Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
He loved his family, but we both knew this was ridiculous, so I gave him another quick kiss. “Deal.”
Because I couldn’t move in or even start to plan our engagement without them learning some boundaries.
Hugging me tight and nearly laughing, he buried his face in my neck. “You’re the best Daddy ever.”
We’d just see if that thought continued after I laid down the law.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Camden
“Gonna go paint a penis. Gonna go paint a penis. But not Daddy’s penis because that’s a no-no.” Bouncing down the hall, I called out to Daddy. “Have fun setting boundaries, Daddy.”
As he laughed, I skipped into my studio. “Gonna paint a penis. Gonna paint a penis.”
Boundaries and penises and cheesecake with dinner.
It was going to be the best day ever.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Gray
“No, Mother. This conversation is over, and if you keep asking me the same questions over and over, I’ll stop answering your calls and send you to my admin.” As she huffed into the phone and tried to regroup, I smiled. “Oh, and just to make sure we’re clear. The charity ball? You have to find your own escort. I’m taking Camden.”
Hanging up the phone as she sucked in a dramatic breath was the best feeling ever.
She was crazy if she thought asking me to take her friend’s daughter out on a date as a favor was acceptable. Hell, the woman knew I’d started talking to the jewelers about Camden’s engagement ring.
Boundaries were clearly needed on both sides of the family.
“I’m surrounded by morons.” Taking a breath as I walked into the same café where my mother liked to torture me, I ignored the flashbacks of the last time I was in there and found Camden’s parents in the far corner.
Sanderson looked a bit older than I remembered, but his wife looked just as beautiful as always and gave me a glimpse of how Camden would look when we got older—lovely and with a face that was still as expressive as his was now.
Because she looked nervous.
And a bit guilty.
I wasn’t sure if it was because I was going to tell them to back off or if it was to do with something else, but all I had to do was remember the four phone calls in a row last week when Camden had been showing me my surprise for my resolve to firm up again.
As I made my way over, Sanderson stood and shook my hand. “Gray, this is my wife, Robin. I’m not sure if you two have actually met before.”
When the introductions were made and niceties expressed, I sat down and got right to business. “I’m not going to drag this out and sugarcoat it. I’m also going to be rudely blunt and overshare. I just want to make that clear.”
Robin nibbled on her lip and looked over at Sanderson a bit like Camden did to me, but Sanderson just sighed. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t care about excuses.” Since it seemed like he was ready to defend their insanity, I jumped right in. “You called four times in a row the other night while we were…let’s call it engaged in private activities. Four, Sander.”
It hadn’t taken many questions to figure out that Camden had mentioned our schedule to his mother and they’d thought I wouldn’t be over that night.
Well, plans changed and I’d been staying over a lot lately.
“Please explain how that’s reasonable.” Leaning back, I politely waved off the waitress as she stepped into my line of sight.
The quick grin that flashed across her face said she recognized me and probably the drama that inevitably followed in my wake.
I was going to owe her a big tip.
The silence dragged out until Robin sighed softly and that seemed to be Sanderson’s cue to keep going. “He struggled as a teen and young adult and he needs…supervision.”
Good grief.
“Unless there’s a mental health condition no one has said anything about, your behavior is damned near stalking.” I waited, curious to see how they would respond.
“Well, he was dramatic in high school.” Sanderson looked at Robin, who nodded. “But he’s just very distracted and even as an adult sometimes he wanders off and—”
What?
“Wandering off? Do you mean when he traveled by himself as a grown-ass adult and didn’t get your permission?” Thankfully, Camden had mentioned that drama when we’d been talking over dinner the other night.
“He disappeared.” Robin finally chimed in, but it wasn’t helpful.
“He went to Paris, not backpacking through Africa.” Yes, Camden’s travels seemed to be spur of the moment trips that he took when inspiration hit, but he was self-employed and an artist. I’d worry more if he was a hermit.
“That’s so dangerous, though. And what if he ended up stuck without money and we didn’t know where he was?” Her worries seemed genuine, but they weren’t logical unless they hadn’t been asking enough questions about his career.