Lori Wilde: Crash Landing

That’s where Scott was to come in. He was the only one Gibb trusted to handle his private security. They’d been talking about partnering up for the past two years, ever since Gibb had first invested in this project. They’d just been waiting for Scott’s commission with the Coast Guard to be over to get started on it. Waiting, however, was making Gibb antsy. The longer it took, the more likely it was that someone would rip off the idea before the patent was granted.

Gibb hit the talk button. “Guy, where have you been?”

“Falling in love,” Scott replied.

Gibb laughed. “So when are you getting out of the Coast Guard? How long before you can get to Costa Rica? I need you here.”

“I’m serious,” Scott said. “I’ve fallen in love with the most amazing woman. She’s smart and sexy and—”

Gibb snorted. “Stop pulling my leg. We’re ready to hit the ground running. I have to tell you that arranging to have supplies delivered up here, while trying to keep things tightly under wraps has been nothing short of a logistical nightmare.”

“You’re not listening to me.”

“Sure I am, you’re madly in love. Good. Great. Congrats. Now when can I expect you?”

“She’s the daughter of Jack Birchard, the renowned oceanographer, but Jackie is a damn fine oceanographer in her own right,” Scott went on as if he hadn’t said a thing.

Gibb scratched his head. “You’re serious?”

“I’m stone cold in love, buddy.”

“Okay.” Gibb plowed fingers through his hair, tried not to fret. “What does Jackie think about you living in Costa Rica for a couple of years?”

“I’m not leaving the Coast Guard.”

“C’mon. We’ve talked about this forever. I can’t do it without you.”

“Sure you can.”

“All right, I don’t want to do it without you. This project has the potential to make us billionaires.”

“You’re already a billionaire, Gibb.”

“Not now I’m not. Not after all I’ve got invested in this technology.”

“Aw, so now you’re only a multi-millionaire? How will you ever survive?”

“Scott, I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. Remember when we were kids, camping out in a tent in your parents’ backyard? Even then we talked about working together someday, but you had to go off and join the Coast Guard.”

“You were supposed to join with me,” Scott reminded him.

“Is it my fault that I get seasick?”

Joining the Coast Guard was the best thing Gibb had never done. If he had joined the Coast Guard, he wouldn’t have invented a popular gaming app that had made him a multi-millionaire and started him on the road to becoming a venture capitalist, investing in other people’s ideas.

He had a knack for spotting trends before they took off and it paid big dividends. Charismatic forward thinker, Wealth Maker Magazine had called him. Unfortunately, that had made him a target for the unscrupulous looking to get in on his action. Forcing Gibb to become even more secretive and suspicious of others than he already was. Scott was the one person in the whole wide world that he trusted with his life.

“No, just like it’s not my fault that I fell in love.”

“You’re leaving me hanging?”

“I’m sorry, Gibb, but I’ve found something more. I don’t want to end up like you.”

Two whips of hurt and anger lashed through him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t want to be consumed by work the way you are.”

An accusing silence stretched over the miles between them.

“If I wasn’t consumed by work, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he said.

“Where are you, Gibb?”

“At the top of the freaking world.”

“Alone.”

“I’m not alone. I have a cover model girlfriend and my Bentley and my beach house and—”

“I’m getting married on Saturday in Key West on the Fourth of July, aboard the Sea Anemone , Wharf 16 at 4:00 p.m. I hope you’ll be there.”

It wasn’t until this very moment that Gibb understood exactly how much he’d been looking forward to not only working with Scott, but bringing him in on this deal. It was Gibb’s way of paying his buddy back for the time Scott had literally saved his life.

Gibb pushed the platinum bracelet up on his wrist. Scott had a matching bracelet. They’d bought the man jewelry together, a symbol of their brotherhood and undying friendship after that crazy diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef where Gibb had been barbed in the chest by a stingray. Only Scott’s quick action and first aid training had prevented Gibb from removing the barb. He’d come within seconds of ending up like the famous crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin.

Reflexively, Gibb rubbed his chest. “ This Saturday?”

“This Saturday.”

“But it’s Wednesday!”

“I know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because Jackie and I just got engaged.”

“What? Why so fast?”

“When it’s right, it’s right. We can’t wait any longer to be together.”

“So she’s pregnant.”

“No, she’s not pregnant.” Scott sounded irritated.

“Whoa, back up the truck. I talked to you six weeks ago and you didn’t say a word about this Jackie woman. How long have you known her?”

“A month,” Scott confessed, not sounding the least bit sheepish.

“A month! You’re marrying someone you’ve only known a month?”

“Don’t rain on my parade. She’s the love of my life,” Scott growled.

Taken aback, Gibb blinked. He couldn’t believe this was his childhood buddy. “I recall you saying a time or two that you were never getting married.”

“Dumb. That was back when I was dumb and stupid. I’d never been in love before. I never knew it could feel like this.”

“I recall you once said the same thing about that waitress in Panama.” Who in the hell was this woman who’d woven such a spell over Scott?

“That was lust. There’s a big difference. I know that now. You’ll know it too when you find it.”

Gibb frowned. “Hang on, this too will pass.”

“No. No, it won’t.” Scott sounded adamant.

“You say that now—”

Scott cut him off. “Can we expect to see you at the wedding?”

“There shouldn’t be a wedding. You’re throwing away all our plans, and re-upping in the Coast Guard when you’d planned to get out and—”

“Sorry, but meeting Jackie has changed everything.”

“I get that. It’s what scares me.”

“Come to the wedding if you want, but you’re not changing my mind.”

“This is craziness!” Gibb yanked at the knot of his tie. “You’ve lost your mind over a piece of—”

“Don’t say it,” Scott threatened.

Gibb was so upset that he couldn’t stop himself from saying it. “Tail.”

A dial tone sounded in his ear.

His very best buddy on the planet had just hung up on him. Shocked, Gibb stared at the phone. Disturbing how fate could turn life on a whim.

SOPHIA WAS FILLING up the gas tank on El Diablo when Gibb Martin came stalking up to her, his eyes narrowed, his jaw tight and a determined expression on his lips.

“I need you to fly me to Key West, Florida,” he demanded.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, holstered the nozzle back into the pump. “What bit you?”

“I want to leave right now.” He tapped the face of his Rolex with an impatient finger.

“Mosquito? Botfly? Hornet?”

If he were a cartoon, steam would be shooting out of his ears. “No joking around. Time is of the essence.”

She lifted one shoulder. “Sorry, amigo.”

“I’ll pay handsomely.”

“No can do.”

“What?” He looked stunned that she’d refused him.