Page 116 of Bellini Bound

We stopped at the edge of the table, and he gave the attendant our voucher. A stack of red chips was placed in front of me; my eyes widenedwhen I saw that each one was worth ten thousand dollars. Oof, this night was going to be over more quickly than I imagined.

“I want you to watch a few spins first, get a feel for it before you place any bets,” Enzo’s voice rumbled in my ear.

I released a shaky exhale, nodding my agreement.

“The table minimum bet is fifty grand. That means you have to use at least five of your chips every spin,” he explained. “And that minimum can’t be split between the inside—the numbers—and the outside—everything else—of the table. So, for example, you can’t bet twenty grand on black and then thirty grand on the number seventeen. You can play corners and increase your odds, but the payout decreases compared to playing a straight number.”

Jeez. This was more complicated than I initially thought.

“Take a minute and decide now where you’d like to place your chips. Because the time between when the dealer sets the ball rolling and when they declare ‘no more bets’ isn’t very long. After the winning number is announced, they’ll place a marker atop that space and clear the rest of the board before issuing payouts. Once the marker is removed, you’re welcome to take your winnings before the next round or choose to let it ride. Does all of that make sense?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

It was a lot of information, but I was hopeful that watching other players before diving in myself would be helpful.

“Good. You want a drink?” He lifted a hand, flagging down one of the many cocktail waitresses walking around the floor.

I pressed a palm to my churning belly. “No, I’m so nervous I don’t think I could keep anything down.”

Enzo ordered a scotch for himself while I worked myself into a tizzy over how fast I was going to burn through half a million freaking dollars with absolutely nothing to show for it.

“Relax.” Strong arms looped around my waist.

That pulled a scoff from the back of my throat. “That’s literally at the top of the list of thingsnotto say to someone who is freaking out.”

His soft laughter sounded in my ear. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret, baby.”

It was impossible to keep my agitation from my tone. “What’s that?”

“The house always wins,” he rumbled. “So, even if you lose it all on the first spin, we’re walking out of here tonight with a fuck-ton of money.”

Not that I was in any mood to admit it, but that did make me feel better about the whole situation.

As instructed, I watched a few rounds, noting how some players opted to place a stack of chips on either red or black while others scattered them across several numbers. And there was something oddly mesmerizing about seeing the table being cleared, the massive pile of losing chips being swept away before disappearing down a funnel-shaped metal hole in the felt surface placed behind the wheel.

“Ready to give it a try?” Enzo asked.

Hauling in a deep breath, I released it slowly. “No, but we’ll be here all night if I don’t start playing soon.”

The table was cleared, and the dealer set the ball rolling along the outer track of the constantly rotating wheel.

“Place your bets,” the dealer announced.

Heart in my throat, I dropped a chip on the number nineteen and another on the number twenty-five. Then I placed one chip on each corner of those two numbers, which would have me winning on an additional eight numbers.

“No more bets.” The dealer waved his hand over the table.

The ball tumbled, bumping into the diamond-shaped obstacles between the track and the pockets around the center, each one with a designated number. I stopped breathing as it bounced around the pockets, skipping a few times before settling into one with finality.

“Nineteen red’s a winner!”

A cheer was pulled from my chest, and I bounced on my feet. “Oh my God, I won!” Vibrating with the sudden rush of adrenaline, I spun around in Enzo’s arms. “Baby, did you see?”

With his hazel eyes bright, he let out a disbelieving laugh. “You didn’t just win, Allie; you might as well have hit the jackpot with a chip on nineteen itself and all four corners. Do you have any idea how much that single roll netted?”

“Uh.” I peeked back at the table where the dealer was handing out winnings and saw the giant mountain of chips he pushed in my direction. “Holy shit. How much is that?”

“Nine hundred thousand, ma’am,” the dealer said.