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)
“Well, with that, I guess I can give you the keys. I was going to show you around once more, but it appears you have someone with you to help you with that.”
“Yes. She does.” I say at once, not liking this guy’s vibe whatsoever. I’d like to introduce his smug face to my fist. The only reason I haven’t is because I know that would keep Gabby from having her own place and she’s too happy to allow that. If there’s a woman around who deserves happiness right now, it’d definitely be Gabby.
“King,” Gabby admonishes quietly. “Thank you, Mick. I truly appreciate all your kindness.”
“We’ll talk soon,” he says, sparing me a glance. He’s at least smart enough to give me a wide berth as he walks out into the drive.
“You just make friends wherever you go. Don’t you, King?” Gabby hisses.
I look down at her, smiling and enjoying her temper. “Woman, that guy is a grade-A asshole.”
“He’s been really nice to me,” she argues.
“Of course he has. He wants in your pants.”
Her mouth drops open, then she looks at me like she can’t believe what I said. “You’re crazy!”
“No, I’m not. That fucking asshole was undressing you in his mind from the moment you stepped out of the truck.”
“He was not! Oh my God, King, you need therapy.”
“Gabby, he was!” I insist.
“I’m almost seven months pregnant, King!”
“So?”
“So? Men do not hit on women who are seven months pregnant.”
“Wrong, Sunshine. They do when that woman looks like you and doesn’t have a man at her side.”
“A woman that looks like me? You mean someone who looks permanently tired, and like she has swallowed a watermelon and couldn’t digest it? And while we’re having this discussion. Stop calling me Sunshine. I don’t like it.”
“Gabby, when is the last time that you looked in the mirror? Also, I’m not going to stop calling you Sunshine. It fits you.”
“It doesn’t! And unfortunately, I look in the mirror daily. So, yes, I know what I look like, and I know I’m not the kind of girl a man looks at twice—especially being heavily pregnant.”
“Okay, then, in this case, you don’t get a vote.”
“Huh?” she squeaks, completely confused.
“Whatever place you’re operating from in that brain of yours, it’s not seeing correctly. Therefore, you can’t have a vote in this. I’m a man. He’s questionable, but I’m thinking he has a dick since it’s clear he wants to stick it into you. That means I’m the expert vote and trust me, that man wants in your pants.”
She gives me a look that I’m pretty sure is designed to kill me dead. Lucky for me, it doesn’t. I watch as she opens the door to her new home and walks inside. I look around, frowning. It’s not a bad place, but it doesn’t look like somewhere I’d want to bring my baby home to. The room we walk into appears to be a living room. The walls are painted a red color that would hurt your eyes. At least the flooring looks relatively new. It’s a gray floating floor. There’s no furniture in the room and that makes me frown. I don’t remark on it, though. I’m not going to tap down on her excitement. There are two open doorways in the room. One is straight ahead and just peering through it appears it leads into a kitchen. The other doorway is to the right, and it leads into a hallway.
“Don’t you love it?” she exclaims. “I know the walls need painted. I’m thinking a gray throughout that’s just a little darker than the floors. I was going to paint the baseboards white. I think that will brighten it up in here and yet make it all feel homey.”
I said I wasn’t going to, but I can’t seem to stop myself. “Sunshine, there’s no furniture.”
“The kitchen is fully equipped. Plus, the master bedroom has a bed. For the other one, I bought the pack and play for the baby, although to be honest, I’m probably going to keep my jellybean with me. I was thinking I’d go out to the Peddler’s Mall tomorrow. It’s my day off. I can find a cheap rocking chair and a couch, maybe. Get some linens and things. That’s really all I need. I’m going to be leaving after the baby is born and I make sure he or she is healthy. I won’t be able to haul my furniture. So, there’s no point in getting a lot,” she reasons.
“Peddler’s Mall?”
“Yeah, it’s in an old furniture store. It’s like two stories of secondhand items. You can find some really nice buys there. I’ll go by the hardware store and get some paint first, though. Since I’m going to be redoing about every room, I’m going to do it all in the same color. It will save money if I buy the five-gallon jug option. But first, I need to make sure of how much money I have to work with before I go hog wild and buy other things. I want to get a really nice rug so the baby can have somewhere soft for tummy time and to learn to sit up and things. I mean, the pack and play will have a playpen, so that can work, but I want to be able to get on the floor and play with my jellybean. You can hardly do that in a playpen.”