Page 6 of Falling for My Dad's Best Friend

CHAPTER FOUR

Rob

Oh shit. The girl was so beautiful. My little chickadee, whom I’ve known since birth, was so fucking gorgeous, so fucking delectable. Because yeah, I haven’t seen Mandy in ages and when the Joneses invited me to their summer cabin, I almost declined.

Because dirty old man isn’t exactly my thing. I mean, what the fuck? I’m forty-five for crying out loud, and the way I’d behaved at Mandy’s graduation party last year had been straight up porno, I’d been ready to give her a deep dicking at the drop of a hat. No eighteen year-old deserves that, no eighteen year-old should find out that her Uncle Rob wants her in another way … with his cock in her body.

So yeah, I avoided Mandy like the plague after the party. And it wasn’t too hard because I started dating Brenda, and the skinny blonde was the perfect excuse.

“Oh yeah, Brenda’s getting some salon treatments, it’s not a good time.”

“I forgot, it’s Brenda’s birthday is next week and I’m taking her to Sonoma.”

“Sorry, Brenda’s feeling sick, I’m going to have to take a rain check.”

And it’s not that Brenda’s good or bad, she’s fine. She wants a piece of me, just like every female, and she got more than she deserved since I was basically using her as an excuse to avoid Mandy. Shit, I dated the blonde all summer, which is a lifetime for me, fucking her day in and day out, Mandy’s sweet face dancing in my head the entire time.

But when summer ended, we were through despite the fact that Brenda wanted more. The woman actually thought we had something, that there was a magical quality to our relationship, that it was more than just the physical.

“I’m sorry baby,” I ground out, looking up from some charts spread on the table. “It’s no go, I can’t make it.”

The blonde pouted, glossy red lips in an ugly sneer.

“Why?” she whined. “Why can’t you make it Rob, this is the second time you’ve canceled on me this week.”

I shot her a look.

“I’m busy,” I asked coolly. “I’ve got rounds, I’ve got patients to see, I’m doing three surgeries tomorrow. There’s no way I can stay out late and get drunk, not the way you want.”

The skinny blonde just pouted even more.

“Fine, well I’ll go by myself then,” she huffed, flouncing out, the heavy scent of her perfume lingering, choking me slightly. What the fuck was that shit? Perfume is supposed to smell good but the stuff she wore smelled like rubbing alcohol mixed with lime juice, it was so gross. And I bet it costs hundreds of dollars per bottle to boot.

But that was the last I saw of Brenda. Sure, she called more, whiny, begging, pleading through the phone, but I was through. There were no ifs, ands and buts about it, Mandy had left for college and I didn’t need Brenda anymore, I didn’t need the distraction, didn’t need to have a woman on my arm as an excuse to get out of anything.

And the Joneses got it. They understood that I’d been busy with a woman, and so hadn’t had time for their family. Ray’s been my buddy since we were in college, ever since we survived Hell Week together, our asses bruised but our pride intact. So he was cool with it, and besides, he and his wife have urged me to settle down for years, to find someone to date for real.

“What was wrong with your latest girlfriend?” asked Linda, clucking. “I’m sorry it ended so fast, three months isn’t very long. We’ve been married for twenty years now, honey, isn’t that so amazing?” she asked Ray, holding his hand while gazing adoringly at her husband. “And you’re still my true love,” she cooed.

I almost upchucked but managed a grim smile.

“Nothing was wrong with Brenda,” I rumbled smoothly, voice deep. “She just wasn’t my type in the end.”

But Linda wouldn’t let go.

“But don’t you want a family?” the middle-aged woman chided gently. “It really grounds a man, I think you’d be a great father and husband. We’re so sorry to hear it didn’t work out, aren’t we Ray?”

And I’d snorted then. First, because Brenda would have been a shitty mom, more concerned with herself than any child, even her own DNA. She’d ship that kid off to boarding school as soon as they were sentient, saying that it built “character” and “resilience.” Character and resilience, my ass. More like she’d have more time for spa treatments and shopping, getting that bony ass perfumed.

And besides, I had no time for a family anyways. My rounds are so time-consuming that actually, I’d be nothing more than a mirage, a no-show dad and a no-show husband. The divorce rate in my surgical team is an astonishing ninety-five percent, the guys just don’t have time for families. Sure, they stumble through a couple marriages sometimes, shooting out babies, but the stats are shocking and can’t be denied.

So I’d grunted something in reply, noncommittal and vague.

“You guys are my family, so I’m good,” I rumbled, adept at escaping awkward questions.

And Ray had chuckled.

“No kids, bro?” he asked. “You know, to pass along that handsome mug? We’ve got Mandy and she’s our pride and joy,” he rumbled, chest puffed out.

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