Page 10 of Filthy Uncle To Go

“Shit,” he says. He must’ve realized that my mystery woman is somehow related to my late wife. “Did you make a move on her in front of the Millers?”

“I wanted to, but I didn’t. I feel like the biggest douche,” I say as I run my fingers through my hair.

“Don’t beat yourself up. I loved Naomi like a sister, but she’s been dead for ten years now. If you’ve met someone that you think will be good for you, I say go for it. You’ve just gotta be delicate about how you tell the rest of the family. But they should understand, and it’s not like you’re cheating on Naomi.”

I sigh.

“Yeah, there’s that. But irrespective of the Millers, I think this woman would be really good for me,” I say as I picture Jenna’s pearly white smile. “She’s smart and kind and unlike any other woman I’ve ever met.”

“You sound like you’re in love with her,” he remarks.

“No, it’s not that,” I say dismissively.

I can almost hear Liam shrug.

“When the right woman comes, you’ve got to seize the opportunity, bro. But I’m happy for you. Give it a shot and see what happens,” he suggests.

“Thanks, buddy.”

“Anytime. Who knows? By this time next year, wedding bells could be in your future,” he predicts. I laugh, but my heart races imagining Jenna in virginal white. “Let me know how everything goes,” my buddy finishes.

“Will do. Talk to you later,” I say.

“See ya,” he says just before he hangs up.

I place my phone on the nightstand and lie back down. Maybe Liam’s right – maybe I should give it a shot. What’s the worst that could happen? A knot forms in my stomach as I imagine the worst case scenario. The Millers could ban me from every future family function, keeping me as far away from Jenna as possible. They could pull her out of school, and force her to live with her parents again. Shit. Now I feel even more conflicted than before. Should I pursue Jenna or not?

Yet no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to forget about the sweet brunette. I just keep picturing her lovely smile and those big brown eyes of hers. Just the thought of them makes my heart skip a beat. Damn, it’s wrong to have these thoughts, but I can’t stop myself. Why couldn’t she be the same shy girl that spent every family function locked away in her bedroom? Maybe then, I wouldn’t be going crazy right now trying to figure out what I’m going to do.

I close my eyes and place my hands over them, hoping I won’t be able to see her sweet face anymore, but it pops up in the darkness of my mind. What the hell am I going to do? The beautiful brunette has completely taken over my brain. I can still smell her sweet aroma even though we’re miles apart. This isn’t right! She’s a young college student, and to make matters worse, she’s my damn niece.

There’s only one thing I can do – I’ll have to stay as far away from her as possible. That means no more family functions with the Millers. I’m sure they’ll wonder why after thirteen years, I suddenly stopped attending every celebration they host, but it’s the only way to prevent disaster. Being in the same room as her is far too tempting and borderline torturous. This is what’s best for all of us.

Fuck, this totally sucks. Of course, in due time, I’ll forget all about Jenna. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Yet somehow, I’m not so sure because the sweet college student has managed to seduce me without even trying. Groaning, I let out a roar of frustration before beating the pillow next to me. Life just isn’t fair, and this time, it’s me with the short end of the stick.

7

Drake

Arumbling sound emerges from the coffee maker as the scent of Colombian roasted beans fills the air. I inhale the aroma of freshly brewed java, anticipating the taste of the caffeinated beverage. I grip the coffee pot handle in my palm and pour the hot liquid into a mug, leaving enough room to add cream and sugar.

I walk over toward the refrigerator to take out the cream, but just as I’m reaching for the handle, my phone rings. I’m in a rush for work, and I don’t really have much time to stop and have a conversation, but if someone’s calling me this early in the morning, then it must be an emergency. I dig into my suit jacket pocket and pull out my cell phone. I stare at the screen, a bit surprised to see Leanne’s name.

“Hello?” I answer the phone.

“Hi, Drake. Sorry to call you so early, but I wanted to get in touch with you as soon as possible to ask a favor,” she says. A favor? What could it possibly be?

“Sure, what do you need?” I ask. I should probably use this time to tell her that I won’t be able to make it to Christmas this year, but she’ll probably ask me a million questions why, and I don’t have time to answer them right now.

“I know this is extremely last minute, but this weekend is Parents Weekend at Jenna’s school. I hate missing events for the kids, but it also happens to be the open house weekend at a fashion academy Natalie is interested in,” she explains.

Hearing Jenna’s name makes my heart race. Although it’s only been a week, I thought I’d be over her by now, but I’m not. I dream of her every night, and when I wake up, I reach for her, but she isn’t there. I miss her and would give anything to see her again, but there’s no way I could be in the same room as the beautiful brunette without wanting to kiss her succulent lips.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Leanne apologizes. “Natalie’s being a brat again and demanding that Michael and I take her to the open house. She says she won’t even apply to a school if she can’t go visit it first. I swear, teenage girls are the worst. You’re lucky you don’t have any,” she jokes. I chuckle, wondering where she’s going with this. “Well, needless to say, we can’t be in two places at one time. Since you only live ten minutes away from Marymount, Michael and I were wondering if you could go to Jenna’s Parents Weekend for us?”

I’m in such a state of shock that I’m actually speechless. I just told myself that I have to stay away from Jenna because I can’t control myself around her, but now, Leanne is asking me to spend the weekend with her voluptuous, adopted daughter. What do I say? If I say no, she’ll want to know why, and there’s no way I can tell her that I’m attracted to her daughter.

On the other hand, if I say yes, it opens a can of worms. After all, Leanne’s asking me to go in their place because they trust me, but if they knew the thoughts that have been running through my mind about their daughter, I’m sure they would think twice about this perceived favor.