'I haven't seen him so unhappy and sad since—since Mother died. It'll take him quite a while to get over Dina, especially her betrayal.'
'Rusty's tough. He'll bounce back eventually. Who knows, he might even fall in love again.'
'Ginger's with him now. She's fixed him a plate, and they're sitting in the kitchen eating. She cares about Daddy, and—and I think she's good for him.' Addy entered the den, hesitating slightly before moving to Nick's side. 'Don't you want something to eat?' She slipped her arm through his.
He stiffened. He didn't deserve her love. His stupidity had almost cost her her life. 'I'll eat later.'
'I know the funeral was as difficult for you as it was for Daddy.' Addy ran the tips of her fingers down Nick's arm until she reached his hand. She laced her fingers through his. 'Dina was the first woman you ever loved.'
He squeezed her hand with such force that she cried out. 'I'm sorry.' Loosening his grip, he tried to pull away, but Addy wouldn't let go of his hand.
'It's all right that you loved her, Nick. Stop hating yourself because you cared about Dina, because you didn't think she was capable of the things she and Brett did. Daddy loved her. He trusted her. Even I never once considered Dina a suspect.' Knowing that Nick was eaten alive with guilt, Addy longed to help him forgive himself for being human enough to make mistakes.
'You'll never be able to forget what happened, and neither will I,' Nick said, refusing to look at her, afraid he wouldn't be able to resist the love and understanding he'd see in her green eyes.
'No, we'll never forget, but in time—'
Nick brought Addy's hand to his lips, brushing tender kisses across her knuckles. 'I let you down, Red. It was my fault that Windsor got to you. If I had done my job, you would have been safe.'
She reached out, covering his cheek with her open palm. 'Stop beating yourself up. If anyone is to blame, it's me for being foolish enough to sneak away to the elevator. I realized my mistake on the way down to the lobby, but by then it was too late. Brett was there waiting for me.'
Nick jerked her into his arms, his dark eyes searching her face. 'When I think about what could have happened.'
'It didn't happen.' Addy spread her arms around his waist, holding him tight. 'You figured out where Brett had taken me. You rescued me, saved me, just as I knew you would. Haven't you figured it out, yet, Nick Romero? You're my knight in shining armor.'
'Some knight! I'm afraid my armor is tarnished, Red. You've built me up into something I'm not. You think I'm so wonderful, such a damned hero, when all I am is an over-the-hill ex-SEAL and ex-DEA agent. A guy who's been everywhere, done everything and seen too much of the sick, evil, dark side of life.'
'Why are you doing this? Why are you trying so hard to convince me what a bad guy you are?'
'Because I am a bad guy, Red.' Shoving her out of his arms, he turned his back on her. 'I can't possibly live up to the image you have of me.' He walked toward the windows, stopping to stare sightlessly out onto the lawn. 'Remember the man you met at Rusty and Dina's engagement party? You didn't like that man, Addy. You weren't impressed with him at all. Well, I'm still that same man.'
'Yes, I suppose you are.' Addy couldn't bear to think that she would lose him, but she could feel him slipping away from her. 'I was wrong about you, though. There's a lot more to Nick Romero than his Latin lover-boy charm.'
'Is there?' Nick had to make her realize that he wasn't in her league. She was head and shoulders above him, a woman who deserved only the best, and he didn't even come close. 'You know what my SEAL buddies called me? Romeo. And believe me, I lived up to my nickname.'
'I suppose I should be jealous of all those women, and I guess I am a little, but I'm also grateful to them.' Smiling, Addy touched him on the shoulder. He cocked his head sideways so he could see her. 'All that practice has made you a wonderful lover.'
How the hell could she joke about it? He'd thought that reminding her of his past would make her see what poor husband material he'd make. 'You just plain refuse to see me as I really am. You've created some fantasy man.' He walked away from her. 'I'll disappoint you, Red. I'll let you down. I'm no good at this commitment business.'
'What are you so afraid of, Nick? Why are trying to put up walls between us?'
'I'm afraid of hurting you. I'm afraid that one day you'll wake up and realize what a mistake you made, that I'm not the man you thought I was.'
Addy didn't go after him. She let him walk away, knowing that nothing she could say or do could make him feel any different about himself. Nick loved her as much as she loved him, but he thought she didn't really know him, that she saw him only as her rescuer, only as a lover. How could she prove to him that she knew exactly who he was?
Nick Romero, a flawed and imperfect man with a colorful and slightly unsavory past, was destined to be the father of her children. Somehow she'd just have to convince him that a reformed Romeo would make a faithful husband and an adoring father.
Three days after Dina's funeral, Addy McConnell went home, back to her house in the Twickenham district. Her father and Nick Romero accompanied her.
July had become viciously hot and humid, with heat indexes topping the hundred-degree mark daily. Tempers were short, moods constantly changing. She and Nick had spent little time together. His decision, not hers. He was trying to distance himself from her, to prepare her for his departure.
Addy suspected that today was the day Nick would make an attempt to leave her. But if he thought for one minute he'd ever get away from her, he'd better think again. She wasn't about to lose the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Addy served iced tea in the den. Rusty and Nick sat opposite each other, the older man inspecting the younger, eyeing him critically.
'You'll be settling down here in Huntsville, won't you?' Rusty asked. 'Long-distance romances seldom work.'
'Sam Dundee has offered me a job in Atlanta,' Nick said.
'Hell, stay on here. Take over as security chief at M.A.C. Tandy McHenry will be retiring in a few months.' Rusty puffed on his cigar, then blew smoke rings into the air.
Addy sat down beside Nick on the small sofa. She knew what game her father was playing. It was called 'Running Addy's Life.'
'Thanks for the offer, Rusty, but—'
'Damnation, boy, quit hem-hawing around.' Rusty got to his feet, his ruddy, freckled face flushed with agitation. 'You're staying here in Huntsville and marrying Addy, and that's final!'
'Daddy!'
'I hardly think it's your place to decide who Addy marries,' Nick said.
'I'm her father, aren't I? Who better to pick out the right man for her?'
'I think Addy should have a say in this. After all, it's her life. If she's as smart as I think she is, she won't saddle herself with a guy like me for the rest of her life.'
'You're perfect for her, and you know it,' Rusty said.
'That's where you're wrong.' Nick stood, facing Addy's father. 'I'd wind up disappointing her. I don't know the first thing about love and commitment. Hell, I'm a forty-three-year-old bachelor.'
'Boy, do you know how much Addy will be worth when I kick the bucket? She'll be one of the richest women in the United States.'
'I don't give a damn about your money, about how rich Addy is. If I married Addy, I'd sign a prenuptial agreement. Addy, without one red cent, is worth a king's ransom. She's the kind of woman who's priceless.'
Rusty grinned, his smile lighting his face. 'I agree. A man would be a fool to run out on a woman like that, wouldn't he? Especially if the two of them are in love with each other and create red-hot sparks when they're in bed together.'
'Daddy!' Addy jumped up, placing herself between the two bickering men. 'I think this has gone far enough. You two are discussing me as if I'm not in the same room, as if I'm not perfectly capable of talking for myself.'
Rusty glanced from his furious daughter to a dark and brooding Nick. Flashing them a brilliant smile, Rusty walked over to the door. 'Well, girl, start talking before your man starts walking.'
