"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 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 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 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-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.
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 wanted-no, craved-was a life of her own that fulfilled her dreams and desires, and 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 insanity-no pun intended-that 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.
One 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 you-"
"Nicole Farnsworth," she chimed in quickly.
"So you"re not Victoria? The psychopath who-"
"No," Nicole said, cutting her off before she could elaborate on Victoria"s crimes. When her sister went off her medication, anything could happen-and had. "She"s my twin."
Macy"s cheeks turned red in embarra.s.sment. "Sorry, but she hurt a friend of mine and... Never mind."
Nicole winced. "I expected to deal with the fallout if I moved here."
Macy raised her eyebrows. "And yet you decided to settle in Serendipity?"
"Yes, I did." She squared her shoulders, intending to communicate to Macy Donovan that not only was she sure of her decision but she wasn"t about to be bullied because of her sister"s illness. Her twin was in a criminal mental health facility, living with the consequences of her actions.
"Listen, I"m blunt but I"m not judging you," the woman said. "Erin Marsden"s my best friend, and your sister stalked her for months."
Nicole grimaced at the reminder.
"But Erin told me you helped them find where your sister was hiding out, and she said you came to town in the first place to warn her and Cole. So... truce?" Macy held out her hand.
Letting out a deep breath, Nicole accepted the other woman"s peace offering. "Thanks." From inside her purse, her cell phone chimed, calling for her attention.
"I"m going to do a few things in the back. I"ll come out again in a few minutes," Macy said, leaving her alone to take the call.
A quick look told her it was her ex-fiance, so she blew out a breath and hit Decline. She"d explained everything in person and there was no reason to rehash things over the phone. His call only reminded her of what she still needed to deal with, but she wasn"t any closer to a decision. Should she confront her father and ask what he knew of his partner"s accounts? Should she ask Tyler?
She"d stood outside the office of her own father-a man she didn"t know all that well, as he certainly never made an effort to spend time with her as a child-and as she raised her hand to knock on the open door, she"d heard. There"d been no question that she"d mistaken the spoken words.
Robert Stanton and the firm accountant had specifically said they were laundering money from the Romanovs, a father and son who were known art dealers in Los Angeles. The Russian mob, she thought, her stomach churning. Their entire business could crumble, not to mention they could all end up in prison. Her stomach in knots, she"d turned to run, but Nicole"s father strode up to her at that very moment. He"d called out her name, which in turn brought Robert and Andre, the accountant, out into the hall to greet them.
The look Andre had given her chilled her even now. She told herself he couldn"t possibly know she"d heard anything. But she had. Which meant she didn"t need to worry just about her family and the business, but also about the men on the other side. Dangerous men.
Should she go to her father with the truth? If he already knew about his partner"s illegal dealings, she wouldn"t accomplish anything except to out herself. If Paul Farnsworth was in the dark, he probably wouldn"t believe his daughter"s word over his longtime partner"s. Nicole"s own mother would remain in useless denial even if confronted, and Tyler"s mother"s main source of campaign funds was her husband. No way would she risk using dirty money. So she ruled out her being aware. Which left the police-and she wasn"t ready for that yet.
And what about Tyler? She knew he was honest to a fault. She couldn"t imagine him allowing illegal dealings to go on, any more than she could envision his father involving him. He"d grown up as heir to the proverbial throne-ent.i.tled, privileged-and to his credit he rarely acted the role they"d bestowed on him. She had to a.s.sume they"d keep him squeaky clean.
But again, she couldn"t rely on a.s.sumption. The unknown players were just too dangerous.
"So did you decide what you want?" Macy asked.
"Not yet." Nicole hadn"t even looked at the menu.
Macy picked up a towel and wiped down the counter. "So what brings you to Serendipity?"
Easy answer, Nicole thought. "A fresh start."
Macy grinned. "Because you liked it so much your first time around?"
Nicole laughed, grateful for this chatty woman and the distraction she provided. "That too. Seriously. Considering the reason I was here, the place and the people made an impact."
Macy leaned on the counter. "It just so happens that there"s a fund-raiser this weekend to raise money for women"s heart health. I"m selling tickets and you should come!"
Nicole hesitated; the thought of walking into a big event all alone was not something she was ready to face. "I don"t know. I mean, I"m new in town-"
"All the more reason to go where you can meet people! Dates aren"t required. I"m not going with anyone, so we can hang out. What do you say?"
Nicole figured Macy was right, as far as it being a good way to get to know people, and now that Macy had invited her to join her, she felt more comfortable.
Before Nicole could answer, her new friend chimed in once more. "It"s for a good cause. The police department is co-sponsoring the event, and since this place is basically like a doughnut shop for Serendipity"s Finest, I agreed to pimp tickets for them. Please?" Macy was nothing if not persistent, and her enthusiasm was infectious.
So was the fact that the police sponsorship guaranteed Sam Marsden would be at the event. And she"d like to see him again... "Okay."
"Yay!" Macy"s smile dimmed. "But it"s expensive since it"s a fund-raiser."
"How much?"
"Seventy-five dollars."
Nicole nodded. She had a plan for her life that included opening her own bake shop, but not right away. She needed to research the area, see if it could sustain what she had in mind. Which meant she needed a job while she plotted her future. In the meantime, she had the trust fund her grandparents had left her, something that irked her parents to no end, since it meant they couldn"t control what she or Victoria did.
Nicole didn"t plan to blow through the money frivolously, and she"d need it for her business venture, but it did enable her to rent the apartment and cover the cost of living until she got on her feet. As far as she was concerned, getting to know people in her new town and supporting a worthwhile cause certainly fell under that heading.
"No problem." She met Macy"s gaze, and the other woman smiled wide.