Hot Sauce (Suncoast Society #26)(38)

She wanted it to last forever.

“I love you,” she said. She’d said it to him over and over that night in the hospital as his condition worsened. At least she’d said it to him when he could respond and say it back to her. That was one small comfort she’d always cherish.

He smiled, the same, playful smile he’d worn when alive. “I know. I love you, too, Nessie.” He stroked Carlo’s head. “Time to move forward.”

“I’m not ready to do that yet.”

“I know. But you’ll never be ready if you don’t do it. I’ll always be here.” The journal was in his hands. She hadn’t even seen it appear, it just was.

“How do I go on without you?”

“You just do. Reed and Lyle are great guys. You’re an adult. Follow your heart, follow your joy, follow what makes you smile. You made me smile, Nessie. They made me smile. My friends, they made me smile. They brought me joy. So did you. Life is short, and you have to keep living it while you have the chance.”

Suddenly, they were anchored outside a large nuclear power plant and loud alarms were going off. Before she could say anything about that change in events, her eyes popped open and she was instinctively flailing around to find her phone and shut off the obnoxiously loud power plant alarm tone that had awakened her.

Carlo lifted his head and stared at her.

She sat up, knowing that if she laid there for too long she would go right back to sleep.

“Shit.” She had less than forty-five minutes before the men were scheduled to arrive. She’d dropped right to sleep, apparently.

And she had a text message on her phone from Jenny from nearly an hour earlier.

Still on for tonight?

Trying to get her wits about her, Vanessa texted her back.

Yes.

Jenny replied almost immediately.

How was the boat?

Hell, she needed coffee before attempting a conversation.

I’ll tell you tonight. I need to get ready. I just woke up from a nap.

Okay, see you then!

She stumbled to her feet and headed for the bathroom while Carlo watched her from the bed.

She would definitely need some coffee if they’d be out as late tonight as they were last night.

It surprised her to find out she wanted to be out that late with them again.

Anything to not have to be alone right now.





Chapter Fifteen


“ You look like you got a little sun today,” Tilly noted when they arrived at the restaurant and the woman swooped in to hug first her, then Reed and Lyle.

“I did.”

“Have fun?”

Vanessa didn’t even have to force the smile. “I did. They were very sweet. Thank you for introducing me to them.”

Tilly beamed. Vanessa didn’t miss how she shot a wink over Eliza’s way, who gave her a head nod in return.

Vanessa nearly giggled when Reed caught her eye. Operation Bamboozle, as they’d playfully dubbed it on the way over, was underway.

Vanessa wouldn’t deny she hoped it became more than just a ploy to keep Tilly, Eliza, and Jenny off their backs. She did like the fact that the men were interested in honest discussions, even difficult and awkward ones. They swore that communication got easier the more it happened.

It was a refreshing change.

She’d also accepted that they were attracted to her. Once she was back in the boat from her swim, she’d kept her T-shirt and shorts off, and Lyle had helped her reapply sunscreen.

After, she noted with more than a little boost to her ego that both men tried to surreptitiously adjust their shorts so their erections didn’t show.

Maybe they really did find her attractive. One thing she had processed from the night before at the club, she hadn’t been the skinniest woman in the room, but she’d been far from the most obese, either. In fact, the majority of the people there looked like they had at least a few extra pounds.

She normally wasn’t someone to feel self-conscious in the usual course of her day. Last night, she’d been more wrapped up in her grief and the overwhelming influx of meeting people and learning things about Tony to actually focus on what was going on around her.

With a little time and distance, it occurred to her that not only had most everyone there last night seemed pretty average in terms of appearance, but they also seemed fairly…normal.

Their kinky activities and clothes notwithstanding.

And ditto tonight. As Vanessa settled into a chair at the table, seated between Lyle and Reed, looking around at the mostly familiar faces, she realized this could be any group of friends getting together for dinner, not just kinky friends.

Other than the occasional necklace or bracelet she suspected was actually a day collar, there wasn’t anything to distinguish these people from the vanilla population.

The men had warned her that tonight would be a slightly different night at the club. No class early on, just an open play session. There would likely be more people there, too, and she should be prepared to see any number of things she might not have seen the night before.

She was more than good with that. It would help keep her mind off her brother.

She hoped.

As they had the night before, they settled in at one of the tables in the social area, the men on either side of her. Tilly, Jenny, and Eliza all kept tabs on her, but left her mostly alone with the two men.