Three Alpha Romeo

And that was the end of it.

Randall had climbed down now, joining us at the rail. Slowly I turned to face them all, as one last tear ran down my cheek. It was joy. Exuberance. Relief. Giddiness…

Then the three of them opened up for me, and I flung myself into their arms.

We held each other for a long time, all of us, no one even daring to speak. The moment was ours. It was sacrosanct. We’d earned it together, as a team.

Finally, after a long while, the silence was split by the sound of sirens. They grew louder as they rolled south, along the main highway. Louder still, as they neared the marina.

Everyone looked at Holden, our unofficial leader. He opened his mouth for a second, closed it, then turned to look at Randall.

“Can you fly that Sikorsky?” he asked, jerking his thumb at the helicopter.

Randall’s blank stare curled into an almost sinister smile.

“We can die trying,” he shrugged.

Fifty-One

ANDREA

We walked hand in hand in hand, as the snow fell lazily from the sky. I stuck my tongue out, playfully. Kept it there until I felt the cold sting of a snowflake, landing and then melting on it, in the same wonderful instant.

“You still wanna go on the merry-go-round? After all that ribbon-candy?”

I squeezed the hand on my right. “Yes!”

“Alright then,” said Holden. “It’s your funeral.”

I let go of Randall and spun to kiss him, holding his face in my hands. His cheeks were cold, but not too cold. His face still flush, from three full rounds of warm, spiced Christmas drinks.

“This place is like a fairy tale,” I said, when our lips finally parted. “I’m so glad we came here.”

A hand on my waist dipped me backward. I found myself in Randall’s arms, his beard tickling my chin as he bent to kiss me.

Wow…

I could already feel the fire between us. The electricity that gathered at the end of each night of our little vacation, before we went back to the hotel…

And the anticipation of what would happen when we got there.

“The merry-go-round is this way,” said Marcus, sliding a hand over my ass. He urged me forward, pulling me teasingly away from Randall. “I can

see the lights from here.”

I whirled on him happily, sliding my arms over the Ranger’s big shoulders.

“Didn’t you want some love too?”

His smirk said everything. “Always.”

“Then kiss me.”

He did, and it sent my world spinning. Marcus’s arms felt like steel cables. They crushed me against him as he slid his tongue into my mouth…

God, I love this…

My body melted. My legs buckled. I felt myself getting wet again, for the umpteenth time today.