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“Yeah, he does. I guess stepping outside would be nice,” I agreed.
Saxon smiled and flashed his dimples. Things were just easier with him.
Seven
Gypsi
“Having fun?” Mom asked me, pulling me over to a corner, away from the others. She glanced back at Saxon, who was talking to Garrett. “He’s cute,” she added with a grin.
I shrugged. “Yeah. But it’s a friends thing. I’m not ready to even think about dating yet.”
Her concerned frown was immediate. “Gypsi, you can’t go the rest of your life scared of guys and dating. Don’t give Tyde that kind of power.”
“I’m not. It’s just that I had missed the red flags with him and I realized too late. I’m not giving him power. I am playing it safe.”
She sighed and tucked one of my wayward curls behind my ear. “Sweetie, he was mentally unstable. It was my fault you even met Tyde. I was the one who made the poor choices, and I will never forgive myself for putting you in danger.”
I held up a hand. “Stop. We’ve gone over this a million times. None of it was your fault. I was eighteen years old and perfectly aware of the choices I was making. Now, forget this. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Go back to your billionaire boyfriend and have a fantastic night.”
She glanced in Garrett’s direction and blushed. That was a first. Fawn Parker did not blush. She really liked this one. I just hoped she wasn’t setting herself up to get hurt.
“He makes me feel like a princess,” she whispered. “I’ve never been treated the way he treats me, and I’m not talking about the money. It’s how he acts … as if I’m … special. I mean something to him. He wants to protect me.” She smiled and rolled her eyes. “I sound silly.”
Not wincing when she had said princess was difficult, but I managed not to react.
I reached over and grabbed her hand. “No, Mom, you don’t. You sound like you’ve finally found a guy who is worthy of you. Maybe,” I added.
She laughed and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “I love you, Gypsi Lu. I want you to be able to enjoy life, boys, dating, sex.”
Only my mom would add sex to that. She never acted like sex was something bad. Maybe that was why I reacted to it the way I did.
“I will. Just probably not with Saxon. Especially since he’s Trev’s best friend and … well, there’s that chance that Trev might end up being my stepbrother.”
Her musical laugh made me smile. “Don’t get carried away. We are just getting to know each other. That man could have any woman he wanted. I don’t think he’d give a woman like me his last name. But for now, I’m gonna live it up and have the best time. Make memories—”
“Of the best times so you can daydream during the bad.” I finished her favorite motto.
She’d been telling me that all my life. It was the way she lived.
Mom winked at me, then squeezed my hand. “I’d better get back to my hot date, and you try and enjoy the cutie you’re with.”
I smiled, but said nothing.
She shifted her gaze, then leaned in close. “That Trev gets around, doesn’t he? There was a redhead with him in the winner’s circle, who he was kissing and groping. Now, he’s got a blonde pressed up beside him, and I think that other girl is trying to get his attention too.”
I glanced in their direction, and it did look like things were escalating. “Yeah, he is a player. Saxon and he couldn’t be more different.”
And yet it was Trev who made me feel something. I had terrible taste in guys.
She looked back at me. “Yeah, but then it’s the bad boys who can be irresistible.”
“Maybe to some, but not me. At least not anymore,” I lied. I’d thought that. I really had, but then Trev proved me wrong.
We walked back over to Garrett and Saxon. After I assured Garrett I was having a good time and that Saxon was being an excellent escort, we headed for the exit. I was ready to get away from the temptation of watching Trev flirt. Poor Eliza. She was having to watch that too.
The private party that Garrett was holding for special guests was in a ballroom at the hotel. Trev had left in the limo with his two female friends, so we ended up riding with the two guys I’d met earlier today in the winner’s circle suite, who I’d thought were bodyguards. I still wasn’t convinced they weren’t, but the way Saxon talked to them, they seemed like friends of his.
Levi drove the SUV and dropped us off at the entrance. When we walked inside, there was celebrating still happening everywhere.
“What did you think of your first derby?” Saxon asked me as we made our way to the ballroom.
