Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Camden’s pretty sure he didn’t order the attractive, slightly frustrated man online, but with him standing on his front porch and glaring so strikingly, he can’t rule it out. He knows he’s slightly disorganized and easily distracted, but he would remember ordering Gray to be delivered, right?
When two meddling family members butt in where they don’t belong, a new Daddy and a sweet little with a passion for junk food and crayons might find true love…but they’re still hoping to drop a house or two on some meddling busybodies.
**Author’s Note**
This is a standalone age play romance. However, Gray was originally a side character that showed up in Lane , book three of the Leashes & Lace series. You do not need to have read that series to enjoy this book.
Daddy’s Little Artist is part of Daddies for Dollars multi-author series, where every book features a swoon-worthy Daddy, a boy he adores, and a happily ever after helped along by a fundraiser event. Brought to you by six popular M/M authors, each book stands alone, but with so many delicious Daddy pairings to choose from, why not read them all?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Gray
“Sweetheart, I need to sell you.” My mother’s insipidly sweet tone had me looking up from my menu. I hated the restaurant and we’d been here a thousand times over the years, but studying it was better than making small talk.
“Excuse me?” It wasn’t the weirdest thing she’d ever told me over lunch, but I had a feeling it would end up being in the top ten at the very least.
Her smile just went sweeter and she reached over the table and patted my arm. “It’s for charity.”
That didn’t make it any less weird.
“What kind of charity?” Getting that information seemed like a good place to start.
“The LGBT Educational Center.” When she paused and smiled, I just blinked. That earned me a sigh and she pretended to be disappointed in me. “Many young LGBT youth don’t get the same opportunities that you did, sweetheart. It’s our responsibility to help those that are less fortunate.”
I knew better than to fall for this polite line of shit.
She’d never cared one way or the other about who I slept with as long as they were from the right family. This we have to be charitable to the LGBT community bullshit only started when my cousin came out as pan and that’d been a lot trendier than just general run of the mill wants to sleep with dudes gay.
So now she and Aunt Maggie were in some kind of weird competition that seemed to involve me.
Yay.
“Yes, you and Dad went to a lot of trouble to make sure I got the degrees you wanted.” Two could play the polite asshole game.
I’d learned from the best.
That got a wince from her, but she quickly smoothed out the frown. “The Center had their annual charity auction last night.”
“Yes, the gallery donated a painting and a short-term internship to help build a resume.” The auction was well-known for having a variety of interesting things to bid on. They didn’t just want rich people throwing money at a problem; they wanted them to have to compete socially too.
It was fascinating to watch and it would’ve pissed me off if it hadn’t been my idea a few years ago.
But it looked like that was coming back to bite me in the ass because my mother was still smiling.
Wait.
If the auction was already over…
“What did you do?” Not bothering to hide my frustration or my skepticism as she smiled, I narrowed my gaze and leaned back in the little bistro chair that was as uncomfortable as it’d always been. “I will make a scene so dramatic you’ll never be able to come back. Remember Antonio’s?”
In my defense, I’d been a terribly awkward-looking sixteen-year-old and she’d just tried to tell me that she’d volunteered me for a local charity drag show. She’d somehow been under the assumption that telling me in public would keep me from arguing with her.
Where she’d gotten that idea I’d never know, but we still hadn’t been back to Antonio’s.
I knew I was in trouble when she gave me her wide-eyed but I’m your mother, why don’t you love me look. Cutting her off before she could get it going in full swing, I kept up my glare. “You can’t sell people, Mother. What did you do?”
Of all the nights to miss the auction, I’d had to miss this one. “Antonio’s, Mother.”
She winced, smoothing out her skirt as she frowned at me. “Please stop calling me that. It’s manipulative.”
She had to be kidding?
“Mother, you just told me you sold me at a charity auction where I’m on the board. We’re not going to compare manipulation techniques right now.” I’d have been there to stop the shenanigans if someone hadn’t tried to break into the gallery last night for literal pocket change.
By the time I’d handled everything with the police, the event had been over and I’d just gone home. That’d clearly been a miscalculation on my part.
“You’re so dramatic, sweetheart.” Shaking her head like I was a pouting teenage girl, she let out a sigh that should’ve landed her a role on daytime TV. “Fine. The gallery’s submissions weren’t enough. Your Aunt Maggie donated a makeover and time visiting some Hollywood set. I had to improvise. But you’ll be pleased to know you were highly sought after and you sold very well.”
There were so many things wrong with that explanation I didn’t even know where to start.
The worst part was that I wasn’t even sure I could get out of it without the Center having problems, possibly legal ones depending on what she’d done. At the very least, it would cause drama they didn’t need. We’d worked hard to make sure the Center had an impeccable reputation.
We worked with teenagers for fuck’s sake.
Doing my best not to let her see how frustrated I was, I stayed focused on what seemed to be the most important parts. “Who purchased me, Mother, and what does that sale entail?”