Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Shirt on,” she replied, glancing up at me quickly, then reaching down to pick up a Reese’s Cup before sitting down on the sofa.
I pulled the T-shirt on, then grabbed a piece of the peanut butter and chocolate fudge I’d special-ordered at the chocolate shop in town. “This shit is delicious. You have to try one.”
“I’d better eat some pizza first,” she said. “If I let myself, I’ll get full on all this.”
“We’ve got all night,” I told her, then reached for the game remotes. “How was work?”
I liked hearing about her job. The people she worked with and the drama in their lives. She got so fucking animated, telling me about it. At times, I wanted to grab her face and kiss the hell out of her for being so damn cute.
“It was my last day,” she said, not looking at me.
I studied her profile. Something was off. I hadn’t known she was quitting. Was she planning on leaving? I wasn’t ready for her to leave.
“Did something happen? I didn’t know you were quitting.”
She wasn’t leaving me. Not yet. I had a lot of shit I wanted to do with her first.
“No. I, uh, just thought I needed to find a job that pays more. Maybe a waitress or something. Mom isn’t working as much at night because she’s with your dad a lot. They’ve said the L-word, and I don’t know what that means for him, but my mom doesn’t tell men she loves them. So, I’m thinking I’ll be on my own soon. I need to start saving more money.”
It meant Dad was going to marry her. That was what it meant. I’d seen it coming. But knowing he’d told her he loved her meant this was not going to end the way I wanted it to. Why couldn’t he have drawn this out? Let me have more time with Gypsi before things got complicated.
“Where would you waitress?” I asked. “Would you really make that much more, doing that?”
She shrugged. “I figure tips would make more than working for ten dollars an hour at the coffee shop. The tips there aren’t much.”
“You know, if they get married, my dad will expect you to move in here. Your mom would be happy, and that would make my dad happy. You leaving is going to upset her. You two are tight.” And I want to keep you around awhile. Preferably on my cock.
She gave me a sad smile. “Yeah, I’m worried about her being upset too. But I will be twenty soon, and I can’t just move in here. I’m not a child she has to take care of. I’m an adult. There is no reason for me to live with my mom.”
“I’m twenty-one, and I live with my dad still,” I pointed out.
She laughed. “Yes, but you work here too. This is a family business. It would be stupid for you to leave just to come back here every day for work. Plus, this place is massive.”
“Exactly. It’s massive, and you already have a bedroom here.”
“I just can’t, Trev. It feels wrong.”
Fuck, she was stubborn. That was going to be an issue when she became family. Dad wasn’t going to allow her to take the fucking camper and travel alone in it. “You traveling alone in a camper feels wrong. Have you looked in a mirror? Are you aware how fucking gorgeous you are? It’s not safe for you to travel like you’re planning on doing.”
As the words I’d said sank in, the tightness in my chest was uncomfortable. I didn’t like the idea of her being in danger. I wasn’t going to be okay with it, I realized. Her leaving would be an issue. I knew my dad and he wasn’t going to want her to leave but I also didn’t know how much power her mom would have over his decision. Would her mom let her go if that was what she really wanted?
“Mom and I have traveled like this most of our lives. Sure, we’ve had some times that got a little scary. But we’ve learned the ways to keep safe. I will be smart about it.”
Her words caused a clawing unease inside of me. They’d been scared? What the fuck had happened? Did Dad know this? Why the hell was he allowing them to stay in that camper? I needed to think about something else. This conversation was pissing me off. Everything she was saying was making me furious.
“If your mom marries my dad, then you’re under the family’s protection, just like she is. Fuck, if Dad is in love, then you’re already under the family’s protection. Moving in here is the best way to keep you safe.” My words came out with the same fucking urgency that was building inside of me.
She laughed softly. I wasn’t fucking joking, so why was she laughing?