get along without him?” She put her hand on her chest and pantomimed a heartbeat.
Sydney had the answer to that one ready. “You don’t have to miss us, not if you come with us.”
“Come with you? You mean, permanently?”
“Oh, yeah. I would love that.”
Lani blinked. “You’re serious.”
“You bet I am. I’ve already discussed it with Rule. He’s good with it. More than good. And I would love it if you were there—I mean, if that could work for you.”
“Me. Living in Montedoro with my best friend, the prince’s bride. Interesting.”
“I was hoping you might think that. But don’t decide now. Take your time. No pressure. I mean that.”
Lani bumped her shoulder affectionately. “I’ll give it serious consideration—and thank you.”
“Hey. Don’t thank me. I’ll miss you like crazy if you decide you don’t want to do it. If you come, I’ll be the grateful one.”
“I’ll think about it,” Lani promised. “And we’d better get cracking if we’re going to be ready to head for Vegas at eight.”
* * *
As it turned out, Rule had Bravo relatives in Las Vegas. Aaron and Fletcher Bravo ran a pair of Las Vegas casino/hotels. Rule was a second cousin to both men. His grandfather James and their grandfather Jonas had been brothers.
“Fletcher and Aaron are half brothers,” Rule told Sydney during the flight to Nevada. “They have different mothers, but both are sons of Blake Bravo.”
“I have to ask. You don’t mean the Blake Bravo?”
“Ah. You’ve heard of the infamous Blake?”
She nodded. “He died in Oklahoma about a decade ago, and at the time, the story made the front page of every paper in Texas. He was pretty notorious.”
Rule nodded. “Yes, he was. Kidnapping his own brother’s son for a fortune in diamonds, marrying all those women…” Beyond the whole kidnapping thing, Blake Bravo had been a world-class polygamist. He’d married any number of women all over the country and he’d never divorced a single one of them. Each woman had believed she was the only one.
Sydney said, “A very busy man, that Blake.”
“ Busy is not the word I would have chosen,” Rule said dryly. “But yes, both Aaron and Fletcher are his sons.”
The flight took a little under three hours, but they gained two hours because of changing time zones, so they touched down at McCarran International Airport at ten after ten in the morning.
There was a limo waiting. The driver loaded the trunk with their luggage, the security guy who had flown from Dallas with them got in front on the passenger side and off they went to High Sierra Resort and Casino.
Aaron Bravo was CEO of High Sierra. The resort was directly across Las Vegas Boulevard from Impresario Resort and Casino, which Fletcher ran. The two giant complexes were joined by a glass breezeway five stories up, above the Strip.
Aaron greeted them at the entrance to his resort. Tall and lean with brown hair, Aaron wasn’t classically handsome. But he was attractive, very much so, with a strong nose, sharp cheekbones and a square jaw. He said how pleased he was to meet Sydney and Lani—and Trevor, too. Then he introduced them to his wife, Celia, who was cute and friendly, a redhead with big hazel eyes.
Celia led the way to their suite, which had its own kitchen, a large living area and four bedrooms branching off of it. The security guy, whose name was Joseph, had the room next door.
The first order of business was to get the marriage license. Lani stayed behind with Trevor. Sydney, Rule and Joseph headed for the Las Vegas Marriage Bureau. An hour later, they were back in the suite, where Trev was playing with his trucks and Lani was stretched out on the sofa with her laptop.
“Ready for pampering?” she asked. “Celia says the spa is called Touch of Gold and it’s full service… .”
“Go,” said Rule. “Both of you. The wedding’s not until four.” The short ceremony would be held in the wedding chapel right there
Sydney had the answer to that one ready. “You don’t have to miss us, not if you come with us.”
“Come with you? You mean, permanently?”
“Oh, yeah. I would love that.”
Lani blinked. “You’re serious.”
“You bet I am. I’ve already discussed it with Rule. He’s good with it. More than good. And I would love it if you were there—I mean, if that could work for you.”
“Me. Living in Montedoro with my best friend, the prince’s bride. Interesting.”
“I was hoping you might think that. But don’t decide now. Take your time. No pressure. I mean that.”
Lani bumped her shoulder affectionately. “I’ll give it serious consideration—and thank you.”
“Hey. Don’t thank me. I’ll miss you like crazy if you decide you don’t want to do it. If you come, I’ll be the grateful one.”
“I’ll think about it,” Lani promised. “And we’d better get cracking if we’re going to be ready to head for Vegas at eight.”
* * *
As it turned out, Rule had Bravo relatives in Las Vegas. Aaron and Fletcher Bravo ran a pair of Las Vegas casino/hotels. Rule was a second cousin to both men. His grandfather James and their grandfather Jonas had been brothers.
“Fletcher and Aaron are half brothers,” Rule told Sydney during the flight to Nevada. “They have different mothers, but both are sons of Blake Bravo.”
“I have to ask. You don’t mean the Blake Bravo?”
“Ah. You’ve heard of the infamous Blake?”
She nodded. “He died in Oklahoma about a decade ago, and at the time, the story made the front page of every paper in Texas. He was pretty notorious.”
Rule nodded. “Yes, he was. Kidnapping his own brother’s son for a fortune in diamonds, marrying all those women…” Beyond the whole kidnapping thing, Blake Bravo had been a world-class polygamist. He’d married any number of women all over the country and he’d never divorced a single one of them. Each woman had believed she was the only one.
Sydney said, “A very busy man, that Blake.”
“ Busy is not the word I would have chosen,” Rule said dryly. “But yes, both Aaron and Fletcher are his sons.”
The flight took a little under three hours, but they gained two hours because of changing time zones, so they touched down at McCarran International Airport at ten after ten in the morning.
There was a limo waiting. The driver loaded the trunk with their luggage, the security guy who had flown from Dallas with them got in front on the passenger side and off they went to High Sierra Resort and Casino.
Aaron Bravo was CEO of High Sierra. The resort was directly across Las Vegas Boulevard from Impresario Resort and Casino, which Fletcher ran. The two giant complexes were joined by a glass breezeway five stories up, above the Strip.
Aaron greeted them at the entrance to his resort. Tall and lean with brown hair, Aaron wasn’t classically handsome. But he was attractive, very much so, with a strong nose, sharp cheekbones and a square jaw. He said how pleased he was to meet Sydney and Lani—and Trevor, too. Then he introduced them to his wife, Celia, who was cute and friendly, a redhead with big hazel eyes.
Celia led the way to their suite, which had its own kitchen, a large living area and four bedrooms branching off of it. The security guy, whose name was Joseph, had the room next door.
The first order of business was to get the marriage license. Lani stayed behind with Trevor. Sydney, Rule and Joseph headed for the Las Vegas Marriage Bureau. An hour later, they were back in the suite, where Trev was playing with his trucks and Lani was stretched out on the sofa with her laptop.
“Ready for pampering?” she asked. “Celia says the spa is called Touch of Gold and it’s full service… .”
“Go,” said Rule. “Both of you. The wedding’s not until four.” The short ceremony would be held in the wedding chapel right there
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