CRASHING INTO FOREVER
Hot Mess; Friends & Family 3
coming June 2020
Angelo
I'd wanted Sam Brodsky for ages, but
because I didn't trust many people, I'd placed him firmly in the friend
category when we first met and I was having a hard time pulling him out. I
wanted him in the lover category. I just didn't know if he wanted the same
thing.
Sam
Angelo Delvecchio was a great friend.
He'd make an even better lover. I was positive of it. I just had to get him to
realize how good we could be together. When he invited me to spend the weekend
at his house on the beach, I knew this was my opportunity to prove it.
It seemed as if the fates had something
else in mind. When we received an emergency call from a friend, we jump on
Angelo's jet to fly home, only we didn't make it. Surviving a plane crash is
the least of our worries. We need to survive the people hunting us while we try
to figure out who they are and what they want, but at least I got a kiss out of
it.
STORY EXCERPT
Angelo
I glanced
at Sam's phone when it rang. I thought about not answering it, but my avid
curiosity—and maybe a bit of jealousy—got the better of me.
It said
private number.
"Who
is this?" I asked after swiping my finger across the screen.
"Who
is this?" came the terse reply.
I bristled
with indignation. I couldn't remember the last time someone had talked to me
like this. "This is Officer Sam Brodsky's phone and—"
"I
know who's phone it is. That's who I was calling."
"Who
is this?" I repeated.
"This
is Lyn. Who is this?"
"Oh,
Lyn." I blew out a relieved breath. "This is Angelo. Sam is in the
shower. Can I take a message?"
"Do
you think you could go get him? This is kind of an emergency."
"Yes,
of course." I started walking toward the guest room. "Give me just a
moment." I pressed the phone to my chest and rapped my knuckles on the
bathroom door. "Hey, Sam? Lyn is on the phone. He says it's an
emergency."
I caught a
flash of naked skin and rounded ass as Sam turned off the shower, opened the
stall door, and reached for a towel.
I was sad
to see all that skin covered up.
I handed
the phone over when Sam held out his hand.
"What'd
Lany do now?" Sam asked. He was silent for a moment as if he was listening
to Lyn talk and then he asked, "Lyn?" He chuckled. "Okay, just
making sure." Sam put the phone on speaker then set it on the counter. He
reached for an extra towel and began drying off.
I had no
shame.
I leaned
against the doorframe and watched.
"Sal
and Lany are busy because Lany fell and hurt himself," Lyn said in a
harried voice. "David is on his way to the airport to fly back from
visiting his aunt. You're next on my list."
"I'm
in Martha's Vineyard, Lyn."
"Martha's
Vineyard?" Lyn sounded confused.
"Massachusetts."
"What
are you doing there?"
Sam
grinned at me. "Angelo wanted to show his beach house."
I wanted
to show him more than that. I just wasn't sure how to go about it. I had
carefully cultivated my friendship with Sam Brodsky over the years, wanting to
make sure he was a man I could trust.
I'd met a
lot of boneheads in my time.
Unfortunately,
my hesitation pushed us firmly into the friends category and I'd been trying
for ages to move us into the boyfriend category. I thought this trip to my
beach house might do it, but it looked like I might have hoped for too much.
"Did
you all get the week off or something?" Lyn asked.
I was
confused for a moment until I remembered that Officer Lyn Philips had resigned
from the SWAT unit Sam served on. He'd gone to work for the FBI's cyber crimes
division. Both were dangerous as hell. I'd rather run my corporation. At least
there, if someone tried to stab you in the back, it was usually financial and
not lethal.
"Sal
gave us all a three day weekend so he could spend some time with Lany and the
kids."
I waved my
hand until I caught Sam's attention then quickly mouthed that I could fly him
home in just a few hours if he needed to go. I understood Sam's dedication to
his job and his friends. That was the world I wanted to belong to.
"Angelo
says he can have his jet fly us back," Sam explained to Lyn, "but
it'll still be a few hours. Can you hold out that long?"
"Probably
not."
Sam's eyes
were pinched with worry when he shot me a look. "Have you called
Clarke?"
"No,
not yet. I still have a few people I can call."
Sam rolled
his eyes. "You can call Clarke, you know. He was a little bent out of
shape when you quit, but I'm sure he'd still help you if you're in
trouble."
"I'll
call him if I can't find anyone else."
"I'll
have my pilot get the jet ready. We can fly out as soon as you're
dressed," I whispered before pulling my cell phone out of my pocket and
quickly typing out a message to my pilot. He was new so I didn't know how long
it would take him to get things going.
"Okay,
Lyn." Sam sighed. "Angelo says he'll fly us back tonight. We should
be there in a few hours."
"Let
me see if I can get a hold of Vinnie first. I don't want you to have to cut
your trip short. I'll talk to you later, Sam."
Lyn hung
up before either Sam or I could say anything more.
"What
was that all about?"
Sam shook
his head. "I don't know, but Lyn usually isn't the one in trouble. Lany
is."
Oh, I'd
heard about the things my brother-in-law did, and they made me shudder. My
brother should get a freaking metal.
"How
much time do you need to get ready to go?" I asked.
I guess it
was a good thing we hadn't gotten unpacked yet.
"Ten
minutes tops."
"Okay,
I'm going to grab my bag and call for a driver." I glanced at my watch.
"We should be to the airport in about thirty minutes."
"Hey,
Ang, I appreciate you doing this. I know you wanted to spend the weekend here.
I'm sorry we have to go back early."
I shrugged
so he wouldn't know how much I wanted this, and how much I hated leaving.
"We can come back another weekend."
"Yeah,
but how many weekends do you get off from work and have a sitter for Cole?"
Not many.
It had
pretty much taken having all the planets aligned just to be here now.
Still, my
thoughts went back to how much Sam cared about his friends. If I wanted in his
life in a more permanent manner, I had to accept that about him. I even
appreciated that about him.
Sam
Brodsky was made loyal.
"I'm
sure we can figure out another weekend."
I'd tell
Sam Brodsky anything he liked as long as he kept smiling at me like I
mattered.
"Get
dressed."
I turned
and walked out of the room before I could stay and beg.
I was
close.