The Almost Wives Club: Kate (12 page)
Read The Almost Wives Club: Kate Online
Authors: Nancy Warren
With only a day before he had to leave again, Nick was crazy busy.
He was running in to download interview notes when Susan stopped him. She said, “Comb your hair. Tuck your shirt in.”
“When did you turn into my mother?”
She got up and pulled out a comb from her purse then efficiently dragged it through his hair, acting exactly like a mother. “There’s a woman in your office. I don’t want you looking like a homeless person.”
“There’s a woman in my office?” She never put people in his office to wait. This one must be special. “Do I know her?”
“How do I know? Go in there and find out.”
He walked in and felt his balance sway. He saw her legs first. Long, sexy legs wearing low heels. Her black skirt had ridden up a little on her thigh. Nice muscle tone there.
“Hello,” he said. He didn’t know what else to say.
She turned her head and smiled at him. He felt blinded by the dazzle. “Hello.”
Her short blonde hair was styled, her makeup perfect, and she wore business clothes rather than beach wear, but she still looked like his Kate.
He wanted to go over there and kiss her senseless, then drag her out of here and straight to his place, but she’d shown up at his office and he supposed he should find out what she wanted.
“How can I help you?”
“I understand you can find missing people.”
“It’s one of my areas of expertise,” he agreed.
“I want you to find a man for me.” She had a little half smile playing around her mouth, that mouth he longed to kiss.
Even though he felt his pulse speed up, he kept his cool. He leaned against his desk, gazed down at her. “A man. What kind of man?”
“I met this man on the beach, in Carlsbad. He came for a lesson and, well, we hit it off.”
Oh, he was very much liking where this was going. “You did.”
She smiled that secret sexy smile that reminded him of late mornings and rumpled sheets. “Oh, yeah. And then he disappeared.”
“And why do you want to find him?”
She held his gaze with her own. “I need to tell him something. I need to tell him that I’m in love with him.”
“I see.” He walked over so he was standing right in front of her. “Perhaps I could take you somewhere more private and we could discuss this case in more depth.”
“I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”
She got up and threw herself in his arms. “Oh, Nick, I’ve missed you so much.”
He kissed her, held her to him. Feeling every part of her match up with every part of him.
“You were right,” she said. “I hadn’t even told my friends I wasn’t getting married. I was in limbo. Stuck there. But after you left, I went back to LA. I met Marlene.”
He pulled her away and looked down at her face. “You did what?”
“It’s a long story, but a good one. Anyway, Ted and I talked and we confronted our parents together and that part was awful, but they now know we’re not getting married and I made a list and I’ve called all my friends. I told my mother I’d help her cancel the caterers and everything. We’ve got most of that done.” She took a deep breath. “And now I’m free.”
“And here.”
“I needed to see you and tell you in person.”
“Tell me again.”
“I love you.”
Once the news sank in that she was in love with him, he had time to think about what else she’d said. “How did you find Marlene?”
The imp of mischief he’d glimpsed the first time he saw her was alive in her eyes. “I hired that PI who was following me in Carlsbad.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know why he never gave the Carnarvons pictures of us, would you?”
“Because I told him I’d pay him extra if he didn’t. He found me and I went back to LA. That’s really what they wanted.”
“One more mystery solved.” As they walked out, he said to his assistant, “Susan, I will be out for the rest of the day.” And then he winked at her.
Behind Kate’s back, she gave him two thumbs up.
Much later, when he and Kate had spent a few badly-needed hours in his bed, he said, “How long are you staying?”
“I thought I’d stay a few days and look around. I haven’t been to Seattle for years.”
“How would you like to go on a little trip with me?”
“How little?”
“I need to go to Catalina Island. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Weren’t we just near there?”
He kissed her because she was the most kissable woman he’d ever known. “Yes. Want to go back?”
She climbed on top of him and kissed him back. “I do.”
Catalina island was ridiculously pretty. They took a ferry over from Dana Point and, while he met with his client, she poked around in the little shops, then settled in for a cup of coffee.
When he returned, she saw him coming toward her down the road and her heart flopped over. She had the pleasure of watching his face light up when he caught sight of her.
“Come on,” he said, “Let’s take a walk.”
They held hands and wandered down quaint streets with storybook cottages all lined up waiting for tourists. Most of them seemed to be vacation rentals. Empty still.
“Will you be able to find his son?”
“I think so. You know, sometimes I get to do really good things in my job. Like bringing a father and son back together before it’s too late.”
They walked up a steep hill and through the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden. The air was warm as they strolled along admiring the cactus garden and the rare plants that were preserved here.
“Look,” he said. She followed his gaze and saw a wedding taking place. It couldn’t be more different from the one she should have participated in. There was a handful of people, the bride and groom, a minister and the ocean behind the ragged group.
“If I ever get married,” she said after a moment, “That’s the kind of wedding I want.”
He nodded. “Me, too.”
They watched for a moment. The woman wore a traditional wedding gown with a veil. You could see the sequins on her bodice sparkle in the sun. Her bouquet was formal. Kate suspected she’d brought it over from the mainland.
“That kind of dress?” he asked.
When she recalled the feel of a hundred pins stabbing her during the fitting and how she couldn’t breathe, she shook her head. “I’m going to wear something simple that I can breathe in. Bare feet so I can feel the warm sand between my toes.”
“A beach wedding then.”
“Definitely. You?”
“Well, obviously I’d have to match my bride. If she was wearing something casual, I’d have to be casually dressed too. I’m good with the beach.”
“You don’t sound too disappointed.”
He shrugged. “I’ve never been much for big, fancy celebrations.” He put an arm around her shoulder. “How many guests?”
She reached up and took his hand in hers. Her heart was beating faster. “Not too many.”
“Forty?”
“Half that.” She glanced at him. “And for the honeymoon?”
He said, “I’d go somewhere where there’s surfing.”
“A beach vacation?”
“Absolutely. But where the water’s warm.”
“Oh, you are not thinking—”
He chuckled, pulling her to face him. “Of course I am. Honeymoon sex on a surfboard.”
In the distance, the minister said, “You may kiss the bride,” and Nick looked at her with dancing eyes, added, “Or any woman who may soon be a bride,” and kissed her.
The Almost Wives Club is a five book series of romantic comedies. If you want a heads up as each releases, sign up for my
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I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can contact me through my website at
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I hope you have as much fun reading these books as I had writing them.
Happy reading!
Nancy
Other books you might enjoy
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The Wedding Flight (coming June 2015)
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The Chance kids, all eleven of them, find love and their place in the world, in this heartwarming, humorous romance series.
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For a complete list of Nancy Warren’s titles, please visit
her website
About the author
Nancy Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty novels. She’s known for writing funny, sexy and suspenseful tales. She calls Vancouver, Canada home though she tends to wander. She’s an avid hiker, animal lover, wine drinker and chocolate fiend. Favorite moments in her career include being featured on the front page of the New York Times when she launched Harlequin’s NASCAR series with Speed Dating. She was also the answer to a crossword puzzle clue in Canada’s National Post newspaper. She’s been a double finalist in the Rita awards and has won the Reviewer’s Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine. She spills secrets in her newsletter and you can sign up at
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Copyright Nancy Weatherley Warren 2015
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