Rebel Heir (Rush Series Duet #1)(16)

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.