Before It's Too Late (Troubled Hearts Book 3)

by Savannah Brooks

  “Okay, so, July. That gives us plenty of time to move your stuff over without having to rush. Besides, is there really any point to you keeping your townhome when you pretty much live here as it is now?”

  “I suppose not, and we could use the extra money. I know Taylor’s daycare isn’t cheap.”

  “Neither are fucking diapers, plus I’m still paying the mortgage on Abbey’s condo and her water and electric bills.”

  “Frack, Pook. I forgot about that.” Cael knocked back the last of his beer. “You know, if you need any money, I’ll help however much I can.” He opened the cabinet and dropped the bottle in the recycle bin.

  Zach pushed around the sandwich in the frying pan, flipping it occasionally. “I know, and I’m getting by okay right now, but if you just move here permanently, you can help out by taking care of some of the bills. Besides that.” Zach plated the cooked sandwich and glanced over his shoulder at Cael. “I want this to be your home.”

  Zach turned back to face the stove and carefully placed a piece of buttered sourdough in the pan, topped it with two slices of American cheese, a slice of pepper Jack, and another piece of bread. With the spatula, he pushed the sandwich around in the pan.

  “I want to be your home,” Zach added softly, as if talking to himself, but Cael heard him, and his heart swelled in his chest.

  Cael stepped up behind him and placed his hands on Zach’s hips. “You’ve always been my home, Pook,” Cael whispered. “From the moment I fell in love with you.”

  Cael leaned in close and kissed the back of his neck. Zach fell quiet.

  “What? No witty comeback about me getting all mushy?”

  Zach gave his head a shake as he flipped the sandwich over.

  “Hey. What’s wrong?”

  Silence.

  “Pook?”

  Zach sucked in a sharp breath. “Nothing’s wrong. Just something I remembered.”

  “Tell me.”

  Zach slid the second sandwich onto a plate. Before starting the third, he turned and faced Cael, his eyes shining with happiness.

  “Don’t fucking laugh, but… I actually imagined a moment such as this. You wrapping your arms around the guy you finally fell in love with, hugging him from behind, both of you standing in the kitchen, sneaking kisses when the kids weren’t around. It wasn’t me you were with in my daydream. It was someone else, and I remember thinking I was never going to find that because no one wanted me, but now I do have it, and so far, it’s everything I hoped it would be.”

  Cael smiled and kissed Zach. “Going soft on me, Pook?” he laughed softly, but in all honesty, Cael loved that Zach could let his guard down around him.

  “Shut up,” Zach snorted, a wide grin lighting up his face. “Just… don’t ever fucking leave me, okay?”

  “I hadn’t planned on it.”

  “Good.” Zach turned to face the stove again.

  “I’ll send an email to the property manager to let them know I won’t be renewing my lease.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Anything for you, always,” Cael whispered, his lips hovering over Zach’s skin just above the collar of his T-shirt. He kissed the nape of Zach’s neck then stepped to the side and leaned his hip against the counter. His heart warmed at the slow smile he caught spreading across his best friend’s lips as he fried up the final sandwich and stirred the tomato soup sitting on the warming burner.

  “Will you grab a couple bowls?” Zach asked.

  Cael opened the cabinet and pulled out two oversized brown ceramic bowls. He scooped the hot tomato bisque into the bowls as Zach finished up the last sandwich by cutting it in half.

  “Couch?” Cael asked, already en route to the living room with the soup in hand.

  “Yeah. Thought maybe we could catch up on Black Sails, if you want,” Zach said, joining him and setting the two plates on the coffee table.

  “Shoot yeah. What are we, like, six or seven episodes behind still?”

  “Eight. I checked earlier.”

  “Day-zee!” Taylor squealed, jumping excitedly as she held on to the top edge of her playpen.

  Zach leaned sideways to look around Cael, laughing a little. “She does love Daisy. And, there goes her binky.” Taylor’s pacifier hit the floor and bounced beneath the playpen.

  “I’ll get it.” Cael stepped around the playpen and dropped down to his hands and knees to grab Taylor’s pacifier from underneath the playpen. “Looks like her show is almost over. Should we let her finish watching it then put her down for a nap?”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll grab drinks. You want another beer?” Zach asked on his way back to the kitchen.

  “Nah. Water,” Cael hollered over his shoulder. He inspected the binky, found it still clean, and set it inside the portable crib behind Taylor. If she wanted it, he knew she’d look for it.

  Cael settled on one end of the couch. He grabbed the coffee table and slid it down to align with where he sat, knowing Zach would drop into the middle couch seat beside him, as he always did. Sitting on the edge of his cushion, he leaned forward, grabbed a sandwich loaded with gooey, melted cheese, dipped it in the soup, and took a bite.

  “Mmm. So good,” Cael moaned, ignoring the kid show on TV.

  Zach returned with two water bottles, spoons, and napkins, and planted himself on the edge of the seat beside Cael.

  By the time the show ended, lunch had been devoured, Taylor was in her crib fast asleep, and Zach was cozied up beside Cael, both their feet kicked up and resting on the table.

  “Want to squeeze in a quickie before Taylor wakes up?” Zach said quietly.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Cael replied, careful to keep his voice down.

  Cael shifted onto one knee as Zach turned and scooted back a few inches. Zach wrapped his hand around the back of Cael’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss, falling backward on the couch as Cael fell forward with him and covered Zach with his body. Zach’s already stiff erection, still confined beneath layers of cotton and denim, pressed against his groin, and Cael groaned.

  Zach’s kisses grew hotter and wetter. Reaching between them, Zach unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, then did the same for Cael. Zach fished something from his pocket before pushing both their pants and underwear down, just enough to free their hard cocks.

  Cael couldn’t wait, and he moved his hand to wrap it around both their dicks, giving them a slow tug. He pushed up on one hand and looked down at Zach. His eyes were closed and his jaw slack as he lay with his head back on the cushion. The unadulterated desire and carefree bliss he saw on Zach’s handsome face nearly took his breath away, and drove his own need exponentially higher.

  Cael crashed his lips down upon Zach’s, plunging his tongue into his mouth, exploring with hungry, desperate licks. Zach kissed him back with the same animalistic, raw passion, fueling the fire burning in every cell of his body.

  “Need you—”

  “Me too,” Cael growled, not giving Zach a chance to finish his sentence. “Turn over.”

  Cael reared back as Zach scrambled to get on his knees and elbows. Pushing his own jeans down a little more, Cael stroked his already-leaking dick, debating on whether he should run to the bedroom for lube or just spit in his hand. He didn’t have to think long as Zach reached back and pushed a small bottle of lubricant into his hand.

  “Jesus, you planned for this?” Cael groaned. He squirted lube onto his fingers as Zach pushed his pants and underwear down a little farther.

  “Are you complaining?” Zach grabbed his ass cheeks and spread them apart, revealing to Cael his tender opening.

  “Hell no.” Fingers slicked, Cael quickly prepped Zach before sliding his aching, hard length slowly into Zach’s perfectly snug, hot tunnel.

  “Fuck,” Zach hissed as Cael bottomed out. “So fucking good.”

  “No shit.” Cael rocked his hips.

  Cael leaned down over Zach’s back, wrapping an arm around his chest, as he continued to roll his pelvis and
push deep inside him. Zach craned his head back a little, and Cael caught the corner of his mouth in a wet, sloppy kiss.

  Zach’s body gradually flattened under Cael’s weight until Cael lay on top of him in a tight embrace, pinning him to the couch, buried balls-deep inside Zach.

  “Jesus Christ, Manning, keep fucking me like this, making me rub my dick against the cushion, and you’re gonna make me come.”

  “That’s the idea,” Cael whispered in his ear, pulling out and slamming into Zach, again and again.

  Cael held him tight, panting with each pounding thrust. His skin, damp now with sweat, slapped against Zach’s. Cael knelt back, lifting Zach’s ass and grabbing his hips, then rammed into him, faster and harder.

  Zach whimpered. “Cael.”

  His name fell from Zach’s lips between ragged breaths.

  Cael dug his fingertips into Zach’s hips, but his grip kept slipping from the sweat. He thrusted faster, his impending orgasm a lit fuse speeding toward its explosive end.

  “Pook, I’m gonna come.” Cael clenched his teeth as his breath hitched. His body jerked, all the coiled energy exploding through him, drowning him in unbridled pleasure, and he grunted quietly. Making love to his best friend was more intense than anything he’d ever experienced and by far, the best sex of his life.

  When he’d finished and had managed to breathe again, Cael pulled out. “Roll over.”

  Zach flipped, revealing his rock hard dick, the tip moist and oozing. His skin flushed with the heat of arousal, Zach panted. Cael wasted no time. He leaned forward took Zach in his mouth, all the way down to the root.

  Seconds later, Zach came down Cael’s throat, writhing beneath him, a hushed string of expletives tumbling out of his mouth. Cael pulled off Zach, leaving him still twitching, and leaned over him, unable to help his wide, satisfied grin.

  “You look like you enjoyed that,” Cael smirked.

  Zach smiled brightly, running a hand through his mussed, sweat-dampened hair. “So do you.”

  “More than you know.” Cael pressed a tender kiss to Zach’s lips. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 17

  Zach clicked the screen to save his latest updates to the current user interface design he’d been working on and leaned back in his chair, air softly escaping the charcoal gray leather. His stomach rumbling, Zach removed his glasses—the ones he needed for staring at computer screens for hours a day—and set them on the desk, rubbing his hand over his face.

  A quiet knock drew his attention, and Zach spun his chair, half-hoping Cael would be standing in the doorway with lunch. He’d left in a rush this morning, running late, thanks to Cael and his masterful lips and tongue. The lingering memory sent blood rushing to below.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t Cael who’d knocked on his office doorjamb. It was Riley, one of the junior analysts from marketing, and one of the few co-workers he considered somewhat of a friend.

  Riley was about as outgoing as they came, and likely the most tomboyish woman he’d ever known. Cute too. She felt more like one of the guys than one of the girls—dressed like she was one of the guys too—all of which, he had to admit, he’d found he liked about her.

  When they’d first met on her first day, she’d approached him, literally running after him, in the parking lot, quickly introduced herself with a firm handshake, and asked him out for coffee. Her timing had been terrible. It had been only a couple weeks since Megan had broken off their engagement. So, with a subtle shake of his head, he’d given her a simple, two-word response.

  Sorry. Can’t.

  Apparently, Riley seemed to know exactly what he didn’t say that day, because from that day on, she’d simply been nice and offered a friendly ear in a very discreet, indirect manner. Now, she was the only one around the office that knew what was currently going on in his life, including the fact that he had a boyfriend. Funny thing was, when he first told her about Cael, her response held only happiness when she’d said, “I’m not at all surprised.”

  “Hey,” she said, pushing a few loose strands of her short, dark brown hair off her forehead. She gave him a knowing, heartfelt smile. “I couldn’t help but notice no lunchbox today. You wanna grab something to eat?”

  Zach glanced at the time on his monitor. Almost two o’clock. Fuck, where did the time go? Raking his fingers through his hair, he blew out a breath. “What’d you have in mind?”

  Riley’s grin widened as she pulled her arm from behind her back, presenting a yellow, unmarked paper bag, which could only mean one thing. The Hat. The best food for kicking depression and stress in the ass.

  “My stomach and I fucking love you right now.”

  Riley laughed. “I thought so.” Pulling out a chair, Riley set the bag of hot sandwiches on his desk and sat facing him, pushing the rolled sleeves of her lavender button-down up over her elbows.

  Zach rolled his chair back about a foot and opened the door to his mini-fridge. “Water?” he asked, grabbing two cold bottles because he already knew her answer.

  “Yes, thanks.” She slid the napkins and paper-wrapped sandwiches from the bag, pushing one toward him and taking the other for herself. “You don’t seem quite as stressed today, and you forgot your lunch.”

  Riley arched a thickly shaped brow. Taming her brows was the closest Riley came to making up her face. She hated makeup, preferring the natural look.

  Zach felt his face flush a little, a smile attempting to form on his lips. He never talked details about his sex life with anyone, no matter how close. Even his best friend had been in the dark until they’d become intimate with each other.

  “You know, one of these days, I’d like to meet him. Or maybe at least, see a picture of him.”

  “I’ve never shown you a picture?”

  Riley shook her head. “Nope.”

  Zach took a bite of pastrami and rye then set his sandwich down. He grabbed his phone from the wireless charging disk and swiped the screen. Flipping through his photos, he stopped at one he’d absolutely fallen in love with—one with Cael lounging on the couch in nothing more than a pair of jeans watching TV with Taylor sleeping on his bare chest. He’d taken it a couple weeks ago.

  “Wow,” Riley commented, and Zach lifted his gaze. “You are a man in love. Can I see?”

  Zach held his phone out for her. Riley wiped her hands on a napkin and took it from him. She examined the picture.

  “This is your boyfriend?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Wow,” she muttered under her breath. “He lives with you now, doesn’t he?”

  “Yep.”

  “Is that your niece he’s holding?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Zach answered, his mouth full from another bite.

  “I love this photo. It’s sexy and adorable.” Riley smiled at Zach and slid his phone back to him. Zach stared down at the photo until the screen dimmed.

  “So, how long before you two get engaged?”

  Zach shrugged, chewing the bite in his mouth. He wasn’t about to confess his fear that Cael might actually say no if he proposed. It was sort of irrational. Zach knew that. His best friend who’d been practically family for years wouldn’t lie to him about how much he loved him and how he’d held out hope that Zach would one day fall for him. But this was Cael’s first serious relationship with anyone, and Zach was worried about pushing Cael into any sort of firm commitment too soon.

  Zach’s cell phone rang, saving him from having to answer. He glanced at the screen, and the blood drained from his face. He swallowed hard.

  “It’s Abbey’s doctor,” he muttered, hesitating to answer. The news could be good or bad.

  Not caring about the slight bit of grease on his fingers, he grabbed the phone and took a deep breath as he swiped the screen and held it to his ear.

  “This is Zach,” he said, his voice already strained.

  Zach stared at Riley, his eyes locked on her empathetic brown ones. She put her sandwich down, watching hi
m.

  “Hi, Zach. This is Dr. Valerie Cruz. If you’ll recall, I recently took on Abigail as my patient.”

  “Yes. Has, um… has something happened to her?” His voice almost caught in his throat, but he managed to get the words out. Zach held his breath, wishing Cael were here to steady him. To hold his hand and reassure him that everything was going to be okay, no matter what the news.

  “In a manner of speaking, yes. Abigail had a sudden increase in brain activity early this morning followed by a brief period of consciousness.”

  A hoarse sob fell out of him, and Zach’s eyes teared up. His chest tightened as he struggled to stay calm, afraid to get his hopes up. “She woke up? What, uh—” His voice hitched. “What does that mean, exactly?”

  “After about forty seconds of wakefulness, Abigail slipped back into unconsciousness, and we’ve been unable to wake her with external stimuli since. At this time, your sister continues to remain unresponsive, however, scans show that her brain is functioning much like that of a person sleeping, all of which mean her chances now of waking in the near future are significantly increased.”

  It took mere nanoseconds for Zach’s mind to comprehend. He stood, grabbing what was left of his sandwich, the wrapper wadding around it. “I’m on my way.”

  “I had a feeling.” Zach felt the doctor’s smile through the phone. “I’ll have one of the nurses inform me of your arrival in the event you have additional questions.”

  “Thank you, doctor.” Zach hung up, blinking back tears. He grabbed his Bluetooth earpiece and pushed it into his ear. As if on autopilot, his thumb scrolled to his contact screen and hovered over Cael’s profile picture. “I have to go, Riley. Abbey, she—”

  “I know.” Riley smiled. “Go. I’ll lock up your office for you.”

  “Thanks. And thanks for lunch. I owe you.” He rushed out the door.

  “I want dinner.”

  Zach halted, spinning around, confused as to why she would ask for a date when she knew he had a boyfriend and distracted by his need to see Abbey as soon as possible.