Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
Penn
T-minus forty-eight hours until wedding time! Alex was very much not like himself. He was nervous and excited and constantly asking if we all had everything. It was cute…and annoying.
Rita was telling me that Mila had been no better. But soon they’d say their I do’s and be living their best married lives.
Gideon had been on edge for the entire month, checking and double-checking security.
He’d even ordered a background check on Mila’s brothers, which had been done before.
He was honestly bothered by how they’d been acting.
We knew Mila’s father was former Bratva—one of the only people to be allowed to step away from that life.
As far as we knew Lev, Mikhail, and Ivan weren’t Bratva…
at least what we could find, but if the mafia didn’t want a trail leading to them, there wouldn’t be one to find.
But if they were, Gideon didn’t have issue with them, and I didn’t think they had a problem with him.
I walked past the music room, where Jennifer was doing one final practice with Olivia for her song. I’d heard it a hundred times, and it was actually really beautiful.
Owen was practicing his aisle walk down the hallway, taking his job very seriously. I shot him a thumbs-up and continued on my way to Gideon’s office.
I found him sitting at his desk, phone pressed to his ear and an unlit cigar in his other hand.
He was talking to someone, ordering more security and full background checks on every guest. That was a tall order.
There were hundreds of people coming to this wedding, and he had barely two days to get everyone checked out. I wasn’t going to say that to him.
I moved to his desk and sat in the chair across from him. He tilted his chin at me and continued his call.
I watched as he rolled the cigar between his fingers. He was stressed—that was what that meant. It had been a long time since he’d lit up, and I was grateful for that, but I hated how worried he was about everything.
“Keep me posted.” He ended the call and faced me. “What’s up?”
“Excuse me? Since when do I need a reason to come see you?”
He sighed. “Sorry, I’m just—”
“Stressed?” I finished his sentence.
“Yeah…I can’t explain it. It’s like a door that’s off its track but still closes. It’s doing its thing, but something is messing it up.”
“And you think it’s Mila’s brothers?”
His dark eyes met mine. “Benito hasn’t uttered a word in over a month. Not when he lost friends, not after businesses of his fell to ash, nothing.”
“So, not Mila’s brothers?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know!”
“Babe, I think you’re worried because it felt too easy. How about you go take a shower and get ready for your folks to arrive? They’ll be here by dinner and if you’re freaking out, they’ll worry.”
“I am not freaking out.”
I raised a brow. “Right, okay…sure.”
“Look, I’ve come face-to-face with people like Benito my whole life, and they never go quietly into the night.
Am I reading into Mila’s brothers too much?
Probably. It’s just because I don’t know what’s coming, but I know something is.
There’s nothing more terrifying than a man with nothing to lose, and Benito has nothing.
It makes him dangerous and unpredictable. ”
“I get it, I do. I just don’t want you getting so lost in the idea that something bad is going to happen that you miss out on all the good stuff.”
He smiled softly. “I won’t, but making sure my family is safe will always be a top priority.”
“Okay. So…” I clapped my hands and stood. “You shower and get ready for your parents. Toni is leaving soon to go get them at the docks.” Gideon’s parents traveled by yacht pretty much all the time and had sailed in from Antigua.
“Fine.” I followed him out and left him to get clean.
I’d just reached the landing when I saw Jennifer and Olivia by the front door. “Take it easy, Jennifer, and we’ll see you Saturday.”
“Uh…thanks, uh…” Her eyes flitted between me and Olivia. “Right, okay. So practice, Olivia, you’ll do great, and I’ll be right there with you.” Her cheeks pinked, and she turned abruptly and left. Weird.
I shook my head. Great, now Gideon was making me paranoid too. “Okay, Livy, go get ready for your grandparents; they’ll be here soon.”
“Kay-kay.” She practically skipped up the stairs.
By the time Gideon’s parents arrived, he was visibly more relaxed and while there was no doubt that he was still worried, it was good to see him laugh and enjoy his folks.
Our alarm went off at six in the morning on the day of the wedding. We had to get everyone gathered and head down to the venue by noon. It was going to be a long-ass day.
I had my tuxedo in a garment bag and brought it downstairs, where Livy was running around in circles and singing some song about people getting married.
Florence, Gideon’s mother, was cooking at the stove while Gregory, Gideon’s father, was sitting at the table with Owen reading some book about pirates.
“Morning!” Florence smiled as I poured myself some coffee.
“Good morning. You didn’t have to cook, there’s gonna be breakfast at the venue.”
She waved a hand at me. “Nonsense, I don’t cook often anymore. It’s nice every now and again.”
I shrugged. “If it makes you happy, Flo, then you do you.”
She giggled and squeezed my arm. “I adore you, Penn.”
“And I adore you.”
I didn’t spend a lot of time with Gideon’s parents, but they’d accepted me right away and whenever we did get together they made me feel like I’d known them my whole life.
Gideon came down the stairs, his garment bag in hand. He placed it next to mine, and I poured him coffee.
“Yes, caffeine.” He cupped it in his hands and sipped as though he were drinking water from the fountain of youth. “I feel like I’ll be living off coffee all day.”
I kissed the side of his head. “I’ll be your supplier.”
“Food’s ready.” Florence carried a large platter of scrambled eggs to the table. Bacon, sausage, and hash browns were already there.
“Wow, Mom. This is a lot. There’s going to be breakfast at the venue.”
I stopped him. “She knows and doesn’t care. Eat the food.”
He laughed, and soon we were all digging into the home-cooked meal. Once we were done, everyone freshened up, grabbed their clothes, and we were being shuffled off to the venue. We had to take like four SUVs; between all of us and the security Gideon had demanded, it was a crazy caravan of people.
I reached over to Gideon and slotted my fingers between his. “You good?”
He nodded. “I’m fine. I just hope it’s a perfect day for Alex and Mila.”
I squeezed his hand. “It’ll be a day to remember.”
I couldn’t be sure but I swore I heard him mumble, “Hopefully a good one.”