Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“Yeah, she is. I imagine none of them made that easy for you,” he says quietly, his hand coming over to squeeze mine.
I give an attempt at a smile. “They weren’t bad, honestly. If you think about it, they could have spit in my face. I deserved that, or worse. Thea was nicer than any of them, which surprised me. She was better to me than I deserve. She still texts me now and then to check on me and see how I’m dealing with Diego’s death.”
“That’s good, sweetheart.”
“It is,” I answer, ignoring his throwaway endearment. “I know it’s weird, but it has helped me push my past behind me a little more.” King doesn’t respond, but he squeezes my hand again.
I go quiet as he pulls into the drive of my rental. Excitement fills me. This will be my first home for me and my child. I don’t know how to express all the feelings that I have surging inside of me. It feels like I’m finally taking control of my life. I’m not going to be beholden to anyone any longer. The future ahead of me and my jellybean will be what I make it. When King shuts off the truck, I quickly open my door and step outside. The first thing I do is take a deep breath as I smile at my new landlord, who is on the front porch. As oxygen fills me, I taste it.
Freedom and new beginnings.
Nothing has ever been so sweet.
Chapter 11
King
I see it in her face. Fuck me. I see it. She’s feeling happy as we walk toward the landlord. It’s a man. For some reason, I was expecting a woman. He’s watching Gabby and I do not like the look on his face. I wrap my arm around her, my fingers resting on her hip. I feel the minute Gabby tenses up.
“What are you doing?” she whispers, annoyance clear in her voice.
“I don’t like the looks of this guy. I’m letting him know you’re claimed.”
“Claimed? Have you lost your mind?”
“Woman, if it keeps you safe, let him think what he wants.”
She stares at me, swallows nervously, and pastes a smile on her face. “Fine,” she murmurs. I get the feeling she’d say a lot more if we weren’t almost to the guy. I lean down and kiss her forehead. Her eyes lift to take me in and I grin down at her as they dilate while surprise lights her features.
“Gabby. It’s good to see you again.”
“Hey Mick. Thanks for agreeing to speed up the process. I decided I didn’t want to wait.”
“I’m happy to. I had a lot of interest in this property. I wanted it to go to someone I knew would take care of it. It can be hard to find good renters these days.”
“We’ll be sure to take good care of the place.”
Gabby squeezes my hand. I can feel her nails biting into my skin. She doesn’t argue with me, though—which is a good thing.
“Are you her …?”
He leaves his question open-ended. I do not. “Yeah, man. I am.”
“I thought this was a single rental,” he counters.
I can feel the resistance in Gabby until this asshole says that. Then she leans into me. “I don’t remember a question on the rental application about if I was dating anyone, only if I had children. Which I was very upfront about, I believe,” she responds.
He looks back at her, resignation on his face. “You’re right, of course. It was just … a surprise,” he responds, not looking us in the eye. However, I see it. He looks at Gabby and then at me. I see the disgust written all over his face. It’s nothing new. People look at the color of my skin and don’t like seeing me near someone with Gabby’s coloring. In response, I smirk at him, daring the motherfucker to say anything. I see the minute fear trembles through him and my smirk turns into a full-fledged grin. “As I said over the phone, I will need a month’s rent and the safety deposit.”
“I have a check ready,” Gabby answers right away. She reaches into a purse she has hanging from her shoulder across her stomach and resting on her hip. She pulls out a check and hands it to him. “I’m actually paying three months in advance. With the baby coming soon, I’m not sure how hectic things will be,” she explains. The pride she has is hard to miss. Hell, she should be proud. I sure am. Gabby’s pregnant, holding down a job and getting on her feet with practically zero help. Scratch that. She’s not getting any. They may have given her a place to stay at the club, but she worked in the kitchen there and helped with cleaning. She did this even after working all day at the diner. No one asked her to do that shit either. She demanded it.