Opposites Attract (17 page)

“
So,
does this place have a bedroom? We’ve got a bit of making up to
do.”

Amy
smiled. “Yeah and I’m up to writing the first sex scene
in my book and I could use some material for Sir Thomas. You are my
muse, you know.”

He
raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? And exactly what does being a
muse entitle me to?”

“
Carry
me into that bedroom and I’ll show you.” She gave him a
wicked smile.

He
laughed. “I think I’m going to like this muse gig. And
believe me, I’ve got a lot of
material
for you.”

She
certainly hoped he did.

SECOND TIME AROUND

Chapter 1

“
Troy
and Amy invite you to join them for New Year’s Eve. Their
place, 10 p.m. Festive Attire.”

Antonio
Sanchez leaned against the wall of the elevator and reread the
colorful party invitation in his hand. He wasn’t quite sure
what the hell festive attire was, but the vision of people wrapped in
Christmas tree garland crossed his mind. He glanced down at his black
dress pants and the red button-down shirt beneath his black leather
jacket. He was a firefighter, not a dancer in Vegas. This was about
as festive as his attire got. It would just have to do.

He
shook his head. This time last year, his best friend Troy wouldn’t
have used the word festive even if you tied him up and shoved bamboo
shoots under his fingernails. In fact, this time last year, before
Troy met Amy, the only invitation for this party would have been a
handwritten note on the back of a take-out menu tacked on the
bulletin board at the firehouse. And attire for one of Troy’s
parties would have been your cleanest jeans and a Ladder Co. #3
sweatshirt.

Boy,
had things changed since then. Troy, the ultimate commitment-phobic
bachelor, was now living with his girlfriend and sending out
attire-specific invitations and Antonio, the once happily married
man, was attending their New Year’s Eve party festively
attired, late and alone.

Yup,
you never knew what life would throw at you next. With that the
elevator doors opened and deposited him in the middle of party
central.

The
door to Troy and Amy’s apartment was wide open and so was the
door to their neighbor Maria’s apartment directly across the
hall, making for a kind of dual zone fiesta. Colorfully dressed
people streamed back and forth between the two apartments where just
as colorful streamers decorated the walls.

“
Hey,
buddy.” Troy came out of his door wearing an actual apron. Not
just any apron either, but one that read
Kiss the Cook
across
the front.

Antonio
tapped Troy’s chest and laughed. “Kiss the Cook, huh?
Aren’t you the picture of domesticity.”

Troy’s
head narrowly dodged a balloon and sent it bobbing along the hall
ceiling. He looked down at the apron and mumbled, “Gift from
Amy.”

Antonio
commiserated but couldn’t help nudging a bit. He held up the
invitation he still held in his hand. “Well, at least it’s
‘festive’.”

Troy
laughed. “That was Amy too. So anyway, let me familiarize you
with the party layout. Amy and Maria have this thing planned like a
damn military operation. The bar is over at Maria’s. Her cat is
locked in her bedroom so
do not
open that door over there. The
food is laid out here on the kitchen island and coats go in my,”
Troy winced, “I mean
our
bedroom.”

Antonio
tried to absorb all the party instructions as he smiled at Troy’s
slip of the tongue. “Not quite used to the cohabitation yet?”

Troy
shook his head. “Don’t even get me started. How many
drawers does one women need? I’m lucky she left me one for my
socks and underwear. And the other day, I had to go out to the store
and buy her,” he looked around, “tampons.”

Antonio
outright laughed at that image. “Now I know you’re in
love.”

Troy
leaned in closer. “Yeah I am and I’ve got two months
salary in a tiny blue box in my pocket to prove it.”

Antonio’s
eyes opened wide. “Holy cow, you’re proposing? And you
didn’t even tell me, your best friend?”

“
Shh.
Not so loud. I want to surprise Amy and ask her at midnight. And I
didn’t bring it up because you’re going through your own
shit right now.”

Antonio
grabbed Troy in a bear hug and blinked a mysterious mist from his
eyes. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be happy for you,
man. Congratulations.”

“
I’m
glad you feel that way, because I was kind of hoping you’d be
my best man.” Troy looked expectantly at him.

“
Of
course I will. You’re like a brother to me.” He took a
deep breath to steady himself. “But right now, can we go find
that bar over at Maria’s? I think I could use a beer.”

“
You
and me both.” Troy patted the pocket of his pants.

Amy’s
assistant from work, Henri, was currently manning the bar set up on
Maria’s kitchen counter. Decked out in gold pants and a
practically transparent shirt, Henri hadn’t actually worn tree
garland but at the moment he resembled it. He sure was festive though
as he clapped his hands when they arrived at his makeshift bar.

“
This
must be my lucky day,
two
hunky firemen.” Henri lowered
his voice an octave and asked in a tone disturbingly reminiscent of
Mae West, “So what can I get for you two big boys?”

Good
thing Antonio was used to Henri by now, having encountered him a few
times over the past ten months since Troy had started dating Amy.
“Bottle of beer, thanks.”

“
Same
for me,” Troy added.

“
I
just love a manly man who enjoys sucking on a long neck bottle. Mmm,
mmm.” Henri handed over the two beers with a shiver.

“
Um,
thanks.” A blush rose on Troy’s cheeks as he took the
bottle from Henri.

“
This
should be an interesting night.” Antonio bit the side of his
mouth to keep from laughing. He raised his bottle and clinked it with
Troy’s before taking a swig, just as he spied three more people
arrive, the last being an absolute babe with short blond curls and
legs up to her armpits. Now,
that
was interesting.

Phew.
If he was a single man… That thought begged the question of
what exactly he was. He definitely wasn’t single, but he sure
didn’t feel married after the five-month separation from his
wife either. He wasn’t quite sure what category he fell into at
the moment.

Antonio
watched the blond and her two friends move across the crowded party,
took another sip of beer and decided that what he was, was in
marriage limbo. He wasn’t able to go back to the way things
used to be with his wife, but he wasn’t free to move on with
his life either.

He
came out of his contemplation to find Troy watching him with
interest. Embarrassed at being caught looking at a woman who wasn’t
his wife, Antonio felt defensive. “What?”

“
You
know what. Don’t play dumb. So, do you want to meet her? I’ll
find out who she is and introduce you. I’m one of the hosts of
this party, you know. It’s my job to do stuff like that.”
Troy ran his thumb up and down the apron string tied around his neck.

Antonio
snorted at Troy suddenly embracing his job as party co-host. “You
just stick to the cooking. I’ll introduce myself if I decide I
want to meet anyone.”

His
gaze traveled back to the leggy blond. He spied Amy walking across
the room to greet the new arrivals just as Maria rushed over and
hugged the guy and girl that had come in with the blonde.

He
watched the whole production as introductions were made, coats taken
and drinks offered. All the while Blondie, as he now thought of her,
looked like she would rather be anywhere else but here.

“
Troy,
my stud.” Both Troy and Antonio turned as Henri called out from
his post at the bar. “Do you have more ice at your place,
sweetie? We’re almost out here.”

Antonio
laughed as Troy dropped his head and closed his eyes briefly,
gathered his composure and then answered. “Yes, Henri. I’ll
get it for you.”

“
Thanks,
I owe you a big one.” Henri wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Shaking
his head, Troy turned back to Antonio and pointed to the bar with his
thumb. “I gotta—”

“
Don’t
worry, man. Go do what you gotta do. I know you have a lot of
responsibilities being host and head stud for the party and all.”

Troy
scowled. “Yeah, thanks.”

Antonio
watched as Troy made a quick detour to Amy on his way out of the
apartment. Troy took the coats she was still holding and whispered
something to her. They both glanced over at him, then quickly looked
away when they saw him watching. Troy and the coats high-tailed it
across the hall to the other apartment while Antonio got a sinking
feeling he was about to be on the receiving end of a setup.

He
downed some more beer to steel his nerves as Amy came straight toward
him. Leaning down, he received the welcoming kiss on the cheek she
reached up to give him. “Hey, Amy. Nice party. Thanks for
inviting me.”

She
smacked his arm playfully. “Don’t be silly. You know
you’re always welcome. And the guest room is all ready if you
want to spend the night.”

Antonio
thought about the surprise waiting in Troy’s pocket for Amy and
decided sleeping over tonight would probably be a very bad idea.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

He
watched over Amy’s head as Maria led Blondie, the guy and the
other girl to the bar where Henri greeted them boisterously.

“
That’s
Maria’s friend Bradley and his new wife Alyssa over at the bar.
They got married last spring and just opened a computer tech support
company together. And the blonde woman is Brad’s sister,
Maddie.” Amy had definitely noticed his gaze following Blondie,
because she jumped right on it. “Maddie just got divorced. This
is her first New Year’s Eve alone, so Brad called to ask if he
could bring her along.”

Amy
added that last sentence about the divorce a little too casually and
Antonio’s suspicion that Troy had quickly arranged a setup was
confirmed. He tried to casually ignore the obvious.

“
Oh?
That was nice of him.” He watched Troy reenter the apartment
carrying a bag of ice and wind his way to the bar where Blondie, or
rather Maddie, took a glass of champagne from Henri and wandered
across the room with her brother and his wife.

“
Yeah,
Brad’s a sweetheart. He’s the one that fixed Maria’s
computer after her cat spilled coffee in it. She’d just
finished her first book and didn’t have a back-up copy, but
Brad rescued it for her. Maddie seems really nice too, just a bit
quiet. They kind of look alike, don’t you think? They both have
that gorgeous curly hair and those beautiful blue eyes.”

Antonio
was extremely relieved when Troy joined them and interrupted Amy’s
matchmaking before he was forced to comment on the siblings’
hair or anything else.

Troy
draped an arm around Amy’s shoulder. “Hey, baby. You
might want to get over there and rein in your assistant. Henri is
trying to figure out how to catch a computer virus at your company so
Brad the Cutie, his words not mine, will have to come and fix it.”

Amy’s
eyes opened wide. “Oh, I bet Henri’s had a few other
kinds of viruses in his life, but he better not catch any that have
to do with my computer.” She stalked over to Henri, hands on
her hips, as Troy chuckled behind her.

“
I’ll
remember not to ever piss her off.” Antonio laughed.

“
You
got that right.” Troy nodded. “So, it looks like your
blonde over there is Brad the Cutie’s sister.”

How
had she suddenly become his blonde? Antonio held up a hand to stop
Troy. “I know, I know. Amy told me, including the fact she’s
divorced. Which by the way, I’m not.”

Troy
looked at him. “How long is Tina going to take to decide if she
wants to be married anymore or not? You’ve been separated for
half a year already. It’s not fair to you.”

“
Hey
man, thanks for worrying but really, I’m fine.” Antonio
tugged at the black leather jacket that he hadn’t gotten around
to taking off yet. It would provide a good excuse for a quick exit.
“It’s getting hot in here. I’m going to ditch this
jacket in your bedroom and check out the food at your place.”