All Through the Night: A Troubleshooter Christmas Read Online Free PDF

do.”
    Robin had to laugh. “I’m not talking about sex.”
    Sam met Robin’s gaze. “Maybe we should. Talk about sex. I mean, sure, we could sit here and ignore the fact that you and Jules have…that kind of relationship. We could go that way, if you really want, but I’d prefer to throw it out on the table, look each other in the eye, man to man, and acknowledge the fact that you’re getting it on with one of my best friends, which, yes, freaks me out a little bit, but I’m a grown-up—I can deal.”
    â€œWell, good,” Robin managed. “I hope things are going equally well for you and Alyssa.”
    It was definitely time to stand up and go back into the hotel room, but Sam wasn’t done.
    â€œWhat I can’t deal with,” the SEAL continued, and his eyes were arctic again, “is you stepping out, or messing around, or doing some backroom hustle with someone who isn’t Jules. It’s not just a matter of breaking his heart, it’s an issue of health. You put him at risk, I
will
rip out your lungs.”
    Son
of a bitch.
    â€œWith your pinky finger,” Robin said, as his outrage came to a boil. “Right? It’s a little detail, I know, but it helps build the right amount of terror in me. I mean, because without that paralyzing fear holding me back, I just might go out and fuck random strangers.”
    Sam was clearly a little taken aback at his vehemence.
    But this time
Robin
wasn’t done. He let Sam have it, death by pinky finger be damned. “Don’t you have the tiniest clue, you fucking homophobic Neanderthal, how completely you just insulted me? I’m gay—I must be promiscuous, right? Oh, and you can
deal
with the idea of Jules and me making love—aren’t you courageous to have to face that, you poor thing?”
    â€œThat’s not what I meant,” Sam protested.
    Robin pushed the deli bag toward him. “Here you go—just in case you need to
throw up
at the thought of—”
    â€œJules and I have been friends a long time,” Sam was getting mad now, too. “Way longer than you’ve known him.”
    â€œI was unaware this was a contest,” Robin threw back in his face. “You’ve known him longer, but I’ve known him more intimately. Hmmm, I wonder who wins. I’m feeling pretty certain it’s me, because
damn,
your good friend Jules? He’s freaking great in bed.”
    â€œIf that’s all he is to you—”
    â€œFuck. You,” Robin said, fumbling in his jacket pocket for the jewelers box he’d been carrying around for the past three days, since he’d gotten the crazy idea to…No. It wasn’t crazy at all. It was the most sane idea he’d ever had. He put the fuzzy little box somewhat forcefully on the table in front of Sam. “And fuck your holier-thanthou bullshit, too. I’m the one who said I make him happy. You’re the one who made it be about sex.”
    Sam looked from Robin to the jewelers box and back. He picked it up and opened it and…
    Sam looked at him. Jules was always saying that Sam was extra smart for someone who wore cowboy boots, and Robin could see from his expression that he knew exactly what he was holding.
    Wedding rings.
    â€œYou can threaten to rip my lungs out if you want,” Robin told him more quietly now. “It’s not going to change a thing. I want Jules. Only Jules. And I want him forever. I love him—I don’t give a damn if you don’t believe me. The only one who needs to believe me is Jules.”
    Sam snapped the ring box closed. “I don’t think you’re promiscuous because you’re gay,” he said just as quietly. “I think you’re promiscuous because you’re a drunk.”
    Robin felt sick, because he knew that there wasn’t much he could say in response to that. There was a seven-minute-long digital video, showing