Perfect Fit (34 page)

“Never.” He kept his hand against her uninjured cheek. “As soon as I walked into my New York apartment, I knew I’d screwed up. It took me a week to do something about it because I didn’t think you’d want to see me again. And based on your reaction, I was right.” He winced at the memory they both held of how she’d rejected him back at the bar.

Cara ought to feel bad, but she didn’t. She was too shocked by his words and by the fact that he’d thought this out so clearly—and he’d taken the job.

He was staying.

“When you left the bar, my gut told me to go after you, but I waited. Then I saw that bastard’s hands on your throat and your head hit the pavement.” His body trembled. “You scared me to death.”

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“No, I’m sorry. For leaving, for putting you through the last week.”

If it brought them to this point, it was okay, Cara thought, her heart close to exploding from her chest. “You warned me not to get too invested, but despite everything, I fell in love with you too.”

As much as it hurt to talk, it was worth the pain to finally express her feelings and know they were reciprocated, she thought, running her finger down his cheek.

“Thank God.” He moved closer, and Cara threw herself against him, finding everything she’d ever wanted as his strong arms enveloped her in a tight embrace.

He pushed her away long enough to kiss her, a soul-stealing, all-consuming melding of lips that lit her up from the inside out. His tongue slid against hers and she moaned, seeking closer contact, wanting to rub up against him and never be cold again.

“You’re sure about all this?” she asked.

“So sure that I gave up my New York apartment and put a deposit on this house—pending your approval. The real
estate agent faxed me pictures and I fell in love, but I wanted us to walk through together.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered.

His grin transformed his entire face, and Cara fell in love all over again, more so because this time she didn’t have to push away the emotions because now they were shared.

“You’re my life,” he said, the words a balm to her soul. “I want to get married, have a family, raise kids here in Serendipity. I want them to know their grandparents. And I want you to know that I will
never
abandon you again.”

Cara was crying for real now, but they were good tears, tears that told her he’d just given her everything she’d never dared to hope for or dream about. She watched in disbelief as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a ring.

Go big or go home
, Mike thought, holding out the diamond engagement ring he’d picked out himself. He’d managed a lot in a short time, including this ring, which had called to him as soon as he’d laid eyes on it.

He presented it to her with shaking hands. “So, Cara Hartley, will you marry me?” he asked, as he gazed into the face of the woman he loved more than life itself.

She stared at him with those big, blue, expressive eyes, then glanced down at the ring and nodded. “Yes. Yes!”

She threw her arms around him, nuzzling her face into his neck, and Mike breathed easy for the first time in over a week. Or maybe ever in his life.

He separated them long enough to clasp her hand and slip the ring onto her finger.

“Look at that,” she murmured. “It’s a perfect fit.”

He couldn’t help but grin. “Just like us.”

He met her gaze, loving that her cheeks now glowed with happiness, a feeling that echoed inside him. “Ready to go check out the house?” he asked.

She nodded.

Hand in hand, they walked up the driveway to the huge Colonial set back on a private street in his small hometown of Serendipity. And Mike thanked his lucky stars that she’d given him a second chance.

Cara was
his
and he was finally home.

Erin Marsden had always been Serendipity’s good
girl. As assistant district attorney, only daughter of the ex-police chief, youngest sibling of two overprotective brothers, both cops, one of whom was the current police chief, Erin always lived up to expectations. She’d never made a misstep, more afraid of disappointing her family than of stepping out of the stereotypical role she’d always, always fulfilled.

Until last night.

She blinked and took stock of her surroundings: a strange bed, walls she didn’t recognize, and a warm, nude male body beside her very naked one.

Cole Sanders.

She took in his too-long mess of dark hair and the muscles in his upper back, thought about the way her body ached in all the right places, and she shivered. No doubt about it, when she finally stepped out of the mold she’d created, she’d not only done a one-eighty but made the most un-good-girl-like move she could think of. A one-night stand.

A one-night stand.

The thought made her giddy and also slightly nauseous as she silently traced the path that had led her here. She’d started yesterday at her brother Mike’s wedding, surrounded by friends, family, and happy, loving couples everywhere she looked, making Erin the odd woman out. Not wanting to go home alone just yet, she’d stopped by Joe’s Bar on the way home. Misstep number one. She’d let Cole Sanders, the man with whom her sixteen-year-old self had shared a long-remembered kiss the night before he left town for good, interrupt her dance with an old friend. Misstep number two. He’d pulled her close against his hard body. She’d looked into his dark blue eyes and seen a world weariness that tore at her heart, then acknowledged the sexual tension they’d both ignored since his return. Misstep number three. Then she’d gone for gold, agreeing to join him upstairs in his room over the bar for an all-night session of marathon sex.

And, oh my God, sex with Cole had been phenomenal. She didn’t know two people could generate such heat. It had been
that
fantastic. In fact, Erin thought, she’d stretch and purr in contentment right now if she wasn’t afraid of waking the man snoring lightly beside her.

Although their parents were good friends, Erin didn’t know him well. Nobody did, not anymore. Not even her brother Mike, who had been one of his closest pals. Cole’s father had been her dad’s deputy chief of police until last year, but Jed Sanders never spoke of his son. According to Erin’s brother, Cole had dropped out of the police academy mere days before their graduation. What Cole did after that was anybody’s guess, but rumors ran crazy in their small town. Some said Cole had gotten involved in organized crime in Manhattan, others claimed he ran drug and prostitution rings. Having grown up around Cole, even if she had kept her distance from the rough-and-tumble bad boy he’d been, Erin couldn’t bring herself to believe he’d gone so wrong.

Call her naïve, but she’d always seen something deeper in Cole, something good, even when he’d clashed with his tough-as-nails father. Even as the rest of the town basically shunned him since his return, Erin couldn’t bring herself to do the same. Not that he’d approached her, but when she’d seen him around, she’d always treated him to a hello or a genuine smile. Those steely eyes always looked her over before boring into hers with an intensity that put her off-kilter, but he’d never acknowledged her friendly overtures.

Until last night.

And good girl that she was, Erin still couldn’t dredge up an ounce of regret. She was long overdue for a night like that. Which didn’t mean she wouldn’t make her escape as cleanly as possible. What Erin didn’t know about awkward morning afters could fill a book. The quiet, tepid affairs in her past always ended the same way, with a polite “it’s not you it’s me,” before she’d walk away. She’d never had to slip out of a man’s bed undetected before.

She snuck one last glance at his broad shoulders, rising and falling with every breath he took. His arm muscles, sculpted from hard work and marked by ink, caused her to shiver anew.

Breathe, she silently ordered herself.

Think, she commanded next. Her clothes were scattered around the bedroom, if she called her bridesmaid’s dress clothing to sneak out in. With a last look at the man who’d made the earth move for her last night, Erin eased out from beneath the warm comforter and rose, searching for her dress. She bent over, stark naked, mortified her butt was in the air as she grabbed for her dress.

“I didn’t peg you as the type to sneak out,” Cole said in a lazy masculine drawl.

She snagged her dress from the floor and turned to face him, hugging the fabric against her for protection, suddenly feeling every inch the good girl she’d been a mere twenty-four hours ago.

“I’ve already seen every inch,” he reminded her, his heavy lidded gaze never leaving hers.

She flushed. Sometimes her lawyerly skills at deflecting came in handy and she opted to ignore the more humiliating comment, focusing instead on the first. “What type did you peg me for?”

He eased up against the headboard. Sexy, tousled and too handsome, one look had her wanting to crawl back into bed with him. That wasn’t happening for a number of reasons, the first being that a one-night stand had a shelf life and she’d used up hers. Second, to her extreme disappointment, he wasn’t asking. And third, bad-girl Erin was an aberration. This morning, with no champagne in her system, good-girl Erin had returned, more’s the pity.

He stretched his hands behind his head and leaned back, studying her. The sheet slipped below his navel and it took all her strength not to stare.

“You were pretty gutsy last night. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a coward.” He cocked an eyebrow.

Did the man never smile? “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a guy who’d want a woman to stick around…after.”

Which made her wonder why he hadn’t let her slip out unnoticed, even if he had been awake. It would have spared them both the awkwardness of…this. Then again, they’d have to play this conversation out some time. Might as well get it over with, she thought.

Then his words came back to her. “I was gutsy?” She straightened her shoulders a bit at that.

Erin was tough at work, she had to be in order to keep up with her boss and hold her own against defense attorneys and their clients, but gutsy with men? That was a first, and she kind of liked hearing it.

“I left the bar with you. That took guts,” she said, sounding almost pleased with herself.

He eyed her without cracking a grin, but she’d swear she
saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. Before he banked it, that is.

“I meant you were gutsy in bed.”

His words along with the deep rumble of approval in his tone warmed her inside and out and the heat of a blush rose to her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said, immediately horrified. Had she really just said that?

That earned her a sexy grin she’d never forget. “But back to my original point. We go way back. So no, I didn’t expect you to sneak out.”

She nodded.

“Regrets?” he asked, surprising her with the question but not with the suddenly defensive edge to his voice.

She immediately shook her head. “None.” It saddened her that he’d think she’d have them.

Not that it surprised her. No one in town had welcomed him with open arms and if anyone found out about last night, they’d think she’d lost her mind. And if her brothers discovered her secret…She refused to go there. If regret hadn’t kicked in yet, she doubted it would. And she wouldn’t want him to think she was embarrassed that she’d slept with him.

“You surprise me,” he admitted, studying her intently. “And I didn’t think there was much left in this world that could.”

He sounded as if he’d seen and done too much in his lifetime. A part of her wanted to reach out and soothe his hidden pain. But before she could dissect her thoughts or heaven forbid act on them, he spoke.

“But your instincts about me were right on. I’m not much for long, drawn-out morning afters.”

Disappointment stabbed her in the heart and
that
was too dangerous to even contemplate for long. “Glad to know I’m still on my game,” she said, forcing flippancy when she felt anything but.

Now that it was time to say good-bye, it wasn’t just
awkward, it hurt a little more than she’d imagined it would. Which was what she got for thinking she could handle a one-night stand with a guy she’d always had somewhat of a thing for. No matter how young she’d been at the time.

“Since it was just a one-night stand, you won’t have to worry about a repeat performance.” She tossed the words as flippantly as she could manage.

“Pity,” he murmured.

She jerked in surprise.

Just as she was wondering if she had the nerve to ask him to turn around so she could get dressed, he flipped the covers off himself and rose from the bed—stark, gloriously naked.

All thoughts fled from her brain. She tried to swallow and choked instead, ending up with another blush as she continued to cough until the spasm passed.

“And that just confirms why it has to be one night only,” he muttered low, obviously more to himself than to her.

Erin hated puzzles and enigmas. “What does that mean?” she asked.

“Erin, honey, in a world where nothing and no one is what they seem, you’re real.” He pulled on his jeans, leaving the top button open and Erin drooling. “And that makes you dangerous.”

“More riddles,” she told him.

He ignored her. Strolling over to the dresser, he opened a drawer and tossed her a pair of drawstring sweats and a faded gray T-shirt. “Here. You’ll be more comfortable—not to mention less conspicuous—leaving in these.”

She swallowed hard. “Thank you.”

He gestured to the open door in the corner. “Bathroom’s there. Towels for the shower are in one of the drawers. Take your time,” he said, and padded out of the room, a man comfortable in his own skin.

She shook her head, pushing away all thoughts except the rush to shower, dress, and leave. Any emotions or
lingering thoughts or feelings could wait until she was alone. At which point, she’d do her customary internal summarizing of events and tuck this episode away in her memory banks for safekeeping. Never to be revisited again, except on long, lonely nights when it was just her and her vibrator. Because everything inside her knew, despite his brush-off and surly attitude this morning, he’d set the bar way too high for any man who came after him.