It was Roxanne and Serena who finally made Bianca change her mind. The two young women had turned up at Bianca’s apartment to take her along with them as they picked out the wedding dresses for themselves.Bianca was holding her son on her hip, chucking his plump chins as her friends entered.Roxanne flew across to scoop the plump fellow in her arms, giggling as he began to chant something in his baby gibberish.“Your little girlfriend is asleep at home,” she giggled and Bianca dimpled. It was now becoming a standing joke; Cian’s enthusiasm when he saw baby Eve was something out of the ordinary. As for Eve, she looked at him and blinked her beautiful eyes and dimpled, blowing him a raspberry with her pretty pink lips.Needless to say, Eve had her big Daddy eating out of her hand. Van Dyke would buy the moon if she pointed at it and cooed, sighed Roxanne sometimes.Now Serena, who walked in, smiled at Bianca speculatively. Serena and Roxanne had met Liam O’Grady while he was leaving th
Liam O’Grady threw himself into his work and the gym, wholeheartedly. The Casino had been his first venture, and along with his brother, he had gone into the loan shark business once the Casino picked up. As the three casinos that came after developed well, on their own speed, O’Grady had tended to slow down and take life easy. Other activities, like gun running, became more of his thing, as he told anyone who cared to listen. Once Bianca had come aboard, she had been a hands-on manager, checking accounts, keeping an eagle eye on the workings of the large Casinos.But now that she was avoiding him and vice versa, he spent his days and nights here.Things moved like a well-oiled machine, but at night, he would hit the gym and sweat it out, almost till dawn. Then, he would head to Claude’s suburban fortress-like home, where he would sneak into the room, he had been given and sleep it off. Guessing that he would need his privacy, Claude had shifted him to a room that boasted of its own
When Liam O’Grady reached Claude Delano’s home, he heard the handsome blonde boxer and his Bratva wife arguing, their voices raised. O’Grady sighed. Oh no, he thought wearily, hoping against hope that he would not feel as unwelcome as Rani had made him feel when he was spending the night at Dominick Delano’s home.Rani, Dom’s fiancée, had made no bones about the fact that she felt O’Grady had wronged Bianca. And more power to women, O’Grady had thought as she had gone about the house, her face a mask of stone. Surely…they were not thinking of turning him out, were they? He longed to have a family around him, and he stood in the foyer of the large house, a house which had been designed by Karina, more likely he thought, seeing the ornate woodwork, dark and gloomy, which was as expensive as it came. A couple of dark paintings, scenes of stormy seas and snow-covered streets with people going on sleighs, were placed prominently around. Claude burst into the foyer, his face flushed and sto
Bianca and St Just reached back to Thomastown, to Roxanne’s home, by late evening. They needed to pick up baby Cian and Sylvie and head home to Hollowford.They left the Shangri-La with heavy hearts, for the one evening spent there had brought them closer. Bianca turned in her seat to stare at the large palatial buildings as they drove to the exit.St Just gripped her hand tenderly and squeezed as he said in a low whisper,“We’ll come back, Pet, don’t fret.”She smiled and leaned toward him, snuggling up to his arm. It was a long, leisurely drive down the coast, where St Just stopped for Bianca to enjoy the fresh seafood he often spoke about. He took her to a small shanty on the beach with the legend,” Bart’s Place”, signalling that it was a restaurant.The owner, a big, tattooed man, flicked a curious look at Bianca.“Long time, Mr Just,” he boomed as he set about preparing the dish that St Just had ordered for the both of them. The rest of the Mafia men sat a few paces away, simil
Bianca came awake late in the morning, as the sunlight filled the inner recesses of the large, satin-shrouded tent. Dimpling, she raised her arms above her head and stretched languidly as she turned to look to the side, where she could see the glimpses of the desert sands which had been laid out, recreating the image of a real desert.All they needed was for a camel to stroll across, she thought with a giggle. As her body came awake, she winced and smiled secretly to herself. St Just had made love to her, at first gentle and romantic; after, at her urging, he had become more aggressive. Bianca had been hard-pressed to decide which facet of him she preferred. Even at the height of his passion, Finn St Just had been watching out for her pleasure, making sure that she was satisfied, giving her countless orgasms, revelling in her joy. She sighed and lay her head back on the pillow; God, but she loved him.After a while, when her stomach began to grumble, she opened her eyes and sat up, pu
Later, Bianca reflected on how it ahd all happened...The drive to the Shangri-La was a dream journey. Bianca sat, nestled beside her lover, dreamily.Her thoughts went back to the play, to the protagonist Laura, a shy dreamer who is unable to face the realities of life.“Liked it?” asked St Just absently as he stroked her hand, dropping soft kisses on her hair.“Uh…huh..” she repeated.As the large car drove up to the Shangri La, she sat up in astonishment.And stayed, staring out as they drove past the many small, independent villas, each designed in different ways.They passed a castle, a chateau, an Indian palace and an Arabian one…Bianca sat up, holding her breath as they drove to the end of the estate, and she squealed in delight.St Just took in her reaction with a lazy grin.“I chose the Sheikh’s tent,” he murmured, and now, Bianca could not hold back the squeal of joy. She turned to him, her eyes round.He kissed her swiftly, and she melted in his arms.“Now LOOK!” he comman