The Slayer (Untamed Hearts #2)(148)
“She doesn’t like banks.” Marcos shrugged. “I don’t like them either. I’m glad everything at the shop is in your name.”
“But I can deal with the bank?” Chuito laughed. “That’s okay? Using my credit cards doesn’t bother her, but having bank cards with her name on them does? She has an account that I put money in that she never uses. She puts everything on credit cards that cost interest. My credit cards.”
“You don’t have to deal with the bank if you don’t want to. That’s your choice, Chu.”
“So you think I can go to the grocery store and cash my UFC checks?”
Marcos gave him an annoyed look. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you about this?”
“Can you just get the card for me?” Chuito huffed in annoyance. “Mail it back to me. I do use that one.”
“You want me to jack my tiá’s credit card?” Marcos asked with an incredulous look. “Are you crazy?”
“It’s my credit card.”
“But you just gave it to her.” Marcos gestured to the hallway. “You keep handing them to her. Now you want me to jack the card she conned out of you fair and square. That’s bad for my health. I’m the motherf*cker who has to live with her. You try taking them back if you need them so bad. Leave me out of it.”
“Forget it. Let her keep it.” Chuito waved off his entire family and got up. “I’m going back to bed. There is not enough coffee for this.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chuito and Alaine got married in his mother’s backyard the next day, because most of the party guests had just crashed in the other houses Chuito owned on the street.
So it actually turned out to be a big event even though it was thrown together so fast. His mother and Katie took Alaine shopping for a dress at the same time Tino and Nova dragged Chuito and Marcos out. The Italians’ obsession with suits had to be a genetic thing, because they enjoyed shopping way too much to be normal.
After that, everything just sort of came together with little to no effort and zero expense to Chuito.
The caterers.
The flowers.
The cake.
And a whole crew of wedding designers who turned his mother’s backyard into something that looked like it belonged in a bridal magazine. Never in a thousand years would Chuito have thought he was going to have a wedding that over the top, but that was what happened when Nova took on a project with Tino to help.
The Italians were just so f*cking spoiled.
Everything they did was extravagant.
Chuito suspected half the shit was gifted to them, because he didn’t see Nova signing too many credit card slips, and everyone who showed up seemed to know him.
They all appeared obligated to him in some way.
Chuito was famous, but Nova was something different. People acted like doing favors for him was a huge f*cking privilege.
But more than that, they all seemed to like him.
His crew of Italians that had stuck around for the party would probably lie down and die for him if Nova asked them to, and they’d be happy as f*ck to do it. Chuito was starting to realize the reason Nova’s grandfather wanted him dead wasn’t because he’d killed his father.
The old man wanted him gone because Nova inspired loyalty.
Strong, unshakable, unquestionable loyalty, and it made him powerful.
Too powerful.
Chuito got it more than he should. Nova had f*cked his mother the night before, but somehow Chuito was willing to forget about it because Alaine was beside herself with excitement. Without expecting it, or even asking for it, a fairy-tale wedding had bloomed up around her.
When Alaine was happy, Chuito was happy.
“Gracias,” Chuito said to Nova as he stood under the gazebo that had been erected.
“For what?” Nova asked as he tilted his head, looking at the flowers lining the walkway.
“For doing this,” Chuito said as he watched Nova walk over and straighten the flower arrangement closest to them as if he couldn’t help himself. “It means a lot to Alaine.”
“Oh, this is easy,” Nova said dismissively. “These are the sorta favors I like.”
Chuito understood, for a man whose entire life had been nothing but a steady stream of favors, many of which ended like the situation in the foreclosure house, a wedding was nothing.
Still, Chuito realized something about Nova.
At his core, he liked helping people. That was Nova’s drug. Solving problems. Fixing things. Making whatever was lagging run smoothly again, and it was something he really couldn’t stop himself from doing.
Even Angel’s business had been running far more efficiently once Nova touched it, and Angel had been the dumb motherf*cker not to appreciate it.
All these issues kept Nova’s mind busy; they stopped him from having to dwell on his own demons. He kept his shit hidden and made sure everyone around him coasted off his Midas touch.
Not for the first time, Chuito found himself agreeing with Tino.
Life in general would be much better if Nova was running the underworld.
He was still scary as hell.
Nova was capable of dark deeds as easily as the rest of them.
But he did have class.
Nova headed back to the house, and Marcos walked up to stand next to Chuito, looking scratchy and uncomfortable in his tuxedo as he said, “No outfit should cost seven thousand dollars.”