Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Adan nodded. “Let me save this document and I can shut down and go.” He sat down, reached for his mouse, and started clicking. “Hey, is that plant nursery around the corner still open?”
“Um, I think so.” I shrugged. “I never paid much attention, but didn’t we drive by there the other day and see cars out front?”
“Probably. Let’s stop there and get him that plant he likes.” He finished up on the computer, pulled his drawer open, and got his wallet and phone.
“What plant?”
Adan furrowed his brow. “Uh, hydrangeas. I think that’s what they’re called.” He stood up and put his wallet in his back pocket and his phone in the front one. “I’ll recognize them when I see them.”
“Okay. We can stop by there on the—” A memory slammed into my head. Prom, senior year of high school. Charlie helping me with my cummerbund. And the corsage I’d gotten for my date, whose name I’d long since forgotten. “Do the flowers look like pom-poms?” I asked quietly.
He peered at me and understanding dawned. “Tell me.”
I hoped my eyes didn’t look as wet as they felt. “The corsage I got for my prom date was a blue hydrangea. I remember Charlie saying he liked it.” I sighed. “That’s the first night I kissed him.”
Adan threaded his fingers with mine. “We’re almost there,” he reminded me. “We’ve almost got our boy completely back.”
Chapter 18
INTRODUCTION
Charlie (“Chase”) Rhodes
ON THURSDAY night, or more accurately, Friday morning, instead of sleeping, I was lying in bed trying to decide if I should ask Scott and Adan to spend the weekend or if I should see if Stacia was available to stay over with the kids for a night so I could go to their place. Yes, you heard me right. I was done keeping them at a distance, done worrying about whether it was all too good to be true or whether one or both of them would get sick of me, and done keeping my damn pants on when the two sexiest guys I’d ever known had some great fucking plans they wanted to try out naked.
Unfortunately, my apartment was tiny and inhabited by two young children. In the new house, our bedrooms would be on two different floors, so I’d be able to moan and beg and scream without waking them up. But in that apartment, any sex would have to be careful and quiet. I didn’t hold out a lot of hope that the three of us would be able to keep it down when we finally got down.
That was the dilemma I was trying to solve when I heard a noise outside. Seconds later, my phone vibrated. I shot up, scrambled for the phone, and answered the call without checking who it was.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Chase, it’s me.”
It took only a second for me to place the voice. It was my old friend Daniel. I’d danced on board cruise ships for a couple of years, and we’d roomed, and slept, together for some of that time. The sex had been mediocre, but the friendship we’d formed was strong. He didn’t live in Vegas, so the last time I’d seen him was when he was visiting on the night Adan and Scott had unexpectedly shown up at my door. But we’d kept in touch through texts and e-mails and even the occasional phone call.
“Daniel? What’s wrong? Why’re you calling in the middle of the night?”
“Sorry.” He sounded horrible. “I’m at your door. Can you let me in?”
I was out of bed and through the apartment before he finished his sentence.
“What happened?” I asked as I frantically yanked the door open. “Are you hurt?’
He shook his head, dropped his bag, and practically collapsed into my arms.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he muttered into my shoulder. “Can I crash with you for a little while?”
“Yeah, of course.” I rubbed his back. “Your choices are the couch or my bed. I’ll grab your bag.”
“Thanks.” He shuffled away, rubbing his eyes. “I feel like I could sleep for days.”
With his bag in my hand, I closed and locked the door. “Then the bed will be better. Otherwise my kids will wake you up in about three hours.”
“Your kids.” He shook his head. “Crazy how much things change, huh?”
I put my free arm around his waist and led him to my room. “I’ve been spending a whole lot of time lately thinking about how crazy it is that things stay the same.”
“What?”
“Never mind.” I shook my head. “Get some sleep and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
Daniel shucked off his shoes and clothes, and we crawled into bed. “Will those boyfriends of yours lose their minds if we cuddle tonight?” he asked.
“I never said they were my boyfriends.”
“You didn’t have to.” He scooted closer and sniffled. “Please?”
Daniel was normally a happy, upbeat guy. I had never heard him sound so down.