Now, I need to step in because she couldn’t be more wrong. With a big hand, I take her chin in my palm and turn her to face me. Jenna won’t meet my eyes, but her features are indescribably beautiful, and yet vulnerable and innocent at once.
“You know that’s not true,” I begin in a low voice. “You know that I’m insanely attracted to you, sweetheart, and especially after what happened in Hawaii. You are gorgeous, curvy, luscious, and sweet, and I find your curves to be irresistible. In fact, I havea hard time controlling my body’s reactions when I’m around you. Look at me now, sweetheart.”
Jenna won’t meet my eyes, but I release her chin and gesture to my groin area. Sure enough, my monster’s hard and aroused, wrapping around my waist with desire for the curvy girl. Her eyes go wide as her mouth drops open a bit.
“Does it hurt when it’s like that?” she whispers, licking her lips a little. The gesture makes me groan and I chuckle deep in my throat.
“A little,” I acknowledge. “But what hurts me more is that you’d think so little of yourself, Jenna. You are gorgeous and beautiful, and any man out there would be lucky to have you. But I want to talk seriously first, because you’re obviously in a vulnerable place right now. I don’t want to take advantage of you, and I want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
She flushes bright again, averting her eyes.
“Yes, of course,” Jenna says in a low, trembling voice. “You must think I’m so naïve and stupid.”
I take her chin in my hand again, turning it gently so that our eyes meet.
“No, I don’t think that at all. If anything, I think you’re a bright, intelligent, and very savvy young woman who did what she had to when her mother was sick. You didn’t know I was a resource then, and tried your best to make Sally’s last year on earth as pain-free as possible. That’s a huge thing, sweetheart, and not a lot of eighteen-year-old girls would have been able to handle the responsibility.”
“Yes,” Jenna murmurs softly, looking a little sad again. “So you don’t look down on me?”
“Not at all,” I reply in a low growl. “If anything, I admire you, sweetheart, and if you want to continue with your Only Fans channel, it’s fine. But I want to talk about Sally’s last wishes, and what’s going to happen now that she’s gone. Did your mom discuss this with you before she passed?”
The corner of Jenna’s mouth pulls up a bit.
“No, because it happened so suddenly. But it’s okay,” she says in a steady voice, staring at the island countertop again. “I have savings. Work has been good to me, and I’m going to stay in our apartment until I finish high school. I don’t know what comes after that, but I’ll figure something out. I’ll probably just keep working as a creator. It’s fine. I like the job, and it pays well.”
I nod slowly.
“Did your mom ever mention me?”
Jenna shakes her head.
“Not really. Sally just said you’d been a good boss over the years, and that she trusted you.”
I nod.
“I appreciate hearing that, and I’m glad your mom said that because actually, Sally asked me to be your guardian of sorts. Not a formal legal guardian because you’re already eighteen. But your mom asked me to take you in, and to provide a place for you to stay at least until you finished high school. I was only too happy to agree because I obviously have a lot of space at the mansion.”
At those words, Jenna looks up at me, surprised.
“She did? Sally asked if I could stay with you?”
I nod, blue eyes direct.
“She did. I know you have an apartment, and it’s fine. It’s home for you, and where you’ve been living for the last couple years. But also I think your mom was unsettled by the prospect of her only daughter all alone, and so she asked if you could move in here for the time being. I’ve already asked my staff to prep a suite for you, and we can even go see it now if you want.”
“But I’m okay on my own,” Jenna says quickly. “You don’t need to babysit me, Mr. Purdy. That’s not what I or my mom would want.”
“No, of course not,” I say in a soothing tone. “You’re too old for babysitting, and I don’t think I’d be much of a babysitter either,” I add in a humorous tone with a quirk of my brow. “But I think there’s something to be said for moving here too. It’s closer to your high school, for one, and you’ll have all meals prepared. You won’t have to do any maintenance or repairs because I have a staff for that, and of course, the place is huge. I have an indoor pool, outdoor pool, sauna, steam room, and garden. Two gardens in fact. One where my staff grows fruits and vegetables, and another which is purely decorative.”
Jenna’s features light up then, her blue eyes glowing.
“A garden!” she breathes. “With fruit trees and a vegetable patch. Tell me, do you guys grow pumpkins?”
I laugh deep in my chest because it’s a good change to see the beautiful woman happy and excited.
“I don’t know, but maybe,” I offer. “The gardens are overseen by Rupert, my groundskeeper, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve got a variety of vegetables going. I know they have sunflowers,” I offer unhelpfully. “They’re pretty hard to miss because they grow six feet tall.”
“My goodness,” Jenna breathes with excitement. “I love sunflowers, and did you know that if you water a sunflower with milk instead of water, the petals grow white and not yellow? So they’re not really sunflowers anymore, but rather snowflowers.”
