can”t even believe I”m about to say this, but I was wrong about your relationship with Tomi
and Mitch.”
Pedro spoke the words very softly, and for a moment, Linc wasn”t sure he”d heard him
correctly.
“You heard what I said.” Pedro smiled slightly, responding to Linc as if he”d read his
mind before his expression turned serious again. “I knew you loved them, but I had no idea just how much until now. I never would have believed it if I hadn”t seen it with my own
eyes, but you are in worse shape now than you were when Paul and Ava died.”
Linc could not argue that. Everything Pedro said was true, and the pain of it all was
killing him slowly from the inside out.
He looked into Pedro”s eyes. “I fucked up,” he finally said. “Paul and Ava died before I
had the chance to tell them how I felt. Not that it would have changed anything between us,
because I didn”t love them, not like this, anyway.” Linc took a deep breath; his throat was
tight with emotion.
“This time, it was different. I had the chance to tell Mitch and Tomi how I felt, and I
chose to push them away instead…” Linc”s words trailed off, and he closed his eyes, the
throbbing in his head and his heart becoming too much to bear.
“So, what”s stopping you from doing it now?” Pedro asked quietly.
Linc laughed sadly. “Aside from the fact that they live thousands of miles away? Even if
they lived right next door, they probably hate me so much, they”d just as easily kill me as
look at me — which I really couldn”t blame them for, considering how I treated them.”
“Well,” Pedro began, “I can”t tell you what to do, but I will tell you this. I”ve known
you all your life, and I gotta be honest with you and say that I don”t recognize the person I
see in front of me. The Lincoln I know is a man that I have admired and looked up to my
entire life. He isn”t just my cousin; he”s my best friend, and the strongest person I know. I”ve
seen him at his best and his worst, and I know that it”s not in his nature to just give up and
stop trying, especially when he wants something — or someone. The Linc that I know is
better than this.” His hand gestured in Linc”s direction. “You are better than this.”
He stood, pushing in his chair and picking up the empty coffee cup and the coffeepot
on his way out the door. Just before he left the room, Pedro turned and said, “More than anything, Linc, I want
you to be happy. If being with Mitch and Tomi makes you that way, then you should do
whatever it takes to make that happen. It”s the least you deserve.”
Linc sat in silence after Pedro left, his mind going a million miles a minute. Finally, he
reached for his phone and made a call. A few minutes later, he raced upstairs to his bedroom
to shower and pack an overnight bag before he headed to the airport. He had a flight to
catch.
Chapter Sixteen
Linc awakened in an unfamiliar bed, and it took him a moment to remember where he
was. New York City. It felt like forever and no time at all since he”d been in this city. He
remembered rushing to the airport, trying to catch the last-minute flight he”d booked here,
arriving at the airport barely thirty minutes before his flight took off. Linc had had just
enough time to find his seat and make a quick phone call to Pedro to tell him where he was
and to thank him for rescuing him once again.
His flight from Puerto Rico had arrived at LaGuardia at nearly eleven o”clock last night.
Once he finally made it to his hotel and checked into his room, it was well after midnight —
too late to contact Mitch and Tomi. Besides, he”d been far too exhausted and nervous to do
anything more than crash for the rest of the night.
Although the heavy curtains blocked the windows, Linc knew it was morning, and
time for him to do what he came here for. He picked up his cell phone from the table by the
bed and dialed Mitch”s cell number from memory. Linc didn”t know exactly where they
lived, so calling them was the only option he had.
The phone rang once before Mitch”s recorded voice message began. Damn, just the
sound of the man”s voice made Linc”s heart race. At first, he wasn”t sure if he felt happy or disappointed when Mitch didn”t answer, and he considered hanging up without leaving a
message and waiting until later to call him again. Linc was still weighing his options when he
heard a beeping sound, and before he knew it, he started talking.
“Hi, this…it”s Linc. Um…” He paused, suddenly so nervous, he could barely form a
complete sentence. “Listen, I, uh…I”m here…in New York. I flew in for the day, and I was
hoping to see you and Tomi before I leave in the morning. I know I”m the last person you
ever thought you would hear from again. I wouldn”t blame you if you deleted this message as
soon as you heard my voice, but I hope that you won”t do that without listening to what I
have to say first. I know that this won”t automatically fix things between us, and I know that
I could say I”m sorry a million times, and it still wouldn”t be enough to reverse the damage
I”ve caused. I just…I hope that you and Tomi can find it in your hearts to forgive me. But” —
Linc swallowed hard — “if you both still decide that you never want to see me again, I”ll
understand.”
He blew out a breath. “Man.” He chuckled uncomfortably. “This is a lot harder than I
thought it would be.” Linc leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes. When he
opened his mouth again, he spoke straight from the heart.
“There”s not a single minute that goes by since
