Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Dylan still remembered his first glimpse of Apollo in a picture Dustin had sent home of him and some buddies on a beach. Apollo had stood out even then, all muscles and tats and bad-boy grin, and then Dustin had brought him home on leave on a motorcycle trip. And God, if Dylan hadn’t already been sure he was gay, the sight of Apollo on that bike would have done it.
Boom. Insta-crush. Not to mention the way Apollo had had of talking to him like he was on the same level.
“Really? You’ve never had a boyfriend?”
“I didn’t say that.” Apollo’s chuckle did funny things to Dylan’s insides. “Trust me, I have plenty of fun. Just said I’ve never met that one guy yet, you know?”
Yeah, Dylan knew because he’d just met him. That one guy who was perfect for him, and all he could think was, “Please let it be me. Please let it be me. Please let him wait.”
That wish had carried him through two more years of hopeless adoration, right up until six years ago when Dustin told him that the impossible had happened, and the wild SEAL Dylan had lusted for was getting married. Married.
“Play! Play!” The girls danced around Dylan, tugging at his hands, and interrupting his thoughts.
“Sophia. Chloe. Can you pick up your toys? We’ll be eating soon.” Apollo pointed at the toys scattered around the patio. When he’d arrived at the house, Dylan had been totally thrown by the familial perfection of Apollo’s life. A remodeled two-story craftsman-style house on a small street full of other well-kept older homes of various styles. Exceptionally neat backyard other than the plastic toys—expansive brick patio giving way to a small section of grass and perfectly edged plantings. A fenced-off pool and hot tub beckoned on the far side of the patio.
“Yes, Baba.” Sophia, the more serious of the twins, the one with brown eyes and straight hair, answered him while the other one who had blue eyes and curlier hair spun in circles. Now, wasn’t that a kick. Apollo, sex god on wheels, a dad.
“I’m going inside to grab a beer,” Dustin announced. “Anyone else need a drink?”
“Nah.” Apollo turned back to the grill, his mother still holding the big tray of food for him.
“Here, Mrs. Floros. Let me hold that,” Dylan took the food and her place next to the grill. “You sit.”
“Oh, I won’t sit.” The older woman laughed. Clad in capris and a T-shirt, hair still as dark as Apollo’s, she looked too young to be a grandmother. “There’s plenty of other stuff for me to do. There’s more food back in the kitchen, but I’ll let you guys get this on the grill first.”
“Thanks.” Apollo barely glanced at Dylan’s face before starting to unload meat from the tray onto the grill. The grill was a huge stainless steel affair, one that looked up to the task of feeding a whole SEAL team instead of just a few friends. “I really need to get a prep table out here.”
“Oh, I’m happy to help.” Dylan used the excuse of helpfulness to step closer and lower his voice. “So why didn’t you tell Dustin you saw me earlier at the store?”
“Didn’t seem relevant.” Apollo made neat lines of burgers and sausages. “But why didn’t you say something to me at the store? Let me know who you were?”
Dylan laughed. “Dude. After ogling my ass, you hightailed out of there. I figured I’d give you time to overcome your embarrassment—”
“I don’t do embarrassed,” Apollo said firmly. “And I wasn’t checking you out.”
“Liar.” Dylan was not letting this slide. He’d waited eight years for Apollo to see him as more than Dustin’s pesky little brother, and he was going to bask in the warmth of that heated look in the bakery aisle. It wasn’t like it meant anything, but damn it was nice to be seen. “Anyway, I tried to speak a couple of times but you kept acting like you were auditioning for NASCAR, trying to get away from me.”
“I was in a hurry.” Apollo’s voice was gruff. And he was lying. Dylan could tell by the twitch in his right eye, something Dustin had pointed out when the three of them played cards all those years ago. “Sorry. Guess I should have recognized you.”
“I’m glad you didn’t.” Dylan grinned at him when Apollo finally looked over at him again. “At fifteen I was a scrawny thing with pimples who had never had a good haircut. I’ve put a lot of work into being different.”
“This isn’t going to work,” Apollo muttered as he took the last few meat patties and added them to the grill.
Dylan struggled to catch up. “Uh?”
“This crazy idea Dustin has of you staying here this summer. Not going to work.”
“Why not?” Despite the empty tray, Dylan didn’t move away, instead holding his ground in the face of Apollo’s massive frown. “You need help, right? Look, I’m really sorry about Neal. I should have said that first. I helped Mom pick out the flowers—”