AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She has the silkiest dark hair and as we draw closer, I can make out smoky gray eyes that I want to get lost within. Her lips sparkle with gloss and all I can think about is kissing it off, seeing if her plump lips swell more as I devour her mouth.
“Hi there, welcome. I’m Jasmine, how can I help you?” she asks, her smile not quite as bright my way as when she turns it towards Cleo, and I swear, I’m fucking jealous of a nine-year-old. I want her to smile just for me, not my niece.
“I’m Cleo, this is my Uncle Adam,” Cleo pipes up with before I can get myself under control enough to speak.
“Uncle Adam?” Jasmine says, her gaze flowing up to me, and all jealousy fades away as little flashes of delight fills her gorgeous eyes.
“Yes,” I manage to get out without sounding like a bullfrog somehow. “Cleo’s been stuck with just me the last two years.”
“I’m not stuck with you, Uncle Adam. I’d be stuck with Grandma if it weren’t for you,” she adds, warming my heart and I pull her into my side for a hug, as my eyes go back to Jasmine.
Her eyes are softer, her smile fuller as they meet mine, and I’m wholly relieved to see that I’m not alone in this interest. “Then I’d say we’re all happy you’ve got your Uncle Adam. So, what brings you all into my store today?”
“Your store? Oh, Jas—Jasmine,” I stupidly connect a hint too late as she nods. The blood is rushing to the wrong brain right now, making me more than a fraction slower than normal. “Then I guess we’re here to see you. Cleo’s birthday is in three weeks, April sixth. She’ll be turning ten. I realized I’ve been a bad uncle and missed doing anything for the last two and don’t want to make it three without doing something that Cleo will enjoy. I don’t have the first clue as to what that might be, which is why she’s here with me, nor do I know how to put together a party like this. I rarely attend anything beyond a business dinner and the extremely rare dinner party, and I’m pretty sure that won’t work on ten-year olds.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Jasmine agrees, giving me a beautiful laughing smile.
“I can really have a party?” Cleo asks and I nod, squatting down to see her better.
“I want you to know how special you are, honey. I thought we’d invite your whole class if you want, or maybe just the girls from your grade if you’d rather do something girly. I know the other girls haven’t been the nicest, but maybe they just need a chance to get to know you better,” I tell her, earning a hug that I love.
“Sounds like we’re going to be having an amazing party. I think I’m going to need some help from the birthday girl to get started though,” Jasmine states, when Cleo pulls back, looking up at her with the biggest smile I’ve seen in years.
“With what?” Cleo asks bouncing on her toes and I can’t help but smile seeing her slip her hand into Jasmine’s when she offers it to her.
“A theme to start,” Jasmine tells her, moving us towards the front left of the showroom. “Your Uncle Adam will have to help me with some of the rest, so why don’t we sit him down here,” she suggests, leading us into a cozy space that has comfy chairs and a couch set up, but isn’t decorated beyond some spring décor.
She opens the cabinet, taking out a tablet with a grin. “You can fill out your information here,” she tells me, handing it over. “I put in the date as the sixth already, but if you want to do it a different day, you can choose something else on the calendar. I don’t have anything scheduled that weekend currently and only a couple small parties the next, so we could always add in something there as well.”
I glance through the questions and see it’s easy stuff, budget, size, length, in-home or venue preferences. All things I can at least put guesses on even if we need to adjust later. “This I can handle.”
“Good, I’m going to take the star of the party with me to look at some ideas if that’s okay?” Jasmine asks me, and Cleo’s little head bobs so fast I’m worried it’ll fall off in her excitement.
“If she gets too wild, just give me a holler.”
“I have several nieces and nephews that are around or have been this age, we’ll be fine,” Jasmine assures me, and Cleo slips her hand into Jasmine’s moving away with her easier than she’s ever gone with someone new.
I shamelessly watch them go, my eyes on the sway of Jasmine’s hips and the sweet curve of her backside making my cock pulse with awareness. I came in here to make my niece happy, but I know I’m the one that’s going to end up the happiest. I fully intend to spend as much time with sweet Jasmine as I can and do my best to sway her into acting on the attraction flaring between us.
I’m hoping her tight smile at the beginning was just her being upset that I was likely taken. The look in her eyes when Cleo called me Uncle Adam was surprise. With how she behaved with Cleo, I’m hoping that’s as far as it went. I can’t possibly be with a woman that won’t accept Cleo as part of my life and love her like I do.
I’ve never felt anything close to this before, and I don’t want to lose it. Cleo and I are a package deal. I’m really hoping Jasmine can handle that.
Chapter 3
Jasmine
Holy crap. Thank you god, fate, the stars for aligning—whatever it was that brought Adam into my store. I seriously was about to cry with how much my heart was aching just looking at him. The way Cleo held his hand, looked at him like he was her hero…it reminds me of us girls and Dad.
I’m ninety-nine percent sure he’s single. He said it was just him and Cleo, and surely if he was with someone and it was serious, he’d have her helping with this instead of coming here for it—or at least bring her along.
This is something parents should do as a family really. More often than not, it’s the mom coming in, desperate for help because she can’t pull off another birthday party on top of everything else she has to take care of on a daily basis.
I like being able to take some of that pressure off moms. I saw the way Mom handled a million things to make sure all of us were able to enjoy our birthdays, while not letting the others feel like they were being neglected or overlooked. Even with a housekeeper around to take care of the bigger things, it was still a lot to handle. The way Dad stepped up and helped with whatever was needed is what I want out of a relationship, let alone a marriage.
I take Cleo towards some of our kids party areas to look over them first, and my heart melts more when she doesn’t just give them a momentary glance and go on. She studies them the way I did setting them up, before tilting her head, a thoughtful look on her face, or shaking her head at something before we move onto another.
I can see the thoughts bouncing through her head and move us into my favorite room of the store. It’s a mini-library for basically every party theme we’ve put on, are working on, or just thought up. The scrapbooks are massive, and I put several on the table to get us started.
