For The Love Of Nick

“Yes, right.” Avoiding Nick’s gaze entirely now, Emma took Danielle’s arm.

Nick grabbed the cell out of Emma’s hand and hit redial.

“Hey!”

With a grim smile, he held up the display to Danielle. “Recognize this number?”

Danielle looked at it and paled. “It’s Ted’s.” She turned to Emma. “You just called Ted?”

Emma’s smile crumbled, replaced by a fierce concern. “Don’t be upset with me, he told me how much you love him, how this is all one big misunderstanding. He truly loves you, too, Danielle. He’s devastated by this separation. When he came looking for you, he begged me to contact him the moment I heard anything, so I did. All he wants is to see you, talk to you.”

“You told him where I was? Even when I asked for your confidence?”

Emma reached out for her hand. “Danielle-”

“I trusted you. My God,” she said on a mirthless laugh, backing up. “When will I learn?” She pointed to Emma’s car. “You’d better go.”

“Danielle, listen. We’re friends.”

“Friends? Are you kidding? Sadie-”

“It’s not the dog I’m worried about,” Emma said beseechingly. “Ted said he just wants you back-”

“Wants me back?” Danielle nearly swallowed her tongue. “If he wants me back, Emma, why did he call the police?”

“Well-”

“Tell me you didn’t tell him where you were supposed to take me.”

“No, not yet-”

“Don’t tell him. If you care about me at all, then-”

“Of course I care about you!”

“Then don’t tell him.”

“Danielle-”

“Please go.”

“But-”

“Now, Emma.”

Nick watched Danielle watch her “friend” drive off. He watched her shoulders sag slightly. Watched while she rubbed her temples, looking defeated and exhausted.

Any moment now she’d catch her breath and momentum. Any moment she’d straighten those shoulders and give him a cool look, the one that would probably work on anyone else, and tell him she had to go, too.

Before she could, he took her hand, and-risking certain death-Sadie’s leash. “We’re outta here.”

“What?” She gave him that cool look he’d been expecting. “There’s no we.”

“There is now.”

10

DANIELLE WAS REELING enough to let Nick take over. Enough to watch while he took care of all evidence of her being in his place, including shoving his sheets in the washing machine.

He looked perfectly at home measuring out the detergent. He even dumped the trash, which included, as she knew all too well, three used condoms.

It was only when he came to the two huge land mines in his front yard, left there by Sadie, that he hesitated. Still, he gamely found a shovel and took care of that, too, though he did shoot Sadie several dark looks that the dog freely and openly returned.

Then Nick tossed a duffel bag in the truck bed and backed them out of his driveway. Sadie had gotten into the vehicle docilely enough-probably because Danielle had as well-but now, as Nick drove, she whined.

Danielle felt like doing the same.

After about twenty minutes, Nick pulled up to a hotel. He turned off the truck and turned to her. Reaching for her hand, he gave her a careful once-over. “You okay?”

“Peachy.”

“I take it that’s a no.”

Danielle closed her eyes. “I just can’t believe how stupid I was. I would have let her walk me right into a trap.”

“Not stupid. You trusted her.”

“I keep forgetting trust isn’t an option.”

He slid his fingers beneath her hair, massaging the back of her neck until she looked at him. “You can trust me.”

“I-” The denial backed up in her throat at the open but fierce expression on his face. “I don’t want to trust anyone,” she whispered.

“I know,” he whispered back, and slowly pulled her against him.

He felt good, solid and warm, and for just a moment she let herself cling. And then somehow she sucked it up, found some desperately needed strength and pulled back. “What are we doing here?”

“Checking in. Then we’ll hunt down your Donald and make sure he’s on the up-and-up before you approach him.”

“Checking in?” She turned forward to face the hotel. “Here?”

“We can’t stay at my place.”

“We can’t, no. But you can.”

He waited until she looked at him, and his expression was light, neutral almost, but she knew him better now, and didn’t miss the determination. “I’m not leaving you alone to face this,” he said. “So just forget it.”

Why wouldn’t he just walk away? Why did he have to sit there looking so good, so right? So…hers? “I can’t let you do this, Nick. I don’t have enough money for the room, and-”

“It just so happens that I do. I know,” he said, putting his fingers over her lips when she would have spoken again. “You don’t like help, but you appear to be stuck with me for now.” Opening the door, he got out and held out his hand.

She followed, with Sadie in tow. “They might not appreciate Sadie as a guest,” she said as they entered the reception area.

“Given that I personally cleaned up after her this morning, I can see why,” he said dryly. “But this hotel takes dogs.” He pointed to the sign, Dogs Welcome. “Traveling with pets, especially dogs, is pretty common in this area. How many rooms do we need?”

He had the most amazing eyes, she thought inanely, her body tingling in reaction to his unspoken question.

How many rooms? Just one bed, her body cried. But her brain was in charge. “We shouldn’t get used to-”

“Yeah.” And hiding his reaction to that, he turned to the receptionist and reserved two rooms.

AFTER CHECKING IN, Nick drove Danielle to see Donald. When they got there, his office was boarded up, with a sign that announced, We’ve Moved!

Nick pulled out his cell phone, dialed the new number posted, and handed it over to Danielle, who spoke to the art director’s assistant.

When she clicked off the phone, she found Nick watching her very closely.

“Well?”

“I can’t see him until tomorrow,” she said.

“I heard. What I didn’t hear was how you’re holding up.”

“I’m holding.”

His mouth curved. “Good. Now you’ve got an entire day of vacation ahead of you.”

She gaped at him, then laughed. “Vacation?”