by Bella Blake
Hugh and I are going to pass the best friend test with flying colors. And the three of us are going to be just fine together, I know it.
23
EPILOGUE
MEGAN
“You’re going to have a great time, Vanessa,” I assure my best friend.
“Yeah, right,” she says with a snort on the other end of the line, “if by great time you mean I’ll end up lost in the jungle living with a tribe of monkeys, then sure.”
She’s in the midst of panic, but I know it’s all part of her process. Vanessa gets like this before every major trip, then once she’s in the swing of things she’s fine.
“It’s just two weeks in South America, and you said you’ll have guides. I’m sure you’ll be just fine. The company wouldn’t send you down there if it wasn’t safe.”
“Well, excuse me,” Vanessa says in a flustered sing-song voice, but I know she isn’t actually annoyed. “Not all of us can survive a wildfire and come out with not just one sexy boyfriend but two of them. Ugh, seriously, I’m so jealous I’m turning green over here.”
I scoff into the phone. “As if there aren’t two dozen men texting you right now, begging for a second date.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me. If by texting, you mean unsolicited and terribly unattractive dick pics, then yes. It’s slim pickings out there, Megan. Hmm… maybe being kidnapped by monkeys wouldn’t be the worst thing, now that I think about it,” she jokes in a musing tone.
“They’d be lucky to have you,” I tell her with a laugh.
A knock sounds at my door and I look over to see Chase leaning in the doorway, one hand shoved casually in his pocket as he watches me. I flash him a quick smile before turning my focus back to the phone call.
“Hey, Chase is giving me that look that says I’m running late,” I tell her. “Promise to text me when you land?”
“Promise,” she says and lets out another long-suffering sigh before we hang up.
“Is Vanessa going to make it?” Chase asks with a cheeky grin.
“She doesn’t exactly love flying, but she’ll survive,” I assure him. “She’s got her sleeping pills and an eye mask. And they serve martinis on the plane, so whoever’s picking her up better be ready for tipsy Vanessa.”
“Whoever it is, she’ll have them wrapped around her finger in no time,” Chase says.
The guys weren’t too sure about Vanessa at first, mainly because she appears far more delicate and sophisticated than their usual crowd. But now that they’ve had a chance to get to know her, they adore her almost as much as I do.
It didn’t take long before they realized Vanessa’s a feisty firecracker in a deceptively sweet package. She’s not nearly as fragile as she looks—or as refined, for that matter. I smile to myself, thinking of some of the things that slip out of her mouth.
Turning back to my laptop, I spot three new emails that have popped up while I was on the phone. Only one seems pressing.
“Give me five more minutes?” I ask, giving Chase a half-pleading, half-apologetic grimace.
“Okay, but only because I love you,” he agrees and turns to leave my home office. He pauses at the door and looks over his shoulder, giving me a reprimanding look. “Also, because I love you, if you aren’t down in five minutes—I’m sending Hugh up here.”
“Fine!” I relent with a laugh, hurrying to open the one email.
It’s from an executive assistant for a big tech company. They’re looking for something innovative to do as a team-building retreat, and want to book a five day hiking and camping trip with our new company, Wilson and Peterson Adventures.
It turns out, making headlines in the news about surviving a wildfire and a series of other potential disasters is great press for a brand new outdoor recreation business.
After three months of driving back and forth from the city, we were all beyond ready to be under the same roof. I gave my landlord notice, and the guys moved me in with them the next day.
Even Chica likes having a large house to rule over instead of my tiny one-bedroom apartment. And as much as Hugh claimed to dislike cats, I catch them cuddling on the couch together all the time, with Hugh providing one sided commentary about whatever show he’s watching.
He’d switched to volunteer status with the smokejumpers pretty soon after we all recovered, throwing himself into helping Chase set up the business.
As soon as my last marketing contract was up, I was able to go all in with it, too. We filed the paperwork and made our company official.
When I announced my plans to my friends and co-workers, people warned me about mixing relationships with business, but I could only laugh at that. If we can survive a wildfire, struggling with basic needs like shelter and water, and hold it together when things took a turn for the worse, then I have no doubt we can survive anything.
The guys feel the same way.
The sound of the front door opening grabs my attention and I shoot off a hasty response letting the coordinator for the tech company know I’d get back to them tomorrow with a full quote. Then I close down my laptop and race down the stairs.
I nearly run right into Hugh, who wraps his arms around me.
“I was just coming to get you,” he says before stealing a kiss.
His lips are soft and chaste against mine, but only for a moment. He grabs me and turns us, pressing me to the wall, devouring my mouth as I melt into him. But he pulls away too soon, leaving me dazed and longing for more, especially since I can feel the bulge growing in his pants.
Hugh notices my crestfallen expression. “That was just a little taste of what’s to come once we get to Ooligan Falls. It’s a long hike, so we need all the time we can get. Chase has everything loaded into the Jeep, so let’s go.”
He tugs my hand to get me moving and I lace my fingers through his.
We lock up the house and Hugh opens the passenger door of our shiny new Jeep. After fighting with the insurance company for ages—they tried to argue that wildfires weren’t covered under my policy—I finally got a partial payout for my old one that burned up. But the guys snuck off and bought a new one for me before the check even came.
I climb in, and just before Hugh closes the door, he gives me a devious look. “By the way, Chase got jealous that your vibrator shares my name.”
“Is that so?” I turn around to look at Chase in the back seat, who has his hands laced behind his head, a cocky grin on his face.
“Yup,” he says. “So I figured you needed another toy.”
“Oh, really?” I lift my eyebrows at him, a grin already sneaking onto my lips at the idea.
“I think you’ll like it,” he says with a mischievous wink, making my pulse race with anticipation. “I can’t wait to introduce you to Chase. I made sure to bring him along. Hugh, too.”
“My two men, and two toys?” I say with a laugh. “Exactly what do you have planned for me at this spot?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Hugh says, an enthusiastic twinkle in his eyes as he slides into the driver’s seat.
He starts the Jeep and backs us out of the driveway. We’ve been planning this trip for months now, and I know it’s a special place that the guys are eager to share with me.
I want to be annoyed with them for teasing me, but I’m too damn excited.
However... three can play at this game.
As we turn onto the main road, I reach over and run my hand up Hugh’s thigh until I reach his package. I rub and squeeze gently, and he hardens under my touch.
He gives me a challenging look and I just smile sweetly before flashing a devilish grin at Chase in the back seat.
They might have a bunch of surprises in store for me later, but I’ll make sure we get this hike off to a good start. I make a bet with myself that I’ll get them so worked up they’ll pull this Jeep over and have their way with me before we even make it to the trail.
The End
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Thank You, Bella Blake
Once upon a time there were two romance authors, Elaina Jadin and Marie Robinson, who had an epic craving to write steamy action-adventure romance with heart-pounding perils, sexy heroic men, and leading ladies who kick ass in the face of danger. And so Bella Blake was born.
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