Page 10 of Indecent Ventures

“Well, as I understand it, it was a train of kids each giving a massage to the person in front of them and receiving a massage from the person behind them.” She shakes her head. “Luke loves to find ways to touch the girls. He’s kissed most of them at this point. They now call him Cassanova O’Connell. I keep getting calls about it.”

Cassandra smiles proudly. “He’s a chip off his aunt’s old block.” She looks at him. “Luke, you can only touch the girls if they say it’s okay. You understand that, right?”

“Duh. I know Aunt Cassandra. They all fight over me.” He shrugs. “What can I say? I’m irresistible to them.”

Half the table laughs while the other half looks on in shock. He’s seven.

Beth turns to him. “Who taught you the wordirresistible? Who told you that you’re irresistible to girls?”

He has a sheepish look. “Um, Uncle Trevor. He said I get it from him.”

All heads turn to Trevor. He shrugs. “What? I know what it’s like to be irresistible to the ladies. The struggle is real.”

Cassandra just laughs at her husband. She laughs at everything he says.

I chime in, “Well, as long as it’s actually massages. That’s not atraditionalmassage train.” I gave a big smile as all of the adults catch on.

My father growls, “I assume you’ve onlyheardof this, right?”

I look around in an obviously guilty way. Ruffling his feathers is a hobby of mine. “Umm, sure.”

My cousins all laugh. Melissa smiles in amusement.

Luke pulls Beth’s shirt as he wiggles in his seat. “Mama, this bathing suit is smashing my dick.”

We all start laughing at the language coming out of that little mouth.

Beth looks mortified. “Luke, please don’t ever use that word in front of your mother, or at all. If your bathing suit is too small, just say so and we’ll get you a new one.”

Trevor smiles. “That happens to Brandon too, Luke. He’s built very much like his father in that department. How about I’ll take you shopping for bathing suits built for special men like us?”

Luke’s eyes light up. “Okay, Uncle Trevor. That would be awesome.”

That’s sweet of Trevor. Luke’s father, Beth’s ex-husband, is barely in the picture. Trevor ends up doing a lot of father-like activities with him.

After dinner, everyone with kids leaves to get their respective little ones to bed, leaving me with Reagan and Carter, Aunt Darian and Jackson, and Melissa and Dad. I know an outsider might find it strange that exes like Melissa and Jackson can spend so much time together, but I don’t know any different. Melissa is even close with Aunt Darian. They hang out, along with Cassandra, all the time. The three of them drinking to excess and cackling like schoolgirls is a common occurrence.

The seven of us are in the hot tub. Did I mention that my family is extremely touchy-feely with their significant others?Allof them. Not only am I the odd woman out, but the rest of them are also glued to their spouses.

Reagan rubs my arm. “Are you dating anyone?”

My father lets out a small growl.

Melissa and I smile at each other in acknowledgment of how crazy my dad is about my love life. Frankly, he’s crazy in general. He has major temper issues. Melissa does a good job keeping him under control. It’s no small feat. Though she loves to rile him at times too. I don’t need to know why.

I shake my head. “Nope. I’m still a virgin, sitting in my tower waiting for Prince Charming to rescue me.”

Everyone except Dad laughs. He mumbles, “I don’t know what you’re all laughing at. That sounds good to me.”

Reagan smiles at me. “You know that Kyle in accounting has a huge crush on you. He’s cute.”

I give an over-exaggerated fake yawn. “He’s boring. Do you honestly see me with an accountant? He’s too young anyway.”

Carter raises his eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure he’s at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He’s been with us for a few years.”

“And? I like older.Mucholder.” I wink at Carter. Reagan gives me a conspiratorial smile. She knows I have a crush on her husband. She’s so damn secure that it doesn’t bother her in the least. I love that about her.

“I prefer a man that works with his hands.” I let out a small moan. “Something about rough hands does it for me.” I wink at Carter again, looking him up and down. “And muscles.Bigmuscles.”

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