The Perfect Match: A New Adult Erotic Romance (Inseparable Book 2) (8 page)

Kurt and Charlotte sat their bags down just inside the front door to hug their Uncle Jack. “When I said I was coming, Charlotte decided to tag along.”

“I bet Noëlle is gonna kill me for taking both her kids at Christmas,” Jack said with a worried shake of his head.

“It’s cool, Uncle Jack,” Charlotte said. “We worked it out with her before we left.”

“Well, come on in. The kids have been going crazy all day waiting for you.”

The two girls exploded out of their chairs the second Kurt and Charlotte entered the kitchen. “Yay! Uncle Kurt! Aunt Charlotte!” Although technically cousins, the age difference made using honorary titles easier than explaining the exact relations to the youngsters.

“Holy moly, you’ve grown two inches since Thanksgiving,” Kurt said as he picked Jen up and swung her around.

“Aunt Charlotte?” Lisa asked as she hugged Charlotte tight. “Will you stay in my room with me?”

“No, she’s gonna stay in
my
room,” Jen yelled, jumping out of Kurt’s arms to push her sister.

“No, you two are both staying in Lisa’s room and Aunt Charlotte is sleeping in Jen’s bed all by herself,” Julie said as she separated the two wild kids. Hugging Charlotte, then Kurt, she said, “It’s gonna be so great hanging out with you both for the holidays.”

“I’m looking forward to it, too,” Charlotte said with a big smile. “I loved getting to know you and Polly at Thanksgiving. Plus while I’m here and I can figure out where I want to work after I graduate in the spring.”

“Oh, yeah, I need to call Polly and tell her you’re here,” Julie exclaimed. “She hasn’t shut up about how much fun she had since we got back.”

“Are you guys hungry?” Jack asked as he gestured to the table.

“Starved,” Kurt said. “We drove straight through.”

After making room at the table and getting them some food, Kurt ate in the happy chaos as the little girls chatted happily about their lives. Jackson smeared fist-fulls of food around his mouth and pounded his highchair with occasional shouts of glee. Just being in his Uncle’s home gave Kurt a sense of peace he hadn’t felt in ages.

While Kurt helped clear the dinner plates, Aunt Julie pulled out some fresh fruit for dessert. Jackson apparently loved grapes the most because he bounced in his seat as Julie cut them into small bites for him to eat safely. Jack cut apples and bananas for the girls, nibbling on bits and pieces as he went.

Just when Kurt had finished cutting and eating his own apple, the doorbell rang. Julie grinned and got up from the table after giving Jackson one more bite of apple. A few moments later Lisa shrieked, “Aunt Polly! Uncle Trey!”

Kurt felt chills as the skin on his scalp and arms prickled. Turning with a broad, fake smile plastered on his face, he saw Charlotte hugging Polly. Trey nodded around the room at everyone from behind them.

Polly was gorgeous, dressed in a clingy black dress and high heels. Her hair was up in a tight bun that accentuated her long neck. Flashes of gold dangled down from her ears in thin chains with stars glittering among them. But it was her smile that took his breath away. The bright red shade she wore on her lips perfectly accented her cinnamon complexion. Resisting the impulse to grab her and kiss those lips made beads of sweat break along his forehead.

“Kurt,” she exclaimed when his turn came at last. “It’s so great to see you again.”

The embrace was quick, but he couldn’t resist breathing deeply while his face was next to hers. The reaction in his pants was swift and painful as his shaft swelled, pulling hairs as it rose. Feeling the warm flush in his face, he tried not to draw undue attention to his aching erection. Polly had a flush on her face as well as she drew back.

“It’s great seeing you again, too,” Kurt said and cursed himself for being lame.

“Julie said you’ll be in town for a couple of weeks,” Polly said, looking unsure what to say next.

“Yeah, I needed to get away from Morgan City for a while and when Uncle Jack offered to put us up for a visit I figured what the hell,” he said with a shrug. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“I’d like that,” she said, but Kurt couldn’t decide if she was just being polite or not.

Trey leaned forward to her ear and whispered, “We’re gonna be late.”

“Sorry, we just stopped by on the way to dinner,” she said with a grin, then looked at Charlotte. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow. I need to go Christmas shopping and could use some company if you want to tag along.”

“I’d love to! Talk to you then,” Charlotte said with an equally happy grin.

* * *

A
fter they’d gone, Kurt took their suitcases back to Jen’s room. He was going to be sleeping on the couch but he still needed a room to change in and store his clothes. Julie made room in Jen’s closet for them to hang her nicer clothes while Kurt sorted through his suitcase for some sweats to sleep in.

“Hey, Kurt, you wanna beer?” Jack asked from the hallway.

“Yeah, I really do,” Kurt said as he grabbed his sweats and toiletries before heading to the bathroom.

“I’ll meet you on the back porch. It’s cool out there, but I need a cigar.”

“I’ll take one of those, too, if you have an extra one,” he said with a grin before shutting the bathroom door.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Kurt told himself in a breathy whisper, “She’ll never fall for his bullshit. Have a little faith in the girl.” Then he put her out of his mind to brush his teeth and change clothes. By the time he made it to the patio he could smell the fragrant smoke of a good cigar.

“There you go,” Jack said as he gestured to an open beer and unlit cigar sitting on the glass top table. The patio furniture was comfortable and Kurt could see the stars in the sky despite the bright lights of the city.

After taking a sip of the beer, he lit the cigar with a jet of flame from Jack’s lighter. “Oh, Uncle Jack, you have no idea how bad I needed this.”

Jack chuckled and said, “I bet I do. That look that passed between you and Polly nearly scorched the carpet, but the chill between you and Trey put out the fire right back out.”

“Maybe you do have some idea, then,” Kurt whispered. “That obvious?”

“Yeah, you wanna talk about it?”

“Naw.” He shook his head. “I got a beer, a cigar, and a secret mission. I’m goddamn James Bond, dude.”

“Did you tell your sister anything?” Jack asked before he took another sip of beer.

“Nope, but I did tell her if anyone asks to say this is just a family visit.”

“Good,” Jack said. “On Monday I want you to take your resume down to the ship channel area and stop by four different transport companies. If we’re lucky you’ll get an interview at one or two of them. Just make sure you
don’t
mention my name. I’ve already spoken to Uncle Charlie and he’s gonna be your referral, so sell them on calling him to check you out.”

“I still don’t understand what all this is about.” Kurt had been mulling over their brief conversation all day but still couldn’t see the big picture.

“Kurt, my company is under attack.” Drawing a big mouthful of smoke, Jack let it out in four big smoke rings. “Our transport costs have gone through the roof. Even though I’ve doubled the sales over last year, and we’re all working harder than ever now, our total profits are flat.”

“So bring in Uncle Charlie,” Kurt suggested. “He’ll give you a fair price.”

“He’s too busy with his regular customers and doesn’t have the time to open a second office here. No, what I need to do is find out who managed to get a bunch of unrelated companies to raise our transport costs and no one else’s.”

“So I’m going to try and get a job at one of these companies to figure it out.”

“Yup, that’s the plan,” Jack sighed. “My only fear is that I’m sending you into something that could be dangerous.”

“I can take care of myself,” Kurt said, thinking Jack was being melodramatic.

“Do you understand how much money we’re talking about?” Jack asked him with squinted eyes. “So far this year my company’s sold a quarter billion dollars of inventory. The transport costs are in the tens of millions. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to fuck me over. They won’t care about bustin’ up a nosy coon-ass like you.”

“I’ll be careful,” Kurt said with a worried frown.

“That’s why I don’t want anyone to know about you and me. If this really is something to do with me, I don’t want you caught in the backlash. Right now the only people who know are you, me, and Uncle Charlie. I haven’t even told Julie anything. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Aye-aye, sir,” Kurt said, then drank the rest of his beer. “Got any more?”

J
ulie sat the mug of coffee in front of Polly. “Okay, spill!”

Polly stirred in a spoonful of sugar into the black coffee and said, “He was a perfect gentleman.”

“Damn, I was hoping you got lucky,” Julie said with a grin. “Gimme the juicy details.”

“Have you ever been to Vic and Anthony’s? The steakhouse?”

“No, but I’ve heard about it. Jack takes clients there sometimes.” Julie took a sip of her coffee, then blew over the top of the mug to cool it quicker.

“The place is gorgeous, super high-end, with chrome and black leather everywhere. He must have dropped a couple of hundred on dinner and wine.”

“But he didn’t make a move?” Julie asked with an incredulous expression.

“Oh, he made a move, it was just polite,” Polly shared with a grin.

“Tell me,” Julie hissed as she leaned closer over the table.

Polly sipped her coffee and ordered her thoughts. Trey had been attentive and entertaining throughout dinner, telling funny stories of his school adventures. After dinner he’d taken her to the Waterwall Park at the foot of the Williams Tower near the Galleria. He kissed her there as the mist flowing around them. “Dinner, then to the Waterwall at Williams Tower for some kissing,” she confessed with a blush.

“And you didn’t drag him back to your place?” Julie asked with a chuckle.

“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I almost expected him to feel me up or try to push it more, but he dropped me off with a hug and a kiss goodnight.”

“So why didn’t
you
make a move?” Julie asked, appearing genuinely curious.

Polly knew Julie was more comfortable with casual sex than she was. In fact, Julie’s relationship with Jack started with them falling into bed the day they met, unintentionally conceiving Jackson in the process. While she considered her answer, she sat back and sipped her coffee.

“I
did
want to,” she admitted with a sigh. “I even had to rub one out later just to get to sleep.”

Julie laughed at that and shook her head. “So what’s a big deal?”

“I can’t explain it,” she said. “I think about him all the time, but not sexy things.” There was a tense moment before she admitted, “I keep wondering why he wants to be with me.”

“Because you rock, that’s why!” Julie said as she leaned forward again. “Listen, I know you aren’t the kind of person who just jumps in the sack with a guy, but he’s putting in the time and taking it slow for you. Why don’t you think you deserve to be happy with him?”

Polly felt her frustration boil over, “I don’t know! I’ve never felt this confused about a guy before! I usually either like them or hate them. I’m not used to worrying about a guy’s motives, but I just can’t seem to get comfortable with him. It’s a gut thing, not a head thing. Does that make sense?”

“Trust your gut, then,” Julie said with a serious expression. “Always trust your gut.” The front door opened and Julie glanced behind Polly with a smile. “Wow, Kurt, what are you all dressed up for?”

When Polly turned to look she felt her heart skip a beat. Kurt had gotten a short haircut that suited his face better than the unkempt mop he’d had before. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants with a navy blue blazer over an open-necked white shirt. The outfit wasn’t tailored like Trey’s had been on their date, but his broad shoulders and deep tan made him look absolutely stunning.

“Hey, Polly, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said in his easy Cajun accent.

“Uh... Hi,” she said, finding herself at a loss for words.

When he bent down to give her a one-armed hug, the cologne and his own warm scent mixed together to make her stomach flutter. She had the mad impulse to rub her face against his chest and purr. Kurt pulled back again to give Julie the exact same kind of friendly hug.

“I had some job interviews, no big deal,” he said. “Is Charlotte around?”

“Wait,” Julie said as she stood. “You’re moving to Houston?”

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “I’m just testing the waters to see what the job market’s like. Charlotte’s gonna come here in a few months and I figured I’d take a look, too.”

“But what about your Uncle Charlie?” Julie asked. “I figure you’d be taking over his business someday.”

“Naw, he’s got his sons working for him. Helping me was just a favor he did for Meemee.”

“What do you mean?” Julie asked.

“I’m happy to tell you the whole story, but I gotta go to the bathroom. Be back in a sec.”

“Try not to wake Jackson,” Julie said. “He’s napping on Jen’s bed. Little booger went in there when I wasn’t looking and zonked out.”

When Kurt turned to leave the room, Polly’s eyes followed his ass as he walked away. Looking back, she saw a grin on Julie’s face that said she’d noticed. Polly said, “He looks like his Uncle Jack in a way.”

“Yeah, he’s got those same brown-black eyes and strong jaw.” She said as she sipped her coffee. “You know he’s hot for you, right?”

Polly sighed and nodded. “He
is
cute, just not the kind of guy I’m looking for.”

“Yeah, and I planned to marry someone ten years older than me with kids and a crazy ex-wife,” Julie said an ironic tension in her voice. “If
Trey
doesn’t feel right, maybe your heart’s trying to tell you something.”

Jackson’s happy squeal interrupted their quiet conversation when Kurt came back carrying him. Polly was a little disappointed Kurt had changed into his more usual jeans and a t-shirt. He said, “Someone was already awake when I went in to change.”