Page 16 of The Tangle of Awful

She just caught me off guard, is all. By tomorrow, I’ll have righted my brain and all this confusing shit will be behind me.

“What did my nephew do now?” Callum asks, sauntering into the kitchen wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants and a hickey on his neck that has him looking about twenty years younger. “You’re hitting the bottle early, which means he’s being an evil little shit again.”

For once, it’s not my son.

Well, not completely.

I scrub a palm over my face before pouring another glass. Callum leans against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest, and patiently waits for me to get on with it. He’s not just my brother, but he’s my best friend. When there are problems, we always seek each other out for advice and support.

“Aubrey’s back.”

I knock back my glass, relishing the burn. My mind unwillingly drifts to her tattooed thigh. I’d wanted to trace each blue wave with my tongue.

Sick fuck.

Heat creeps up my neck to my cheeks and I clear my throat. Callum, always one to see past bullshit, lets out a snort.

“Asking about her mother?” he asks instead of poking at my obvious discomfort when mentioning Aubrey.

“Yep.” My tone is clipped. I want to say more, though I’m unsure how. Callum isn’t exactly one to judge, but it’s still hard to admit such a dirty thing about yourself.

I find a barely legal woman—no, girl—hot as fuck. I’m going out of my mind with crazy fantasies of stripping her down and claiming her with my traitorous dick.

“Hmm.” Callum abandons his perch to walk over to the coffee machine. “And what did you tell her?”

“The truth. That her mother is a manipulative bitch who likes making my life a living hell.” Another glass of Stagg Jr. Another blissful burn. At this rate, his bottle will be half gone by noon.

“Harsh.” He sets a mug in front of me, steaming and filled to the brim with black coffee. “Getting smashed isn’t going to fix your problems, Hugo. Drink up.”

Reluctantly, I relinquish my glass to my brother and take the coffee instead. This burn doesn’t feel as good going down, but I know he’s right. Drinking until I can’t walk anymore doesn’t change the fact that Aubrey is back, looking hot as fuck, and needing me to take care of her.

“What else is bothering you?” Callum probes. “Is Spencer giving her a hard time again?”

If only it were that easy.

“Something like that,” I grumble. “And…” When did she grow up?

“Let me guess. Neena’s daughter no longer looks like a typical teenager but has turned into a spitting image of her mother.” Callum cocks his head to the side, eyes narrowed as he studies me. No wonder his students hated his class. He makes me feel like I’m about to get detention. “She got hot.”

I bristle, unable to meet his stare. “She was always beautiful.”

“Of course she was. Neena’s a knockout. I didn’t say beautiful. I said hot. Took your old, horny ass by surprise?”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I can’t help but remember how she strode into my office, all sexy and seducing me without even trying. My dick twitches at the reminder. Fuck.

“I’ll get over it,” I assure him. “Just wasn’t expecting her to be so…”

“Fuckable?” Callum offers with an evil smirk.

Bile rises in my throat. I know I seem like the stereotypical old guy chubbing over some young thing with perky tits and silky thighs. It’s not like that, though. Well, not completely. Seeing her went beyond physical attraction. Our past, with me being a parent to her, coupled with the need for me to once again take care of her, wove its way into how my cock took notice of her beauty and sex appeal. A deadly combination for a million different reasons.

“Are you going to fuck her?”

His question jerks me from my thoughts. Vehemently, I shake my head. “Hell no. It’s Aubrey, for fuck’s sake. My stepdaughter. Not to mention, man, I’m still married. To her mother.”

I could use another drink, but Callum covertly hid the bottle while I was distracted. Settling for my coffee, I take another punishing hot swig before setting the mug down with a loud clink.

“You wouldn’t be a Park if you didn’t have a complicated love life,” Callum says, features souring briefly.

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