Page 24 of Filthy Commitments
“And how do we feel about this car, Mrs. Simmons?”
“We feel pretty awesome about it, Brett. I’ll leave you to wheel and deal with the hubby about it, though.”
I walked up behind her and wrapped my arm around her waist as we headed inside to make the deal. While I wasn’t exactly happy with how she argued with me, I had to admit that I respected her for doing it. She was no money grubber, that was for sure. And she did have a good head on her shoulders. How was a girl from her poor upbringing supposed to know about things that cost more money than other things of the same nature?
I could teach her about things like that. Asia could learn so much from me. Even though our time would be relatively short, I planned on taking her to another level in life. One she’s probably never even dreamt of. The vacation with my family was looming. She’d be hobnobbing with Hamptons’ royals. Rubbing elbows with elite New Yorkers. She was about to enter a world she’d become a permanent part of.
It was then that I realized Asia and I would run into one another for the rest of our lives. I was bringing her into my world. A place, even after a fake divorce, she’d be a permanent fixture in. I hadn’t thought that it all the way through. Could I see Asia later in life, perhaps with another man? Could I handle that? I wasn’t sure I could, but I’d already started the train that was bound to derail my entire life.
Might as well enjoy the ride!
Asia
All the way to Jett’s parent’s vacation home, my stomach was in knots. This was going to be where I’d meet his entire family and their family friends. He had coached me on what he expected out of me. Good manners, which I had already, stay quiet unless asked a direct question, and use the words, I love you, often.
I’d spent two weeks with the man, and those words wouldn’t be hard to say at all. I was falling. I mean, it was a head over heels kind of love, and I knew I’d end up crying like a baby when it was all over. But I was trying not to focus on that. I wanted to enjoy each day as it came and, most of the time, leave the ending out of my head. We’d left early that morning; he drove us in his new car. Mine stayed behind in the garage at home. A home that was going to be mine, all alone in the matter of a few months. I had no idea how I’d feel about being alone in that house or in our bedroom.
With the sunroof down, we drove in the cool morning air, enjoying the bright sunlight and the fresh smells. “It’s beautiful up here.” I looked all around at the green foliage and pointed to a handful of deer who were having their breakfast in a field not far from the road. “Deer!”
“Yes, you’ll see plenty of them up here. They come right into the yard. My mother used to take tons of pictures of them when they first bought the place. Now, we’re pretty used to them.” He took a turn, and we headed into an upscale neighborhood, full of mansions.
My nerves were starting to get the best of me when as I realized we would be there soon. “Is it silly of me to think some of these people will look down their noses at me?”
“If they do, I’ll straighten them out. It doesn’t matter where you came from, it matters that you’re my wife. You’ll be treated with respect or the person or persons who fail to do so will feel my wrath.” He took my hand and kissed it. “I don’t want you to worry about a thing.”
I nodded, but knew he wouldn’t always be right by my side to protect me from people I knew who could be hateful. Jett had told me about his mother wanting to set him up with rich single women who lived in the area. That’s when he first came up with the wife lie so he wouldn’t have to go through the torture of being setup anymore.
My woman’s intuition told me not to expect a warm welcome. His parents might be nice, they were when I met them that first day, but it was doubtful that anyone else would be. The gate was open when we approached it. There was a long and winding driveway that led up to the three-story, light blue, art deco style mansion. Each section of the home was like a city block, and giant windows lined almost all sides, overlooking the rolling hills that made up the estate.
Shrubs were manicured into the shapes of deer, squirrels, and swans. It was neat, extravagant, and looked like something out of a magazine. “Wow, Jett. That’s all I can say. This is where we’ll be spending the week?”
“This is it, my parents summer home.” He pulled around to the back where there was an enormous garage. “As you can see, it’s setup for multiple guests. There are no less than fifteen bedrooms, all with private baths. Five living areas, three dining areas, a gym, and an indoor, outdoor pool, as well as a game room, of course.”
“Of course,” I had to laugh. “One can’t have a proper vacation house without that,” I used a snooty New York accent that made him laugh.
“Careful now, you’ll meet quite a few people here with that accent.”
A man came out at the end of the garage. He waved us in, and we parked next to a Rolls Royce. “Your parents?”
“My grandparents. Dad bought grandfather that car last year. Neither set of my grandparents allow being lavished upon very often, but they all did take cars, and they do take the week-long vacation once a year here and another one in Wyoming in the spring. That vacation isn’t as socially intense as this one.”
I thought about Wyoming in the spring and it kind of hurt that we wouldn’t get to be a part of that.We’d be over by then.
“So the summer is spent here and the rest of the year this place is closed up or what?” The man who’d opened the garage door for us was suddenly at my door, opening it for me.
“Mrs. Simmons, how nice to make your acquaintance. I am Rock, the keeper of the cars.” He held out his hand, and I gave it a shake.
“Nice to meet you, Rock, keeper of the cars. And it looks like you have some very nice ones to keep, don’t you?”
He nodded and smiled. “That I do. All summer long, I get to clean, gas up, and take for routine maintenance some very nice vehicles.”
Jett’s hand took mine as he looked at Rock over his shoulder. “Be gentle with her, she’s brand new. No maintenance needed this week. But she could use some gas.” We walked away at a quick pace.
“You should’ve started that with a hello to the elderly man, Jett,” I scolded him.
That stopped him in his tracks as he looked at me with wide eyes. “What did you say to me?”
For a moment, I felt like I’d done something wrong. Then I jutted out my jaw. “I said, you should’ve said hello first. That was rude of you not to do that.”
