Midnights Like This

MIDNIGHTS LIKE THIS BOOK CLUB BOYS BOOK 2 MAX WALKER Edited By: ONE LOVE EDITING Copyright © 2023 by Max Walker 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. SYNOPSIS Eric Ruiz I never thought I’d see him again. We ended things on a horrible note, and it was all my fault. So when I bump into Colton at a local coffee shop, I’m convinced it’s some kind of prank. But it wasn’t. Colton was back in town, and he needed help. His mom was killed in a burglary gone wrong, and he’s convinced there’s more to the story. He’s also convinced I’m the only one who could help him. It would require being fake boyfriends and going with him to his family retreat, but at least we had some real experience being together. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Colton Cooper I always wondered if we’d meet again. Eric was my first love. Even though we had to keep it a secret, he had held my entire heart. And ended up breaking it. But when I see him again after all these years, those feelings come rushing back. Along with an idea. Eric had a lot to make up for. So the least he could do was fly with me to the South of France and try to figure out who in my family was responsible for my mom’s death. I just hoped history didn’t repeat itself. ALSO BY MAX WALKER Book Club Boys Love and Monsters Midnights Like This The Stonewall Investigation Series A Hard Call A Lethal Love A Tangled Truth A Lover’s Game The Stonewall Investigation- Miami Series Bad Idea Lie With Me His First Surrender The Stonewall Investigation- Blue Creek Series Love Me Again Ride the Wreck Whatever It Takes The Rainbow’s Seven -Duology The Sunset Job The Hammerhead Heist The Gold Brothers Hummingbird Heartbreak Velvet Midnight Heart of Summer Audiobooks: Find them all on Audible. Christmas Stories: Daddy Kissing Santa Claus Daddy, It’s Cold Outside Deck the Halls * * * Receive access to a bundle of my free stories by signing up for my newsletter! Tap here to sign up for my newsletter. Be sure to connect with me on Instagram and TikTok @maxwalkerwrites. Want more Max? Join Max After Dark. Max Walker [email protected] CONTENTS 1. Colton Cooper 2. Colton Cooper 3. Eric Ruiz 4. Colton Cooper 5. Eric Ruiz 6. Colton Cooper 7. Eric Ruiz 8. Colton Cooper 9. Eric Ruiz 10. Colton Cooper 11. Eric Ruiz 12. Colton Cooper 13. Eric Ruiz 14. Colton Cooper 15. Eric Ruiz 16. Colton Cooper 17. Eric Ruiz 18. Colton Cooper 19. Eric Ruiz 20. Colton Cooper 21. Eric Ruiz 22. Colton Cooper 23. Eric Ruiz 24. Eric Ruiz 25. Colton Cooper 26. Eric Ruiz 27. Colton Cooper 28. Eric Ruiz 29. Colton Cooper 30. Eric Ruiz 31. Colton Cooper Epilogue Acknowledgments Also by Max Walker 1 COLTON COOPER The sound of a shattering champagne glass mixed with an ear-splitting cry. Time seemed to still. Paused, as if someone had pressed a button on the remote. The air in the spacious living room grew as heavy as lead, sinking into my lungs. It mixed with the adrenaline and elation that came from solving the case. But at what cost? Eric looked at me, big brown eyes swirling with a storm of pain. I wanted to reach out, grab his hand in mine. I wanted him to tell me that it would be okay. That the plan worked. It was all worth it… or was it? Did I just lose more than I’d gained? That’s when my brother spoke, breaking the thick silence. “I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill my mother.” Archie’s voice was hoarse, his throat likely constricting with the panic that no doubt flooded through him. Jen, my sister, held back tears, a shaking hand covering her mouth. My entire body felt like it had been struck by lightning. Every single cell in my body was fried from the shock. Eric had laid it all out for us. He’d listed the exact reasons why my brother would be motivated to end our mother’s life. It all made a twisted, sick kind of sense. I didn’t want to believe a single word of what Eric was saying, but deep down, I knew he only spoke facts. “You don’t even belong here, on this trip.” My brother advanced toward Eric, pushing aside the love seat that his wife sat on as if it were made of paper. She shouted again, grabbing onto the armrests. I’d never seen my brother this angry before, his face a cherry red and his hands forming tight fists. “You and Colton concocted this entire plan to, what, frame me? Do you want me off the will, Colton? More money for you and your fake boyfriend? Huh? Eric, do you get a cut?” My eyes opened wide, as if my little brother had slapped me across the face. I shook my head, trying to process it all. My dad was dead silent as he stood by the window, watching us all as if he was seeing us for the first time in his entire life. “Eric and I are…” I looked at him. The man I loved. The man I used to love. The man I’d brought here under fake pretenses, the man I’d been unable to deny real feelings for. Was I losing him tonight, too? “Colton brought me here as a detective, first and foremost. Yes. Our relationship was fake, but the information I uncovered is all real, and I wouldn’t have found any of it if I didn’t act the part with Colt,” Eric said, speaking the truth and stabbing me directly in the chest while he did it. Shit… That hurt. Maybe