Gabe raised an eyebrow. “You seem to have some anger issues yourself.”
“Oh, I’ve got all kinds of issues. I’m just not afraid to admit them.” Brandy shrugged and went back to eating her breakfast.
“For someone who doesn’t eat breakfast, you seem to be putting those pancakes away pretty quickly. Do you want something else? A slice of pie maybe? They have delicious chocolate cream pie.”
“Sounds yummy. I’ll let you know after I finish with these. I don’t want to get fat.”
“I don’t think there’s a danger of that Brandy.”
“My stomach isn’t as flat as it used to be. I still have stretch marks from when I had Joey. I miss my boobs from when I was pregnant though. They looked really hot.”
Gabe laughed. “I can hardly imagine your body being any hotter.”
“My boobs looked so good. Especially after I had Joey until all the milk dried up and went away. But I was totally fat when I was pregnant. My parents always said I was going to eat them right into the poor house. Then they’d ask me why I couldn’t be like my sister. Your girlfriend’s brother wasn’t the only one who’s ever had a bad case of sibling rivalry. If I have to hear my mother tell me one more time that my sister is so damned perfect because she supposedly waited to have sex until she got married, I swear I’ll scream. My sister did it with her boyfriend and his best friend on the night of their senior prom. She told me so. Sounds kinda gross to me, but I guess they all got into it. Went at it all night long. To each his or her own I guess.”
They were silent as they finished the rest of their meals. Brandy did decide that she wanted a slice of pie and so did Gabe. It was so good that Brandy almost wanted to ask for another one, but she didn’t want to push it. Her stomach was already starting to hurt a little since she’d eaten so much more than usual in the past twelve hours.
Gabe paid the check and then told her to drive to a local clothing store. Brandy was kind of excited at the thought because she didn’t have many clothes anymore. He told her to buy whatever she wanted. To put him to the test, she picked out several shirts that would show what cleavage she did have. She also picked out several new pairs of jeans that she knew were probably going to be too tight. Gabe didn’t say anything, just followed her around patiently as she made her selections.
His arms were full of clothing by the time she was done shopping. Even though Brandy secretly thought that half of the clothes she picked out would probably end up making her look trashy, Gabe said that he couldn’t wait for her to try on her new outfits for him. He didn’t blink when the total came to several hundred dollars and winked at the sales girl. She blushed and Brandy wanted to give her a dirty look. Then she felt stupid and wandered back over to take one last look at the shoes.
Gabe came up behind her and put his arms around her. “See something you like?”
“I really like those boots, but they’re over $200 and that’s on sale. I’ve always wanted a pair, but Mom always called them hooker boots when I showed her pictures when I was in high school. Of course Jayla wore combat boots in high school. My sister’s kinda weird. Or at least she was back then. Now she’s the perfect wife and the perfect mother. She’s not really perfect though. I think she still sleeps with Dill’s best friend sometimes. My brother in law is named Dill. Isn’t that funny? Not Dylan or Dillard or anything kinda normal, but Dill.”
Gabe chuckled. “Definitely an interesting name. Get the boots if you want them. Though I think it’s better if you wait to put them on until later, since we still have a lot of shopping to do. Do you want a new pair of tennis shoes as well? Yours are starting to look rather beat up.”
Brandy looked at her shoes and a blush crept up her cheeks. She and Chad had barely had money to pay the bills, let alone buy things like clothes or shoes. Or for her anyway. He’d always had nice things. She wondered again why she hadn’t seen him for what he was.
“Really? I don’t want to spend too much of your money.”
“Darling, I don’t worry about money. I have credit cards with no limits and fat bank accounts. I want to spoil you. Besides, I’m sure you’ll be more than willing to show me your appreciation when we get back to the hotel.” Gabe winked at her.
“Um sure.”
Brandy found a pair of the boots in her size. She handed the box to Gabe and debated on what tennis shoes she liked the best. There were two pairs she liked, and she couldn’t decide which one she really wanted. Gabe followed her eyes and pulled a pair of both off of the shelf.
“Decision made. You can have both. Anything else before we head out? Speak now or forever hold your peace, or at least until our next shopping trip.”
“No thank you. You’ve done too much for me already.”
“Hardly.” Gabe followed her back to the register where he handed the sales girl the shoes with an indulgent smile. “She wasn’t done.”
The girl laughed. Brandy looked at Gabe and decided he was having sex with the girl with his eyes. She gave him a dirty look and he patted her on the butt. She pondered giving him another dirty look, but decided against it.
“I’m going outside to smoke. You can carry all this stuff because what else are men good for?”
“Oh darling, I think you know exactly what else men are good for.”
Brandy turned her back on him. “Ha ha. I’ll bet she knows exactly what they’re good for too.”
She went outside and took her cigarettes out of her purse. She opened the back of the truck so Gabe could put the bags in, and then got into the truck but left the door open. Gabe shut it on the way by and gave her a look.
When he was back in the passenger seat she said “Why’d you give me that look?”
“Do you really need to ask me that question Brandy? Your comment was rather rude and totally uncalled for.”
“You were having sex with her in your head and she was right there with you. A different kind of mind fuck. I’ll bet your wife can’t stand to go anywhere with you. I know you must do that shit all the time. Even the waitress at the diner shook her ass for you and she was old and married.”
Gabe laughed. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy?”
“No. I’m not your wife and I’m glad. I would beat the shit out of you. We’d never have any money because I’d never stop making you buy me stuff. Stuff that I didn’t need, stuff that I didn’t want, just so you were buying me something.”
“You can hit me if you’d like. Just not too hard. I like it rough, but not that rough.”
“Yuck.”
“You’re the one that brought it up darling. Don’t you like to be spanked?”
“Shut up. Where are we going now?”
“House hunting. I called a friend of mine that’s a real estate agent.”
“Are you fucking her too? I know it’s a woman. You’re not the kind of guy that has any real male friends.”
“It is a woman actually. Let’s go. We’re supposed to be looking at a house on 7th street right now. You took longer to shop than I thought you would.”
Brandy sighed as she pulled out of the parking lot. “Why are you taking me to look at houses? I can’t afford a house. I sure as hell don’t have furniture to put in it. I doubt there’s anything left in my apartment by now. Chad probably came and took everything besides my clothes when he figured out that I wasn’t there last night. Maybe he even took my clothes. Though there’s no way in hell they’d fit his new girlfriend’s big butt.”
“If you need more clothes, I’ll buy you more or give you money to buy them yourself. You made some very nice choices. You have beautiful taste in undergarments. I would have thought you were a thong girl though.”
Brandy made a face as she made the turn onto 7th street. “Hell no. I like sexy panties, but I never understood thongs. Yeah, guys drool when you have a nice body and you walk around with your thong sticking out of your pants, but I think it looks gross. And I don’t want something shoved up my ass all day you know? I always thought the point
of underwear was to keep them out of your ass, not put them there on purpose. Don’t they call that a wedgie?”
Gabe chuckled. “I believe they do. It’s the house on the corner.”
“I wouldn’t know what to do with a house Gabe. What’s the point? I’ll be there by myself all the time. And I really can’t afford it. You can’t take care of me forever.”
“Why not?”
“You’re married. You have kids and I want that someday too. And as much as I can dream about finding a guy like you to call my own, one that’s got money and is hot and fantastic in bed, well it’s just not gonna happen. Fairy tales don’t come true for girls that grew up in my neighborhood.”
A pretty but plump woman with dark hair waved to them from the driveway. Gabe rolled down his window and called out “Just a minute Stella. We’ll be right with you. You look gorgeous.”
Gabe turned back to her. “Did you grow up poor too?”
“Not exactly. My parents are weird. A lot of kids kinda stayed away from my sister and me when we were growing up. My brother had friends but he ran away from home when he was seventeen. My parents hardly ever hear from him. No one asked Jayla out until Dill did, and he’s kind of a doofus. His best friend Oscar isn’t much better. My sister’s really pretty, but it’s hard to lose the rep we got. Our parents have money. We had a nice house, but we never had new clothes. That was okay, but my parents went from being super religious when I was a kid to publicly denouncing God after I got pregnant the first time. They said they couldn’t believe in a God that would let their daughter become pregnant at fifteen. So they brought up abortion and convinced me that it was the right choice. It sucked, but I don’t really like to think about it.”
“I see. Let’s go. You’re going to love this house. It’s got three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a big kitchen. It’s got a huge backyard and a nice front porch too. The washer and dryer and dishwasher are all included.”
“That sounds great, but why do I need three bedrooms? You aren’t expecting me to watch your kid all the time are you? I like kids, but I don’t know shit about taking care of them. My sister won’t let me near her kids. She thinks it was my idea not to let her have Joey. She’s three years older than me. She was already married by then, but they didn’t think she was ready for a kid either. She proved them wrong though. She got pregnant right after I had Joey.”
“I don’t expect you to watch Christian. We have a nanny.”
“Oh. Rich people don’t raise their kids. I forgot.”
“Ha ha. Let’s go Brandy.”
Brandy sighed again. “Fine. But I want to look at apartments or at least something smaller.”
“As you wish.”
Brandy lit a cigarette and stood a few feet away while Gabe chatted up the real estate agent. She was flashing an expensive looking wedding ring around because she liked to talk with her hands, but the fact that she and Gabe were both married to other people certainly didn’t look like it was putting a damper on either of their flirting habits. Brandy could almost swear that Stella had given Gabe’s ass a good squeeze when she’d hugged him. Gabe was openly admiring Stella’s ample chest when she kept sticking it in his face. Brandy felt like a jealous wife again, and she didn’t like the feeling one bit.
Finally Gabe approached her and took her hand, leading her over to Stella. “Stella, this is Brandy. Brandy this is Stella, my favorite real estate agent. Her daughter goes to preschool with my son.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too honey.” Stella winked at her. “She’s even prettier than the last one Gabe. But you always did have good taste in women. Leslie should be a model.”
Gabe snorted. “A model for what? A tattooed and pierced rich bitch of a housewife? You don’t want to know what she pierced this last time.”
“I can imagine. I assume she pierced that before she found out she was pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“You should be kinder to your wife though Gabriel. She is your wife.”
“Maybe if Leslie learned to be kinder to me every once in a while, I would speak more kindly of her in public. I’m much too kind to her in private as it is. I don’t want to talk about her. I have two of the most beautiful women in town to spend the day with.”
Brandy thought she was going to vomit when Stella blushed. “You’re too kind Gabe. I gained so much weight after I had Lena.”
“You look divine Stella. Your extra curves make you more beautiful. And your breasts have filled out and completed the picture of a perfect woman.”
Brandy fought an eye roll. There was no way Gabe was ever going to convince her that he hadn’t slept with this woman she thought.
Stella hit Gabe playfully with her purse. “Stop it Gabe. You’re making me have dirty thoughts.”
Gabe winked. “I always say the dirtier the better. Let’s go take a look at the house ladies.”
Stella unlocked the door. They followed her inside. It took Brandy about thirty seconds to decide that she didn’t need to look any further. Gabe saw the look on her face and said “What’s wrong? Do you not like it?”
“It’s too big. I don’t need all this room. Can’t we look at apartments? Please.”
“There is only one decent apartment building in Brunton and they’re full. They also have quite a lengthy waiting list and no amount of money I offered the owner could make him raise you to the top. I want you to have some place comfortable to live when you get out of rehab. Not that trash heap on 4th street. I can’t believe people raise children there. Child protective services must be there every other day.”
“Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent. There are plenty of shitty parents there, but there are a lot of really good ones who are just down on their luck too. Rich people sure as hell don’t make perfect parents either Gabe.”
“I know darling. I apologize if I offended you.” Gabe turned back to Stella. “I’m sorry Stella. She’s looking for something a little less spacious. What else do you have?”
Stella consulted a list that was attached to a clipboard. “There isn’t much right now hon. Most of the other places we have are either bigger than this one or roughly the same size. I do have a three bedroom that’s a little smaller than this one, but the price is substantially higher. It’s got brand new carpeting and a hot tub in the backyard. It’s got a state of the art kitchen too. I do have a two bedroom over on 10th street, but the owners are asking too much for it and won’t come down on the price.”
Brandy was beginning to wonder if Gabe wasn’t planning on buying her a house. “The two bedroom would be great.”
Gabe frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want to look at the other house Brandy? I’m sure it’s well worth the price.”
“I don’t need a three bedroom.”
“We’ll take a quick look anyway. We’ll follow you Stella.”
Brandy gave him a dirty look. Stella laughed. “I think you’ve found yourself a keeper Gabe. Women usually give you looks like that when you try to spend less money on them and not more.”
Gabe chuckled. Brandy wanted to smack both of them. How could they think this was so funny? They were talking about her like she wasn’t there and talking like she was Gabe’s next wife. She was quickly realizing that she never wanted to be Gabe’s wife.
“Brandy is definitely a special girl. Can we take you out to lunch after we finish looking at houses and get the paperwork taken care of Stella?”
Stella gave him a pouty face. “I’d love to Gabe, but I promised that I’d stop by and have dinner with Ethan at the office.”
“Oh. Too bad. Another time then.”
“Definitely.”
Stella walked away in what Brandy figured was supposed to be a seductive way. Gabe certainly seemed to enjoy it she thought. She gave him a look as they got back into the SUV. “So you dig fat chicks?”
Gabe shook his head at her. “Stella is not fat. She was stick thin before she got pregnant wi
th Lena and now she’s filled out perfectly.”
“Uh huh.” Brandy started the truck and followed Stella’s shiny pink car back onto the road. “She’s a little chunky, she drives a pink car and she’s married. Yet you practically drooled in your lap the whole time you were talking to her. Men are so weird.”
Gabe laughed. “Stella is a beautiful woman. She got the car because she sells cosmetics on the side. She does very well at that too.”
“She was damned sure wearing enough makeup. She probably buys it all herself. How many times have you been to bed with her?”
“Once. It was absolutely fantastic. You are so jealous. It’s adorable.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. How come you only screwed her once? Did she think it was less fantastic than you did?”
“She told me she’d never had an orgasm like that before during sex. Some women are like that. Leslie is one of them, but she’s always been very into foreplay and has never been afraid to stimulate herself while we make love to make sure that she comes to orgasm. Stella said she felt much too guilty to ever do it again.”
“Funny thing, feeling guilty for screwing around on the person that you married. But thanks for telling me all that stuff. Sometimes, sharing is not caring. And that definitely includes when you’re talking about other women having orgasms okay?”
Gabe chuckled. “Yes darling.”
“You’re not planning on trying to buy me a house are you? These are rentals right?”
“Of course.”
“There’s an okay apartment building on 6th street. If I don’t like this two bedroom house we’ll see if they have openings.”
Gabe sighed. “If you insist. I hope you look at these houses with an open mind. We could have such naughty fun in a hot tub.”
“Do you ever think about anything besides sex? I guess you’re probably one of those guys who think that monogamy isn’t natural.”
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 43
