Missing Linc

by Kori Roberts

  them together.

  Tomi turned her attention to him. “You”re lucky to have someone like Rosa around,”

  she told him as she snatched another piece of fruit.

  “I know,” Linc murmured, picking up his coffee and taking a sip of the sweet, hot

  liquid. “Rosa has taken good care of me and my home for years. Occasionally, she even takes

  pity on me and cooks enough meals to last me all week, just so I don”t starve to death.”

  “How long has she worked for you?” Mitch asked.

  “Rosa”s been with me since I bought this house. She”s like family now, and the only

  person I trust to take care of things around here. Even when I lived in New York, I never

  worried, because I knew that Rosa would look after my home like it was her own.”

  “Well,” Tomi spoke up, “I”ve only seen a few rooms, but it”s obvious that you have a

  very beautiful home.”

  “That”s right.” Linc smiled apologetically. “You never got the full tour.” When he”d

  brought them to his home the night before, he”d left his manners outside in the car. The only

  thing he wanted them to see was his California king-size bed. “Come on.” He picked up his

  cup. “Let me show you around the place.” He waited for Tomi and Mitch to grab their coffee and stand up from the table before

  he led them through the house.

  Twenty minutes later, they entered his office, the last room left to see. Linc sat in the

  overstuffed chair behind his desk, placing his feet on top of the walnut surface as he drank

  the remainder of his coffee.

  “Man,” Mitch began, as he had a seat on the leather couch, “you could fit at least five of

  our condo back in New York City inside this place.”

  “I remember that.” Linc smiled sympathetically, thinking about the place he used to

  own when he”d lived there. The only thing big about it was the price tag. He suspected that

  Mitch and Tomi”s condo probably cost nearly as much as he”d paid for this place when he

  first bought it. It was just one more thing that he didn”t miss about the Big Apple.

  He took a final drink from his coffee cup before setting it on the desk, his gaze on

  Tomi, who slowly walked around the room.

  “I can tell you spend a lot of time in here.” She glanced over her shoulder at him as she

  looked at various family pictures throughout the room. “Aside from your bedroom, you seem

  more comfortable here than in any other room in the house.”

  Linc couldn”t argue that. He did spend quite a bit of time in this room, and not just

  working. His office was one of his favorite places to kick back and put his feet up, just as he

  was now. All the pictures in the room helped as well. Each one represented a special memory

  for Linc, a way for him to feel connected to his family, even when they weren”t around.

  “Is this Paul and Ava?”

  Linc focused on the picture frame that Tomi held in her hand, immediately recognizing

  the couple in the photo.

  “Yes,” he confirmed, ignoring the sadness he always felt whenever he thought about

  his deceased lovers. Mitch stood and walked over to Tomi, looking over her shoulder at the picture.

  “They”re gorgeous,” he murmured, looking back at Linc. “Where was this taken?”

  “Rio de Janeiro,” he said automatically, the memory still vivid in his mind, the picture

  capturing a moment of happier times between the three of them before everything went so

  terribly wrong.

  Linc lifted his feet off the desk and dropped them to the floor, before standing and

  moving across the room to join Mitch and Tomi. Looking down, he stared into the faces that

  he knew so well. Paul was the serious one, a tough, strong firefighter with cinnamon skin

  and warm, chocolate eyes, and Ava with her blonde hair and smiling green eyes, always the

  peacemaker, always wanting everyone to be as happy as she always seemed to be.

  “I bet the three of you had a lot of good times here,” Mitch commented.

  “Actually, we didn”t,” Linc admitted. “I originally bought this house as a place for us to

  get away, but Paul and Ava never saw it.” When Mitch and Tomi looked at him in surprise,

  he shrugged. “We never could get our schedules to coincide long enough for all of us to be

  off at the same time.”

  “Do you miss them?” Tomi asked, her voice soft and gentle.

  Linc thought about her question for a moment before he responded. “Yes,” he finally

  said. “But not in the way you might think.” He paused again before continuing. “I miss

  knowing that they”re alive and well and living their lives with someone who loved them the

  way they deserved to be loved. I miss not having had the chance to say good-bye, and I”m

  sorry; I wish things could have been different between us.”

  He felt Mitch”s eyes on him. “So…do you think you”d ever want to be a part of a

  relationship like that again?”

  He met Mitch”s gaze. “You know, if you”d asked me that a few days ago, my answer

  would definitely have been no. Now” — he looked meaningfully between Mitch and Tomi —

  “I think I”ve had a change of heart on the subject.”

  Chapter Eight

  Mitch lay in bed, leaning on his elbow with his head resting in his hand, quietly

  watching Tomi”s sleeping form next to him.

  He absently stroked her hair, his mind a million miles away as thoughts of their

  weekend with Linc raced through his mind.

  Despite his intense attraction to Linc, the most that Mitch had allowed himself to hope

  for was a nice evening out with a man who, if they were lucky, Tomi and he would consider

  a friend once they returned home.

  Somehow, their simple dinner had evolved somewhere along the way and turned into

  so much more. He”d never formed a connection so quickly, so deeply, with someone other

  than Tomi. Mitch felt drawn to Linc by an attraction that surpassed the mere physical.

  The fact of the matter was that he liked Linc a hell of a lot more than he probably

  should, considering he”d only known the man for three days. Tomi”s reaction to Linc,

  particularly the way she trusted him enough to share herself uninhibitedly with him, seemed

  to speak volumes about her feelings toward Linc as well. “If you keep thinking so hard, you”ll give yourself a headache.” Tomi”s sleepy voice

  brought him back to the present. Mitch smiled and leaned down, kissing her slowly,

  enjoying the feel of her soft, full lips against his.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead,” Mitch teased, kissing along her jawline and nuzzling her

  neck until she giggled.

  “Well, I am on vacation.” Tomi squirmed, trying to move away from his tickling caress.

  “Aren”t vacations supposed to be about catching up on all the sleep and fun you missed

  during the rest of the year?”

  “Speaking of fun.” He raised his head to look into her face. “I enjoyed our weekend

  with Linc. I”m glad we met him. He”s a good man.”

  Tomi seemed to sober. “Me too,” she said quietly. She opened her mouth as if she was

  going to say more, but she remained silent, averting her eyes away from him instead.

  “Hey.” Mitch cupped her face, refusing to let her look away. “What is it?” He searched

  her face, his concern increasing by the second. “Do you regret what happened?” He suddenly

  worried that he”d somehow misread
her attraction to Linc, misinterpreted her interest in

  being with him again. “If you do, it”s okay. We don”t have to see Linc again if it makes you

  uncomfortable.”

  Please say no. God, he felt like such a selfish asshole, but he couldn”t help it. In a short

  period of time, he”d begun to have very strong, very real feelings for Linc. Mitch was willing

  to admit that the more time he spent with the other man, the more he wanted him.

  Hell, Linc had just dropped them off at their hotel six hours ago, and Mitch could

  hardly wait to see him again, could barely contain thoughts of the three of them together as

  they”d been all weekend.

  However, this wasn”t just about him. Tomi was the most important person in his life,

  and he”d never do anything that made her unhappy. If she told him that she didn”t want to

  see Linc again, he wouldn”t try to change her mind. “No,” she finally said. Her cognac eyes stared back at him, her voice sure. “I do want to

  see him again…very much.”

  “Then what”s wrong? Talk to me, baby,” Mitch urged. “You know you can tell me

  anything, right?”

  Tomi nodded. “I know.” She paused again as a myriad of emotions flashed in her eyes.

  Her face filled with familiar expressions that said she was trying to gather her thoughts.

  Mitch remained silent, patiently waiting for her to continue.

  Finally, Tomi sighed. “I had a really good time with Linc as well. In fact, it was

  almost…too good.” She smiled slightly. “After this weekend, I realized just how special Linc

  is, and I…I think I could fall for him just as easily as I fell for you when we first met.” Tomi

  looked at him guiltily. “The thought of that happening, the thought of doing anything that

  would hurt you or our relationship, scares the shit out of me.” Her last words were barely

  above a whisper.

  “Listen to me.” Mitch cupped her face with both hands, his gaze locked with hers

  unwaveringly. “That will never happen. I trust you with my life. I know that you would

  never intentionally do anything to harm me, and I hope you know the same thing about me.”

  When she nodded, he continued. “There is nothing and no one in this world or the next that

  could ever come between us, Tomi, or diminish the amount of love we have for each other.

  Okay?”

  Tomi smiled. Her eyes were slightly watery. “Okay.”

  Mitch kissed her then, needing to reinforce his words, wanting to reassure her that

  things would never change between them.

  He ended the kiss and looked into her beautiful face, his chest swelling with his love

  for her. “I won”t lie to you. I don”t know where this thing with Linc is headed, but regardless

  of what does or doesn”t happen between him and us, the bottom line is, we came here to

  Puerto Rico together, and that”s exactly how we”ll leave…together.”

  *

  “It looks like somebody had a good weekend.” Linc looked up at the sound of his cousin

  and best friend”s voice. Pedro stood in the doorway of his office, arms folded across his broad

  chest, watching Linc with a smirk on his face.

  Linc had no idea how long the other man had been standing there. His mind had been

  solidly on a certain couple who”d occupied his every waking thought since he met them just

  a few days ago.

  Pedro walked farther into the room and took a seat on the edge of Linc”s desk. “It

  wouldn”t have anything to do with your dinner guests that my brother saw you with on

  Friday, would it?”

  Linc shrugged. “I had a great dinner.” He didn”t bother trying to deny it, knowing that

  Alejandro would tell his brother that he”d seen Linc with Tomi and Mitch at the restaurant.

  “So I see.” Pedro reached out and pushed the collar of Linc”s shirt aside, exposing the

  bruise on his neck that was still visible from where Tomi had bitten him. “From the looks of

  things, dinner wasn”t the only thing you had. So, which one was it, the woman or the man?”

  he asked, well aware of Linc”s sexual orientation.

  Linc sat back in his chair, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Several seconds

  of silence passed before Pedro”s eyes suddenly widened as if he finally realized the answer to

  his question. His head fell back, and he roared with laughter.

  “Tú híbrido! You did both of them, didn”t you? Oh, man, you are such a fucking dog!”

  There was no heat in Pedro”s tone despite his words. He was still grinning when he said, “No

  wonder you looked so damn happy when I walked in here. I guess Miguel”s no-show on

  Friday worked out all right after all. Otherwise, you might have missed out on your weekend

  entertainment.”

  Pedro shook his head, a look of mock disappointment on his face. “Shit, I”m in the

  wrong line of work. I should have gone into business with you when I had the chance, then I”d have access to all the hot customers too. Men aren”t my thing, so I”d leave them to you,

  but if I met women even half as beautiful as the one Alejandro described with you on Friday,

  it”d be worth it.” A smile suddenly spread across his face. “I don”t suppose you need another

  driver, do you? I”m sure I can fit a few runs into my schedule.”

  “It”s not like that,” Linc objected. “Tomi and Mitch aren”t like some of the customers

  that I”ve told you about.” The need to defend them, to differentiate them from all the other

  easy fucks he”d met over the years, was great. “They”re not here trying to get laid; they”re

  here to get married.”

  Pedro”s brow arched. “If they”re here to get married, what are they doing fucking you?”

  Before Linc could find a way to explain the seemingly unexplainable, to put into words

  the undeniable connection that existed between the three of them, Lorna walked into his

  office unannounced and interrupted their conversation.

  “What is it, Lorna?”

  “You forgot your messages, baby.” She reached past Pedro to hand Linc several pink

  slips of paper. “Don”t forget, you got a meeting across town this afternoon.”

  “Thanks.” Linc scanned the messages. Lorna knew him well. He”d completely forgotten

  about the meeting. She could be a complete pain in the ass at times, but she kept him

  organized.

  Lorna turned to leave, making certain to brush against Pedro in the process.

  “Hola, Pedro.” Her voice dropped seductively. “Estás pareciendo bueno, como de

  costumbre.”

  Linc sighed, knowing what would come next. He should have known Lorna couldn”t

  make it back to her desk without hitting on one of them.

  In true Lorna fashion, she spent the next several minutes all but falling to the floor,

  spreading her legs, and offering herself to Pedro. His cousin didn”t help the situation as he laughed at her provocative comments, seeming to enjoy, even encourage, her flirtatious

  behavior.

  Finally, Linc couldn”t take anymore. “I pay you to work, Lorna, not stand around trying

  to fuck my relatives,” he snapped, a little more harshly than he”d intended.

  She looked at him in surprise before turning on her heel and all but stomping from the

  room, muttering something in Spanish that sounded suspiciously like the word bastard.

  “Relax, cousin.” Pedro sounded amused. “Lorna”s harmless.”

  “Then you hire her to work for
you.” Linc glared back at him. “You can have the

  pleasure of listening to her bullshit all day.”

  “I don”t need the extra help.” Pedro laughed, appearing completely unfazed by Linc”s

  irritation. “Besides, I already told you, I”m still trying to get a job here.”

  “Yeah, right.” Linc snorted. “You know damn well that Tracee would kick your ass —

  and mine — if you came to work here,” Linc told him, referring to Pedro”s longtime

  girlfriend.

  The smile fell from Pedro”s face. “You”re probably right about that.”

  “Speaking of work,” Linc began, “how”s your work schedule this week?”

  Pedro shrugged. “The usual. I”m booked solid with tours Friday through Sunday, but

  the rest of the week doesn”t look too bad. Why?”

  “I was thinking of taking Mitch and Tomi on a private boat tour around the island one

  day this week, and I wanted to know if you had any time available.”

  Pedro looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. “So I take it this thing between you

  and them isn”t just a weekend fling, huh?” Linc didn”t bother to respond. It was a rhetorical

  question, and they both knew it. “Actually,” Pedro finally said, “I was planning to block off

  Thursday evening so that I could spend some time with Tracee on the boat. I”ll check with

  her, but I”m sure she won”t mind if you and your friends join us.” He smiled again. “You

  know Tracee adores you. She”ll do anything you ask.”

  “She should.” Linc laughed. “If it weren”t for me, she”d never have met you.” He”d

  dated Tracee a few times before he introduced her to Pedro. That was two years ago, and

  they were still together.

  Pedro”s voice suddenly sobered. “This couple must be really special if you”re calling in

  favors just to spend more time with them.”

  Linc held his gaze. “They are,” he said simply.

  Pedro nodded. “In that case, I can”t wait to meet them.”

  Chapter Nine

  The sounds of salsa music filled the air as Pedro”s boat floated in the calm waters of the

  San Juan Bay. They were anchored a couple of miles away from the mainland, giving them

  an incredible view of the brightly lit San Juan shoreline.