Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
“Wow, it seems like you have big plans for us.”
“I always have big plans Whitney. Why, are you worried?”
She shakes her head, looking a bit dazed.
“I don’t know, everything is moving so fast. It’s all wonderful and amazing, but I feel like I just got off of one of those tilt-a-whirl rides at a carnival; I’m actually on solid ground but my head is still spinning.”
Just then her phone rings. She checks it and says, “Oh sorry. It’s my mom, I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”
She always takes calls from her parents upstairs in what we are calling ‘her’ room. I understand why she hasn’t told them about me. After all, she used to be a cam girl, and I was her client. But surely, we’ve gotten past that phase, right? She could tell them any number of things, including that we met because we’re both in the food and beverage industry. Well, everything in good time. I’d love to meet her parents sometime, and I’ll ask her about it when she comes back a few minutes later.
Sure enough, she comes tripping down in a few minutes.
“Whit, why do you always take your parents’ phone calls upstairs?”
She looks a little uncomfortable but answers while biting her lip.
“Maeve and Donald are very old-fashioned and I don’t think they would like that I’m having all these overnight visits with a man they’ve never met. I don’t even know what to tell them about us, especially now. I’ve just been taking our relationship one day at a time, and I’m good with that. But now, I don’t know.”
I tilt my head.
“What do you mean?”
She twists a strand of hair around her finger.
“Well, you’re talking all these long-term plans for our businesses that intertwine our personal and professional lives. I don’t know exactly how to handle that. What if you get sick of me personally? How will that affect our business relationship? I guess I just don’t want to tell my parents too much if everything goes kersplat.”
I laugh.
“Kersplat? Heck, sweetheart, that’s hilarious. But baby, I think you’re stressing too much. I don’t foresee getting tired of you but even if things don’t work out personally, I would never let that damage SugarTime. Business is business, after all.”
She nods.
“I know that, and I’m not doubting you. I’m simply struggling with parental issues. Their approval is extremely important to me, and they’ve raised me a certain way. Plus, Maeve and Donald have always been my rock. They’ve always had my back a hundred percent, and I don’t want to let them down.”
I nod.
“I get it. The people who raised us are never far from our minds. I love that you have a strong family connection, but what do you say we go upstairs and watch a sexy movie?”
She giggles.
“Sounds good, as long as it isn’t Pretty Woman. I relate a little too much to Julia Roberts’ character Vivian Ward in that movie.”
“Hmm, I guess that would make me Richard Gere, then? I like it,” I say while wiggling my eyebrows. “Although I have black hair, not silver.”
Whitney laughs too, but when she comes close, her eyes are filled with adoration.
“No, you’re way hotter than Richard Gere,” she says pulling me close for a hungry kiss. “And much, much better in every way.”
With her words, my heart does a flip and a tumble, and I’m a goner.
18
Whitney
I swing by my apartment after taking Apollo for an emergency veterinarian visit. He and Demeter have been getting along fabulously, but while chasing her through the house this morning, he ran across a box cutter Peter was using to open the packages of syrups that just arrived for us to sample. The silly cat just got four stitches.
The weather is getting warmer, so I need some spring clothes anyways. This is the perfect time to grab some sundresses, and to bring them back to Peter’s. I haven’t spent a single night back in this apartment since that first time I took Apollo over to the penthouse. Somehow, I ended up staying at Peter’s place and it’s felt right actually. I sleep in his arms every night, and we make love a lot. It has me heady, and many times, I can’t believe this is my life. But waking up every morning cuddled next to his huge form reminds me that yes, even normal girls like me get lucky sometimes.
But now, I’m digging in my minuscule closet for a duffle bag I know I used to have when my buzzer rings. Drat. George isn’t supposed to return to pick me up for several more hours so I have no idea who it could be.
“Hello?”
“Whitney, it’s Mom and Dad. We’re downstairs.”
I jolt upright. Why would they be downstairs?
“What? What are you guys doing here? You shouldn’t be in New York with the pandemic. It’s too dangerous.”