Page 118 of Forbidden

“I told her he’s a grown man and can make his own choices.”

“Sorry. Cameron, was it?” I squint at him, wondering if my vodka has gone to my head already. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He blinks. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep. Venie’s just worried about him. She thinks it’s just three times the chance of getting his heart broken.”

My stomach dips. “I can understand that.”

“Yeah, well.” Cameron straightens. “Like I said. Aldo’s not a kid. He’s twenty-two. Even if it doesn’t work out, he’ll pull through. He’s got to make his own mistakes and take his own chances. If you don’t take the risk, you’ll never know.”

Even though I know he means well, I find myself bristling. I’ve never laid eyes on this guy before and he’s talking about our relationship failing. Not that I have a leg to stand on, because it is failing. Because of me. “Big risk taker, then?”

Cameron shakes his head, missing my tone completely. “Nah. Not me. My brother is, though. He was dating this complete douchebag and then met his wife and two husbands on a goddamn road trip to Vegas.”

I almost choke on my drink. “What?”

“Yep. Three complete strangers. Absolutely nothing in common. And now the four of them have been together years and have two kids. It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him.”

I gawk at Cameron for a second, the puzzle pieces starting to make a bit more sense, and I can’t help but ask, “So, it can work?”

He grimaces apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that you guys wouldn’t make it. I mean, you’re all swimmers right? You’ve already got a lot in common. That’s more than my brother had.”

Giving a half shrug, I turn and look out at the dance floor again. Aldo’s dancing with Joy and they look so damn good together. A heavy sigh leaves me, and Cameron clears his throat.

“I’d better get back to my wife. Sorry again if I overstepped.” He grabs the glasses of champagne and steps away from the bar. “Best of luck to you guys. I really mean that. Aldo’s the nicest guy I know.”

“Yeah,” I agree, my attention drifting back to the dance floor. “He is.”

As Cameron weaves his way through the crowd, I think about what he said about risks. Am I a risk taker? I took a risk moving to the States, but was it a choice or survival? After that, I stayed with my team, training and traveling for Team GB. It was only after the younger swimmers started nipping at my heels and the monotony of training and clean living started to piss me off, that I left. Was that a risk? I don’t think so.

Now I look back at my life, it’s more like a game of pinball. I’ve just bounced and slid along life’s choices, never really choosing, or leaping for anything I’ve wanted. Just . . . existing.

“You’ll get wrinkles if you frown like that, McMann.”

Masters’ voice jolts me from my thoughts, and I bat his hand away as he tries to smooth away my frown like he does with Joy. “Fuck off.”

“Delightful.” He grins and squeezes my shoulder, his hand lingering. “I missed you.”

I snort, but when he reaches for my chin and turns me to look at him, I’m surprised to find his expression serious. “What?”

Masters’ frown deepens. “I wasn’t joking.”

“I know. Iamdelightful.”

A growly noise sounds in his throat and his grip tightens on my chin. “Stop being a dick.”

I blink at him, knocking his hand away from my face. “Maybeyou’rethe dick.”

Heaving a sigh, he moves to stand in front of me, his hands gripping the bar on either side, caging me in until his face is millimeters from mine. “Just accept it. I missed you, Doug.”

A shiver runs down my spine at the unfamiliar sound of my name on his lips, but then he kisses me and the entire roof top spins, causing me to lean back against the bar to steady myself.

It’s not like we haven’t kissed before, but this is different. It’s not angry or lustful or frantic. It’s slow and tender and it takes my breath away.

Just as I begin to lose myself in the taste of him, he pulls back and signals to the bartender, ordering a rum and coke like he didn’t just knock my world out of orbit.

“What were you frowning about, anyway?” he asks, moving to lean beside me.

I swallow, trying to put myself back together before he figures out how much his kiss affected me. “I was talking to Aldo’s brother-in-law. He was telling me in a rather convoluted way that taking risks can be a good thing.”

---