Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like he had anything to steal.
He pointed the truck toward Harper Stables and let go of everything except his good news. For once the world was looking up.
Chapter Six
“So you’re moving in with the new guys out on the G?” Gemma asked after handing the server the elegant menus.
Brooke sat in the smaller of the two restaurants at the Elk Creek Lodge. She was happy Gemma had chosen the lodge over Stella’s since she was sure the Bliss grapevine had been working overtime. Obviously since Gemma already knew. “I suppose I am. It’s better than the house my brothers built for me. I bet they bugged it or something.”
Gemma winced. “So you found out about the PI?”
“Does everyone know?”
The blonde shrugged as though saying well, it is Bliss. “I think it’s only your brothers’ friend circle, which happens to include my boss. You know for a manly dude, Nate is a gossipy motherfucker. I swear Callie called and he walked right out to fill in me and Elisa. He called Cam, too. Anyway, that’s why I changed our lunch location. If you walk into Stella’s right now, you’re going to have a lot of questions to answer. If it helps at all, I know Max and Rye were worried about you.”
“Then they should have talked to me.”
“That can be hard for guys. Speaking of, where are yours?”
They weren’t hers. They were pretending to be hers so she could save the smallest amount of face. “They dropped me off and then they’re heading back to the G for the day. We’re staying in the foreman’s house. Bo is pretty much the foreman, so he doesn’t need it. All the hands they have right now are single, so they’re out in the bunkhouse.”
Gemma’s eyes lit with mirth. “Yeah, I’ve visited the foreman’s house a couple of times when my dommiest guy gets a hankering to tie me up.” She winced. “Sorry. That’s too much information. I’m trying to curb that.”
Brooke leaned in. The last thing she needed was a Gemma who didn’t tell it like it was. Gemma was brutally honest, and she needed that right now. No coddling. “Don’t. I actually have questions, and I can’t exactly ask my sister-in-law. I’m pretty sure they spend a lot of time in Stef’s playroom.”
Gemma chuckled. “Oh, yes. They have definitely played around with all the lifestyles.” And then she went a bit red. “Again with the sorry.”
Brooke felt her jaw tense. “I’m not a child.”
Gemma studied her for a moment as though reassessing the situation. “No, you’re not, but they treat you like one. I’m actually sorry for that part, not the rest. I guess I’ve spent years hearing about how sweet and innocent you are, but sometimes the word innocence is just a way to marginalize us.”
“As Britney would say, not that innocent, and I have questions.”
Gemma grinned brightly. “Then consider me your BDSM auntie. Although you should know Jesse and Cade are more on the D/s side. So are you asking specific questions about the lifestyle or do you want to know what I know about the Kent brothers?”
Brooke let out a deep breath. At least one person got what she needed. “All of the things, but start with what you know.”
“They’ve played a lot both in Stef’s private playroom and in a couple of the clubs Stef belongs to. Stef has been Bay’s…sponsor, I suppose…for a long time. I don’t even know how they met, but Stef believes Bay is an incredibly talented artist, and I’ve seen his work and know he’s right. If that boy wanted to, he could make a lot of money as an artist.”
“I don’t think he would like how he would have to do it.” She’d spent all of a night and half a day with the man and she already knew he wouldn’t be able to handle all the bullshit that would come with cracking the artistic world. “He would never be able to kiss ass the way he would need to.”
Gemma nodded. “I agree, but I don’t think becoming the center of an artistic world is a goal of Bay’s. I think he’s that artist who actually loves art and working. I actually find him kind of fascinating. Shane as well. They’ve got that ‘broken parts that make a whole’ kind of vibe.”
She got that, too. In that fashion they reminded her of her brothers. Shane and Bay needed each other in a way a lot of siblings didn’t, but they hadn’t exactly exchanged life histories.
And should they? She wasn’t going to stay, and they would never be able to live in the city. So why was she pursuing this? Why was she pretending she was engaged? It was so dumb.
“Does that scare you?” Gemma asked.
“Not really. There are so many other things that scare me.”