She laughed, shaking her head. “A whole boat?”
“A whole boat. It was actually pretty nice so I kept it.”
“You’re crazy.”
I grinned at her then nodded. “See you later, stepdaughter.”
She sighed, but the smile didn’t leave her face. I turned and left her apartment, feeling a weird chasm in my stomach.
We had to back off. She knew it and I knew it, and this whole thing just made it that much clearer.
Still, I fucking wanted her, and no amount of robot dog heads would change that fact.
13
Emily
I felt uncomfortable as hell in my tight black dress with a low cut down the back, but that didn’t seem to matter. Frankly, nothing seemed to matter to Mom and Carter so long as they smiled nice, held hands, and played it up for the cameras.
The charity gala was held in some expensive hotel in downtown San Francisco. The people were mainly old, white and rich as all hell, and some of the women were wearing jewelry that were probably worth more than my college education. When we arrived, Mom and Carter were mobbed by reporters and well-wishers, and I was basically an afterthought.
Normally, I would have been fine with that. I didn’t want to go on camera talking about my mom’s fake marriage to some age-inappropriate rich tech billionaire, especially considering all I wanted to do was fuck that rich billionaire. I didn’t want to pretend like everything was okay when clearly everything was so far from okay.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know a single person aside from Carter and Mom, which meant I was stuck sipping a glass of champagne and standing off to the side, observing everyone around me.
After twenty minutes of standing there watching old people greet each other, I still couldn’t figure out what the charity was supposed to be for. I got some vague idea about public education, but nothing more concrete than that. I figured the actual charity didn’t matter to these people so long as they got the opportunity to show off how much money they had and to make new business connections.
The whole thing was gross and boring and I regretted showing up. Nobody cared about me, and I didn’t care about that, and that should have been the end of it.
Unfortunately, I was stuck in high heels and a dress that made me feel way too sexy at an event I really didn’t want to be a part of. I should never have let Carter talk me into this.
Too late for all that, though. As I sipped my champagne (surprisingly delicious), I slowly made my way over to the table where I would be spending the next few agonizing hours. Other people were starting to filter in, and I figured Mom and Carter would be busy for a while, so I might as well go sit where I belonged.
I found my spot after about ten minutes of searching and avoiding small talk. I didn’t know the elderly couple decked out in their militaristic finest sitting across from me, but fortunately they didn’t seem too interested in chatting. A waiter came by with some water and another glass of champagne, which I eagerly accepted.
“You look miserable.”
I nearly jumped out of my seat. Carter grinned at me as he pulled the chair out next to me and sat down.
“This isn’t my scene,” I said.
“No kidding. You’re under fifty and not filthy rich.”
“You’re under fifty too,” I pointed out.
“Sure. But I’m filthy rich.”
“What’s the point of all this?”
“About what you’d expect. It’s more of a business and publicity thing than anything else.”
I nodded not surprised. “Where’s my mom?”
“Bathroom.” He said, taking a glass of champagne from the waiter. Before I could ask any question, two men came up to Carter and started talking to him about steel prices in China. I tuned them about.
Ten minutes later, my mother returned. She sat down on the other side of me and smiled.
“Having fun?” she asked.
“Not at all.”
“I know, honey. But please try and pretend.”
“Do you like this?”
“No, not even a little bit.” She sighed. “When I signed on for this, I had no clue what the media aspect was going to be like.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Not yet.” She smiled tightly. “It’ll be worth it for us in the end.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Carter leaned in toward us. “What are my two favorite ladies talking about?” he asked.
“We were just discussing how bad your breath is,” I said to him.
Mom smiled. “Nice to see you two aren’t getting along too well.”
Carter laughed. “Are you implying something, Evie, my dear?”
“Never.” She gave him an innocent look.
“Oh my god. This is really gross.”
The two of them laughed at me.
“Come on, honey. Lighten up.”