CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
GEMMA
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Lovers?Is that whatI’m worth to a man like Drew Carrington?
Not that I was expecting a proposal.Hell, just being invited on a date with him surprised me.
He doesn’t date.
The honest truth is I’m more focused on losing my home, trying to wrap my head around where all this money has gone and who my husband was.
How could a million dollars go missing?
I’ve had a year to grieve Anthony, so it’s not unreasonable that I would date and perhaps start getting involved with someone else.But as a lover?
Is it the eighteen-hundreds?
I suppose I should be thrilled that Drew mentioned monogamy.It hasn’t crossed my mind the past few weeks while we have been intimate.Even when we didn’t use a condom.
See, I’m useless at all of this.
I don’t want to be good at it.
I want Anthony to walk into this party, tell me it was all a joke and point out we have a secret savings account he was planning to surprise me with for, I don’t know, a home in the Hamptons.
Instead, I’m asked to be a billionaire’s sex toy.
Fine, I’m a little pissed.
Mom rang me today and started asking more about Drew.It didn’t help that Zoe, the rat, told her we had plumbing issues and Dwoo fixed it.Thank goodness she didn’t mention the time.
Anyway, Mom tells me to be careful because he’s known as a bit of a playboy around town.When I say I know—I don’t know—she continues regaling me with stories about Zander.
Who, yes, does have quite a reputation.
And Colt Winters, whom I recognize as the guy meant to be onThe Final RoseTV show, which went viral for a few days recently.Drew has quite colorful friends.
Colt has an Australian woman with him wearing a rather enormous diamond on her finger, so I figure the stories are true about his engagement.She seems smitten.
“Gemma, I’m so glad you came.”Emily grins widely and rubs my arm.She’s holding a glass of something red and obviously non-alcoholic, given her pregnancy.She’s popped more since I last saw her.
“I had no choice.”I smile at Drew and wonder if it looks as forced as it feels.
“Gemma Ford.”Zander walks over—correction, prowls over.“Lovely to see you again.”
He sips his drink, smirking like he’s the bad guy in a movie, and I can’t help but wonder if I’m missing something.
Beside me, Drew mutters something.
Because every other event I’ve attended with Drew was a business one, I’ve never felt self-conscious, but suddenly I do.These people are the zero-point-one percenters.
I’m about to lose my penthouse.
Dressed in Louis Vuitton, something I dug out of the back of my wardrobe from four seasons ago, I wonder if they all know I’m Drew’s lover.