Perfect Stranger (Novella) (9 page)
Read Perfect Stranger (Novella) Online
Authors: Carly Phillips
Luke jerked his body around and there she was. Dr. Alexa Collins, walking across his parents’ big Texas spread, talking to his
mother
, as she led Alexa to where Luke and Ashley were sitting.
“I’ll be damned,” he muttered.
“Since I always know everyone at these shindigs, I figured that had to be her. What’s she doing here?” Ashley asked.
“I invited her,” Luke said, stunned.
“What? You didn’t tell me she was coming!” Ash punctuated this with a shot to his shoulder.
“That’s because she said no.” Luke rose to his feet as the women approached.
“Lucas Thompson, you didn’t tell me we were having a guest!” His mother, Louise, who ruled this ranch along with her family, glared at him like he’d committed a crime.
“He didn’t know, Mrs. Thompson.” Alexa spoke softly.
“He invited you. That means you’re important to him, and that means he should have told me.”
“Ma!” Luke knew he’d better call her off before she scared Alexa away.
Alexa grinned and, man, Luke had missed that smile. “It’s fine,” she assured him.
Luke shook his head. Nothing about his mother’s form of torture was fine. “Alexa, this is my sister, Ashley. Ash, this is Alexa.”
His sister jumped up and shook Alexa’s hand. “He was just telling me all about you!”
Luke rolled his eyes. “God save me from the two of you,” he muttered. “Ash, take Mom away, would you? Go eat. Drink. Something.” He met and held Alexa’s gaze. “We need to talk.”
“We’re going,” Ashley said, understanding in her tone despite her earlier teasing. “Come on, Ma. You can talk to Luke’s girl later.”
“Ash!” Luke’s voice vibrated with annoyance, but to his surprise, Alexa’s eyes were lit with amusement as she obviously held back her laughter.
“At least someone finds them amusing,” he muttered to his mother and sister’s retreating backs.
“You have no idea how lucky you are,” she said, staring after his family, a wistful expression on her face.
Luke didn’t know what she was doing here, but he had to assume it boded well for him that she’d come. He hooked his arm in hers and led her away from the yard and around the side of the house to his mother’s special place. When Luke was born, she’d insisted she needed a place of her own and his father had put up a gazebo in the most private corner of the yard, right off the side door to the house.
They settled in the swing chair. “I take it getting away wasn’t easy?” he asked.
“That would be an understatement.”
Her pretty green eyes told the painful story. He wouldn’t push her for an explanation, sure it would come when she was ready. “Yet you’re here.”
“I hoped the invitation was still open,” she said hesitantly.
There it was, that vulnerability he’d been thinking about before she materialized in front of his eyes. In her blue jeans and white lace tank, with a light denim blouse tied around her waist, she looked like she belonged here on the ranch. Yet everything about her screamed her uncertainty, something he never wanted her to feel around him.
“Invitation’s always open, darlin’.”
She released a long-held breath. “Well, that’s good, since when I took a leave of absence from work, my boss informed me he wouldn’t be holding my position open.” Her jaw set tight at the admission.
That bastard. “Your father said that?”
“It seems he didn’t appreciate the idea of me finding my own path.”
He wasn’t sure what surprised him more, the smile she gave him or the fact that she’d listened to his advice and was taking time to figure out what she wanted, despite the consequences.
“I think that’s great,” he said, grasping her hands, thrilled down to his bones that she’d come to him. “So you’re here for a while?”
Alexa shrugged, wondering that herself. “I’m here. How long? I thought we’d figure that out together. See if we still like each other and all.” God, she sounded like an unsure idiot, Alexa thought. It was a wonder she’d survived the plane ride, not knowing what awaited her here.
She’d gotten Luke’s address from Sawyer Rhodes, who swore his friend would be happy to see her and encouraged her to surprise him with the visit. Since she wasn’t in any hurry to have Luke turn her down if he’d changed his mind, she’d agreed and hopped on a plane.
“See if we still like each other?” Luke chuckled. “I don’t know about you, but what I feel for you is a lot more than
like
, darlin’.” Luke brushed his finger down her cheek, his golden eyes sparkling with reassurance as he dipped his head in close.
His heat reached out to her, his familiar scent settling the butterflies deep in her stomach.
“I started falling hard for you the second we met,” he continued. “Having you come down here, unsure of your welcome but taking that chance on me? That just cemented the deal. I can’t see us going anywhere but forward from here.”
“Me neither.” She swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest, everything inside her screaming this was right. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
“Same. And I sure never thought I’d want a woman with me, by my side, not talking about leaving any time soon, but that’s how I feel about you. So let’s take this time to get to know each other better, and help you figure out what you want to do with your career.” His eyes held hers. “And while you’re thinking on what you want, maybe you’ll reconsider where you do it. Assuming things keep on…keeping on.”
He grinned, and Alexa knew everything would be all right.
“Would you like that?” he asked.
“A lot,” she whispered.
“Good. Did I say I’m glad you’re here?” Before she could answer, he said, “I’m glad you’re here. Good play, darlin’.”
She grinned.
Not a good play
, she thought, as he closed his lips over hers.
A perfect one
.
Read on for a preview of the Serendipity's Finest novel
PERFECT TOGETHER
Available February 2014 from Berkley!
T
here was something about being a Marsden that made people think if they asked him for a favor, Samâthe younger brother and the
good
copâwould be nice and accommodating. Take how his sister-in-law, Cara, was looking at him with big, pleading eyes, fully expecting him to agree to her beyond-unreasonable request.
“There is no way in hell I'm going on a date with Margie Simpson.” Sam Marsden glared at Cara, a woman he usually also called his best friend, from across their respective desks at the Serendipity police station.
“Her last name is Stinson, not Simpson, and you know it.” Cara frowned back at him. “Come on, Sam. Her parents are the biggest donors for the Women's Heart Health fund-raiser, and the Serendipity Police Department is a co-sponsor. Do you want to be the one to tell the hospital, who will be the recipient of that shiny new medical equipment, that the Stinsons pulled their donation because one of our finest wouldn't escort their daughter?”
“She's more like a pit bull,” Sam muttered. “And isn't there another single cop you can get to take her? What about Hendler?”
“He's too old.”
“Martini?”
She shook her head. “Too young. Besides, Margie wants to go with you.”
He shuddered. “All the more reason for me to say no. I don't want to give her the wrong idea.” Margie was one of those women who assumed that just a look imparted male interest. Sam didn't want to go there. No way, nohow.
“Are you giving my wife a hard time?” Sam's brother, Mike, strode over to Cara's desk and placed a possessive hand on her shoulder.
“More like she's giving me one. Call her off, will you?” Sam asked.
Mike laughed and shook his head. “I like my life just the way it is. Sorry, bro. You're on your own.”
Sam rolled his eyes. Ever since his bachelor brother had fallenâhardâfor Sam's sometime partner, Cara, he was now wrapped around his wife's cute little cowboy bootsâwhen she wasn't in uniform, that is. Where she went, Mike followed. Sam was happy for him. Problem was, Sam's single friends were dwindling fast. First Dare Barron, then Mike, and even their sister, Erin, had fallen.
Sam wasn't jealous, but he could admit that his life and the routines he'd always enjoyed were growing stale around him. But that didn't mean he was open to marriage, let alone escorting the female from hell, even for a good cause.
Cara rolled a pencil between her palms. “Do you already have a date?” she asked.
“Hell, no,” Mike said, before Sam could answer. “He hasn't dated anyone in longer than I can remember. In fact, the last woman who remotely interested himâ”
No, he would not let his brother go
there
. “Don't you have an office to get back to?” Sam pointed to the police chief's workroom at the back of the stationhouse.
Mike grinned. “Not when this is so much more fun.”
Cara elbowed him in the stomach. “Go. I'll have more luck if you aren't here poking fun at him and making this worse.”
Mike shrugged. “Hey, it's not my fault he's such an easy target.”
“Now that you're happily married, you're an even bigger pain in the ass,” Sam muttered.
Mike smirked and kissed his wife on the lips, lingering way too long before he finally walkedâmake that swaggeredâaway.
“Get a room.”
“You too could find true love,” Cara said, leaning closer. “We all want that for you.”
But Sam didn't want that for himself. He'd tried, come close, and failed in the biggest possible way. As a cop, he trusted his instincts, but when it came to women? To relationships? To personal choices? Not so much.
His so-called gut instinct had hurt one good friend, and his gullibility had led to him being betrayed by his fiancée and best friend. His family knew only some of the reasons he remained wary of trusting his personal instincts, and with his siblings settled down, Erin with a husband and a baby, they'd all turned up the pressure on him.
Cara leveled him with a serious stare. “I'm not asking you to marry Margie, just accompany her to the benefit. Make nice and go home. Can you do that for me? For Mike and the police station? Please?” Cara batted her eyelashes over her big blue eyes.
She'd been his best friend long before she became involved with Mike, and he'd have thought he was immuneâexcept now she was also his family and he didn't like turning her down. Besides, as she'd pointed out, the fund-raiser was for a good cause and he'd be representing the police force.
He blew out a disgusted breath. “You're only doing this because I can't say no to you,” Sam muttered, shuddering at the thought of accompanying the one woman in town who sent fear into any single man's heart.
“Is that a yes?” Cara tapped her pencil against the blotter on the desk, her expression almost gleeful.
“Yeah,” he muttered, knowing he would absolutely live to regret the decision.
“Yay!” She jumped up and hugged him tight before resettling herself into the chair behind her desk. “This is
perfect
! One huge problem taken care of. I knew I could count on you.”
Yeah, perfect,
Sam thought, hating that word even more than usual.
“Hey, I promise Mike and I will stick by you all night. I won't leave you alone with that leech.”
Sam narrowed his gaze. “So now you admit she's a leech.”
Cara didn't look up or meet his gaze, but the red flush in her cheeks gave her away. Yeah, he was a patsy for his sister-in-law and a good cause.
“You know,” Cara said, peering out from beneath her long fringe of lashes, “you could avoid this whole kind of thing if you'd justâ”
Find a woman of his own. “Let it go,” he said in response to her unspoken words.
“Okay, but Mike's right. The last woman who interested you wasâ”
“Let. It. Go.” Sam set his jaw.
“Fine. I won't say her name.” Cara buried herself in work at her desk, but she'd accomplished her mission.
She'd brought up the one female in more than a decade who'd made Sam want to drop his guard and rethink his vow not to get emotionally involved with any woman ever again. But Nicole Farnsworth, the raven-haired beauty who'd triggered his current state of discontent, had left town months ago and she wasn't coming back.
*Â *Â *
N
icole Farnsworth packed up her clothing and the last of her things, trying to convince herself she was moving, not running away. In fact, she'd planned to leave Manhattan since deciding to end her engagement, but now instead of just the excitement of beginning a new life, she felt the dual need to flee. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Nothing she could do but goâget awayâand do some soul-searching, during which she hoped to find clarity. But what clarity was there when she knew she held people's livelihoods and even freedom in her hands?
The doorbell rang and she looked into the peephole, unwilling to take chances by just opening her door. She stared into the familiar if unwelcome face of her mother who, as usual, was perfectly dressed in a Chanel jacket and wool slacks.
Suppressing a groan, she opened the door and let Marian Farnsworth inside.
Before Nicole could say hello, her mother launched into one of her typical tirades. “No sane woman breaks off her engagement to a handsome, extremely wealthy man. One you grew up with, might I remind you? He and his family are in business with your father. What were you thinking?”
Nicole walked into the family room and leaned against the nearest wall, knowing not to give her mother an edge by sitting down. “I was thinking that I shouldn't marry a man I don't love.”
Her mother joined her in the room filled with the remaining boxes waiting to be loaded into her car. She folded her arms across her chest and pinned Nicole with her disappointed stare. “What does love have to do with anything?”
Nicole did not want an explanation for that bit of insanity. It meant she'd have to look more deeply than she cared to into her parents' marriage. Instead she drew a deep breath and promised herself she'd be on her way soon.
“Nicole, it's insane to think someone like you needs to worry about a love match.”
She shrugged. “You know as well as I do, sanity doesn't run in our family.”
“Don't talk that way about your sister,” her mother chided, always looking to hide Victoria's mental instability, as if being bipolar carried a stigma Marian couldn't bear to admit to in her family.
The irony was Nicole hadn't been talking about Victoria, merely making a not-so-subtle joke.
“Darling, you need to call Tyler and beg him to forgive you.”
This, Nicole had heard before. “No.” And she had more important things to worry about than her mother's reaction to her breaking her engagement. Like the illegal activities Nicole had overheard her ex-fiancé's father and his accountant discussingâand what she was going to do about them. Considering, as her mother reminded her, that the partnership of Farnsworth and Stanton Financial Investments affected both families, Nicole needed distance to study all the angles.
Such as, did Nicole's father know that his partner was accepting money from mob-connected companies and funneling that money into investments from which they all made millions? Did her ex-fiancé Tyler know?
“Nicole,” her mother said, snapping her fingers in front of her face. “You're not listening to me.”
“Because I have things on my mind. Like moving.” Not just so she could get away and think, but so she could forge a new life where people would get to know and like Nicole for herself, not her family's connections.
Her mother's face flushed red at the reminder. It was amazing how the woman could ignore the evidence in front of her: the boxes, packing tape, and clothing covered by heavy-duty bags. “You have to reconsider. This whole situation is humiliating in the extreme. Not to mention, you have a job. Tyler's mother is running for borough president and you're her number one fund-raiser. She needs you.”
“I gave her notice. My assistant is capable and ready to take over. She'll be fine.”
“You'll cause a rift between the families,” her mother pushed on.
Nicole stiffened, not missing the irony. Growing up, she'd sought her parents' approval and attention by being good and kind and perfectâwithout success. But now, when she no longer cared what her family thought of her choices, she'd accomplished her goal. Her mother was here, paying attention to her life, begging her to help them.
“The Stantons won't hold my choices against you.”
“Nicole!”
“No. Stop it. I told you before. I am not going back to Tyler. I don't love him. I should have realized it long before now.” And the reasons why she hadn't were glaringly obvious in light of her mother's callous disregard of her daughter's feelings.
She'd desperately wanted someone to love and approve of her, and Tyler, unlike her parents, had been kind and caring. He paid attention to her and he'd given her everything she'd yearned for in her emotionally deprived life. Unfortunately, Nicole had mistaken her gratitude toward him for love, and she'd hurt Tyler in the process.
It had taken her sister's downward spiral and Nicole's resulting meeting with a sexy small-town cop to point out to her exactly what she didn't feel for her then-fiancé. Desire, excitement, the pounding of her heart every time he was near. She'd settled for less every minute of her childhood. She couldn't bring herself to do it in marriage.
Nicole realized her mother was still staring at her with frustration and disappointment in her expression.
“It's better I made the decision now than after the wedding,” Nicole told her.
Marian huffed. “Just when did I teach you that fairy tales come true?” she asked in disgust.
Nicole met her mother's gaze. “You never did.”
Without so much as a word, not
good luck
or even
good-bye
, her mother turned and stormed out the door.
Nicole swallowed the lump in her throat. Her mother hadn't changed in all of Nicole's twenty-eight years. But Nicole had. With this move, she wasn't looking for some improbable happy ending. All she wantedâno, cravedâwas a life of her own that fulfilled
her
dreams and desires, not those of her impossible-to-please family.
So she was heading to the one place where she'd found a sense of peace despite the insanityâno pun intendedâthat had brought her to the sleepy upstate town. She hoped that once there, she'd figure out the right thing to do about the information she'd stumbled over.
Nicole was ready for Serendipity. She just hoped the people in Serendipity were ready for her.
*Â *Â *
O
ne of the things Nicole liked about Serendipity was its old-fashioned charm. Where else could you find a diner-slash-restaurant named The Family Restaurant? After spending the morning moving into her new apartment over Joe's Bar, she decided to eat dinner out and go food shopping tomorrow.
She sat at the counter, happy to just soak in the atmosphere, and had just finished a delicious plate of meat loaf and mashed potatoes when a dark-haired woman approached her from behind the counter.
“Wait. I know you,” the woman said, her gaze narrowing.
Nicole met the other woman's concerned stare, well aware of the reason for the worry in her eyes. The one thing that had concerned Nicole about moving here was being mistaken for her twin. But the pull of the small town had been strong, and despite Victoria's actions, people here hadn't judged Nicole, at least not once she'd tried desperately to help them find her twin.
Nicole wanted to give them the same benefit of the doubt. “I don't believe we've met.”
“I'm Macy Donovan. Occasional hostess, waitress, you name it. My family owns the restaurant. Aren't youâ”
