a hug.

When she moved away, her eyes sparkled. “I was just going to come to your room, Francesca. You guys need to come out with us.”

Francesca smiled, but shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m pretty tired, and Remy’s starving.”

Lacey pointed to the bar across the lobby. “The bar serves food. We could party there.”

Now, it was his turn to try to get out of this, although he really did hate to curb the vivacious blonde’s enthusiasm. “We were on our way up to our room.” He looked down at Francesca’s suitcase. He felt a little silly moving it through the lobby, but she’d insisted on staying in a different wing of the hotel during Lu’s visit.

Lacey smiled and grabbed Francesca’s arm. “We’ll grab a table and wait while you move her stuff.”

Francesca gave him a look that said, “She’s got us.”

He looked at his friend’s fiancée and found that he couldn’t tell her no. “Okay, but we’re having an early night.” He pointed his finger at her, smiling. “I heard about your exploits in Vegas, and we won’t be shutting down the bar.”

Lacey bounced up and down. “Yay.” She grabbed Francesca’s hand and towed her behind her.

He shook his head at this decision.

Lacey stopped and whipped around. “Hey, get a move on. I thought you were hungry.”

“I’m going, I’m going.” He gave them a grin and walked to the elevators.

Ten minutes later, he strode into the bar. The bar wasn’t busy, and the group had commandeered a table in the back corner. There were four more ladies sitting at the table. Francesca had saved the chair next to her. He pulled it out and sat down. Francesca leaned into him, which pleased him greatly.

“Hi,” she whispered, her breathe skimming across his neck.

“Miss me?”

She made a humming noise. “Well, I do like it better when you’re around.”

He draped his arm around her shoulders and relaxed into his chair. He glanced around the table and realized he was the center of attention. The ladies were watching him, and they all had smiles on their faces.

“You guys are so cute together,” Lacey spoke loud enough so that the entire bar could hear. “See? I told you, she’s next.” Lacey directed that comment to the rest of the table.

He felt Francesca stiffen for a moment, and he ran his hand soothingly down her arm.

“Lacey...” Francesca’s tone carried a hint of caution in her tone.

The tiny blonde turned innocent eyes on his girlfriend. “What?”

Francesca tilted her head and stared at the mischievous woman, clearly using the non-verbal signal for, “You certainly know what.”

Lacey wrinkled her nose. “I can’t help it. I’m getting married, and I want everybody to be in love.”

“Are you going to use the ‘I’m the bride’ excuse all week?” Francesca smiled as she teased the woman.

“Yes, I am.” Lacey crossed her arms under her breasts and gave the table a look.