Page 218 of Fierce Storm
“A honeymoon?”
“Of sorts. Yes. Surprise.” He waves his hands in the air, and I stare at him, speechless.
Excitement courses through me as I think about the things we can do. I’ve never taken a vacation. Ever. This will be a first for me and it’s forty-nine nights. My stomach knots and I clench my teeth as I sheepishly turn to Sal.
“So, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t ask this question… What the hell do we do about work?”
“Don’t worry.” Sal chuckles, clearly knowing that was coming. “It’s the offseason and it’ll still be there when we get back. But to warm your little workaholic heart, Tina has scheduled in quite a few workdays for us both, just in case.”
“Who the fuck is Tina?” I fold my arms over my chest, just like he did when he asked the same question about Matt, and Sal throws his head back to laugh. Whoops.
“Tina is our travel agent.”
“Of course. I knew that.”
Sal pulls me back into him, once again wrapping me in his arms. “I think we were made for each other, Keels.”
“I think you might be right,Sir.”
Epilogue Two
THE END GAME SUPPORT GROUP
A YEAR LATER
LUKE
Amelia steps outside with our friends to wave them off while I hover in the doorway. I love them all but it’s almost one a.m. and I’m ready for alone time with my wife.
“Thank you for coming. Drive safe.” She doesn’t move until the last car has driven away before finally turning to face me.
“Another successful New Year’s Eve party. I love that we started this tradition.”
“Yeah, except that Reed asked if they could host next year. What’s that about? This is my thing.” I pout and Amelia bursts out laughing, shaking her head as she walks inside.
“What? Am I wrong?” I follow her in, walking closely behind her so when she stops abruptly, I almost bump into her.
She spins to face me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “You’re a sweet guy, Luke.”
“Sweet? Where did you get that from? I’m complaining about my friend.”
“Because you want to be the one that looks after them all. You want to be the one that brings joy into their lives and helps them relax when there’s so much going on in the world.”
“That doesn’t sound like me. I want the attention and credit.”
“I don’t doubt you want that too. But we all see through the humor and cockiness.”
“Who’s we?”
“Everyone. You can’t hide the fact that you care deeply for your friends. All of them. You say Reed’s the protective one and yet, you’re always there, ready to help out. You kept the group chat alive all those years when they needed support.”
My eyes widen at the mention of the group chat. It’s barely alive, but I should change that.
“Uh-oh. What did I say?” Amelia knows me so well.
“What do you mean?”
“Your eyes just lit up like a kid on Christmas.”
