Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Oh, yeah. Parker had a damn good point.
“Liam and I were kids together. I grew up in a rich family, and he didn’t seem to blink an eye at it.”
Parker cocked his head. “For being rich, your day-to-day life sounded pretty average. From what you told me, you hung out, played video games, and did homework. Did your parents treat you and Liam to extravagant things? Like spur-of-the-moment month-long European vacations?”
“No. My parents weren’t big on spoiling. We did the European vacations, but only for a week, and we didn’t bring friends along. Those were family things. Birthdays were usually a trip to the movies and a sleepover.”
The artist shrugged on his perch and returned to his painting. “That sounds pretty middle-class to me. That’s how I grew up.”
“I don’t get it. Since we’ve known each other here, we have done nothing extravagant. The symphony. The zoo. Was it the car? Too flashy?”
“It’s not the car. It’s the five-million-dollar donation to the museum that Liam has been stuck in the middle of. He’s worried about using you. And he’s probably worried about people using him to get to you.”
“What do I do? Give away all my money? I can be poor. I’ll be poor for him.”
Parker snickered and rolled his eyes. “Honey, you have no idea what poor is. If you said that to Byron, he’d fucking punch you. No one wants to be poor. There were times I thought I was poor, and no, it was nothing like what Byron went through. It’s living in a constant state of fear and stress. Never being able to buy a little thing to make you happy or something just because it’s pretty. Everything goes to bills and survival. If you do splurge, you immediately feel guilty and regret it. It’s awful, and no one should live like that.”
I sighed and frowned at the wall in front of me.
“Don’t glare at my painting! You’re putting bad vibes into it,” Parker called from his perch. I turned my glare on him, and he grinned in response. “I’m not trying to be an asshole. Giving up all your money won’t fix anything. You do a lot of charity work, Rome. You’re doing good. Don’t let this bump in the road stop that. Plus, the idea that you work at a library is adorable. What has to happen is that Liam must adjust.”
That was what I was afraid of. I swirled the paintbrush in the paint, watching the thick movement of the liquid before resuming my slow progress of spreading it on the wall. It was kind of cathartic. I was doing something with my hands and adding to something beautiful. At least, I hoped I was and Parker wouldn’t have to paint over it later.
“How did you learn to deal with all Declan’s money and dating him?”
Parker made a scoffing noise in the back of his throat. “It wasn’t easy. We’re still working on it. There would be times he’d start spending money impulsively, and I’d freak out that it was too much, so he sat me down and showed me his portfolio. That only made me panic more because it was so much. I’ve stopped worrying about him spending us into poverty, but I don’t feel good about him attempting to spoil me and Joy constantly. I’ve learned to watch what I say. Changing things from ‘Ooooh…I want that’ to ‘Ooooh…that’s nice’ because the first one results in the item showing up on our doorstep the next morning. He’s getting better. He’s checking more prior to pushing the Automatic Buy button.”
“Lucky,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Huh?”
“Declan’s lucky. He got the chance to spoil you. I haven’t had that with Liam yet. I paid for our tickets to the symphony and the zoo, but that’s it. No gifts. No trips. No spoiling. Liam needs to be my boyfriend, and I need to spoil him with fun, shiny, expensive things.” My fist tightened on the paintbrush, and I wanted to stab it into the wall. “Did you know his car is at least ten years old?”
Parker laughed so hard the ladder rocked underneath him. “Shit. I gotta work on the ground, or you’re gonna make me fall off this thing.”
After he descended, he sat on what looked like a sheet-covered footstool. “I don’t think Liam driving an older car is the end of the world.”
“But I want to surprise him with a shiny new one with heated seats and a heated steering wheel.”
“I had no idea you could be adorable.”
I flipped Parker off, and he snickered. “You complain about Declan spoiling you, but I bet you both spoil that little princess.”
Parker’s laugh turned into a groan. “You mean the four of us. Chef Donovan and Franks are no better. I’ve laid down the law with them and Declan, and then immediately regretted it because I wanted to get her something. So yeah, it sucks when you love someone and want to make them happy. But I also don’t want to create a spoiled brat who thinks she’s entitled to everything. Things are nice, but acts of love and devotion are a hundred times better. Declan reading a story to Joy every night is better than anything he can buy her.”