Alec waited in his apartment building’s lobby for Bruce to pull up. He did at eight-thirty sharp. Alec pushed the glass doors open and walked to the black SUV and got in.
“Hey, partner,” Bruce chirped.
“Two hours,” Alec grouched.
“Yes, Alec, two hours,” Bruce stated as he looked in his rearview mirror. “But who knows? You might have a good time and want to stay out later.”
“Maybe,” Alec grumbled.
The big guy pulled out in traffic.
“I put on a suit like your text said so. Where are we going?”
“We’re meeting the girls at the Tampa Palms Country Club.”
“What? We can’t afford that place even on a discount, and you have to be a member to eat there!” Alec yelled.
“Or know someone who’s a member,” he countered in a bragging tone. “Bobbi’s friend is a member. We need to meet the girls in
A colleague of Damien’s had two extra tickets to Georges Bizet’s Carmen that was debuting at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts tonight and had asked if Damien and Layla wanted to come with them. Another couple was supposed to go, but they had to cancel. During intermission, they had run into Valerie and her husband, Godfrey Young. They were there with family members who lived abroad. Valerie’s sister had married a British earl. They were already familiar with Damien and Layla’s host and asked if they wanted to grab a late snack at the Tampa Palms Country Club. Since Damien wasn’t on call at the hospital this weekend, they had accepted the invitation. “Will this be on separate accounts?” Alden, the maître
Forty minutes later, Layla had excused herself to check in with Izabella, but in reality, she had snuck out on the back patio. The tasteful LED lights lit her way as she stepped onto the lawn. Layla assumed Alec was trying to describe the garden maze. She entered it. There were four different ways to get in and out of it. Small garden lights were posted in the brown mulch around the thick hedges. Layla turned a corner. She had seen him leave the dining room when they had already taken several bites of the baked Alaska. Clearing her throat, she smiled as she remembered the look on his face when the waiter set it on fire in the silver mobile serving dish. She turned another corner. Damn it, where is he? I don’t have long.
Normally, Alec would have told Bruce to drop him off at home and go ahead with the rest of his evening, but he wanted to know how Margo found out about him and Lana. Bobbi answered the door. “Hey, what took you guys so long?” “We stopped by a convenient store for gas,” Bruce said and kissed Bobbi on the cheek. She giggled as she let them in. Margo’s first floor was definitely set up for entertaining. She had an open floor plan. The walls were light brown. The color continued all the way into the kitchen. Lightly stained hardwood floors throughout, gold-colored granite countertops, and lightly stai
Alec sat in his office chair staring out the window. He had only seen Lana once in two and a half weeks. They had texted and chatted quickly over the phone, but it just didn’t seem like they could find time for each other. If Alec wasn’t working overtime to wrap cases up before the New Year, Lana had some social obligation, was running a bunch of errands, or had a therapy session. It was getting ridiculous. He had yearned for her for over fifteen years, and now she was within reach, and they still weren’t back together. His cell rang. He turned around in the chair and picked it up off the desk. He didn’t recognize the number but answered it anyway. It could have been a tip on
Layla and Katelyn Austin’s Christmas parties were on the same night, so the ladies came to a compromise. Layla would host hers from six to eight, and Katelyn’s party would start at eight and last for however long the guests stayed. It was fine with Layla because it was her first time hosting a fancy party. She didn’t want to dive in too deep considering that most of the appetizers she was serving she had only made once as practice. She knew Katelyn would have a full meal. Layla’s party was like an appetizer to the grand finale, and she was fine with that. At least half the guests arrived at five forty-five. Layla had the foresight to rent a champagne fountain to place on the dining room table. She had splurged on a case of Ace of Spades. She also h
The party continued as Christmas songs played on the living room stereo. It was a quarter till eight. Layla and Damien kissed Keisha goodnight so Izabella could take her upstairs and get her down for bed. The landline phone rang. Layla made her way to it in the living room. She answered it on the fourth ring. “Hello?” “Hey, are you all right?” Carter asked. Her eye widened at the sound of his voice. “Um, yeah.” “I haven’t heard from you in a while, so I called your cell, and it went straight to voicemail &n
It was Sunday, the day after the party. Layla was relaxing on the sofa, smirking as she thought about the Christmas parties from Saturday. They had all been at Katelyn’s house for the rest of the evening. The thought of her panties in Alec’s pocket all night had made her hot and excited. At one point in the evening, she had looked over at him, and he gave her a lightning-flash wink, and his hand roamed around in his pocket.Damien had made the party. He had only been gone for an hour. Luckily, the fallen patient had regained use of his legs. Damien had said that his nervous system was in a state of shock and needed time to come out of it. This afternoon, he had gone to the country club to play a game of golf with Corey Smith. Keisha was walking around with her play shopping cart acting like she was shopping.Someone rang the doorbell.Layla went to answer the door. It was Lacey.“Hey, Lacey,” she happily greeted. “How are you
Layla and Lacey searched Damien’s office upstairs while Keisha was playing in her room. Layla found the mysterious keys in second drawer of his desk. They decided to go to the storage facility Monday morning, after their husbands had gone to work. Layla called Izabella at home and asked if she could come to work at eight instead of nine. She was happy to come in an hour early. They were at Tampa Bay Storage’s office. They patiently waited for the first customer to finish his business. He paid his fee and got out of line. “Hi, I’m here to pay the overdue balance on unit one-two-four. Damien Miles,” Layla told the clerk.&n