Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
That made it a little easier to accept. I didn’t like that she’d shopped on his dime, not caring about the cost.
“Do you still want me and Gypsi to go?” I asked with uncertainty.
A grin curled his lips. “Yes, pretty baby. I want you there. With me. I want to get to know Gypsi. My goal is to have you both under my roof as often as possible. But you get to control that. I won’t push. But I will use every ounce of charm I have to get what I want. You’ve been warned.”
I bit back a smile. “Charm, huh?”
He nodded. “It’s pretty damn powerful.”
I laughed. “Oh, Garrett Hughes, I have no doubt it is.”
Twenty-Eight
Fawn
I decided that the best way to tell Gypsi about Garrett and this weekend was to take the dresses, shoes, and accessories, along with the suitcases Garrett had given me, to the camper. Taking Gypsi to Garrett’s first would be too overwhelming. It wasn’t that I thought Gypsi would disapprove, but part of me worried that she’d be disappointed in me for getting involved with another man so soon. It wasn’t always the case. In her life, I had gone years without dating. I’d put my sole focus on her. Been both mom and dad for her. Also sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa. I had been it all, and when she had been growing up, that had taken a lot of work.
I wanted to set a good example for her on the kind of men she needed to let into her life. Garrett was the fairy-tale sort, and I didn’t think she’d take this seriously. Whatever it was he and I were doing, small doses would be best. Starting with the derby.
Garrett had asked if he could handle Gypsi’s work and get her the weekend off. My first reaction had been no. But then if they didn’t let her off work, we wouldn’t be able to go.
I’d agreed to him using his power, which seemed to reach far and wide. He had dropped me off with all our things, come inside the camper, and fucked me on the edge of the kitchen sink before leaving me to wait on Gypsi’s arrival.
The new iPhone—which he’d also convinced me to take by showing me the app that tracked Gypsi’s phone—had my complete attention. I watched as she drove the speed limit—my little rule follower. She was almost here. I closed the screen and slipped the phone into the pocket of my linen slacks.
I was dressed in a casual outfit that Garrett had provided for the lunch he took me to at the country club. The white linen pants and sleeveless brown-red-and-black plaid halter top hadn’t seemed too expensive, but I’d felt as if I fit in with the way the other women were dressed. I still intended to put this back in that closet at his house. I wasn’t keeping the clothes he’d bought me. Even the casual, more affordable ones.
The car door closed outside, and I prepared myself for Gypsi’s reaction to the dresses, shoes, and jewelry I had laid out for us. The camper door opened, and her eyes swung to mine, then dropped to the outfit I was wearing. It was not my typical booty shorts and tank top that I wore when at home.
“Mom, what are you wearing?” she asked slowly as she came inside.
“I had lunch with a friend,” I explained.
She raised her eyebrows. “So, you just ran out and bought a Burberry top and high-end linen pants for the event?” The sarcasm in her tone wasn’t lost on me.
I glanced down at the top. “This is Burberry?” I asked.
“Uh, yeah, Mom. That’s their signature print. Don’t tell me you found that at a consignment shop or Goodwill. Because we are selling it on Poshmark if you did. We can make at least six hundred on that.”
My mouth dropped open. “This shirt cost six hundred dollars?” There was barely any material to it.
Gypsi shook her head, grinning, clearly amused with my cluelessness. “No, Mom, it probably runs close to a thousand, if not more.”
“Are you serious?!” I gasped.
Gypsi plopped a hand on her hip and leveled me with her gaze. “Where did you get that? You don’t have a clue about its cost.”
I sighed, then put a smile back on my face. I should have been prepared for the fact that anything Garrett had bought was expensive. The man didn’t know how to buy off the sale rack or hit up Target.
“That’s something I want to talk to you about,” I began. “You know what the Kentucky Derby is, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, horse racing, rich people, and hats.”
I wanted to laugh at her description, but I held it back. “More or less. Anyway, we have been invited to go. All expenses paid. Even our wardrobe has been provided,” I gushed with excitement, hoping it rubbed off on her. Then, I waved my hand toward the bed, where I had laid out our clothing.