Part 25 (1/2)

”Now that you're happily married, you're an even bigger pain in the a.s.s,” Sam muttered.

Mike smirked and kissed his wife on the lips, lingering way too long before he finally walked-make that swaggered-away.

”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 relations.h.i.+ps? 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 fiancee 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 immune-except 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 just-”

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 was-”

”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.

Nicole 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 go-get away-and 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, as usual, perfectly dressed in her Chanel jacket and wool slacks.

Suppressing a groan, she opened the door and let Marian Farnsworth inside.

Before Nicole could say h.e.l.lo, 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-fiance's father and his accountant discussing-and what she was going to do about them. Considering, as her mother reminded her, that the partners.h.i.+p 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-fiance 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 a.s.sistant 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 perfect-without 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 grat.i.tude 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 s.e.xy small-town cop to point out to her exactly what she didn't feel for her then-fiance. 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.