Page 8 of Indecent Ventures

When I was seven years old, my father came back and claimed to be sober. My mother was excited and accepting of him being in my life. I was skeptical. I didn’t trust him. I basically tortured him for years. I wouldn’t call himDadfor nearly ten years, instead calling him by his first name, Declan.

But, in fairness to him, he was patient and put in the time. He took every minute my mother allowed him to have and tried to break down my walls. Eventually, that happened, and we’re close now.

Just before my senior year in high school, my mother got married to a man that lives and works in New York City. She kept her house here but spent most of her time in New York. Not wanting to leave Philly, I ended up spending my senior year of high school splitting time between my mom and dad. It was the one and only time in my life that I lived with him.

I asked him for years to meet his extended family. He had a falling out with his brother when he was in his twenties and hadn’t seen any of them in twenty-five years. His brother had since passed, but I really wanted to meet my cousins. He kept putting me off.

About four-and-a-half years ago, he started dating my now stepmom, Melissa. She’s the best thing that ever happened to him. Well, besides me, of course.

When they got serious, she wanted to introduce him to her whole family, including her ex-husband, Jackson Knight, who she remains close friends with because they have three adult sons together.

In a twist right out of a great novel, it turned out that Melissa’s ex-husband, Jackson, was married to my dad’s widowed sister-in-law, Darian. Yep, his brother’s former wife. What are the chances?

After the shock wore off, they eventually introduced me to my whole family. I went from just having a mom and dad, to having a giant family. Not only did I gain my Aunt Darian, three female first cousins, their husbands, and kids, I gained Melissa’s three sons, their wives, and their kids. Now we can’t go to a restaurant for a family meal without renting out an entire room. It’s a good thing they’re insanely wealthy and can usually make that happen.

My cousin, Reagan, and her hot-as-sin husband, Carter, run a Fortune 500 company. The day they met me, they offered me an internship in the design department during my senior year of high school, and I turned it into a career. I was able to work while in college and graduate a year early. At only twenty-two, I’m the second in charge of the design department of one of the biggest companies in the world.

I’ll be forever grateful to Reagan and Carter for my dream career. I make a ton of money doing what I love every single day. Reagan always says that she may have given me the opportunity, but my hard work, dedication, and vision got me to the position I hold now. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.

I walk out back and am greeted with a huge, warm welcome, as always. My oldest cousin, Harley, hugs me. Her husband Brody, who’s a full-fledged California hottie, hugs me as well. They have two gorgeous kids, Scotty and Ellie, who are playing in the pool. They’re nearly seven and six respectively.

My Aunt Darian greets me next. She and Harley look so much alike, with darker hair, green eyes, and killer bodies. Ellie looks just like them.

Reagan and Carter are the next to say hello. I have two or three inches on Reagan, but we otherwise look very much alike, both resembling our fathers, who were brothers. I’m often mistaken for her around Philly. She’s fairly well known, and I sometimes use it to my advantage to gain VIP entry into restaurants and clubs.

Admittedly, I’ve had a several-years-long crush on her husband, Carter. He’s a giant muscle of a man, with brown hair, hazel eyes, and a sexy beard. He’s the most perfect-looking man I’ve ever seen.

Frankly, I’ve never hidden my crush. I don’t give a crap what people think about me, I never have. Growing up without a father leaves you with thick skin.

I also love getting my dad riled up about my crush. It drives him nuts, so I never miss the opportunity to mention it. Melissa always laughs and shakes her head in amusement.

Carter is thirty-nine, significantly older than my twenty-two years. But I like older men. I always have. I’ve never dated men my own age. My father simply chooses not to accept it.

Reagan and Carter don’t have any kids yet. There’s so much gossip about it at the office. Everyone is wondering why they haven’t started a family. I think Reagan has been focused on her career. She’s thirty-two, not fifty-two. She’ll have them when she’s ready. I always feel the need to protect her when the gossip mill starts churning.

My cousin, Skylar, who’s thirty years old, waves from the pool. Her husband, Lance, is wrapped around her, as usual. She leans back into him.

I look at them. “Where are the kids?”

They’ve only been married a little over three years, but they already have two kids. Their son Rocky is two, and their daughter Astrid is about eight months old. It’s no surprise, given their parents, that they’re the most adorable kids I’ve ever seen.

Skylar also works at Daulton and Lawrence Holdings. She’s the Vice President of Strategy and Operations and is awesome at her job. She secures us every big project within the United States. I’m the lucky one who gets to help her with all the virtual modeling. I get to dream up city-defining buildings on a daily basis, and then watch those dreams come to fruition.

They recently completed construction on the first project I ever worked on with Skylar, when I was only a senior in high school. It gave me a taste of this job and I was immediately addicted. Every single day on my way to work, I see the giant Bancroft building, the biggest in Philadelphia, and look at it with pride, knowing that my handiwork played a huge part in the design. I love my job.

Skylar answers, “They’re inside napping. They should be up in about an hour. We’re enjoying the calm before the storm.”

I’m then greeted by Melissa’s three sons and their wives. Payton and Kylie, who have a seven-year-old daughter, Paisley. Hayden and Jess, who have a three-year-old son, Kai. And Trevor and Cassandra, who have four-year-old twins, Brandon and Dylan. Cassandra is much older than Trevor. She’s Aunt Darian’s longtime best friend and fell for Trevor after Aunt Darian met Jackson. Apparently, it was quite scandalous at the time, but that was before they were in my life, so I’ve only known Trevor and Cassandra together, and they’re the funniest couple I’ve ever met in my life. I adore them. No one in this family has much of a filter, but Cassandra and Trevor are on a different level.

Reagan looks at Skylar and Lance, with his hands and lips all over her perfect, bikini-clad body. “Lance, get your hands off my sister. This is why you keep knocking her up.”

Both Skylar and Lance’s eyes widen. Everyone looks at each other in confusion.

A huge smile spreads across Aunt Darian’s face. “Skylar, do you have something to share with all of us? Are you pregnant again?”

She scrunches her face and looks up at Lance. He nods at her before softly kissing her lips.

She turns back. “I’m only about ten weeks along, but yes, I’m pregnant again.” She and Lance both have huge smiles.

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