When Sam told Mike to go after Cara, he’d been so sure of his advice, Go big or go home. Mike had a point to make: proving to her that he wasn’t leaving her-or Serendipity, and most importantly, he’d changed and wanted to put down roots. So Mike had purchased a house and an engagement ring and gotten his girl.
Sam didn’t see his situation with Nicole the same way. He was here, he wasn’t going anywhere, and she’d shown him what it meant to fall in love. For Sam, it was simple. Except she didn’t believe he loved her, and he didn’t know how to convince her he meant what he said.
Frustrated and not in the mood to be alone in his house, wondering what Nicole was doing next door, he drove over to his parents. He found his mom working outside on her hands and knees in one of the flower beds.
He parked in the driveway and joined her, kneeling by her side. “Hi, Mom.”
“Sam! I’d hug you, but my gloves are covered with dirt.” Her eyes, so similar to his, lit up as she met his gaze. “What are you doing here?”
“Can’t I just come to visit?”
“I suppose you could.” She eyed him warily. “If you didn’t have that lost-little-boy expression I remember from . . . the time we don’t discuss,” she said, her voice trailing off.
He shook his head, amazed at how stupidly stubborn he’d been about a woman and a time long past. “You can talk about Jenna,” he told his mother.
She stripped her gloves off her hands. “Help me up.”
Sam rose to his feet and helped his mother do the same.
“Let’s go sit.”
He followed her to the front steps, and they sat down on the top one. It reminded him of when he and his siblings were in elementary school and they would all wait here for the bus to pick them up. His mother had always been there, day in and day out. He doubted Nicole could say the same.
“What’s on your mind?” his mother asked him.
He rested his hands between his legs and groaned. “I blew it with Nicole.”
His mother looked up at him. “It can’t be that bad. What did you do?”
“From the beginning, I told her I didn’t want a serious relationship and never would. So by the time I took my head out of my . . . you know . . . and told her I loved her, she didn’t believe me.”
Her eyes took on that sad, disappointed look he hated. “Oh, Sam.”
He looked up at his mother, feeling like a naughty child about to be scolded.
“I could kill that girl for what she did to you. Jenna should have ended things way before you two got to the altar.” Ella shook her head. “And afterward, I never could figure out how to make you see something was wrong with her and not you.”
He lifted his gaze toward the afternoon sun. “You know, I wish I’d gotten over myself sooner, but there was no reason. No one who affected me enough to make me want to stop—”
“Feeling sorry for yourself?” his mother asked with a gentle laugh.
His face heated with embarrassment, but she was right. “I can’t change the past, but I want to convince Nicole for the future. But she wasn’t raised by warm, loving parents. She doesn’t have reasons to trust or believe what I say.” He shrugged. “And I took so long to come around, I don’t blame her.”
His mother pulled him into a quick hug. “Gone are the days when milk and cookies hold all the answers.”
Sam laughed. “I figured maybe you’d have some words of wisdom.”
“I’m thinking you might not need any,” she said as a white Mercedes pulled up to the curb.
Nicole’s white Mercedes. He knew she’d gotten the car back from the repair shop, having followed up without telling her.
At the sight, Sam’s breath caught in his throat.
“Something tells me she’s not here to see me.” Ella rose to her feet, and Sam did the same. “I’m going to make myself scarce,” his mother said.
Waving to Nicole as she climbed out of the car, Ella walked down the bluestone path to enter the house through the open garage. When she worked on her flowers, she used the mudroom entrance so she didn’t track dirt inside.
Hands in his shorts pockets, heart pounding, Sam headed to the driveway, waiting for Nicole near his car.
She strode up to him, wearing a white skirt and soft yellow tank. He itched to hold her, to take her in his arms and feel her soft curves against him and know all was right in his world again.
He didn’t know what she was doing here, and he didn’t want to spook her by pushing too fast. Her skin was pale from the hours spent inside working; her eyes were wary. He hated that look, never wanted her to feel unsure with him.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi.”
She bit down on her lower lip, her uncertainty showing. “You’re a hard man to track down.”
“Not if you know where to look. And obviously you did.” He grinned, liking that she’d known how to locate him.
“Your house, the police station, Joe’s . . . this was my final stop.”
“Well, now that you found me, what can I do for you?”
She drew a deep breath, blowing it out again before beginning. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. I realize I wasn’t fair to you. You stood by me, you told me you loved me, and I turned my back on you.” Her eyes were bright and glassy, self-recrimination obvious in her expression.
“Nic—”
She shook her head. “I need to say these things, and you need to let me. Please.”
He nodded, hurting for her. “Go on.”
“You never gave me mixed signals. You weren’t ready for a relationship, and I knew that. I was the one who changed the rules midway through. I realized I couldn’t have sex without getting emotionally involved with you. I . . . I fell in love. And even when I told you, I didn’t expect you to say it back. Of course I wished you had.” An embarrassed smile pulled at her lips.
He was dying to end this speech with a kiss, but she needed to have her say.
“And when you finally did, I pushed you away because I was so embarrassed by the things you heard my parents say. My father was bad enough, he was cold and aloof, but my mother? She belittled me me until all I could think about was, why would you want me after hearing all that?”
His fingers curled into tight fists as he fought with himself to give her the space she’d asked for to say her piece, but he lost the battle and stepped close, pulling her hard against him. “You don’t need to explain.”
She relaxed, her soft curves molding and curling against him until she was in his arms where she belonged.
“I need to finish this, okay?”
“Okay.” He loosened his hold, and she eased back, looking up at him with bright shiny eyes.
“I told myself that since you had one foot out the door from the beginning, I should protect myself now because it was only a matter of time until you were gone. I thought my mother’s words pushed you the rest of the way.” She pursed her lips at the memory.
He winced, knowing he’d given her cause to feel that way.
“I just . . . I was so devastated by my mother’s words that I couldn’t believe you loved me like you said you did. But you didn’t give up. You picked me up for my opening, and kept visiting. You sent my favorite flowers even when I didn’t let myself acknowledge what they meant. And then my father came to visit.”
Sam reared back at that. “If he hurt you again—”
She shook her head. “Just the opposite, in fact. He said he refused to help Tyler’s father out because of what he’d done to me. Sending the Russians after me.” She drew a deep breath. “And he told me I matter to him. And he said it because you stood up to him. You essentially told him he was a shitty parent, and in doing that, you told me that I matter to you.”
She sniffed, wiping at her damp eyes, and laughed at herself. “I’m a mess. But the point is, I should have believed in you way before I finally did.”
“Are you finished?” he asked. “Because I have something to say.”
She smiled, lighting him up inside. “Yeah, I’ll be quiet now.”
He grasped her hand in his. “You didn’t believe in me because I didn’t give you a reason before. But I swear to you, I’ll never give you cause to doubt me again.”
* * *
Nicole had learned a hard lesson, letting her parents and insecurities dictate her emotions and what she knew, deep down, to be true. “I’ve been miserable without you,” she admitted to Sam. “Even my grand opening lacked the luster it should have had.”
“I missed you too. But I’m so damned proud of what you accomplished.” He grinned, and all the remaining tension fled her body.
“I’m pretty proud too. I guess I had a minor glitch in my programming,” she said, embarrassed at how badly her parents had gotten to her. “I’m used to not getting much from them, but having the man I love witness it?” She shuddered.
“It’s over. And if they want to see you after this, they’re on their best behavior or they can stay home.”
She brushed her fingers over his cheek. “Because I have my very own cop . . . I mean detective to protect me.”
“You’re damned right.” Taking her off guard, he swept her up and into his arms, a place she hadn’t been in too long.
She squealed. “What are you doing?” She glanced around, but they were still alone, nobody watching.
“Taking you home with me where you belong. We’ll take this year and enjoy, but afterward? We’ll reevaluate that lease on the house because I’m not keeping separate places longer than I have to.”
She laughed. “I like that you’re doing long-term planning.”
“Baby, with you, I’m planning on forever.”
Her heartbeat thudded hard in her chest, his words giving her the comfort and security she’d always craved along with the bonus of love and passion thrown into the mix.
She just had one lingering question. “Sam? Are you sure your family will accept all of me? I mean, Victoria’s locked up for the foreseeable future, but someday . . .”
His eyes took on a determined glint. “She’s your twin. If she gets well and healthy and is released, she’s family. Somehow, we’ll make it work.”
She closed her eyes, wondering what she’d done to deserve this special man. She sighed with happiness and nuzzled her cheek against his. “I missed this,” she whispered. “I missed you.”
“I love you, Nicole.” He shifted her, reaching into his pocket so he could grab his keys and unlock his truck. “And now I’m taking you home to show you how much. We’ll get your car later.”
She laughed as he walked around to the passenger side so she could get in. “I like how you think, Detective. You’re perfect for me.”
“We’re perfect,” he said with a grin. “Perfect together.” He grinned and slid his lips over hers in a kiss that teased her with things to come.
A long, happy future of many, many wonderful things.
Thank you for reading!
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Joe’s Bar. Familiar stomping grounds for Alexa Collins, yet everything about the night felt off. First, the bar’s owner and his new bride were on their honeymoon, so Joe wasn’t serving. Alexa’s normally happy friend, Cara Hartley, sat morosely stirring her drink, staring into the glass for answers, but the man who’d caused the problems was nowhere to be found. Alexa couldn’t relate to guy problems, considering she lived a hectic life, spent hours in the hospital ER, and had no time for a relationship, let alone hot, stress-relieving sex, though it was something she could definitely use. For the past couple of weeks, she’d been suffering from a definite case of the blues, the strain of her life beginning to wear on her.
No wonder she was in a funk.
The music blasting through the speakers gave her a jolt akin to a caffeine kick, and Alexa perked up at the sound. Rising from her barstool, she glanced at her friend.
“I feel like dancing,” Alexa announced.
With a disinterested sigh, Cara shook her head, but Alexa wasn’t taking no for an answer. Cara needed to have fun and forget about Mike Marsden, the man who’d broken her heart.
Alexa jerked her head toward the dance floor. “Dance. Now.”
Cara groaned but complied, standing up on command.
Alexa looked at the third woman in their trio. “Liza?” Liza and her husband, Dare Barron, had joined them for a night out along with some friends who mingled around the bar.
Liza swayed her hips in time to the beat of the music. “Why not? I could use some letting go.”
An upbeat tune reverberated as they headed to the dance floor near the jukebox and Alexa closed her eyes, allowing herself to get lost in the moment. Her body moved to the beat, her entire being consumed by the tempo and the sounds pulsing around her.
When she opened her eyes, she noticed she wasn’t the only one attracted to the upbeat music. The crowd had grown, everyone on the floor pumping their fists, swiveling their hips, and dancing.
Dare had joined Liza, wrapping himself around his wife in a heart-melting embrace. Alexa looked away to avoid the obvious intimacy between the couple, and her gaze met that of a man who sat alone at a table near the dance floor. A sinfully sexy man with shaggy-blond hair and an unwavering stare.
He watched as she moved, his heavy-lidded scrutiny focused on her as he sipped at his beer. His demeanor seemed casual, his stare anything but. Thinking of how down she’d been lately and how great this music made her feel now, she was unable to resist the impulse to crook her finger his way.
A glance told her that her best friend wasn’t watching, which was good, considering Cara wouldn’t know what had gotten into Alexa. And she would be hard-pressed to explain. All she knew, all she felt, was a bone-deep loneliness that reached into her soul, and this man’s intense and interested stare provided her heart with a jump she hadn’t felt in too long.
A slow smile lifted his lips, and her pulse skyrocketed as he stood and made his way toward her, his swagger indicating self-confidence. Alexa experienced that same kind of self-assuredness in medical settings, though she normally fell short in other areas of her life. Still, she’d called on that attitude when beckoning him over, and she was glad she hadn’t stopped to think it through.
He joined her on the wooden floor, immediately picking up the rhythm. He danced close enough for her to smell his woodsy cologne that both surrounded and aroused her. As they moved, their bodies spoke for them, their synchronicity startling for two people who’d never met. And when the music turned sultry, he was all too willing to join her for some dirty dancing. He ground his hips against hers, the swell of his erection pressing deliciously against her—too intimately for strangers, but too good to deny.
So she didn’t.
Instead, she let the heat of desire crackle and spark between them, and fire licked at her veins.
Cara eased closer and looked from Alexa to her partner, her eyebrows raised, a concerned expression on her face. Alexa ignored her. She needed this sense of freedom, the release this man provided. She hadn’t realized how badly until now.
Pure enjoyment and fun.
When was the last time she’d allowed herself the luxury?
Her dance partner’s hands slid to her waist. She’d worn black leggings and a cream cardigan, which she’d unbuttoned to show both cleavage and the barest hint of her lace cami underneath. She reaped the benefit of her clothing choice now and trembled at the rasp of his calloused palms caressing her sensitive skin.
A sexy grin lifted his lips, and he continued the dance along with the erotic assault on her senses. She could have lingered in their intimate embrace all night, but from the corner of her eye, Alexa caught sight of Cara’s ex-boyfriend, Mike.
He strode up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Cara jumped in surprise but soon settled into the embrace. Alexa figured Cara thought it was one of her guy friends joining her for a dance because no way would she allow Mike that kind of privilege. Not without him doing some serious groveling first. Worried about her friend, Alexa kept an eye on the couple, prepared to step in if needed.
“You okay?” her dance partner asked in a Southern drawl. It was the first time she’d heard him speak, and the sexy voice fit him perfectly.
She nodded and smiled, her gaze roaming over his handsome face. Dimples etched either side of his perfect mouth and full lips, and a faded scar sat above his left eyebrow. But even as she admired the view, she never lost sight of her friend, knowing Cara would do the same for her.
Mike pressed his front against Cara’s back in a more intimate move. Before Alexa could even wince, Cara whirled on her ex with a surprised, then furious spark in her eyes.
The music was too loud for Alexa to hear, and she inched closer, remaining vigilant and on call.
“What are you doing here?” Cara asked, her voice tinged with the pain Alexa knew she’d suffered ever since Mike’s abrupt departure.
“I’m back.” His gaze never left Cara’s.
“Good for you,” she said with deliberate sarcasm.
He appeared as worn and ragged as Cara had earlier, before Alexa had forced a makeup session on her friend.
Cara perched her hands on her hips. “And you thought you could wrap your arms around me and pick up where we left off?” she asked, her voice rising.
Oh, go girl! Alexa thought, stopping short of clapping because Cara wasn’t greeting Mike with open arms. As a cop, Cara could handle herself in any situation, but as a woman, she was more fragile. Yet she wouldn’t let any man, including this one, walk all over her, and Alexa was proud of her friend.
Serendipity, New York was a small town and Mike was the former police chief whose sudden departure had sparked many wagging tongues. Add the now loud discussion between exes and sure enough, Cara and Mike were attracting stares from the crowd. Alexa knew they needed closure, but they didn’t have to do it in front of an audience. Time to put an end to the show, Alexa thought.
Figuring she’d buy her friend some time to handle this on her own terms, she tapped Cara on the shoulder. “Are you okay?” Alexa asked.
“Yeah.” But the hurt in Cara’s blue eyes told another story.
“Can we go somewhere and talk?” Mike asked her.
“Seriously?” Cara blinked in obvious shock. “Let’s get something straight. I don’t know why you’re here or for how long, and I don’t care. But I will not be your booty call every time you come back to town.”
Behind Alexa, she sensed her former dance partner was still there, watching the scene unfold, and Alexa spared a moment’s regret for having to ditch him this way. But he was a momentary diversion while Cara’s friendship was forever. And no self-respecting woman abandoned a friend in need for a man.
“Cara—” Mike reached for her, but she pushed him away, shoving at his shoulder.
“No.” Cara jerked out of his reach.
Alexa moved closer. “I’m going to the ladies’ room,” she said, tipping her head toward the back of the bar. The silent, do you want to join me, was implied.
Mike whispered something Alexa couldn’t hear in Cara’s ear, but Cara shook her head.
Alexa turned, shooting a regretful glance at the man she’d never actually met. “Sorry. Friendship calls.” She smiled at him, wishing they’d had more time.
He nodded in surprising understanding and gestured with a sweep of his hand. “It was a pleasure,” he said, the words dancing along her nerve endings, similar to the way his touch had branded her skin.
She held his stare for a few more precious seconds before breaking eye contact and focusing on Cara. “Let’s go,” she said, and steered them through the crowd toward the restroom, leaving her sexy dance partner behind.
* * *
Lucas Thompson watched the intriguing woman walk off, her hips swaying, her delectable ass displayed to perfection in her tight black leggings. He liked what he saw. Hell, he’d liked what he’d felt even more. She wasn’t too skinny, unlike the NFL groupies who usually followed him around back home, her waist felt soft and generous in his hands.
He groaned and headed to the bar, ordering a beer. A cold drink would cool him off before he went to his friend’s house somewhere in this small Upstate New York town. Luke was here for a visit, but his ex-teammate, Cole Sanders, wouldn’t show up till later. He was busy getting his father settled into an assisted living facility. Cole’s plan was to stick around, fix up his dad’s house, and put it on the market. Since Luke had planned to be in Manhattan for meetings with his agent, he’d taken Cole up on his offer to stay with him instead of in some sterile hotel. As pro football players, they both had enough of empty rooms when they were on the road. Lucas figured he’d help Cole out for as long as he was in town.
Luke had seen Joe’s Bar and pulled into the parking lot, planning to grab a beer and maybe some wings. Dancing hadn’t been on his agenda. Then again, neither was the russet-haired woman who’d captured his attention. She’d been a surprise in many ways, the most pleasant being that she hadn’t recognized him as the tight end of the Texas Titans.
Either she wasn’t a sports fan, or she was more into her hometown team, the one to which Cole had recently been traded. Which meant her invitation to dance had been based purely on mutual attraction. Even before he’d seen her up close and taken in those sea-green eyes and the smattering of freckles on her nose, his gut told him the woman was more wholesome than any who’d crossed his path in way too long.
He’d been watching her shake those hips with undisguised interest, and when she’d crooked her finger his way and his cock had jumped in delight.
“Want to keep a running tab?” the bartender asked as he set Luke’s soda on the counter.
He shook his head. “I’ll settle now.” He’d had a long day of meetings. Between his agent and the potential sponsors the man had lined up for Luke to meet, then the hours’ drive here, Luke was beat.
Before taking off, he looked around for his woman—he hadn’t learned her name, so the term seemed to fit. He found her standing on the other side of the room, deep in conversation with the same guy who’d been hassling her friend earlier. The woman, a pretty brunette, was nowhere in sight. Apparently, Lucas’ dance partner was mediating a dispute between the two.
Luke shrugged, tamping down the disappointment. At a glance, she didn’t strike him as a one-night stand kind of woman, although the way she let him grind against her on the dance floor, who knew where the night would have ended if they hadn’t been interrupted.
Unfortunately, he’d never know.
He set a twenty on the counter and waited for the bartender to make his way back to his end of the bar, which took a while since the place did steady business.
Finally, Luke got his change, left a tip, and started for the door at the same time someone ran inside shouting. “Alexa! Get out back now. Cara needs a doctor!”
To Luke’s surprise, his one-time dance partner turned and bolted toward the rear exit.
A doctor. Something about the information made him grin.
Luke couldn’t stop the impulse to follow the crowd out back. Alexa—he knew her name now—knelt by her friend, the woman she’d been so protective of.
“What happened?” he asked the man next to him.
“Cara was attacked.” The guy, who appeared about the same age as Luke’s thirty-three, suddenly eyed him warily. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
He hailed from a small town himself, where everyone knew everyone else, so this man’s distrust didn’t surprise him.
Luke shook his head. “No, sir. Here to stay with a friend.” He wasn’t about to mention Cole’s name, not wanting to draw any attention to himself as a pro athlete while he was here. “But I was dancing with Alexa earlier,” Luke said, more to reassure the man he wasn’t a part of whatever had gone down here.
“I see.” The man slowly nodded, seeming to take Luke at his word. “Well, she’s the best doctor we have. She’ll be running University Hospital one day when her father steps down.” Before the man could continue, a siren sounded in the distance, the noise growing closer and making it impossible to continue the conversation.
The paramedics arrived, and things got even more hectic. They loaded Cara onto a stretcher, and Alexa went in the ambulance after insisting the ex-boyfriend meet her there in his car. Alexa had been too preoccupied to even realize Luke was in the group of people surrounding them. Soon, the ambulance doors slammed shut, and the vehicle sped away. The crowd slowly dispersed, the fun gone from the night.
Luke climbed into his car and turned on the engine. The directions to Cole’s place were in his GPS, yet instead of turning it on, he picked up the southern route on the highway he’d taken here and exited at the signs for the hospital. The same exit he’d passed on his way to Serendipity.
He parked near the Emergency Exit and scratched his head, asking himself what the hell he thought he was doing. The woman was a stranger to him, but she intrigued him on a level no woman ever had. And that was saying something, considering the smorgasbord of choices laid out for him over the years. He’d enjoyed it when he was younger, but he’d be thirty next month, and he was over the lifestyle that came with the fame. The booze, the women, the occasional bar fight. So. Over. It. His teammates called him an old man. So be it. Luke knew he could take each one in a fight and still have energy left over. He just knew there was more to life than partying, and he was ready to find it. Whatever it was.
Right now, it was Alexa.
He’d first seen her as a sexy woman with haunting green eyes and a hot body to which Luke was damn attracted. She’d transformed into a loyal friend who’d given up a sure thing—since Luke couldn’t see himself turning her down if she wanted to hook up—to look out for a pal. Then later, she’d morphed again, this time into an in-control doctor, capable of putting away her emotions and treating her unconscious friend.
In the span of thirty minutes, Luke discovered Alexa was not just beautiful but multifaceted, and as a result, she’d captivated him completely. He couldn’t leave without finding out if her friend was okay and how she was doing after the night’s crazy events.
Although, as he walked through the sliding ER doors, Luke had to ask himself if he wasn’t a little crazy himself for pursuing a perfect stranger he’d never really met.
Read PERFECT STRANGERS by clicking HERE.
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