had a look of absolute pride on his face — and all of it was directed at Tomi.
“Do you teach as well?” Linc asked him. “Only if it involves sweating and grunting.” Linc”s confusion must have shown on his
face, because Mitch began to laugh. “I”m a personal trainer,” he explained. “I have about
twenty regular clients who I work with, and I teach classes for Equinox gyms.”
Linc was familiar with the upscale chain of gyms dedicated to the buff and the
beautiful. It also explained Mitch”s amazing physique. And from the look of her, it was
obvious that Tomi was one of his clients.
“What about you?” Tomi asked. “Were you always in the limousine business?”
Linc paused. Tomi”s question caught him off guard and triggered so many memories;
memories he”d spent years trying to forget. He didn”t respond immediately, still trying to
figure out what to say, how much to share. He rarely discussed his past life with anyone,
even his family. Yet as he looked at the couple sitting across from him, Linc suddenly felt the
need to share it with them.
“I used to own a brokerage firm when I lived in New York City. It wasn”t huge — I had
close to a dozen employees — but we did well. We had a solid client base, and we made good
money for them and ourselves.” Linc glanced at Mitch and Tomi to find them watching him
intently. Their focus seemed centered on every word he spoke.
“I lived with my two lovers, Ava and Paul. Ava was the office manager for my firm,
and Paul was a firefighter.” Linc met their eyes again, unsure of how they”d react once they
knew about his lifestyle, but unwilling to hide who he was.
“We”d been together for a couple of years, and everything was great. But after a while,
things just…changed. It was gradual at first, and one day we looked up and realized that two
years had gone by, and we still didn”t seem to know each other. We all wanted different
things, each of us was moving in different directions. Deep down, I think we all knew that it
was over between us, but none of us had the guts to say it. One night, we had this big
argument, and we said a lot of fucked-up things to each other. It was clear that our
relationship couldn”t be anything but over, and I remember wishing that they would just disappear, go away and leave me alone.” He shook his head at the memory, still as fresh as if
it”d just happened.
“Anyway, Paul spent the night at his firehouse, and Ava slept in the guest bedroom.
The next day, I slept late. I never did that. I was always the first one in the office at seven
o”clock in the morning, and Ava usually rode to work with me. But I was still feeling pissy
about our fight from the previous night, and I didn”t want to be bothered with her. She must
have felt the same way, because she went to work without saying a word to me.” He met
their gaze. “That day was September eleventh. My brokerage firm was on the twenty-seventh floor of Tower Two.”
Linc heard Tomi”s soft gasp. “My God…”
“Well…you know how that story ended.” Linc cleared his throat and continued. “Ava
and two other employees got trapped inside the building and never made it out. Later, I
learned that Paul and members of his fire engine company were in Tower Two as well when
it collapsed.”
“Damn, man. That”s…” Mitch shook his head, his expression sympathetic. “I”m so
sorry.”
“That”s why you moved here, isn”t it?” Tomi”s softly spoken words pulled Linc from the
past, and he looked down to see her smaller, darker hand covering his. His fingers
automatically entwined with hers, and he held on for several long moments.
Finally, he nodded. “I sorta fell apart for a while after that. Guilt ate me alive. I locked
myself in my condo for weeks, wouldn”t talk to anybody and wouldn”t see anybody. I”d
convinced myself that if I”d given Paul and Ava the kind of love and commitment that they
wanted and deserved, they”d still be alive. My family was terrified that I was going to do
something crazy. Finally, my cousin Pedro came to see me. He practically kicked my door in
and dragged my ass here to Puerto Rico for some R and R.” Linc sighed. Time was a funny thing. Some days, it seemed as if a million years had
passed since his life had taken such a sudden, dramatic change. Other days, it felt like it
happened yesterday.
“I never went back to New York City, never tried to reopen the firm. I”d made good
investments over the years, so money wasn”t an issue for me. I already owned a house here,
so I spent a few months trying to regroup and get my shit together. Once I felt sane again, I
worked through my attorney to provide settlements to all my employees, including those
who died. I was the beneficiary on Paul and Ava”s life insurance policies, and when I
received the money, I gave it to their families, along with whatever personal items they
wanted. Everything else I either sold or gave away. After that, I started the limousine
company.”
Linc gave them a small smile. “That was seven years ago. Now things are great. I”ve got
a good, solid business going, I live on this beautiful island, and I”m having dinner with two
amazing people.” They both smiled in return, but it never reached their eyes.
Oh, hell. He just had to screw up the mood by telling them his depressing life story.
Because of him, the relaxed, laid-back couple of a few minutes ago was gone, and in their
place sat two people whose expressions held a mixture of emotions — none of them happy.
“Listen,” Linc began, hating the sudden change in direction the evening was taking,
“it”s obvious that my story bothered you. I”m sorry. I didn”t mean to upset either of you.”
“No,” Tomi spoke quickly, trying to reassure him. “You didn”t do anything wrong. I
think we just realized that we have
