Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
I bet he didn’t.
Harley opened and closed his mouth a few times, but we were patient. “I think I might need to figure out privacy limits too. I…I’m an only child and never lived with anyone else.”
Oh.
Looking a bit like Harley had just announced he was an alien, Dally frowned and couldn’t seem to process the information. “There’s just one of you? One? And you’ve always lived alone?”
I wasn’t sure I could chime in, but I raised my hand. “Me too. The closest thing I’ve had to living with someone was half a semester in college where I had a roommate.”
That hadn’t lasted long because they hadn’t understood boundaries and limits either.
“I…” Dumbfounded, Dally kept looking back and forth between us. “That’s so weird.”
We were not the weird ones.
Harley smiled instead of pointing that out, though. “I bet you have good stories about your family, don’t you, Daddy?”
He was learning fast about how to distract his Daddy.
I approved…but I wasn’t going to let him do it to me.
“I have lots of stories. Bathroom stories and getting lost stories and frog stories and getting lost with the frog stories.” Dally seemed to be serious about that list which just made Harley’s smile widen. “Oh, and then there are cake stories and getting lost because of the cake stories.”
Had he been the one getting lost?
Had he said how many kids were in his family?
Had he said anything about his family?
Had he said anything about his life that wasn’t strange and vague?
“And then I’ve got getting forcefully lost stories.” Dally gave Harley a quick cheek kiss. “But don’t worry. They only did that a few times and I got returned fast.”
For fuck’s sake.
7
DALLY
“Daddy, is…” Harley’s voice dropped as he walked slower and ended up well behind Pokey…who was surprisingly not pokey when he had somewhere to go. “Is Papa rich?”
“It’s entirely possible, but remember, we don’t judge people for things they can’t control like being Type-A.” It was sad really. “He probably can’t help it. My best friend has a rich Daddy and it’s sad but there’s nothing he can do about it. You love who you love and deal with the rest.”
Harley stopped on the sidewalk in front of the ridiculously fancy building. “Oh. I…I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
Most people hadn’t.
“That’s why rich people find special partners. They need distractions and people in their life to give them something to do other than work. He’s probably working a thousand hours a week and his doctor probably told him to find a hobby before he drops dead at his desk.” That man was one glare away from a heart attack. “He needs us.”
“I…” Harley took a deep breath before he looked up at the building and seemed to lose his train of thought again.
“It was actually find a fucking hobby before I have a stroke.” Santos’s dry tone had us both turning toward him. “And it was only seventy last week because I had that fucking doctor’s appointment.”
I wasn’t sure if I liked being right or not but it wasn’t unexpected.
Santos sighed and somehow managed to keep glaring at the same time. It was a slightly distracting talent but I didn’t get sidetracked. “My great-grandparents started a baby food company that got bought out by one of the first conglomerates. Then their kids started several companies and my parents ended up in law.”
“See? I told you. They just can’t help it.” My family couldn’t help making kids and bad decisions, so we all had our crosses to bear.
At least I couldn’t get pregnant.
I could make wonderfully interesting decisions, though.
“You…you’re right about weird things.” Harley’s gaze bounced between me, his Papa, and the building. “I…I don’t mind it. Honest. I probably should’ve expected it.”
“Yep, rich people are always one deep breath away from shaking everyone around them. It’s the stress.” We’d help Pokey fix that. “It’s why he’s ended up needing two partners. One for helping him unwind and giving him someone to take care of and one for giving him someone to shake.”
Harley looked like he wanted to laugh, especially when his Papa sighed. “That’s ridiculous. I have two partners because you cheat and you’re somehow a package deal.”
That would’ve been more believable if he weren’t thinking about fucking me into the mattress.
“Aww, thanks, Pokey.” Taking Harley’s hand, I took a step toward Pokey and the entrance. “We’re ready. We just got sidetracked.”
“Yes.” Standing straighter, Harley smiled. “We’re ready.”
Pokey looked like he was ready to lecture both of us about something but he only glanced around and nodded. “Yes. Let’s head up.”
To the fancy-shmancy condo.
I was right…overstressed and rich.
Everything in its place and not a single speck of dust…he didn’t even have a pile of junk mail by the door.
“When does your housekeeper come over?” The first rule of dating rich was don’t fuck with the people who managed their lives.