“He’s doing great,” I said. “How’ve you been?”
“I’m okay. This gig is only temporary,” he quickly added. “I was working as a go-go dancer, but the club got shut down. I thought this would be a step up, but boy was I wrong. Turns out bachelorettes are terrifying. They’re like a pack of drunk, horny wolves in miniskirts.” That was a mental picture I could have done without, but I nodded sympathetically before introducing Jack and Charlie.
He asked if I’d give Romy his number, and while he was writing it on the back of a business card, I told him, “Just FYI, I’m not the person who booked this limo.” It probably seemed odd that three men in suits were choosing to get around in a giant party-mobile.
He smiled at me as he handed over the card and said, “I know. I’ve been driving Nana and her husband around all afternoon. She told me to call her that, by the way. She’s a trip. When she found out I was gay, I think she wanted to adopt me.”
Charlie nodded and said, “Yup, she does that.”
Once we were settled into the black and hot pink interior and headed toward the Strip, Jack took my hand and said, “I know this is tacky. I do. But it’s my first time in a limo, and it’s actually pretty amazing.”
“It’s my first time, too,” I told him. “Why don’t you see what those buttons do?”
He got some music playing with the control panel beside him, and once he managed to open the sun roof, we both looked at each other and grinned. Then we stood up so we were sticking out of the roof, and he laughed delightedly. I loved seeing the pure joy on his face. It made me think I’d do anything to keep him happy.
Charlie stood up a few moments later and brushed his short brown hair back as the wind whipped it around. “I feel like we’re on our way to prom,” he said with a grin.
It was a fairly short ride, and we spent all of it standing. Dante was waiting out front when the limo arrived at our destination, and he chuckled and snapped a picture of the three of us with his phone.
Our reservation was at a new, celebrity chef-owned restaurant inside a massive hotel and casino. Like the limo, it had been Nana’s idea. It was a wonder that they’d managed a reservation on only a few days’ notice, but then the Dombrusos had a lot of connections.
As we cut across the glitzy, golden lobby, Dante said, “Let’s go upstairs for a few minutes. I booked us a suite so we’d have a quiet place to talk. The restaurant and its bar are so crowded and noisy that you can barely hear yourself think.” Then he sent a text as we rode the elevator to the top floor.
We found Vincent waiting for us in the hallway. “Good to see you again,” I said, as we shook hands. That felt a little formal, but he didn’t really strike me as the hugging type.
He led us into the opulent penthouse suite, where we were joined by a slender brunet. Vincent looked at the man lovingly and said, “Adriano and Jack, I’d like you to meet my husband, Trevor.”
After we shook his hand and exchanged greetings, Jack asked, “Are your kids here, too?”
“No,” Trevor said, as he took Vincent’s hand. “We’re just here overnight, and Josh and Darwin are babysitting for us. Mike’s three teenage sons are ‘helping’ babysit, too. That means gorging themselves on pizza and staying up way too late playing video games.”
Dante turned to the couple who’d just joined us and said, “Mikey, meet your brother Adriano, and his boyfriend Jack.”
Mike looked a lot like Dante and Vincent with his big build, dark hair, and olive skin. He frowned at his older brother, and then he surprised me by grabbing me in a hug as he said, “I’m so happy to meet you. Just FYI, everyone calls me Mike except for Dante and Vincent, because they’re assholes and refuse to let me outgrow Mikey.”
Then Mike let go of me and introduced us to his husband Yoshi, who was a handsome Japanese-American guy with an intricate black ink tattoo on one arm. He studied me curiously as we shook hands and said, “Wow, this is wild. I could barely believe it when Vincent told us about another brother, but you’re definitely a Dombruso. The resemblance is hard to miss.”
“There’s one more brother to meet,” Dante said, as we moved from the entryway into the suite’s spacious living room.
I asked, “Is Gianni here?”
Vincent nodded. “He and his husband are in the bedroom. Dante felt it was best to give him the news about potentially having a different dad in person, so he only found that out an hour ago.”
I asked, “Is he okay?”
“Yeah. He’s just taking some time to process it,” Mike said. “I’ll go tell him you’re here.”
He left the living room while the rest of us took a seat on the white leather couches, and Yoshi told us, “Gianni’s husband is famous, by the way. I’m just throwing that out there so you don’t freak out when you meet him.”
Jack asked, “How famous are we talking here?”
Yoshi considered the question before saying, “Well, he was huge about twenty years ago, and then he took a hiatus from his musical career for a while. He’s made a comeback in the last few years though, so he’s pretty much back to being recognized everywhere he goes. You’ve probably heard of him. His name’s—”
Jack whispered, “Zan Tillane. No fucking way,” as the pop star came into the living room. He looked like he was about fifty, with greying, slightly long hair and a beard, and he was holding hands with a blue-eyed brunet, who was eyeing me curiously.
There was another round of introductions. Instead of shaking my hand, Gianni held it between both of his and said, “Dante called and told me about you a few days ago. Apparently there was a bit more to the story, though. I found out the rest earlier this evening.”
“I’m sorry I stirred things up like that.” I felt guilty, even though I hadn’t actually done anything wrong.