Page 94 of Sizzle

That wipes the smile clear off my face.

“Dad, can I borrow the car?”

“Take mine,” says Connie. “I don’t have to work tonight. Use it as long as you want.” She winks at me. I slow long enough to circle the table and hug her hard.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome, girlie,” she whispers back. “Go get your boys back already.”

28

Elliot

The guy who just sold me this truck swore up and down that it just takes a while to get the heater going but I’m pretty sure he lied.

Fucking horseshit. But I’m too pumped to be really pissed right now.

Because Elliot James is now the proud owner and operator of a food truck. Duckbill is going on the road.

If the math Jimmy did was good for anything, the amount of cash I’ll get from selling off the excess kitchen equipment will more than cover the cost of the vehicle, plus enough for a small starter inventory.

Paying my own bills is another story, but I’m not thinking about that now. Right now, I’ve got a food truck business to start.

Heading back to Alex’s—our house, damn it—I can’t wait to tell him. I still have to grovel, I know that. I was an absolute asshole the other day and he deserves better. But we’ve been friends for so long, surely he knows what I really meant? That I didn’t mean I couldn’t be with him.

I mean, I think I could. The whole gay thing is new, and yeah, I’m not all the way comfortable with it yet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want him.

The heater must have finally kicked on. It’s definitely getting warm in here now.

I want him. The things I think about doing to him… I can’t get it out of my head. Why I couldn’t just tell him that, I’m not sure, but I owe Alex at least that much. It’s not just him and me, though. I need Joelle, and I think he does too. She makes us better, makes us more.

God knows, I’d never have made it through the last few weeks without her, without either of them.

I round the corner to our street, not paying much attention to the car parked in front of the house as I’m too busy planning how to grovel. Hey, I can admit when I’ve been a jerk. And making it up to them is going to be so much fun.

Except… What the actual fuck?

Alex is on the front porch. With a woman who is definitely not Joelle.

Shit. It’s the Ice Bitch. What the fuck is she doing here?

I slow up next to the curb. I can’t see her face, only Alex’s. When his expression goes all soft and he wraps his arms around her I lose my shit, laying on the horn as I throw the truck into park. My other hand is occupied tapping out a fast text to Joelle. God, I hope she can get here fast.

What the fuck? Diana’s got some damn nerve turning up again now. Alex said they hadn’t been talking. Diana can’t possibly want him back, right? Except obviously she can, because he’s Alex and he’s the best man I know and he deserves more than all of us combined can offer. Of course she wants him back.

It never even crossed my mind that he might want her back, too. Not after these last few weeks, what we’ve done together. Not after what he’s become to me.

Of course, Alex doesn’t know what he’s become to me, does he? Not unless he’s suddenly also become a mind reader.

I never told him. The twisting feeling in my gut turns to stone as I shut off the ignition and slam the car door shut behind me.

I never told Alex I love him and now the one person who might be able to take him away from me—from us—is here and he’s hugging her and God I’m too late.

The snow is coming down thick now, with big fluffy flakes, despite the bullshitting weatherman’s bullshit prediction that today was supposed to be warmer. I trample through the drifts next to the sidewalk, tearing across the yard. It ruins the fresh cover on the ground, but I’m too wound up to care. Halfway there, Alex catches sight of me and lifts his head, letting go of the Ice Bitch. Whatever he sees in my face obviously worries him.

“I love you!”

I’m shouting, even though they’re only about ten feet away now. Diana turns, her eyebrows practically disappearing into her hair.