Sucking in another puff, I looked over at her. “Did you get any writing done last night?”
“Yeah, more than usual, but not as much as I’d hoped. I wanted to finish the fourth chapter, and I didn’t quite get there.”
“What happens if you can’t produce this book in time?”
“Then, I’m screwed. I’d have to give the ten-thousand-dollar advance back, which I’ve already spent, and I could end up being in breach of contract.”
“How did you get yourself into this mess?”
“Well, for a lot of people, landing a deal with a big five publishing house is a dream—hardly a mess.
In my case, I won a contest based on submitting the first three chapters of the book, which remain the only completed chapters. Once I won, it was like my creativity shut off. It sucks.”
“What did you do before you were an author?”
She laughed. “You ready for this?”
“Uh-oh.”
Based on her warning, ideas were floating through my mind. Stripper? She certainly had the body for it.
As if she read my mind, she said, “It’s not that bad or crazy.”
“What was it?”
“Well, you know when you pick up a greeting card? The cheesy little saying inside? That was me. I wrote them.”
“No kidding?”
“Yeah. I worked for a card company for a few years, writing sweet sentiments.”
“I actually think that’s pretty cool.”
“You know what was really sucky? Having to write Mother’s Day cards. That really blew.”
Given that Gia’s mother had taken off when she was little, that hurt me to hear her say.
“Well, I’m sure you rocked it, even though it was hard.”
“Yeah. I tried.”
“Why did you leave that job?”
“Well, I got the book deal and decided to write full time. Clearly, I couldn’t afford to do that. I was struggling until this bossy, tatted man told me to look pretty and gave me a job.”
“Glad to help.”
When she kicked her toned legs up on my dash, I nearly swerved off the road. Gia grabbed onto my arm for a split second after practically falling over in her seat.
“So,” she said. “What did you do before you became a rebellious heir to a vast fortune?”
“I was a jack of all trades. I worked on cars…I waited tables. I was a tattoo artist for a while and—”
“Really? Can you tattoo something on me? I was thinking of getting one on my lower back with this saying abou—”
“No. That won’t be happening.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why no—”
“Gia. Drop it.”
When she could see I was serious, she shrugged. “Okay…suit yourself, grumpy.”
The ride was quiet until she asked, “Go on, finish telling me about what you used to do. Tattoo artist…what else?”
“It didn’t matter what I was doing. I always worked hard, still do…it’s just that making actual money is a lot easier now. But like I’ve said before, I don’t take any of it for granted.”
“I know you don’t.” She paused. “How did you find out about your father initially?”
I let out a long breath. What was this girl doing to me? She was getting me to open up, and I didn’t like it one bit.
I finally caved and answered her question. “My mother had kept his identity a secret from me for years. Despite his money, she wanted nothing to do with him because of the way he treated her. But she got to a point where she felt I should know who my father was. And I think a part of her felt like I deserved a piece of the pie, even if it sickened her. I could’ve cared less about the money. In fact, some days, I wish it didn’t exist so I wouldn’t have to deal with them. The money…the businesses…they’re the only things that connect us.”
“How did your parents meet?”
“My father was living a double life. He was married when he started dating my mother, picked her up in the diner she was waitressing at. He’d come out to Long Island to see her but never brought her back to the City for fear of being seen. Once she found out the truth, that was the end of it. But by that time, it was too late. She was pregnant with me and eventually found out what a rich, lying prick she’d been involved with.”
“You mentioned before that your grandfather was the one who actually saw to it that you got an inheritance?”
“Yes. My grandfather controlled everything at the time. My mother actually went to him without my knowing and told him about me. I was in my teens at the time. She didn’t ask for anything, just wanted him to know about my existence. I guess he understood what a loser his own son was. After the DNA test, Grandad had his will redrawn so that I got an equal share of everything when I turned twenty-four. As you can imagine, Daddy Dearest and big brother were just thrilled about that.”
“Your grandfather sounds like a good man.”
I took a deep breath as memories of him flashed through my mind. “He was. He passed away a couple of years ago. As much as some days I wish I never knew about my history, I’ll always be grateful to him and for the brief time I got to know him. Before he died, he always made an effort to visit me to make sure I was doing okay.”
When I pulled up to the house, we lingered for a bit until she turned to me.
“Do you want to come in?”
Yes.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“You know why.”
“I thought you made it clear to me that nothing could ever happen between us.”
“Exactly.”
“So…what’s the harm in coming inside if we know where things stand? Besides, we’ll be far from alone.”
That was true. She lived with a fuck ton of people in a share house. That made me feel better, and also gave me no real excuse not to take her up on her offer. Just a few minutes, I told myself.
I exhaled before shutting off the car and getting out.
It was a beautiful estate—if I did say so myself, right on the water and sprawling. Everything was new inside from top to bottom.
Two girls and a guy were hanging out in the living room watching TV when we entered. Several pizza boxes, beer bottles, and rolled-up napkins were strewn about.
Gia introduced me. “Rush, this is Caroline, Simone, and Allan…three of my roommates.” She looked over at me. “This is Rush.”
Your landlord. I laughed inwardly.
“Hi,” I said, sizing up the dude. I was pretty sure I’d seen him around town before canoodling with another dude.
At least, he was one guy I didn’t have to worry about.
I never understood how people could deal with the share house situation. I would never want to live with so many strangers up my ass all of the time. But I knew that for many, that arrangement was the only chance in hell they had of living in the Hamptons for the summer. I hated that I was starting to get a little jaded about that kind of thing, forgetting what it was like to be piss poor.
Gia nudged her head for me to follow her. I had secretly hoped she planned to stay in the main living area.
“Where are we going?”
“To my room…”
The warning bells in my head were officially sounding off. Heading to Gia’s bedroom was a bad fucking idea. Not to mention, walking right behind her gave me a view of her ass in the tight black pants she was wearing. My dick stiffened. The only reason I was agreeing to this was to prove a point, that I wasn’t afraid to be alone with her.
“Welcome to my humble room.” She bounced on the bed. “I lucked out, ended up getting my own bedroom when most of the others have to share.”
I looked around at the mostly lavender decor. “It’s nice.”
She continued to bounce as she looked up at me. Her fucking tits were bouncing right along with her.
“You look tense, Rush.”
Fiddling with my watch, I said, “It’s late.”
Gia tilted her head. “Have you given any thought to our bet?”
“Bet?”
“You know…I give up candy and you give up smoking.”
That’s right.
“Sure, yeah.”
Her eyes widened as she leaned in. “And?”
“Why are we bothering with this bet again?”