Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
I shot him a mystified look. “You really have been dating the worst sort of people, haven’t you?”
He grinned and tugged me in for another kiss. “Not anymore.”
I swatted at him, but that thing happened in my stomach again. “Oh, shush. Do you want me to get a lawyer, or do you have one on staff?”
“I know a guy.”
“Good. Do the thing, so I can mark it off the list.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t ma’am me,” I said, wrinkling my nose at him.
He laughed and threaded our fingers together as we headed back toward his work. “You can call me sir.” He winked at me. “In bed.”
“Yes, I gathered that’s what you were referring too,” I said with a shake of my head. But I was smiling … and considering it.
When we made it back to my work, Gavin drew me in for another long kiss. “I missed you while I was gone.”
“Well, I am very missable.”
“You are. And my mom and aunt say hi. They’re excited for the wedding. Mom wanted to throw you a bridal shower in Midland, but there’s not a lot of time.”
I bit my lip. “Is it a faux pas to accept a bridal shower for a fake wedding?”
“It’s still a real wedding, Whit.” He curled a lock of rainbow hair around a finger. “I’d take you with me if you wanted to do it.”
“Put it on the list.” I hadn’t thought about things like bridal showers. I loved his family. I’d rather do one there than with my family and their friends.
“We could go to Dallas after that to check on your dad too,” he suggested.
I swallowed and nodded. “Okay. Maybe.”
“And I have another request.”
“What else?” I asked with fake exasperation.
“The opening of the summer season in the Hamptons is next weekend.”
“So?”
“So … Camden has a house, and normally, I show up whenever I can get drunk. But I thought we could go. Think a vineyard event and a cupcake gala for LGBTQ+ youth and beach parties.”
I snorted. “That’s not really my scene.”
He leaned into me and ran his thumb along my bottom lip. “Bonfires and late-night pool dips and sex in Camden’s mansion.”
“Now, you’re speaking my language.”
“It could be fun. Just me and you and the high society of Manhattan on vacation.”
“You have a way of making it sound appealing and ridiculous.” I touched my hair. “They’re all going to sneer at the rainbow.”
“So what? Like we care what anyone else thinks. Come get drunk and have lots of sex with me all over the Hamptons.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Fine. You win. I’ll go with you. But if someone acts like a bitch, I’m probably going to get in a fight.”
“And I’ll be there to back up my feisty little pixie. But since we’re staying with the king and queen of the Upper East Side, no one will say anything … to your face at least.”
“Real reassuring, King.”
“You’ve already agreed. Pack a bag. We’re going.”
“Fine.”
He kissed me again, long and hard. “I like winning. It’s fun.”
“Get out of here before I change my mind.”
Still, he kissed me again. “I really did miss you.”
Then, he stepped back onto the sidewalk and headed to work. My stomach flipped traitorously.
What was Gavin King doing to me?
22
GAVIN
Opening the social season in the Hamptons was a pastime that I didn’t think could be improved. Then, I stashed Whitley Bowen in the passenger seat of my black Jaguar convertible with the top down and blasted music, and we sang at the tops of our lungs the entire way out of the city. Her sweet voice the tune for the drive. Her mermaid hair blew wild and free as we turned toward the Hamptons.
“You’ve really never been here for the start of the season?” I asked her as we crawled through the busy streets in Friday afternoon traffic.
“Never. I’ve been out here a few times over the summer, but I usually decide to work instead.”
“You’ll love it. Bringing Manhattan to the Hamptons is always a treat.”
“If it’s all the same people, I don’t get what the big deal is.”
“Mostly to escape the oppressive city heat and retreat away from the peons.”
She snorted. “You’re an elitist dick.”
“Joking,” I said with a wicked grin. “It’s just nice to go to the beach and party away from work.”
“Fair.” She stuck her hand out the side of the window and wove it through the air. “It is beautiful out today.”
My gaze swept over her. She was beautiful. Over the last couple of weeks that I had gotten to spend alone with Whitley, my already-unprecedented need for her had only grown. The look on her face when I spent a few days out of town had proven to me that she felt the same. Even if she wasn’t ready to admit as such. She’d told me she missed me, and that had felt like a step in the right direction.