Boyfriend Emergency Read online

  Boyfriend Emergency

  Rheland Richmond

  Copyright © 2019 Rheland Richmond

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are a product of the author’s imagination. Any similarities to actual persons, living or dead, is pure coincidence. As are any similarities to any businesses, events or locations.

  All products and brand names mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective holder and or company. I do not own the rights to these, nor do I claim to.

  Edited by: Ann Attwood Editing and Proofreading Service

  Proofreading: Alphabitz Editing

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  Contents

  1. Carter

  2. Rafe

  3. Carter

  4. Rafe

  5. Carter

  6. Rafe

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Rheland Richmond

  1

  Carter

  “Keep it coming please,” Carter said to the bartender—although in this setting maybe he was a sommelier. He sighed and stared into the glass of wine on the bar. Was it too early to switch to something stronger?

  Carter figured since he was in wine country, drinking a glass of wine or six before dinner time wouldn’t make him feel like a lush. Even though, right now, he wished that he was anywhere but here.

  Carter had spent the better part of his day ducking his ex-fiancé Adrian. They were in Sonoma wine country in a gorgeous resort, and he couldn’t even relax enough to have a good time… although, granted, a doctor’s conference for Medicare and Medicaid, among other things, wasn’t exactly Hawaii at sunset… but still...

  Why the hell was Adrian here... okay, so he knew why. It was a conference for doctors, which they both were, but that wasn’t all that had him on edge. He was also here with his new boy toy. Carter hated using that term, but he honestly couldn’t think of a better word to describe the barely twenty-five-year-old that Adrian was dating now. He was an Instagram and YouTube fitness model… yeah, that was actually his job.

  Okay, so he knew that a lot of the successful YouTube personalities earned in the millions, but it didn’t help take the sting out of the fact that Adrian had dumped him almost five months to their wedding day.

  “Here you go, sir,” the bartender said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

  When Carter faced the bartender, the man had a smile on his face that he was old enough to recognize—clearly signals of interest were being directed his way. Carter couldn’t help taking in the man as he stood there holding the glass of wine. He was attractive in that boy next door kind of way, and he hadn’t missed the hints of flirtation that he’d been throwing Carter’s way. Maybe that was what he needed, to get on top of—or under—the hot bartender. It wasn’t like Adrian hadn’t been having sex.

  Yeah, even before he called things off, a voice whispered.

  Carter took the glass of red wine, letting his finger graze the bartender’s as he did. Their eyes met and the look in them said he hadn’t been wrong. He glanced down at the name tag, “Jacob.”

  The man’s smile widened, and Carter realized he’d said his name out loud. He held the bartender’s gaze, but then a waitress walked up and placed a tray on the bar while rattling off orders. Jacob held his gaze for a moment before winking and moving away.

  At least you know if you want to drink and fuck your melancholy away you have an option.

  That definitely wasn’t his style, though. In the months since Adrian had called off their wedding, he’d been on a couple of dates that had ended poorly—mostly because of him—it had been Carter, his hand, and sometimes his trusty dildo.

  Maybe he should have packed it… wasn’t like he would have had to go through airport security since he’d opted to drive up from Los Angeles.

  He took a sip of his drink and didn’t even bother savoring the taste of the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, and that had been an excellent year.

  Carter drew in a deep breath and decided to take in everything. He’d basically been skulking around trying to play the invisible man since he’d arrived two days before and spotted Adrian in the lobby about to check in.

  He looked off to his left, not really searching for anyone, simply taking everything in. The bar was crowded with people, most of them huddled up in small groups chatting amongst themselves.

  They all seemed to be having a good time, unlike him.

  Whose fault is that? No one is forcing you to play spectator.

  Okay, so that was true. But the fact of the matter was, there were some people here he’d been avoiding since he’d cancelled the wedding, or rather called to inform that the wedding was cancelled.

  “Carter?” a voice he recognized all too well said from his right. He cringed at the sound of his name, refusing to turn around.

  Fuck. He realized the moment was here... what he’d been trying to avoid had finally caught up with him.

  “Carter?” He heard again. Carter contemplated rushing off in the opposite direction, or even faking a phone call… or maybe a heart attack, although the latter in a room full of doctors wouldn’t work. Not only would it be awkward, but then it would draw attention to him and the looks of pity would commence.

  It had barely stopped at the hospitals where Carter had privileges.

  Carter took a deep breath, then took another sip of wine, wishing all over again that it was hard liquor. He braced himself and turned around slowly.

  “Adrian.” He pasted a fake smile on his face as their eyes met.

  Carter may have cursed Adrian and the day he met him, but as he laid eyes on his ex, it hit him all over again just how good-looking he was. Why couldn’t it have been a case of now that they were broken up, he suddenly realized the man wasn’t as hot as he thought he was? But nope. With his broad shoulders and dirty-blond hair that he tended to let grow a little long, and those sharp blue eyes, he was more surfer than surgeon.

  Just as he took all that in, his guest… boyfriend… person walked up beside him. Fuck, the boy… man—he wasn’t even sure what to call him—had cheekbones that looked like they’d been carved from marble, and he was lean and long with sparkling chocolate-brown eyes that were enhanced with mascara and gorgeous tanned skin. He slipped his hand into Adrian’s, and Carter’s eyes followed the movement.

  He swallowed, his chest suddenly tight. Carter was doing his best not to let Adrian’s presence get to him, but he was close to screaming.

  “I’m surprised to see you here. I had no idea you were coming, Cart.” Hearing Adrian call him “Cart” in that way had him irritated. It was his patronizing voice… and damn it, he hated being called “Cart” like he was a buggie.

  “It was a last minute decision since I was able to move things in my schedule around.” When he finished speaking, he took a large gulp of his wine. He didn’t have anything to ask Adrian, and he wasn’t about to hash out crap he’d been holding on to for all these months right now.

  It was neither the time nor the place.

  “You remember Taylor”—Adrian pulled him into his body—“…my boyfriend?”

  Taylor smiled and reached his hand out, and even though a small, petty voice in his head was trying to tell Carter to leave him hanging, Taylor was all genuine smiles.

  “Nice to meet you, Taylor. I’m Carter.” He smiled and turn
ed around, picking up his wine glass. He would need alcohol for this situation.

  Adrian started speaking and Carter completely blanked him out. He knew his ex. There were some passive-aggressive digs coming his way.

  When his glass was empty, Carter flagged down the cute bartender for a refill.

  “As full as you can go, please.” The bartender nodded.

  He glanced in the direction of his ex and his ex’s new boyfriend, but Carter’s gaze didn’t stop on them. Instead, he scanned the room while tapping his foot, wondering how long he had to wait before excusing himself without looking like he was running away.

  “So, Carter, what do you do?” Taylor’s voice had him facing them again, and he looked genuinely sincere.

  For a moment, he was going to ignore the question the same as he had the last several comments made Adrian. But he searched the younger man’s face and found genuine interest and warmth in his eyes, that for some reason, had him less inclined to ignore.

  Taylor chuckled. “Okay, so I know you’re a doctor, duh. This is a thing for doctors.”

  Carter smiled. “Yeah, I’m a doctor. Orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine.”

  “Yawn, don’t get him started, or trust me, it’ll get boring fast.” Adrian had a smile on his face as he spoke, but Carter knew what that meant. That was his way of getting Carter to stop speaking and trying to divert attention away from him.

  This was one of the reasons Carter didn’t want to run into fuckin’ Adrian on this trip… or in general.

  Probably why getting over the asshat had been pretty easy.

  Adrian always managed to say the simplest things to get under his skin.

  And don’t forget how full of himself he is.

  Looking back over at Taylor, Carter said, “Thank you for asking, Taylor. I’m an orthopedic surgeon to a lot of high-profile athletes.”

  “Anyone I would know?” Taylor’s eyes widened with interest.

  “I shouldn’t say, but I do have a couple of Lakers, some of the Dodgers, Chargers and Angels, a couple of Olympic gymnasts, and some actors that may have been a little too enthusiastic with the stunts while shooting their movies.”

  Taylor’s face was alight with interest, and he leaned towards him. “Chris Hemsworth, Michael B. Jordan… oooh any of the Avengers?”

  Carter couldn’t help smiling at Taylor. Dammit, he really didn’t want to like the guy.

  “Your drink, sir?” the bartender said. He turned as saw him place the glass on the counter. Thankfully he hadn’t done that half-glass crap, because Carter needed the my-day-sucked-so-pour-half-the-bottle-in-my-glass kind of pour.

  “Thank you.” Carter smiled and picked up his glass.

  When he faced Taylor again, the young man said, “Your job sounds so cool. I can’t imagine meeting all those people.”

  Carter smiled before lifting his glass up to take a sip of his wine.

  “So how do you two know each other?” Taylor looked between Adrian and Carter, then turned back to face him. “Carter, are you here with anyone? We should double for dinner.”

  He felt his wine go down the wrong way and began coughing. Carter’s eyes were wide as they landed on Adrian. Before he even got a chance to answer, Adrian spoke up.

  “I doubt Carter is here with someone. He doesn’t have time for anything as trivial as dating since his work always comes first. Besides, he’s always at home. Bet he hasn’t been on a date in forever.” There was a knowing smirk on Adrian’s face he wanted to punch off. “And we know each other from residency. Isn’t that right, Carter?”

  His hand around the glass was so tight Carter was surprised he didn’t break it. Right as he was about to let it go and scream at Adrian, a hand pressed softly against his back, forcing him to glance over his shoulder. Standing behind him was the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen in his life, tall with warm, hazel eyes.

  “Hey, love, sorry I’m late,” he said, cupping his face and placing a kiss on his lips.

  Carter’s eyes widened and he froze as the gorgeous stranger’s arms went around his waist, pulling him into his broad chest. His tongue parted his lips and a hand slid down his back, resting at the arch between his spine and the curve of his ass.

  That seemed to snap Carter out of his surprise—and okay, so the kiss had, uhh... mushed his brain—and he pushed away softly, separating them. The handsome newcomer backed up a little, but kept his hand on the curve of Carter’s back.

  “Did I hear someone say date?” he said, then shook his head. “I should introduce myself.” He held out his hand to Adrian. “I’m Rafael, but my friends call me Rafe.”

  Carter turned in the man’s arm, but for some reason didn’t step away from his chest, and he watched as Adrian’s face fell. Apparently, he was as surprised about the new development as Carter was.

  He took pleasure in watching Adrian’s eyes widen as he accepted Rafe’s gesture. Dammit that was a hot name.

  Carter couldn’t help rolling his eyes as he watched his ex try and make a competition out of the handshake.

  “So, what do you do?” Adrian’s eyes were curious, and since Carter didn’t know the answer, he leaned to the side so he could get a look at the man’s face as he spoke. Carter could almost hear his ex, hoping that he said something he could mock. He’d been with that man for almost six years and knew how he thought.

  “I’m a doctor,” Rafe said, but even as he spoke, his eyes lowered to meet Carter’s, and he felt his belly flutter.

  Oh my.

  Rafe’s expression was that of a man who was confident in who he was. He didn’t feel the need to qualify his statement.

  “What kind of doctor?” That was Adrian again.

  Carter could see he was only grilling the man because Rafe was there with him, standing by his side, his hands on… Don’t think about it Carter.

  It was very much an alpha-male reaction, protecting what he felt was his. Carter couldn’t help rolling his eyes. In case Adrian had forgotten, he’d lost that right the moment he started fucking another man.

  “Stop giving him the third degree.” Carter didn’t bother keeping the irritation out of his voice.

  Adrian shot Carter a look. “I'm not, simply making conversation.”

  “Don't you want to make conversation with Taylor? Perhaps in another bar… anywhere else.” Carter’s eyes were narrowed on his ex. Adrian shouldn’t push him. Apparently, Carter wasn’t the only one he’d lied to, and if Adrian kept pushing, he might just have to slip up and mention they were ex-fiancés.

  Rafe touched Carter’s arm, and immediately Adrian’s eyes went to the action. “Darling… I don't mind answering the question,” Rafe said. When their eyes met, it was filled with such emotion, such passion; even Carter questioned what was real. Carter swallowed and had to breathe through his mouth to collect himself as Rafe responded to Adrian's question. “I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon,” he said. “Any more questions?” The challenge in his tone was unmistakable.

  Adrian shook his head, and he looked like a child that had his favorite toy taken from him. He watched as Adrian glanced at his boyfriend—who he’d been ignoring since Rafe had joined them—Taylor didn’t look happy at all… awkward, but it was not his problem.

  “Wonderful, then we're going to leave you two. We have much more important things to do. Nice to meet you, gentlemen!” Rafe nodded, and then put his hand on Carter's elbow as he ushered him away from his ex. Carter felt a sense of relief until they were at a safe distance on the other side of the bar, and his senses caught up to him. He glared at Rafe.

  “What the hell was that about?”

  If only the man knew how out of sorts he was just from his kisses and simple touches. Carter’s heart hadn't stopped racing, and it was all thanks to the handsome stranger.

  His eyes couldn’t help taking in the man before him, and my, what a man he was. There was something about a man that looked sexy with salt-and-pepper hair. Carter could feel Rafe’s eyes on him, and it made hi
m all hot and bothered again, but instead of showing it, he shot the man a glare.

  “You have some explaining to do.”

  2

  Rafe

  “A ‘thank you’ would suffice,” Rafe said, a teasing smile on his lips.

  Carter’s jaw dropped. “Thank you? Thank you? What exactly am I thanking you for?” Rafe couldn’t take his eyes off the man in front of him, even as his face got redder and he spluttered. “I don't even know you and you come up and kiss me like… like…” He couldn’t seem to think of a word. “What the hell?”

  Rafe crossed his arms in front of him and smirked because he found all the blustering cute. He liked that Carter seemed so strong-willed that he hadn’t just taken it. It made the attraction even stronger.

  “Like what?” Rafe asked.

  Carter shook his head. “Excuse me?”

  “You said that I came up and kissed you like that, but what do you mean exactly? Kissed you like what?”

  Carter's eyes held intently on Rafe’s, and he saw uncertainty, but it was replaced quickly by anger.

  “You kissed me like it was the most natural of things. You kissed me like we'd been kissing for years.” Carter looked away from Rafe and he followed his gaze.

  Carter looked in the direction of his ex, and Rafe watched his brow furrow. “Adrian never even kissed me like that.”

  Carter’s eyes shot to his, and his eyes widened like he couldn’t believe he’d said that out loud.

  Rafe couldn’t stop the smirk that appeared on his face. “I guess, you’re welcome then.” He knew he was crazy the moment he walked up and put his arms around Carter… it was confirmed by how proud that revelation made him feel.

  “Are you always so cocky?” Carter’s eyes narrowed.

  “Gets the job done.” Rafe shrugged, then winked at Carter whose mouth hung open slightly.