Back to You (8 page)

As she started to walk away from the table, she was surprised when Nick grabbed her hand. She turned to him.

“If I was a sergeant, could you ever love me again?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “Oh honey, I don’t care whether you’re a street cop or a sergeant, I have always loved you.”

***

Lynsey stripped down to her bra and panties and flopped down on her bed. She couldn’t be bothered to call Caleb or Owen. All she could think about was Nick asking her if she could ever love him again. Didn’t he realize that she did love him with all of her heart? Now she knew that Caleb, and even Owen, would just be poor substitutions.

Turning onto her belly, she lay against the pillow and closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she felt Nick’s hands massaging her back. He stopped momentarily and undid the clasp on her bra before his lips picked up where his hands had left off.

With a deliberate effort, she forced herself to turn to him, allowing her bra to fall away.

“I have always loved you too,” he admitted.

He had just spoken the words she never thought she would hear from him again. Now nothing really mattered at that moment except for the two of them.

“Dominick…just love me.”

He needed no further prompting. With lightening speed he shed his T-shirt and jeans. Climbing into her bed, his mouth sought hers while his fingers tangled into the lace of her panties and tugged them off.

When he climbed between her legs, she arched her body against his in a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to join them together. Finally, after an awkward thrust, they became one.

Lynsey tried to match his thrusts, but together they seemed to fumble mightily like two inexperienced kids. When they finally found a rhythm together, Nick’s body tensed before he let out a soulful shout and collapsed against her.

“Beautiful girl, you carried me away,” he whispered hotly in her ear before rolling off her and cuddling close. Not a word was exchanged between them, and after a few minutes, he was snoring softly beside her.

What
just happened?
She wondered as she stared into the dark. She waited so long for this, but now just felt unsatisfied and unconnected to her sleeping lover.

Was it possible that Nick was still completely unsophisticated in the art of lovemaking? He had been a virgin before their first time together all those years ago, and then he married a woman who was equally as chaste. Had their encounters ever been more than a few limp kisses followed by the act of mechanical intercourse and a rush to his orgasm?

It wasn’t a subject that Lynsey felt she could easily speak with Nick about. She knew that all he needed was to loosen up a bit, and she could guide him to a thorough knowledge of her body and how to satisfy her. A little practice and they would be perfect together.

She ran a gentle hand over his tousled blond hair. Even though their lovemaking had been brief, he was finally hers and he was going nowhere tonight.

Chapter Seven

When Lynsey woke to the sun peeking beneath the blinds, she knew instantly that she was alone. She checked the clock. It was nearly eight. She needed to get showered and dressed. She planned to meet Suzy for breakfast in an hour.

By the time she got to the kitchen, Nick stood in the doorway with a coffee mug, staring outside at the lake, fully dressed in his police blues. She so wished that he would call in sick, and she could cancel with Suzy. They could spend the day talking. There was so much between them that needed to be said.

When he heard her, he came to her, took her into his arms, and kissed her. It was a comfort that he didn’t regret their lovemaking. She didn’t think she could handle being rejected by him twice in her lifetime.

“Do you have to leave soon?” she asked.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to, but I have to.” He went to the stove and prepared her a cup of coffee. “I think we should start planning our wedding. We could be married at Christmas.”

She was taken aback. Was this his proposal? It was supposed to be so romantic and memorable, not talk about planning a Christmas wedding while he stirred a cup of coffee.

“Do you even want to get married?” She took the coffee mug he offered. “I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that you told me you weren’t sure you ever wanted to be married again. You said you didn’t see fatherhood in your future, and Nick, I want a baby…more than one. I grew up as an only child and I was so alone. I don’t want my child to have to experience that.”

“Well, I didn’t use a condom last night. You could be pregnant right now,” was his reply.

Heaviness descended upon her heart. This was so not how she wanted this morning to be, and certainly not the marriage proposal she had dreamed of. “I’m on the Pill—I won’t get pregnant if that’s all you’re worried about.”

“I’m sorry. That’s not the only reason we should get married.”

“Then why?” she asked suspiciously.

He let out an exaggerated sigh. “Lynsey, I don’t have time to get into this with you right now. What do you want me to say in the five minutes I have before I leave for work?”

She couldn’t believe his glib attitude. “How about saying something to me like…‘I love you, Lynsey, and I made a tremendous mistake by not marrying you twenty years ago?’ That would take less than thirty seconds to say, and still get to your precious job on time.”

Suddenly his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. “I didn’t make a mistake by not marrying you twenty years ago! I let you go to become a success in life—and you did. I can’t regret that!”

“So, what I thought all these years was correct. I was nothing to you but a quick and easy way to shed your virginity.” Just saying the words felt devastating.

“That’s not it at all,” he vehemently insisted. “You were always so intelligent. I mean, you were a sixteen-year-old senior in high school! Just how many grades did you skip over, anyway?”

“Two,” she answered in a low voice.

“Do you know what would have happened if I hadn’t married Kelly?” He didn’t wait for her reply. “I’ll tell you what. You and I would have been ostracized by everyone in this town! We would have had to be married right away, and we would have had to live with your mother, because I had no money.”

“My mother loved you. She would have been happy to have us live with her,” she interjected.

“And we were so naïve, Lynsey. You would have graduated high school with either a big belly, or a baby in your arms…if you had graduated at all.”

She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked at the floor. She was too afraid that if she looked at him she would break down. “Some of the girls in school were married. A few of them had babies.”

He lifted her chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. “And you were too smart to be stuck in this town, and just another housewife. You would have become bored and resentful.”

“I wouldn’t have known the difference,” she countered.

“I had serious doubts then. I still have doubts now,” he admitted.

Her dark lashes flew upward. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I believe that you will become bored and restless in Unity and will want to go back to Florida or maybe California. I have a job and a family here, Lynsey. I don’t ever want to give that up. I’m afraid that we’ll have a child, and you’ll take my baby and leave. I cannot allow that to happen.”

She couldn’t believe what he was saying. Nothing was further from the truth. “Do you think I would have sunk so much of my savings into that house just to abandon it? I would never, ever do what you’re saying. But if circumstances changed, I would expect you to support what was best for our family. Couples who are committed make sacrifices for each other!”

It was becoming clearer and clearer that things were rapidly falling apart between them.

“Lynsey, didn’t what happened between us last night mean anything to you?” Nick asked.

She chuckled unpleasantly. “I suppose that with us living in such close proximity, last night was inevitable. But don’t worry about it happening again, Nick. When you get home this evening, I won’t be here.”

“Where will you be?”

She wanted to hurt Nick the way she hurt. “I’m sure that Caleb wouldn’t mind me bunking down at his house for a week or two.”

“Over my dead body,” he seethed. “I will drag you away from him kicking and screaming if it comes to it. I’ll handcuff you to my bed if need be. Believe me, Lynsey, I’ll do it!” He flopped down into a kitchen chair and buried his face in his hands.

“I have to go now, Nick. I’m meeting your sister for breakfast. Listen to me. You need to pull yourself together. In your line of work, bad things happen when you lose your concentration.”

When he didn’t reply, she let out a sigh of resignation and headed for the door. At the last minute she turned to him. “Thanks for almost making it happen between us.”

***

Nick pulled his police cruiser into a parking spot directly across from The Cozy Corner Diner and got out of the car. He entered the diner under the guise of buying a cup of take-out coffee, but the truth was, he was looking for Lynsey.

When he got to the counter and ordered, he scanned the diner, but neither Lynsey nor his sister were there. Maybe Lynsey fabricated the breakfast with Suzy as an excuse to get away from him. If that was the truth, he really couldn’t blame her for wanting to escape his presence.

He returned to his cruiser, sat on the push bar, uncapped his steaming coffee, and took a sip of the bitter brew.

The morning went so dreadfully wrong with every wrong word that came out of his mouth. She wanted him to tell her that his first marriage was a mistake, and that he should have married her instead.

He could have easily lied and told her everything she wanted to hear. But he’d opted for the truth—to tell that he let her go all of those years ago because he had to, not because he wanted to. Marrying Kelly and leaving Lynsey behind had broken both his heart and his spirit. Because of his unwillingness to forget her, his marriage and his life suffered.

It hadn’t really been fair to Kelly, either, to marry a man whose heart would always belong to another. But that had been her decision to bear when she chose to stubbornly remain in the marriage.

Still, he had completely blundered what should have been a beautiful morning with his beloved.

He also noticed that she had stopped calling him Nicky. She had chalked up their lovemaking to inevitability with the two of them living in such close proximity. Perhaps in her mind, they were through.

Sadly, he realized that if they couldn’t make it work as a couple, he would have to put considerable distance between the two of them. Lynsey would go on with her life and marry, probably by the end of the year.

He imagined that he would be working one day and he would see her pushing a stroller up one of the streets in town, most likely with a little red-haired baby inside. He would have to look straight through her as if she were no one but another Unity citizen. That would break his heart.

He finished his coffee and put the empty cup into a nearby trash can. He could only hope that they could still salvage things.

***

“I slept with your brother last night,” Lynsey announced to Suzy after they ordered their breakfast.

They had opted to leave Unity for some well-deserved privacy and conversation.

“Well, that’s marvelous!” Suzy gushed and squeezed Lynsey’s hand.

“No.” She shook her head sadly. “It only muddied the water between us. He made an awful marriage proposal to me while he made a cup of coffee. I was so stunned that I practically went crazy on him. Looking back, I feel so bad for the way I acted.”

“All I can say is that I hope it will work out for you and my brother, but that’s between the two of you. I’m not going to interfere or stick my opinion where it doesn’t belong.

Just let me assure you that if things don’t work out with Nicky and you decide that you want to pursue a relationship with Caleb or Owen, I’ll celebrate with you.” She raised her coffee cup in a salute.

Lynsey was so glad that Suzy was now respecting her choices. Now it felt like a friendship again.

“Well, I don’t know what will happen between Nick and me, but we will settle things one way or the other. But, that’s not why we’re here,” She rummaged through her handbag and produced a small blue box , and slid the box across the table to Suzy.

“What’s this?” she asked curiously.

“Open it,” Lynsey said with a smile.

Suzy lifted the lid. “Oh gosh, it’s so beautiful,” she sighed as she stared at the sapphire and diamond ring.

“It’s my so-called ‘pre-engagement ring’ from Quinn. I want you to sell it and use the money to retain an attorney. I made a few calls and got referrals for two family practice attorneys—good ones.”

“I really appreciate it, Lynsey, but I can’t take your ring!”

“Of course you can,” she said easily. “I offered the ring back to Quinn. He wouldn’t take it. It means nothing to me. It’s mine to do with as I please, and I’m giving it to you. But take it to a jeweler in the city to get the best price for it. And, if worse comes to worst, bring the kids and move in with me. Why have that great big house if I can’t share it with my family?”

Tears swelled in Suzy’s eyes. “I still don’t know how to thank you.”

“No need for thanks. You having a good attorney is enough for me.”

Lynsey felt satisfied that she had done what she could for her best friend. Now, she had to make things right with the man she loved.

***

Lynsey looked up from her laptop at the kitchen table when she heard the door rattle. She was surprised, but glad to see Nick home at midday. “Hi, what are you doing home?” she asked brightly.

“I came to check on you,” he admitted. “I don’t like how things ended between us this morning.”

“Neither did I.” She stood and went to him. She wound her arms around his neck and pushed her body tightly against his. “So, how long do I have you for?” She removed the Unity Police Department baseball cap from his head.

He checked his watch. “Oh…about twenty minutes,” he said.

“Just enough time,” she said, pushing him back until he was against the refrigerator. Unbuckling his belt followed by the button and zipper on his trousers, she worked quickly to free him.

“Lynsey, don’t…don’t stop. Please don’t stop,” he said thickly.

Things were far from settled, but for right now, that was all she needed to hear and she fell to her knees and proceeded to make love to him.

***

Nick drove through the streets of Unity feeling more relaxed than he could ever remember. He would go home for lunch a lot more frequently if what had happened there earlier with Lynsey was to become a regular part of his life.

But then he remembered that Lynsey wouldn’t be with him very much longer. Her new home was nearly complete and she would be moving soon. He found himself turning into the new subdivision and onto Sugar Plantation Road where Lynsey’s new home was located. The street had one or two houses that were occupied, and several that were in various stages of construction, as well as an empty lot or two.

Lynsey’s little blue convertible was in the driveway of her home, so he pulled his police cruiser to the curb and radioed to the dispatcher that he would be unavailable until further notice. Actually, he was entitled to an afternoon break, which he rarely took advantage of, but from now on he would.