Somehow she had managed to make their wedding into a special event. The cake was a fantasy, with a miniature dancing couple on top. The Magiriano ballroom was transformed into a fairyland of flowers. And the Louis Roederer Cristal champagne flowed.
He shuddered to think how much it was all going to cost. Was he supposed to pay? Or was this a gift from the Magiriano?
A grim-faced Jess shrugged when he asked her. ‘I don’t know,’ she said tardily.
She wasn’t happy about the whole scene. He wasn’t exactly ecstatic, but what was done was done – and who knew? Maybe it would work out. Stranger things had happened.
Sure.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Compromise was not Lucky’s style. She had no intention of sitting around waiting for Dimitri to apologize. He had to learn, and fast, that she was nobody’s doormat.
The morning after their fight she took off for the East Hampton house with Roberto and CeeCee. The truth of the matter was she was more than a little disturbed by his behaviour. She wanted an equal partnership. Not an uneven relationship with a man who felt he could call every shot. Chillingly she knew that marrying Dimitri had been a mistake. There was an age gap that could never be bridged, and no way was she ready to play the role he had in mind for her.
It did not bother her at all that he made no attempt to contact her for three days. Coolly she called his lawyers and gave them instructions to negotiate on the piece of land she wished to purchase in Atlantic City. Then she double-checked with her own lawyers to make sure everything went ahead. Dimitri had signed a legal document. The hotel would proceed whatever happened.
He arrived at the house three days later. ‘Forgive me,’ he said, standing on her doorstep with her favourite sterling-silver roses, and a Tiffany box.
She knew apologies were difficult for him. She could have made him sweat, but she let him in, and they walked in the garden and talked it out. As much as one could talk it out with a man like Dimitri. He was of his generation, and did not believe in long analytical discussions.
She opened the Tiffany box. It contained an opulent diamond choker, at its centre a huge heart. Dimitri fastened the clasp around her neck and considered everything to be all right. He kissed her chastely and informed her that Susan and Gino had accepted his invitation to join them on his yacht.
Oh, God! She had never in a million years expected Gino to say yes. She didn’t know why she was so upset. Her feelings about her father were confused. Sometimes she loved him more than anyone in the world, and other times she couldn’t care less if she never saw him again. It had always been that way.
‘You’re pleased, aren’t you?’ Dimitri inquired.
She swallowed her real feelings. ‘Sure,’ she replied casually.
She wasn’t looking forward to the cruise at all. Dimitri’s friends. Francesca Fern and her bumbling husband. Now Susan and Gino. And they would all be trapped on a boat together. However large and luxurious Dimitri’s yacht was – it was still close quarters. An inescapable round of lunches and dinners.
Maybe Olympia and her new husband – whoever he might be, would save the day. Lucky had forgotten to ask who he was, and now Dimitri had returned to New York leaving her to prepare for the two-week cruise. She did so reluctantly.
* * *
It seemed to Gino that the only days he got out of bed in the morning with enthusiasm were the days he was seeing Paige. She put a little zing in his life. She was bawdy and uninhibited, but most of all, she was fun.
He looked forward to her return from Las Vegas, and arrived at the Beverly Wilshire an hour early for their Friday assignation. Paige turned up half an hour late. She smelt of her usual musky scent and wore a white skirt split almost to the crotch.
‘Did anyone ever tell you that you dress like a hooker?’ he asked with an amused grin, sitting on the end of the bed.
‘Yes.’ She fluffed her frizzy hair. ‘And don’t you just love it.’
With one quick movement she unhooked her skirt at the waist and it fell to the floor. She wore no panties.
‘Hey—’ he began to laugh.
‘Quick service. With a smile,’ said Paige, walking toward him. ‘And please leave fifty dollars on the table.’
‘Cheap at the price,’ Gino joked, enjoying the game.
‘That’s because you’re a favoured client,’ expressed Paige, pressing her wiry bush of pubic hair against his face.
He responded accordingly. Sex kept him young – he was sure of that. Not for Gino Santangelo the aches and pains of old age. Sex kept the vital juices flowing. As long as he could get it up he felt invincible, and Paige Wheeler gave him the best hard-on he had had in years.
What would life be like if he were married to a woman like Paige? A great deal more exciting than being with Susan day in and day out, that was for sure.
Their lovemaking took time. Paige required more than one orgasm – unlike Susan, who considered the moment she climaxed it was all over and shoved him off.
Paige enjoyed experimenting. Sometimes he wished he were younger, more athletic. But she didn’t seem to mind. Anyway, he knew he pleased her.
‘How was Vegas?’ he asked, when Paige was finally satisfied.
She lay spread-eagled on the bed, totally nude. ‘Interesting,’ she replied.
‘How interesting?’
‘Well . . . I went to Vitos Felicidade’s and Lennie Golden’s opening night at your hotel.’
‘How was it?’
‘The service or the show?’
‘Both.’
‘Excellent. Lennie Golden is something special. And Vitos has a certain European charm. Naturally, everyone was talking about Olympia Stanislopoulos and Lennie Golden getting married the next day. She came there with Vitos, you know.’
‘Yeh?’
‘Don’t you read the gossip columns?’
‘Only when I’m in ’em.’
‘There were parties every night. And I played a little blackjack.’
‘Did you win?’
‘Lost.’
‘You shoulda bin with me. I’d never let you lose.’
He touched the hair on her crotch. It was damp. She stretched languorously.
‘I’m gonna be away for a coupla weeks,’ he said. ‘Think y’can manage without me?’
‘I’ll try,’ she said teasingly. ‘Where are you going?’
‘I don’t know if I told you – but my daughter, Lucky – she’s kinda crazy like me – married the other Stanislopoulos – the father, Dimitri. Can you believe it? He’s nearly as old as me. Lucky used to go to school with Olympia.’ He sighed. ‘She’s nuts.’
‘What’s nuts about marrying one of the richest men in the world?’
‘Lucky doesn’t need his money,’ Gino said shortly, removing his hand.
‘Put that back!’ scolded Paige.
Gino did as she requested.
‘Hmmmm . . .,’ Paige surrendered herself to sensual feelings.
Gino sensed her further need and bent his head to her. Within seconds she was moaning loudly, and climaxing yet again.
In all his experience with women, Gino could not remember a woman as insatiable as Paige.
She sat up, kissed him, and said, ‘Thank you. Now, tell me about your daughter.’
He shrugged. ‘Nothin’ to tell. She married the guy an’ they’ve invited us on this cruise they’re havin’. Susan wants to go.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘An’ I’m goin’ because it’ll give me a chance to see the kid.’
‘What kid?’
‘I’m a grandfather.’
‘Oh no!’ Paige jumped from the bed, her face a mask of mock horror. ‘I’m sleeping with a grandfather?’
‘Hey—’ he grinned. ‘You ain’t no spring chicken.’
‘I’m in my forties. I am not yet ready to be bedding grandfathers.’
‘Fuck you.’
‘Anytime, pops.’
They both started to laugh. H
e got up, put his arms around her, and they rocked with mirth.
‘You know somethin’?’ he said. ‘You’re my kind of broad.’
‘We’re a few decades apart,’ she mused, ‘but we both grew up on the streets of New York.’
‘You never told me that.’
‘You never asked. Besides, it’s not something I care to broadcast.’
He reached for a robe. ‘So – tell me your life history.’
‘One of these days. Right now I’m late for an appointment.’
‘Jeez! I thought we’d be able to sit around an’ bullshit. Don’t make other appointments when you’re seein’ me.’
She hurried into the bathroom. ‘When do you leave?’ she called out.
‘In a few days.’
‘I’ll miss you.’
‘Not as much as I’m gonna miss you.’
* * *
Susan looked impatiently at her gold Patek Philippe watch as she sat on the outdoor terrace of the Bel Air Hotel. Paige was late. Again. She was always late, that is when she had time to see her at all. For the past few months their meetings had been impossibly brief and Susan was beginning to suspect Paige had someone else.
She frowned, and realized she wouldn’t be able to stand it if Paige told her it was over between them. It wasn’t fair. She couldn’t take it. Paige meant everything to her.
The waiter at her elbow asked her if she would care for another drink. She ordered her third Martini, and sat back to wait.
Within minutes Paige arrived looking flustered, her hair a mess, and her outfit ridiculous.
The two women kissed.
‘I am so busy!’ Paige exclaimed. ‘It seems everyone is into new decor. Ever since they featured the house I did for Ramo Kaliffe in Architectural Digest my life is not my own.’
Susan smiled politely. Paige smelt of musk and sex, she always did. Two men across the terrace were staring. Paige attracted attention wherever she went. She was not beautiful, not even pretty, but her allure spoke volumes.
‘I thought you weren’t coming,’ Susan said reproachfully.
‘You know I’m always late.’
‘We’re going on a cruise through the Greek Islands with Dimitri Stanislopoulos. I had to see you before we left.’ Susan lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘It’s been two months since we’ve . . . been together. I can’t stand it any longer.’
Paige gazed restlessly across the terrace. Her eyes met one of the men who had been staring. He raised his glass to her. She wondered if she knew him, decided it was probably a friend of Ryder’s, and acknowledged him with a wave.
‘Well?’ Susan questioned insistently. ‘Don’t you think two months is a long time? Don’t you miss me as much as I miss you?’
Paige took a deep breath. How did one tell a woman it was over? If Susan had been a man it would have been a cinch.
She picked some nuts from a dish on the table. ‘Ryder has never been an easy man to live with,’ she began.
‘I know that Susan interrupted. ‘Do you think Gino is easy? He’s old and difficult and sex-crazed. I just don’t know how I stand him. If it wasn’t for you I—’
‘Listen to me,’ said Paige forcefully. She didn’t want to hear about how terrible Gino was. She happened to think Gino was pretty special, and for just that reason she planned to give up all her other lovers – including Susan. ‘Ryder has changed. I don’t know what’s come over him – but he has certainly changed, and it’s for the better.’
Susan stared at her blankly. ‘What?’
‘I want to give our marriage a fair chance,’ Paige said with false conviction.
‘What?’ Susan repeated numbly.
‘Excuse me, ladies.’ The man whose eye Paige had caught earlier was at their table. He was middle-aged and L.A. casual. ‘I have taken the liberty of ordering champagne.’
The waiter deposited an ice bucket with a bottle of Dom Perignon next to the table.
‘My friend and I decided that two beautiful women such as yourselves deserve only the best,’ said the man. At which point his friend, short with a beard, joined him, and they stood there expectantly, waiting to be asked to join the party.
‘Thank you,’ Paige said graciously, crossing her legs.
They caught her scent and stood ramrod straight. Two hounds ready for the chase.
‘I would ask you to join us’, she continued, ‘but Mrs Santangelo has just suffered a death in the family – so I am sure you can understand this is not the right time for us to become . . . social.’
‘Sure,’ the first man said emphatically. ‘Wouldn’t dream of troubling you and Mrs Santer – um, maybe you might be free for dinner later?’
‘What a tempting offer,’ Paige sighed. ‘But quite impossible. So nice meeting you.’ She re-crossed her legs, giving them another whiff of paradise, and dismissed them by turning her back.
They got the message and walked reluctantly off.
‘What do you mean – you’re giving your marriage a fair chance?’ Susan asked in a furious whisper.
‘Exactly what it sounds like’, Paige replied calmly. ‘I’m going to be faithful.’
‘You!’ exclaimed Susan scornfully. ‘Never!’
The waiter poured champagne.
‘Please don’t underestimate me,’ Paige murmured. ‘If I want to do something I do it.’
Susan’s eyes filled with tears. ‘What about us?’ she asked mournfully.
‘We’ll put what we had on hold, and see what happens.’
Chapter Sixty-Four
Alice Golden arrived in Las Vegas two days after her son’s wedding made worldwide headlines. She was not exactly what he needed in his life at that particular moment. He had a wife, and stepdaughter and he was busy trying to get used to them. An instant mother was unnecessary luggage. However – to hear Alice tell it – mother and son had been inseparable. She had taught him everything he knew. And while Olympia entering their tightly knit relationship was a shock – Alice was prepared to accept her with open arms. She had given three ‘exclusive’ interviews to that effect before she even saw Lennie.
He greeted her warily as she was ushered into his suite by a bemused Jess.
‘I found her kicking up a fuss in the lobby,’ Jess whispered, ‘demanding God knows what, so I thought I’d better bring her up. I don’t think she remembers me.’
‘My darling!’ Alice exclaimed, throwing open her spidery arms. Dieting had caused her flesh to become scrawny, and her hair was bleached a ‘too white’ blonde. She hugged Lennie tightly.
‘Alice,’ he said, ‘what are you doing here?’
‘What am I doing here?’ She gazed around the suite as if there was an attentive audience, when in fact there was only Jess and Lennie. ‘What am I doing here? Your mother. Your flesh and blood. What am I doing here. Hah! A funny kind of question from a boy who just got married without a word to his caring, worrying, lonely mother.’
Finally she was doing Jewish mother schtick. Lennie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘Cut it out, Alice,’ he said.
Jess hovered. She couldn’t make up her mind if she should stay or go. Lennie made it up for her. ‘Order tea,’ he said brusquely, ‘for the three of us.’
Alice was clutching a battered carpet-bag which had obviously seen better days. She placed it on the floor and looked around. ‘Where’s the hairness?’ she asked.
‘The what?’ questioned Lennie.
‘I think she means heiress’, said Jess, trying to stifle a giggle. ‘Isn’t that what you mean, Mrs Golden? Heiress?’
Alice peered at her through three sets of stiff false eyelashes. ‘Who are you?’ she asked crossly. ‘You look familiar.’
‘Lennie’s old school friend, Jess Skolsky.’
Alice stared. ‘The shrimp,’ she said at last, bringing back every painful memory Jess had of growing up.
Alice sat down on the couch. She was wearing a cheap polyester dress, cut low to exhibit tired breasts, an
d short to exhibit still spectacular legs. ‘I flew here,’ she announced. ‘The men on the plane wouldn’t leave me alone. When I told everyone I was your mother, Lennie, the women wouldn’t leave me alone. I have four numbers for you, but I don’t expect you’ll want them now you’re married.’
‘My wife wouldn’t be thrilled,’ he commented dryly.
‘Where is she? I came to see for myself this . . .’ she paused, determined to get the word right, ‘hairess.’
‘Her name’s Olympia.’
‘Fancy name.’ She favoured him with an accusing look. ‘You could have phoned me. You could have invited me to the wedding. You could have told me you were headlining in Vegas – my home – my town. I was a star here too, once, you know. Not that long ago. Alice the Swizzle. I’m still famous in this town. You should only know how famous. You should be as famous as I once was – maybe still am. Who knows if they remember . . .’ she trailed off.
‘Where are you staying, Mrs Golden?’ Jess asked politely, thinking the time had come to ease her out. Lennie liked to be alone before the evening show.
‘Here, of course’, Alice snapped waspishly. ‘Arrange it for me. I am the star’s mother you know. I deserve recognition. Without me he wouldn’t be here, would he?’
‘And how long will you be staying?’
‘As long as my boy wants me to.’
Lennie shrugged helplessly. ‘I just got married y’know.’
‘That’s why I’m here.’
He didn’t have the heart to tell her to get lost. Who needed a mother after thirty-two years?
Whether he needed her or not she was very much present. Olympia and Alice together should be a riot. He couldn’t wait.
* * *
The day after the reception – as soon as she was sure her wedding pictures covered the world press – Olympia phoned Flash in the south of France. A girlish voice answered.
‘Get me Flash,’ Olympia demanded imperiously. ‘And hurry up, I’m calling from America.’
She then had an eleven minute wait before his rich Cockney tones crackled down the line. ‘I s’pose it’s you,’ he remarked rudely. ‘Fuckin’ marvellous! I waited at the airport two bleedin’ hours last week, an’ I don’t usually give airport.’