Page 16 of His Playground (Owning Vegas #2)

Chapter Fifteen

I go to check on Jazzy and find her in the hallway. On the floor, with her arms wrapped around Antonia. What the fuck?

Antonia’s eyes connect with mine as she says, “I promise I’m not going anywhere, and your daddy… Carlo isn’t ever going to leave you.”

“What happened?” I ask.

“Nothing.” Jazzy pulls herself out of Antonia’s arms and wipes at her cheeks.

“Jazzy, what happened? Why are you upset?” I crouch down to her level.

“I just… I don’t want you guys to leave me too,” she says.

“Sweetheart, we aren’t going to leave you. I promise.” I pull her into my arms. “You’re mine, and I always look after what’s mine.”

“And Antonia? She’s yours too, right? So you’ll look after her too?” Jazzy asks.

“And Antonia,” I confirm.

“Okay,” Jazzy says before sprinting back towards the kitchen like nothing happened. “Oh, I forgot my drink from Aunt Charlotte. I’ll be back.”

“What’s going on?” I look to Antonia.

“Charlotte said something about us being her people, and Jazz got upset thinking that we were going to leave her like her mother did because her mom was her person.”

I’ve never wanted to kill a woman before, but fuck if Jazzy’s mother isn’t pissing me off more and more every day.

“She’s going to be okay with time. I think we… you just need to keep reminding her and showing her that you’re not going to leave,” Antonia says.

“ We ,” I correct her.

“We.” Antonia smiles a little. “I should go back in there.”

“Think we should take her home?” I don’t want Jazzy to have to put on a happy face to please people. I’d much rather take her home and spend time with her.

“As much as I’d love to leave, I think we should stay. She loves your family, Carlo,” Antonia says.

“Our family,” I correct her again.

“Okay, let’s eat. I’m starving.” Charlotte walks up with Jazzy and Evie behind her.

I grab Jazzy and pick her up. “You good? Say the word and we can blow this joint. Go home and eat pizza while watching one of your princess movies.”

“I’m okay. I want to see what Tío E’s surprise is,” she says.

“Right, almost forgot about that.” I put her down and she runs off after Charlotte and Evie again. “Should I be concerned how quickly her moods change?” I ask Antonia.

She laughs. “She’s a girl. Just wait until she’s a teenager. You ain’t seen nothing yet, Daddy.”

My cock doesn’t just twitch. It hardens at hearing my wife call me that. I don’t even try to disguise the fact that I have to adjust myself.

“Oh my god, you liked that more than you should, you pervert,” she gasps.

“I don’t know. Maybe you should say it again, just to test the theory?”

“Not a chance in hell.” Antonia scrunches up her face. “There is something seriously wrong with you,” she says, but as she passes me she whispers, “Daddy.”

I groan, following closely behind her. Fuck me. “Next time I’m fucking you, I want you to scream that out.”

“Yeah, I’m not doing that.”

“Fucking me or calling me Daddy ?” I ask her.

“Both,” Antonia hisses. I don’t believe her. I know we’re doing that again. And soon.

Charlotte had the dinner catered. She wanted to cook but Louie wouldn’t let her. He doesn’t want her overdoing it, since she’s still recovering from a gunshot wound. She’s also still a little jittery.

Jazzy seems to be on cloud nine, filling her mouth with all the food and chatting away with Lailani, who looks extremely nervous and like she’d rather be anywhere else but this dinner table right now. Sammie keeps looking at her. I guess that’d be enough to make most people nervous.

“Tío E, can I have my surprise? I ate all my veggies,” Jazzy says.

“Oh yeah, I have it here.” Emmanuel pulls out an envelope from his jacket. “This is for you.”

“What is it?” Jazzy bounces in her seat. She reaches across the table, grabs the envelope, rips it open, and pulls out a piece of paper.

“It’s a trust,” he says.

“What’s a trust?” she asks.

“Money for when you’re a grown-up.”

I look over my daughter’s shoulder and read the document. “You can’t be serious, Emmanuel. That’s over the top even for you,” I tell him. “She also doesn’t need it. You think I can’t take care of my daughter’s finances?”

“I know you can, but now she has more.” He shrugs.

“That’s more than any one person will ever need in a lifetime,” I tell him. That trust has ten million dollars in it.

“With interest, it’ll be even more than that when she’s twenty-one.” He smirks.

“I’m getting you a pony, and a ranch for it to live on,” Louie tells Jazzy.

“A pony, a real one?” she gasps.

“A real one, maybe even two or three. How many do you want?”

“How about none?” I offer. “What is she going to do with a pony, Louie?”

“Ride it, pet it. I don’t know. Don’t all little girls want a pony?” he asks Charlotte.

“I did,” she says.

“Did you have one?” I ask.

“No, my parents would never buy me one,” she replies.

“I’ll buy you a pony, babe,” Louie tells her.

“I don’t want one now.” Charlotte laughs, but I have no doubt that by the end of the week, she’ll be the proud owner of a brand-new pony.

“Please, Carlo, can I have a pony?” Jazzy asks me.

“You can have whatever you want,” I say.

She turns to Antonia. “Did you have ponies?”

“I did. I still have a horse. His name is Tyson,” Antonia says, and Jazzy’s eyes widen.

“Can I meet him?”

“Of course you can.”

“Since when did we become horse people?” Sammie groans.

“Horses are the bestest pets,” Jazzy informs him.

“Wouldn’t you rather have a puppy?” he asks her.

“Don’t…” I warn him. They all know I can’t say no to my daughter. If she wants a fucking puppy, we’re getting one. And before I know it, we’ll be living on a damn farm.

“That was exhausting,” I tell Antonia as we walk back into our own apartment.

“It was fun,” she says.

“Mhmm.” I’m sure it was fun. I have no doubt she liked watching me try to block all the shit those assholes were trying to gift my daughter. “Jazzy, why don’t you go get ready for bed? I’ll be in to tuck you in shortly.”

“Can Antonia read me my story tonight?” she asks.

My eyes bug out of my head. Is my daughter replacing me already? What the fuck?

I look to Antonia. I like reading to Jazzy. “That’s up to her,” I say. Instead of : Fuck no! That’s my job.

“Sure, I’m just going to go take off my shoes and change. I’ll meet you in your room,” Antonia says.

I follow my wife into our bedroom, the same bedroom I haven’t slept in since my daughter showed up a few weeks ago. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I know.” Antonia doesn’t try to cover herself as she slips out of her dress and pulls out a pair of pajamas.

“What are your plans tomorrow?” I ask her.

“I have school,” she says, walking into the bathroom. I watch as she washes the makeup from her face.

“Can you skip?”

“Why?”

“We need to go house shopping.”

“For whom?” She stares at me through the reflection in the mirror.

“Us. Jazzy needs a house. She can’t be raised in a casino,” I explain. “We need a home.”

“Oh.” She goes back to cleaning her face.

“That whole thought you have of getting your own place. That’s never going to happen,” I remind her. “I don’t care what house you want me to buy, but we will be living in it together.”

Antonia spins around. “First of all, I don’t need you to buy me anything. I have money. Second… Actually, that’s all.”

“First, you’re my wife, Mrs. Bianchi. I will be buying our home. And second, you’re my wife . My money is your money,” I counter.

“I don’t want your money, Carlo.”

“Too bad.” I walk out of the bathroom and into the closet to get changed myself.

By the time I’m done, I find Antonia sitting on Jazzy’s bed already reading a book.

“I have an idea,” I tell both of them.

“What?” Jazzy asks.

“Come with me.” I curl a finger in a “follow me” motion and turn around. I walk into the bedroom, pick up the remote, and press the button that has the television screen coming down from the ceiling.

“Wow.” Jazzy watches in awe.

“Movie night. Jump on,” I say, pulling the blankets back on the bed.

Antonia stands in the doorway, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip.

“Come on,” I tell her. Jazzy curls up in the middle and Antonia finally climbs in on the other side. “What do you want to watch?”

“ Beauty and the Beast ,” Jazzy says. It’s one of her favorites.

About fifteen minutes into the movie, she’s out. I turn it off and get comfortable. Damn, I’ve missed this bed.

Antonia is lying down, facing me. “You’re a really good dad, Carlo,” she whispers.

“She makes it easy,” I say, appreciating the compliment more than anyone will ever know.

My arm wraps over the top of Jazzy and I reach for my wife’s hand. Thankful when she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she holds on and closes her eyes.