She hesitated for a second, but finally nodded. “Fine, but hurry up and shower. I know you can’t leave the house without smelling springtime fresh, and I’m not gonna sit around all morning. I’ll start the coffee.”
I stood and smacked her ass. “You’re a bossy little thing, you know that?”
She smacked mine back. “Get going.”
I didn’t turn the shower as hot as I normally do, needing the cool water to bring me back to reality. Last night was amazing, but we had no time for a repeat. Red was leaving today. Yesterday morning, I woke up having not thought about her more than a few times over the past few years, only when we would send wildly inappropriate cards to each other. She kind of got the ball rolling with that Easter card my mom saw, then I’d paid her back with a card I’d found that had shaved cats on it. I’ll spare you the inside, but I sent it to her office. Even after all that, I never expected to wake up with her in bed again. It’d be a bitch to watch her go, but making her come took that sting away.
I turned off the shower ten minutes later and dried quickly. “Be ready in a sec,” I called into the kitchen, where I smelled coffee brewing.
“That’s…nice.” Adrian’s voice startled me and I walked into the kitchen, where I found him sitting alone. He wore sunglasses and sipped his coffee gingerly.
I looked around. “Where’s Steph?”
He twisted his face. “Keep your voice down. Steph? Who—ooh! Shit! That wasn’t a dream, that fine piece of ass was here last night?”
“Red?” I called, walking back down the hallway. When she was nowhere to be found, I returned to the kitchen. “How long have you been in here?”
“Long enough to pour coffee into this mug.” Adrian dumped several teaspoons of sugar into his cup, stirring it a few times before taking a sip.
“Gimme a sec to get dressed,” I said as I walked back to my bedroom.
I wasn’t surprised that she left as suddenly as she came, it was her style—love ‘em and leave ‘em. It was good to see some things hadn’t changed. I sat on the edge of my bed and pointed the remote at the stereo, pressing “play.” Nothing happened. I tried again, and still nothing.
I knew I’d been playing that Louis Armstrong CD as we fell asleep last night, but I walked over to the cabinet and looked through the cases anyway, though I was certain I hadn’t put it away. My CDs are in alphabetical order, but the Louis one was right on top where I’d left it when I put the CD in the stereo. When I opened the case, I laughed out loud.
The cd was gone, and in its place was a post-it note in Red’s borderline-psychotic scrawl:
Thanks for the memories.
Leaving the note in place, I closed the case and tucked it back in its space on the shelf. I’d come up with a plan for that later.
Adrian looked up at me, amused, when I sauntered back into the kitchen, dressed and smiling. “She bail on you, bro?”
I wanted to smack the foolish grin from his face. “Nah, she had an early flight. Ready to go?”
He swallowed the rest of his coffee and headed for the door. “Yeah, let’s go.”
Adrian grinned. “Judging by that assprint on your living room window, I’d say you know exactly why.”
My shoulders shook as I tried to stifle a laugh, biting my lip. I knew last night wasn’t the last I’d see of Stephanie Brier, and I looked forward to the day we’d stumble into one another again. In the meantime, though, I had some serious work to do.
We’d like to thank:
Michelle Warren at Indie Book Covers for our fabulous cover and art work, Erin Roth at Wise Owl Editing for her sharp eyes, and Charles Sheehan-Miles for his formatting ingenuity.
Our beta readers: Laura Wilson, Tamron Davis, Amy Lane, Meghan Moss, Sarah Griffin, and Tanya Spence Hall. Your support and insight helped shape this into the masterpiece everyone else gets to read. Thanks for reading the crap first.
Our significant others, because it’s obligatory to do so when in the throes of greatness
Most importantly, we’d like to thank the fans of “Fury” and “Reckless Abandon” for their enthusiasm over the merging of some of our favorite characters.
And, of course, God, the Academy, and the Foreign Press.
Books by Andrea Randall & Michelle Pace
Andrea Randall
In The Stillness
Nocturne (with Charles Sheehan-Miles)
November Blue Series
Ten Days of Perfect
Reckless Abandon
Sweet Forty-Two
Michelle Pace
The Perpetual Quest for the Perfect Life
Fury
Rage
Copyright
Copyright 2013 Andrea Randall and Michelle Pace
v11152013
Cover Design by Michelle Warren at Indie Book Covers
Edited by Erin Roth at Wise Owl Editing
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is unintentional.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One: Getting to Know You Pace Turner, Megalomaniac Extraordinaire
Stephanie Brier, Self-Proclaimed Sociopath
Chapter Two: The Rack Pace, July 2012
2008
July 2012
Chapter Three: Thanks for the Memories Pace, October 2008
Steph, July 2012
Chapter Five: Land of the Free Pace, July 2012
Chapter Six: Hail Mary Pace, December 2008
Chapter Seven: Erin Brockovich Steph, January 2009
Chapter Eight: Super Bass Pace, July 2012
Chapter Nine: Hit Me Baby, One More Time. Pace, February 2009
Chapter Ten: Meet the Turners Steph, March 2009
Chapter Eleven: That’s Amore? Pace, March 2009
Chapter Twelve: Casablanca Steph, Rome 2009
Pace
Chapter Thirteen: Sunrise, Hangovers, and Goodbyes Pace, July 2012
Acknowledgements
Books by Andrea Randall and Michelle Pace
Copyright