Free Catching Preeya (Paradise South Book 3) by Rissa Brahm

ignore?”
    “I guess I take it for granted that you know I’m safe, you know?”
    “Bullshit. You know that other than pregnancies and deaths, I see only cloudy, blurry shit—nothing concrete. If you’ve just hung up with your evil bitch of an aunt…or, God forbid, you’re being raped, I can’t distinguish between the two other than knowing down to my bones that you’re in pain.”
    “Geej, I’m sorr—”
    “No, you let me finish! I sensed that you were more than distressed last night—for the entire night and through to this morning. So after I called the airline to be sure you landed, and that you were on the damn flight from Tampa in the first place, I almost called my dad.” Detective Donlow, Seattle PD. Like a father to Preeya, he would’ve been more than pissed, too, if Gigi had gotten him involved and it had been nothing serious. But a brief flicker of delight hit her heart while picturing Josh in handcuffs, arrested for possession. That may have just been worth it.
    Gigi’s rant brought Preeya back to the present. “You hear me? How selfish can you be, Preeya? Then I had a moronic thought to check your chat status online. And the stupid happy emoticon pulled me back from red alert. So fuck you—updating your online status and not texting me. And now, explain, goddamn it! Because ‘smiley face’ still didn’t match the vibe I was getting.”
    Preeya’s shame and guilt sank to the pit of her stomach along with her heart. Yeah, in the ride from the airport with Josh, she’d posted a gleeful emoji to mark the unbelievable serendipity of it all. How stupid. She swallowed then cleared her throat in order to answer her furious friend, but the cracking embarrassment in her voice was unavoidable. “Josh.” In a word.
    “Josh…Josh Bolte? Your first… Josh Bolte ?”
    “The same.” Barely a whisper
    “Enough of the clips of info, Pree, because seriously…I’m gonna flip out in a second.”
    Preeya inhaled then blew out the details. “Carnal Knowledge is playing Seattle, apparently. I was in the airport’s cab line and he just swooped me up.”
    “Josh Bolte flies commercial?”
    Preeya snickered. That struck her yesterday, too—for a nanosecond. But in retrospect, wow, had it made perfect sense. The desperate asshole needing all the fawning groupie-love he could get. “Yeah, but that’s, like, the least-weird part of the entire situation, believe it or not.”
    “I believe it. And now I’m glad for whatever you got last night, standing me up for that dick wad. And making me worry.” Gigi blew out her remaining fury into the phone mic. “But, shit, tell me everything. I need to hear details.”
    Preeya laughed then looked down at the coffee calling to her. Her own brand of drug, much needed, but she held off. “I felt like a total asshole, Geej. Just pathetic.”
    “Hey, hindsight, love. I’m stuck in the game, too, right? How many times have I gone back to Rod?”
    “Yeah. That’s pathetic, too.” Preeya smiled then broke down and took a sip of her mocha.
    “Hey!”
    “Sorry. It is, though.”
    Gigi huffed. “I guess, but screw off. Life’s complicated. Love’s fucking complicated.”
    “Well, I know I’m not in love with Josh Bolte.”
    “Infatuated, though.”
    Yes, okay…she had been. “Well, that infatuation’s now ironed into Sandpoint Way.”
    “Huh?”
    “Nothing…just that I’m so over him and that pipe dream, Geej.”
    “Good news. I always said he was a flaming asshole, like that stupid tattoo.” Gigi scoffed.
    “It’s a flaming sun, Geej, not an asshole .” The fiery sun on his wrist aligned with the bright blue moon tat on hers. Together, a total eclipse. I really should get the damn thing removed . “But anyway, yes, he is an asshole, and I’m an ass for going with—whoa, whoa. Geej, hold on a sec.”
    Preeya caught the monitor hovering above the coffee menu, the local morning news. Evan? With his cheesy-yet - super-sweet face, now with a new