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“Okay…” I said and looked at him. “Sympathy, empathy, pity, and shame would be just a few, and then there are moments when I feel something close to love.”
Bruce whistled low. “Wow, a powerful cocktail like that could cause you a heavy headache.”
“I know, right?”
I picked up the picture with the floating man. “I got thrown into this, but Cia is amazing and I’ve learned so much about myself these past two weeks.”
Bruce wrapped one of the pictures and stopped midway. “You’re right, she is amazing… but also very troubled.”
I arched a brow. “Not compared to when I first met her.”
Bruce took a step closer and placed a hand on my shoulder. “G, listen to me. Cia still has a long way to go. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking that from now on she’s going to be all chirpy and fine.”
“I won’t,” I said.
“Good!” he nodded softly. “I admire what you do for her and that you’ve taking her under your wing, but don’t enter into a sexual relationship with her unless you are really serious about it.”
I tensed up. I had never told him about my physical attraction to her.How the fuck does he know? Did he finally find the recording of us showering together?
“You have nothing to worry about,” I said. “Cia and I don’t see each other like that. We’re just really good friends now.”
He chuckled. “Nice try, G, I may have glasses, but I’m not blind. You twocan play role-plays and pretend you’re family all you want, but it’s not blood that you share. It’s a mutual attraction.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he continued. “Just be warned that once you cross that line with her,you won’t be able to go back to being just uncle and niece. It will be all or nothing with her.”He patted my shoulder a few last times before he changed the subject and started talking about the Seahawks last season.
?∞?
During our three-hour long drive back to Seattle, Cia was a lot more talkative than when we drove from Seattle to the camp two weeks ago. She was dressed in the clothes we had bought her in Ocean Shores, and looked healthy and happy as she chatted excitedly about her upcoming exhibition and about the hikes we had taken the last days.
In the meantime Bruce’s warning ran through my mind several times. He was right. I was the only family member she had a connection with, and no matter how much I wanted to know how it would feel like to be inside of her and hear her moan my name, I couldn’t screw that up for her. Besides, I was moving to Missouri in a little over three months and wasn’t looking for a long-distance relationship.
Fuck!My head was so confused. Why was I even contemplating hooking up with Cia? Blood related or not, she was still my brother’s daughter and I needed to get a freaking grip on myself.
I will keep my distance,I promised myself and in that moment, I really intended to.
