“Done. I’ll be back every evening with you, and we’ll decide what we want to do from there.”
“So I get to relax, and you have to work. That’s pretty on brand for us.”
I chuckle and sip my drink. “Are you getting bored?”
“Not bored, but maybe antsy. I stillreallywant to teach music.” She sips her ginger ale as the airplane moves, headed for the runway.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Stavros. Thanks for joining us this afternoon. We’ve been cleared for takeoff, so we’ll be in the air here shortly. Flight time is approximately fifty-seven minutes from wheels up to wheels down. There’s no weather to speak of, so it should be a smooth flight. We’ll see you on the ground.”
“You were right about all of the things,” Natasha says with a smile.
“I go to LA often. I have a port near there where I receive most of my product. Now, back to you teaching music. I think that once your wrist is rehabbed, you’ll be good to go there. We talked before about me buying you a building for it. Where would you like it to be?”
She frowns, thinking it over. “Do you have an office in the same building as the penthouse?”
Surprised, my brow furrows. “I do, yes.”
“Can I have space in that building, so I’m close to you? And then, once the penthouse is finished, I’ll be close to home too.”
She wants to be near me.
Fuck, nothing’s ever sounded better.
“You can have all the space you need, absolutely. When we get back to Vegas, we’ll check it out, and you can choose the area. We’ll get started on it right away.”
“I can advertise with local schools, letting them know that I’m available. I’ve been doing research on curriculums for different ages and abilities. I’msoexcited.”
“We’ll get everything you need.”
The plane revs down the runway and then lifts into the air, and Natasha’s eyes widen as she watches me.
“Oh God.”
“You’re fine. You’re completely safe. Look.” I point out the window at the city below. “The Sphere looks like the moon right now.”
“It’s so beautiful from up here,” she says quietly. “I love our city.”
“I know you do. But I’m excited to show you the ocean.”
Within a few minutes, theFasten Seat Beltlight goes off, and I unbuckle myself, then her, and lift her into my arms before sitting on a sofa with her in my lap.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting more comfortable. I want you in my arms, baby.”
Thirty-Seven
NATASHA
I admit,I don’t have any experience at all with travel or hotels—aside from the one I don’t want to think about—but I’m pretty sure that most people don’t get to stay in this kind of luxury.
I mean, Iknewmy husband was rich, but he’s also bougie as hell. This Mafia boss, who I know is scary and ruthless and comes home in blood once in a while, loves the finer things.
And I kind of think it’s adorable.
“This resort is insane,” I whisper-shout to him as we walk across the marble floor to a counter markedConcierge.We’re surrounded by about eight of his men, all of them huge and tattooed and mean looking, and I admit, it makes me feel safer.
“The accommodations are acceptable,” he says as he pulls my hand up to his lips, and I shake my head at him. He smiles down at me, but when we reach the man at the counter, his face goes stony, and he’s all business.
