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“Yeah, I figured when I couldn’t get a hold of you. Thank goodness I caught you when I did.”

She wrapped her arms around me in a hug, and I breathed her in as she squeezed back. “See you soon,” she said.

“Ready?” Connor asked.

I hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Nice to meet you, Gracie,” Connor called out.

“If you hurt him…” she trailed off, but gave my new friend a wicked smile that promised pain. Connor laughed.

“Love you, Gracie,” I called.

“Love you, too, Oliver!”

Without answering, he grabbed my arm and pulled me along with his suitcase, giving me enough time to snatch my own in my right hand as he directed us to the pickup area.

We walked out the sliding glass doors to see a black SUV with tinted windows and standing by the passenger side back door was a man with dark olive skin, muscles upon muscles, and no smile. Of course, we walked straight toward him.

“Holy shit, does he know how to kill people with just his little finger? Or does he have one of those semi-automatic guns he can pull out and discharge in less than a second, leaving a man standing full of holes before his eyes roll into the back of his head and he keels over?”

Connor shook his head at my curious, manic, and delusional questions before he said, “Ollie, this is Thomas. Thomas, Ollie’s staying with us for the foreseeable future, so be nice.”

In an accent I couldn’t place, Thomas said, “When am I not nice?”

Connor scoffed. “I’ve known many who said you were mean to them.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “There have been several so-called dates that needed saving from themselves.”

Not wanting to hear about Connor’s obvious rich history in dating, I asked Thomas, “Are you famous, too?”

The man stared at me with wide eyes before his face, a sculpted one with sharp cheekbones, full lips, and a piercing green gaze turned to Connor.

“He doesn’t know who you are?”

Connor sighed. “It seems not, and I don’t think he’s eager to find out.”

Thomas punched out a hearty laugh before his hand shot out. “It’s nice to meet you, Ollie.”

As I shook his hand, I said, “It’s nice to meet you as well, Thomas.”

“You don’t want to know?” Thomas’ curious question popped out before he pressed his lips together.

“I am curious, but he seems reticent to tell me, so I’d rather not until he’s comfortable with it.”

Connor squeaked, and when I turned to him, his eyes were wide and unblinking. While he processed what I’d said, I turned back to Thomas.

“Would it offend you if I created a character based on your likeness and made him the protagonist in a gay romance novel? I wouldn’t use your real name or your exact features, but seeing you gave me an idea for a story?”

The man shrugged and said, “It would be an honor.”

With a beaming smile, I nodded at him. “Great. Thank you.”

I followed them to the back of an SUV and slid my suitcase next to Connor’s.

Connor huffed and said, “I was on a flight with you for five hours and you never asked me to use my likeness.” His bottom lip stuck out as he crossed his arms, going into full pout mode.

I patted his arm and said, “Famous people are easy to recognize, even from a simple description, so I tend not to modelmy characters after them. I didn’t mean any offense by not asking you.”