Dare to Love (27 page)

He turned and headed for the back entrance of the bar and slipped out the exit. As soon as he hit the top of the stairs and stood outside the apartment door, he paused. Everyone he knew had lived here at one time or another, from Faith and Kelly Barron, to his brother, Mike, and then Erin’s husband, Cole. The place was a revolving door, a pit stop before people settled down for good.

Now Nicole.

He’d known her for a short time, when she’d been in Serendipity tracking her missing sister, who it turned out had been stalking Erin. Sam had arrested her lurking outside Erin’s condo, assuming she was her psychotic twin. But there was nothing unstable about Nicole… and she’d made a profound impact on Sam. From her dark hair to her big beautiful blue eyes, he felt like he could see inside her soul.

On first meeting, she’d been scared, then defiant, but ultimately he came to admire how she’d handled herself while in that small interrogation room. But the real turning point between them had come when Cole barged in. She’d immediately turned to Sam, as if assuming she could trust him to look after her. She hadn’t been wrong. And not just because he had a reputation for being the
good cop
in any scenario. With Nicole, the protective surge he’d experienced surpassed the normal doing of his job. It made no damned sense to him then, and it still didn’t now. Hell, her draw scared him as much as it pulled him toward her.

Once her sister had been arrested, Nicole had gone back to the city where she belonged before Sam could act on any stupid sexual or deeper impulse he might have. He hadn’t had an emotional connection with any female since Jenna’s betrayal, and he wouldn’t allow himself to be hurt that way again. But none of that seemed to matter now that
she
was back in town.

Sam couldn’t imagine why Nicole had opted to move to Serendipity—but there was one way to find out. Raising his hand, he knocked on her door.

PERFECT TOGETHER by Carly Phillips out February 4, 2014

Serendipity

Destiny

Karma

Perfect Fit

Perfect Fling

Perfect Together

Kismet

Fated

Hot Summer Nights (Perfect Stranger)

Perfect Partners

Solitary Man

The Right Choice

Midnight Angel

For a complete list of all my series and books, visit:

www.carlyphillips.com/category/books/

N.Y. Times
and
USA Today
Bestselling Author Carly Phillips has written over 40 sexy contemporary romance novels that today’s readers identify with and enjoy. After a successful 15 year career with various New York publishing houses, Carly made the leap to Indie author, with the goal of giving her readers more books at a faster pace at a better price. She also hopes to rediscover the pure joy of writing without expectations. Carly lives in Purchase, NY with her family, two nearly adult daughters and two crazy dogs who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. She’s a writer, a knitter of sorts, a wife, and a mom. In addition, she’s a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers.