Missing Linc by Kori Roberts (i can read books .TXT) 📗

he felt. And when he woke up Saturday

morning and realized that they still had not responded, he headed to the airport alone,

finally admitting to himself just how devastated he truly was.

Chapter Seventeen

Tomi rolled over and reached for Mitch, finding only empty space next to her instead.

Her eyes blinked open, and she stretched, smiling when she felt the tenderness in her body,

knowing it was the result of the lovemaking marathon she”d indulged in during the previous

day.

Her smile broadened. God, just thinking about the things he”d done to her yesterday

made her wet all over again. No one ever loved her body, her mind, her very soul, the way

this man did. Well, she could think of one man who came surprisingly close, who could

make her body throb, her heart race in ways she never thought possible with anyone other

than Mitch.

Tomi refused to go there. Thoughts of Linc already invaded her mind on a regular

basis. Voluntarily thinking about him only made things worse.

Her thoughts turned to Mitch again, always trying to make sure she was okay, always

willing to do whatever it took to make sure she stayed that way. She knew he worried about

her, especially since they”d come home from Puerto Rico. The feeling was mutual for her as

well. This thing with Linc had been hard — harder than either of them would ever have imagined. Some days, it felt as if the pain and longing would never go away. There was

nothing worse than wanting, needing someone so bad, and not being able to have them.

Thankfully, they had each other, and no matter how much she would like to have Linc

in their life, Tomi had no regrets that it was just Mitch and her. Even in her wildest dreams,

she could not have imagined a better, stronger, more caring man to spend her life with than

Mitch. He was, by far, the best thing that had ever happened to her.

She climbed out of bed and went in search of the source of her current state of wedded

bliss. Finally, she found him in the living room, sitting on the couch, staring at his cell

phone.

The look on his face stopped Tomi in her tracks. “What is it?” She finally convinced

her feet to move and went to Mitch, sitting next to him on the couch. “What”s wrong, baby?”

He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. Finally,

he held the phone out to her. Tomi looked at him questioningly as she took the phone from

his hand.

“Press number one.” Tomi did as he instructed and put the phone to her ear, listening

to the familiar voice on the other end. For the next several minutes, she sat with her mouth

open, barely able to believe what she was hearing. When the message ended, she played it

again, needing to make certain that she wasn”t imagining this, trying to be sure that she

hadn”t misunderstood when Linc said he was there for them, dying to know that she wasn”t

just dreaming that Linc said he loved Mitch. Loved her.

After replaying the message twice more, Tomi finally disconnected the call and looked

at Mitch. “I…I…”

“I know.” Mitch took the phone out of her hand and set it on the table. “That was my

reaction as well.”

“I just can”t believe he came all the way here to New York to see us.” This city held so

many memories for Linc, and most of them were bad. Tomi knew that. She”d discussed it several times with Linc. The fact that he would disregard the promise he made to himself

about never returning here in order to see them again was more shocking, more humbling,

than she could express.

Mitch”s hand slid around her shoulders, and she automatically leaned her head against

his shoulder. “I guess the real question is whether this changes anything between him and

us.”

Tomi thought about telling him that it didn”t change anything between them, she had

everything in her life that made her happy. She thought about saying many other things, but

they all would have been lies, and they both knew it. She opted for the truth instead.

“When we first went to Puerto Rico, I thought we”d never need a third person in our

lives again. Then we met Linc, and suddenly I found it hard to imagine our life without him

in it. Don”t get me wrong, the way he treated us in the end was incredibly shitty, and how I

felt afterward was even worse, but I stopped being angry with him a long time ago. I won”t

pretend that I don”t wish every single day that things had turned out differently with him

and us.”

Tomi stared into his eyes, praying that she wasn”t hurting him with her admission, but

refusing to be anything but honest about how she felt.

“God knows I love you, Mitch, more than I can even begin to articulate, but it doesn”t

change the fact that since we came home, I feel…incomplete, like something”s —”

“Missing.” Mitch finished her sentence for her. There was no judgment or anger in his

voice. He pulled her tighter against him. “I know what you mean. I think we both know that

something is Linc. Although he acted like a complete dick the last time we saw him, and

despite the fact that I”m still more than a little pissed off at him, I won”t deny that I love him

as much today as I did last month.” He cupped her face with both hands. “I suspect you do as

well.”

Tomi nodded. “I do.” “Then, there”s only one thing left to do.” He picked up his cell phone and replayed the

message, writing down the number Linc left.

Tomi watched anxiously as he called the hotel, silently hoping that Linc was still there.

From Mitch”s conversation, though, that clearly was not the case.

“He”s already gone, isn”t he?” she asked when Mitch disconnected the call. When he

nodded, she said, “What about his cell phone? Maybe he hasn”t left the city yet.” She waited

while he dialed that number as well.

Mitch sighed. “His voice mail is full. I can”t leave him a message.” He looked as

disappointed as she