Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“I went to the store yesterday,” he replied. “Shit, where’s the… Oh no, if I forgot it at Ty’s place, I’m gonna shoot myself. It’s a surprise for Ty.”
I smiled and leaned against the fridge, and I just watched him work.
Ty was driving the boat pretty fast, so it was cute to see Lane struggle to keep the bowls from sliding back and forth on the little counter. Was he even aware of how his behavior had changed this week? He treated Ty the way he treated me. Lane loved to dote on those he cared for; that was when he let his submissiveness shine through.
“What’s the surprise?” I wondered.
He got a dopey look on his face and launched into a story. “Okay, so the other night, Ty and I couldn’t sleep. We were just talking—and we got snackish. So he told me about his one sweet addiction, something his mom makes for him sometimes. A dark chocolate ganache—is that the word?”
I nodded once and set down the glasses in a bread basket where they couldn’t fall to the floor.
“Right, a ganache filling with pear-flavored alcohol. Poire…something.”
“Poire Williams liqueur,” I supplied.
“That’s the one.” He snapped his fingers. “And he eats it straight out of the container. It’s supposed to be cake filling or whatever, but he just eats it with a spoon.”
I grinned.
“He described it well enough for me to wanna try to make it,” he went on. “I think I got it right, anyway, but now I can’t fucking find the jar.” He began opening all the cupboards in frustration, and I laid eyes on a plastic container half hidden under a hoodie on the bed. The bright-purple lid stood out.
“Is that it?” I pointed.
He followed my gaze, and then a breath gusted out of him. “Thank fuck!”
I chuckled and scratched my nose. “You’re too cute. I assume you’re going on a date as soon as we get home.”
At that, Lane’s expression changed, and he busied himself with the rest of the snack prep.
I narrowed my eyes. “Lane?”
“Not now, Mack,” he said quietly. “I can’t—I don’t wanna talk about it.”
What the fuck? I’d watched those two all week. They had all the chemistry. They clearly had a lot in common. When they weren’t making out or catching killer snakes, they were talking and forgetting the rest of us existed.
“Help me take this upstairs.” He shoved the charcuterie tray into my arms and removed the plastic.
Oh, fine. This wasn’t the time, but I’d push him later. He could fucking count on it. He’d been there for me with Walker, so I would be there for him with Ty. End of story.
I grabbed the bread basket with the glasses too, and then I headed up the steps again.
Go ahead and enjoy this night, Lane. And the rest of our vacation. After that…all bets were off. Because I knew him better than he thought. This had something to do with his ADHD, the whole reason he rarely let people in. My boyfriend could be a damn hypocrite sometimes, ’cause whenever Corey got insecure about his autism “being a burden,” Lane tore him a new one.
I’d give Corey a call.
River and Walker weren’t fans of the club remixes, but they put on brave faces for us.
Kind, kind souls.
“One more picture!” Shay announced. “Daddy, take one of Lane, Mack, and me.”
I grinned and filled our champagne glasses.
We’d made it to Marco Island with a few minutes to spare, and we were far from alone on the water. Countless boats were anchored just off the shore, and we weren’t the only ones playing music either. Or toasting to a glorious new year.
“All right, gimme your best smiles, boys,” Reese said.
The three of us huddled together, me in the middle with my arms around Lane and Shay, and we held up our glasses.
“Mack, think of how happy you are we texted Walker,” River said. “Think of how Sadists always know what’s best.”
I shot him a glare out of sheer reflex, which made the others crack up in the seating area.
“Yeah, I’m saving this photo for myself,” Reese chuckled.
“No! One more,” I demanded. “Come on.”
I wasn’t ending up on Insta with anything but a sexy smile on my face.
Reese thankfully obliged, and he snapped off a couple more photos.
Had we gotten them all? I had to make sure. We’d taken group photos, Lane had taken a few of Walker and me, I’d made sure there were several of Lane and Ty, we’d covered the Tenleys as well, and…
“So does anyone have a New Year’s resolution to share?” Lane asked.
Walker and I looked at each other and smiled. No resolutions for us, but we were ready to work hard. I headed over to him and got comfortable on the couch, and he clinked his glass with mine.
Yeah, definitely ready. We were gonna make it.