Glenn-Stormy-Love-&-Spaghetti-on-Aisle-Eight (9 page)

interested again?” Nick snorted. “I can wait. You’ll just fuck it up

again.”

Rage flared through Frank even stronger than before. He slammed

Nick into the wall again, a little harder this time. “Seth is mine!”

Nick just arched an eyebrow, a knowing glint sparkling in his

eyes.

Frank groaned as he let his partner go and swung around to lean

against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. He rested one hand

on his knee and rubbed his face with the other.

“I guess I have a decision to make.”

“A decision?” Nick asked. “What decision?”

“Whether I like Seth enough to take on an instant family.”

“Is it the kid that scares you so much or the fact that you wouldn’t

be able to come and go when you want to?”

Frank blinked. “Both?”

“You’re around your nieces and nephews all the time. You’re

great with them.”

“Yeah, but I can give them back or leave whenever I want to. A

child takes a lot more commitment than that.”

“And if you pursue this, you wouldn’t just be committing to Seth

but to his child as well.”

“And if I decide I can’t handle it, I could lose the best thing that

ever happened to me.” Frank dropped his head into his hands. “What

am I going to do, Nick?”

“What’s your first instinct?”

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Stormy Glenn

Frank lifted his head and turned to look at his partner and friend.

“Grab onto Seth and never let him move more than an inch from my

side.”

“A little extreme.” Nick chuckled. “But okay, that pretty much

tells me that you want this guy in your life, child or no child.”

“The likelihood of Seth letting me back in his life after I

hightailed it out of the hospital room is probably nil to none. How do I

fix that?”

“Well.” Nick slid down the wall next to him. “If you’re serious

about wanting Seth, then I’d say you have some serious ass kissing in

your future.”

“Nick, I don’t even think that will work this time. You didn’t see

the heartache on Seth’s face last night. He’s not going to forgive me.”

God, he had so fucked up.

“Why do I keep doing this to myself, Nick?”

“I wish I could tell you, man. It’s like watching a train wreck. I

can see it coming, but I don’t know how to stop it. And you do it

every time someone starts to get close. It all comes down to you being

afraid of commitment.”

“Why? I don’t have any bad relationships in my past. I’ve always

left a relationship in pretty good terms. I’ve never been married, been

engaged, or even lived with someone. My parents are still happily

married and a great example of how a marriage should be. There is

nothing in my past that is traumatic when it comes to relationships.

How can I be so afraid of commitment?”

Nick shrugged. “You got me.”

Frank groaned as he dropped his head back against the wall. “I

need to go talk to Seth.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“No, I still have to question him. He asked me to give him until

today before questioning him about the explosion. After discovering

he had a kid, and basically telling him in no uncertain terms that I was

hitting the road, I felt it was the least I could do.”

Love & Spaghetti on Aisle Eight

63

Frank dreaded seeing Seth again as much as he desired to see him.

Twelve hours didn’t seem like a lot of time, but it was enough that

Frank already missed Seth. He didn’t understand how he had become

so attached to the gorgeous man in such a small amount of time, but

he had.

It just didn’t make sense. Frank had been more involved with

people in his past and hadn’t felt this level of connection with them.

He didn’t want to give Seth up, and yet he was running from him

every chance he got.

He was a moron!

“I’m open to suggestions.”
Please
.

“Grovel.”

“I’m not even sure a pot of homemade spaghetti is going to do it

this time, Nick. You didn’t see Seth’s face. I did, and I can tell you I

really fucked up.” Frank was pretty sure he had destroyed whatever

chance he might have had with Seth. It had blown up bigger than the

man’s house.

“Come on. We’ll go talk to Seth about the explosion.” Nick stood

then reached back to help Frank to his feet. “Maybe somewhere along

the way we can figure out how to drag your ass out of hell.”

“I’m not even sure you have that power, Nick.”

Nick grinned. “Oh, ye of little faith.”

Frank felt a matching grin start to cover his own lips. Nick wasn’t

all powerful, but he had some pretty good moves. He certainly

seemed to know how to make Frank see where he had fucked up.

Frank just hoped his partner was right and Seth might give him yet

another chance.

Frank wasn’t sure he would be so forgiving if he was in Seth’s

shoes.

Frank followed Nick out to the car, letting his partner drive. He

was too worked up to be behind the wheel. Frank rested his elbow on

the window sill and pressed his finger against his lips as he watched

the scenery pass him by, not really seeing a thing.

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Stormy Glenn

He needed to figure out why he kept fucking up before it

happened again and he hurt Seth so much that the man never spoke to

him again. He might have already gotten to that point with his little

show from the night before.

He couldn’t think of a single reason why he would be afraid of

committing long term to someone as special as Seth. As he thought

back over the men he had dated in the past, he could see a reoccurring

theme. Every time things got too intense, he freaked out and messed

up. He found some reason why they weren’t compatible, some reason

to break up.

“If I don’t figure this out,” Frank said as he rolled his head against

the seat to look at Nick, “there won’t be any reason to go after Seth.

I’ll just fuck it up again.”

“I know.”

“So, what am I supposed to do?”

“Stick to business,” Nick replied as he pulled up to a guardhouse

in front of a fancy estate. He handed over his ID to the guard and then

got waved through the large steel gate. “You run the investigation. I’ll

run your love life.”

Frank just stared. He wasn’t sure how to take that. Of course, he

had fucked up every time he went near Seth, so he might as well give

Nick a shot at fixing his life. “Fine,” he said as the car came to a stop

in front of a large mansion and he climbed out. “But you’d better not

mess this up. One of us fucking up is enough.”

Frank felt like his heart was in his throat as he climbed the

massive front steps of the stone mansion and rang the doorbell. He

had to admit he was nervous. Excess saliva was gathering in his

mouth, but he felt like he couldn’t swallow past the lump in his throat.

He’d be lucky to get one sentence out.

“Can I help you?”

“Ivan.” One of the last people Frank wanted to see.

Ivan nodded in greeting. “Detective De Luca.”

Love & Spaghetti on Aisle Eight

65

“We need to ask Seth some questions.” Frank gestured to the man

standing next to him. “This is my partner, Detective Nic—”

“Nicholas Russo,” Ivan finished as he smiled and held out a hand.

And his smile seemed just a little more than friendly. “Please, come

in.”

Frank walked in and then turned in the grand foyer, his eyes

widening as he took in the place. The most impressive thing was the

grand staircase that dominated one side of the foyer. It was huge and

absolutely breathtaking.

But not as breathtaking as the man walking down the steps.

“Hello, Seth.”

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Stormy Glenn

Seth’s breath caught in his throat when he saw Frank standing in

the foyer. He ran his hand along the railing as he walked down the

steps to keep anyone from seeing how much it was shaking.

“Frank.”

He knew the man would be coming to question him at some point.

He was actually thankful to Frank for giving him the last twelve hours

to deal with his heartache before the man showed up. Frank could

have insisted on questioning him at the hospital.

“We can talk in here.” Seth tore his eyes away from Frank’s

handsome physique and led the way into the salon. He took a seat by

the window, tucking his feet up under his butt. Thankfully, Gideon

preferred that his friends be comfortable rather than follow some false

sense of etiquette. Seth was allowed to walk around in his socks and

have them on the furniture. “Please, have a seat.”

“Would you like me to stay?” Ivan asked from the doorway.

“It might be a good idea,” Seth replied. “You could have insight I

don’t.”

Ivan nodded and walked over to sit on the sofa next to Seth, his

arm resting on the back of the sofa behind Seth’s head. His fingers

played with the hairs at the nape of Seth’s neck. Ivan sat so close,

their thighs brushed together.

Seth could have hugged the guy if it wouldn’t have given the

game away. Ivan was playing it up because of Frank’s reaction to him

the night before. Seth wasn’t sure what Ivan’s end game was, but it

made him feel marginally better to know he had someone on his side.

Love & Spaghetti on Aisle Eight

67

“Please, ask your questions,” Seth said as he turned his attention

to Frank and his partner. “I need to get back to the hospital.”

Frank’s brows drew together. “You’re okay, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’m fine. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health before he

released me this morning.”

“Then why are you going back to the hospital?”

“I’m having lunch with Ruthie and Lisa.”

“How is Ruthie feeling?” Frank asked.

Seth was shocked by the question considering how quickly Frank

had bailed last night after learning who Ruthie was. “She’s okay. The

doctor has her on complete bed rest until the baby gets here.”

“Why exactly is she at the hospital?” Nick asked.

“There were complications due to the pregnancy. Her blood

pressure has sky rocketed, and she’s in danger of having a stroke. The

doctor called it preeclampsia. If left untreated, it can develop into

eclampsia, which is life-threatening to both Ruthie and the baby.”

“Is bed rest going to work?”

“Bed rest, some meds, and delivery of the baby will all contribute

to Ruthie getting better. The doctor is trying to hold off on delivering

Sophie until absolutely possible to give her just a little extra time.

There are a lot of dangers if she’s born too early.”

“Sophie?” Nick asked.

Seth smiled. “Sophie is my daughter.”

Nick nodded. “It’s a good name.”

“It was my grandmother’s name.”

“How do your parents feel about you having a child?” Nick asked.

“I haven’t seen my parents in years. I have no idea.”

Frank’s eyes narrowed. “Is there any way that they could be

involved in this?”

Seth shook his head. “They wouldn’t care.”

“What about Ruthie?” Nick asked. “Is everything good between

you two?”

Seth blinked. “Ruthie wouldn’t do this.”

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Stormy Glenn

“It’s just a question, Seth,” Frank said in a soothing tone. “We

have to ask them.”

Seth sighed, knowing Frank was right. “Everything is fine

between Ruthie and me. I was more concerned that she would be

upset over all of this, but luckily, she doesn’t blame me. She’s upset

that our house got destroyed, but I think she has her hands full with

the pregnancy right now. That’s what she’s concentrating on.”

“What about any old lovers?” Frank asked, and the pinched lips

said he really didn’t want to know but he had to ask. “Could any of

them be holding a grudge?”

Seth couldn’t keep from grinning as he turned to look at Ivan.

“Are you holding a grudge, Ivan?”

“Yes,
lyubimaya
,” Ivan replied, grinning broadly, wiggling his

eyebrows. “You broke my heart when you left me, and now I want

my revenge.”

Seth laughed as he leaned into Ivan. “You win. I’ll be yours.”

“Seth!” Frank snapped. “Could you be serious here? This is

important.”

“Fine.” Seth sent Frank an evil glare. “What was the question?”

“Could any of your past lovers be holding a grudge?”

“There really aren’t that many, Frank. There was a guy back in

high school. I haven’t seen him almost as long as I haven’t seen my

parents. There have been a couple of one-night stands, Ivan, and you,

Frank. You fall into the past lover category. Are you holding a

grudge?”

“Of course not!”

“My house did blow up just a couple of days after we slept