Forever After (Montana Brides) (16 page)

“This coming from a woman who didn’t show many morals two seconds ago?”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” Emily pouted. “And morals don’t count when a girl’s flirting.”

“No,” Nicky said. “That wasn’t flirting. That was leaning as far across the counter as you could possibly get without spilling your boobs in his hands.”

With feigned innocence, Emily said, “I have a bra on. Nothing would have happened.”

Raising her eyebrows, Nicky looked at the voluptuous expanse of chest on display.

“Okay…so it’s a push up bra. He didn’t seem offended.”

Nicky sat back in her chair. “No, he wasn’t offended.” Amused, maybe. Intrigued, definitely. “I’m being bitchy, sorry.” She looked down at her plate, wondering what on earth had possessed her to buy enough food for two meals. A quick look toward the balcony told her why.
 

Emily plucked at the front of her dress, pulling the bodice a little higher. “No need to be sorry. I can tell when you’re on the verge of an emotional meltdown. So what’s up with Sam? You seemed to be on friendly terms last night, or was his presence at your dinner table an hallucination?”

“He was there. And before your imagination starts filling in the blanks, nothing happened.”

“Nothing? Tell me that when you’re not blushing like a beetroot.”
 

Emily ate some quiche, giving Nicky a chance to think of something to tell her. The problem was, she couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Sam’s appearance with his lunch date had fried her brain cells to a crisp.
 

“Yum, the quiche is great,” Emily grinned. “Well?”

Poking at the chicken on her plate, Nicky kept her gaze as far away as possible from her sister’s teasing smile. “A slight peck on the cheek, that’s all.” Kind of, in a very roundabout way. Especially if you took into consideration the close proximity of a person’s cheek to their mouth.

“Really?” Emily’s eyes went as round as saucers.

“Really.”

“So when did you have sex?”

Nicky’s fork fell to the ground, spraying pasta and chicken over the floor. Leaning sideways, she grabbed the fork and picked up most of the spilled food. “I can’t believe you asked me that,” she muttered.
 

Emily stared at her with an innocent expression stuck on her face. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me before now.”

Slurping her milkshake through a straw, Nicky tried to ignore the curious gaze of her sister. She would not divulge confidential information. Ever.

“Tell me now,” Emily whispered, “or I’m going to introduce myself to Snow White.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.”

Nicky groaned. “There were one or two climbing episodes involved.” Only if you discounted the times Sam crawled over her body, but she wasn’t counting those.
 

“I thought so,” Emily grinned. “Anyone with half a brain can tell Sam’s still interested in you. Keep going…”

Sucking another gulp of milkshake, Nicky hoped the ground would open up and swallow her whole. “A few weeks ago we…you know…”

“Bonked the living daylights out of each other?”

Heat scorched Nicky’s skin. Pushing the milkshake away, she kept her eyes locked on the food in front of her. “Umm…that just about sums it up.”

“So why is he having lunch with another woman if you’re keeping his toes warm at night?” Emily looked across the room, then back at Nicky. “This isn’t a repeat of what happened two years ago, is it?”

“Of course not.” It wasn’t. It really wasn’t. This time it had been about her needs. She’d taken what he’d offered and felt terrible afterward.
 

Emily’s gaze shot over her shoulder and her eyes went wide. “This has to be quick. It looks as though they’re heading this way. Do you love him?”

“What?”

“Quick. Do you love him?”

Nicky’s mouth streaked ahead of her brain. “Yes.”

A polite smile infused with a sprinkle of venom lifted the corners of Emily’s mouth into pure guard dog territory. “Sam. What a surprise.”

Sam stopped in the middle of the café, nearly tripping over his feet. Emily looked like she was about to cut him into tiny pieces and feed him to a grizzly. His gaze flicked to Nicky. She looked worse than her sister. Anger flashed across her face, followed quickly by disappointment.

She’d had the same look on her face two years ago when he’d dated a motorcade of high maintenance women, trying to wean her away from his company. Nicky’s reaction to his escape plan had been more like an emergency amputation. She’d packed her bags, heading to Denver faster than he could unravel himself from the clutches of his dates.
 

He’d felt as guilty as hell about her quick exit from Montana, and he wasn’t feeling much better now. But for the life of him he couldn’t work out what had caused her to look like Santa had gone on strike and Christmas had been cancelled.

He followed her gaze to Renee.
 

Oh.

Clearing his throat, he said, “Nicky and Emily, this is Renee O’Flynn, Patrick’s wife.”

Nicky’s fork banged against the side of her plate. A look that wasn’t quite embarrassment darted across her face. Glancing at Renee, she mumbled, “Nice to meet you.”

Emily opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a high pitched squeal. “Excuse me, frog in my throat.” Glaring at Nicky, she started eating.

Sam stared between the two sisters. “I’ll see you back at work, Nicky. Bye Emily.”

Taking Renee’s elbow, he led her out the café in double quick time. Whatever had caused the scowl on Nicky’s face would have to wait until later. He had an appointment with the company’s accountant in twenty minutes and a meeting with a group of property developers at three-thirty.
 

Making sure the fallout from Patrick’s deceit didn’t ruin the company’s reputation would take a lot of work. And if he didn’t start now, the cost to the company could be more devastating than the money Patrick had stolen.

Sam stared at the report sitting in front of him. Patrick’s fraud extended further than he’d imagined. The Oasis development wasn’t the first time he’d manufactured fake invoices. Their accountant had identified another two projects that had added a substantial amount of money to Patrick’s bank account.

The high speed clickety-clack of heels against the wooden floors could only mean Nicky was back from her meeting. No other female on his team was mad enough to wear the sky scrapers she strapped to her feet each morning.
 

Her heels didn’t slow down. They clicked past his door, echoing down the corridor as she disappeared inside her office.
 

What had she expected for God’s sake? An apology for having lunch with another woman? And not just any woman, but the wife of a friend he’d known for years. You couldn’t even call it a lunch date. Renee’s marriage was over, their bank account had been frozen, and her husband spent more time with his lawyer than his children. She’d apologized for Patrick’s behavior, but it wasn’t
her
apology he needed to hear.

Closing his door, he headed across to the window. He stared at the street below, letting his mind drift between the vehicles moving along the street.

Two years ago he’d stood in the same spot, trying to find a balance between his feelings for Nicky and keeping his career on track. He’d needed to prove to himself and everyone else that he could make something of his life. He wouldn’t let himself get sidetracked by emotions that meant nothing, or a woman that refused to settle for anything less than total commitment.
 

After Nicky had gone to Denver, his victory had left him hollow and dazed.
 
He suspected his enemy had nothing to do with a blonde beauty that had charmed her way into his heart. It was the restless wanderer inside him, never quite believing anything good came of sharing your heart with someone else.

The sharp sting of adrenaline surged through his body. Dealing with Patrick’s betrayal was bad enough. Dealing with the emotions that Nicky stirred up was worse. And he’d be damned if he let himself fall into the same trap as last time.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“What was all that about?”

The hair on the back of Nicky’s neck stood on end as she listened to the growl coming from her office door. Holding her pen tight, she didn’t look up. “I’m busy at the moment. If you’d like to send me an appointment for later today, I’ll be able to discuss what’s on your mind then.”

Two large hands planted themselves on her desk. “No, I don’t like that idea very much. We’ll talk now.”

Pushing her feet into the ground, she braced herself for the scowl she knew she’d see when she lifted her head. Taking a deep breath, she dropped her pen to the desk. She’d expected Sam to huff and puff a bit, but not so soon, and definitely not with the level of anger she could hear simmering just below the surface of his voice.

Her gaze moved from his big hands, up his arms, and straight into a pair of eyes that glared at her as if everything that had happened was her fault. Straightening her spine, she glared right back. “I’ve got an appointment in twenty minutes.”
Liar
a voice whispered in her ear. Well she did, sort of. She wasn’t due to meet with the finance team until two o’clock, but with the mood Sam was in, she’d prefer to get out of her office sooner rather than later.
 

“This won’t take long.”
 

She didn’t like the sound of that. “I’m going to get a crink in my neck if you keep standing over me. Have a seat.” Waving him across to the farthest chair in the room didn’t do a bit of good. He grabbed the seat behind him, hauling it close.

“What were you so upset about in the café?” he growled.

Oh man. She really didn’t want to have this conversation now. “This isn’t work related.”

“At least you’re ready to admit that much. If you stick with answering my questions you’ll make your appointment.”

And what was the alternative? He looked as though he was prepared to stay all afternoon if that’s what it took to get her to open up. But she wouldn’t open up. She’d been hurt before and she wasn’t about to let him trample all over her heart again.

“So why were you upset?”

“I wasn’t upset.”
 

His jaw clenched. “Yes you were.”

“No I wasn’t.”
 

He scowled across at her.

She glanced at her watch.
 

He ignored her. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Surprised, maybe.” Yeah right. Her stomach had fallen through the floor at the sight of his hand sitting on top of another woman’s hand. A very attractive woman’s hand.

Her gaze dropped to his fingers, tapping against the top of her desk. They stopped in mid beat, hovering in the air. Glancing at his face, she could almost see his brain working overtime.
 

“There was no reason to be surprised. It was a lunch date.”

Nicky felt her eyes widen. Her heart rate kicked up at the determined look on his face. “A man doesn’t have a lunch date with another woman when he’s been canoodling with someone else.”

“Canoodling?”

Heat stormed her cheeks. “Sex, then. And kissing.” God in heaven, how could she forget about the kissing part?
 

“It wasn’t that type of lunch date. Renee apologized for Patrick’s behavior. I wanted to make sure she was all right.”

“Fine. I guess that’s the end of our discussion then.” Nicky pulled the report she was working on closer.

He didn’t budge from the chair. “No, it’s not the end of our discussion.”

“What do you mean?”
 

He stared at her, waiting for who knew what before launching into his next line of questioning. “I want to know where you see the attraction between us going.”

Nicky nearly gagged. “Attraction? Is that what you call having mind blowing sex with someone, then telling them to stick to the rules because that’s what they’re good at?”
 

She pushed the report away. If he wanted to have this conversation now, then he’d get it. Full guns blasting. He might be a lot of things by the end of their discussion, but confused wouldn’t be one of them.

“I did not tell you to stick to the rules,” he hollered.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, Samuel Delaney. I’m not the one who started this relationship.”
 

“What relationship? I’d hardly call running away every time I come within ten feet of you a relationship.”

“I’m running for a good reason. You’ve never once told me how you feel about me. All you want is sex.”

Taking a deep breath, Sam leaned forward in his chair. “I’m discussing it now, aren’t I?”

“Do you want to be in a relationship with me or not?”

Sam froze. “Define a relationship.”

Nicky pushed out of her chair, too wound up to sit still any longer. “I can’t believe you asked me that.” Turning her back to him she gazed out the window, seeing nothing.
 

“If you won’t answer me, then I’ll tell you what I think you mean.” He stood up, moving toward her. “To you a relationship is marriage, babies, the whole works. It’s something that lasts forever.”

Glancing over her shoulder, she caught the tail end of a scowl streaking across his face. If he knew how close he’d come to at least one of those relationship definitions he’d stop speaking while he had the chance.

“Well guess what?” he said quietly. “They don’t work. Not one marriage I’ve seen lasts forever. Trust, respect, fidelity…they disappear as soon as the novelty wears off.”

“Don’t judge everyone’s relationship by Patrick’s standards. He fooled a lot of people.”

“It’s not just Patrick. My parents, your parents, over half the damn planet moves on when the going gets tough. Why put yourself through that misery when you don’t have to?”
 

She could have told him she’d already put herself through that misery. Two years ago to be exact. It hadn’t taken a wedding band or a flashy engagement ring to make her feel as though she’d left the best part of Montana behind when she’d moved to Denver.