"What do you mean?"
"Come on, Nic. You and Colin have been inseparable for the past couple of weeks. Why don't you just marry the guy and put him out of his misery?"
"He hasn’t asked me to marry him," she replied matter-of-factly, although just the thought stirred flutters of cautious hope in her heart.
"Then my brother doesn't have half the brains I give him credit for." Shaun grinned. "Marry me, and let's watch him wallow in misery for the rest of his life."
Nikki laughed. "It's a tempting offer, but I think I'll pass."
"Yeah." He shrugged. "I kind of thought you might."
"I wouldn't turn down your company, though, if you wanted to stay for dinner."
"Are you on your own?"
"I am. Colin took Carly to a baseball game tonight, and Arden is at a late settlement conference."
"In that case," Shaun said, "I would love to stay for dinner."
When Colin arrived home with Carly after the ball game, Nikki was waiting on the front porch. But she wasn't alone. Shaun was with her, and they were sitting side by side on the porch swing. Nikki's head was against the back of the seat, almost, but not quite, resting on his shoulder.
Colin assured himself that there was no reason for the slow burning in his gut. He and Nikki were very definitely involved, and despite her continued insistence that there were no strings to their relationship, he knew she wouldn't encourage his brother's attention while she was sleeping with him.
He pulled his Jeep alongside Nikki's car in the double driveway. Carly, exhausted from the excitement of the baseball game, had fallen asleep in the back seat before they were halfway home. He chose to ignore his brother's unexpected presence for the moment and focused his attention on getting Carly out of the vehicle without disturbing her slumber.
He opened the back door and the interior light illuminated her sleeping form. Her head was tipped forward, her hair curtaining her face. He leaned across her and unbuckled the seat belt, tipping her head back gently. Her eyes were closed, her lashes fanning her cheeks, her little rosebud lips slightly parted.
He watched her for a moment, still amazed to think that he'd had any part in creating this amazing child. He eased her from the seat and into his arms. She curled into him easily, trustingly, and his heart went to mush.
Closing the door quietly so as not to startle her, he carried her toward the front porch.
He passed Carly into Nikki's waiting arms. Their daughter stirred and yawned, but her eyelids never flickered.
"I'll get her changed and into bed," Nikki whispered.
As she went inside to settle their daughter, Colin turned to his brother. "What are you doing here with my wife?"
"Your e*-wife," Shaun clarified, sounding almost amused.
Colin's eyes narrowed. "Answer the question."
"I stopped by on my way home from work, and Nikki invited me to stay for dinner."
"Why are you still here?"
"We've been talking," his brother explained.
"Just talking?"
Shaun snorted. "What did you think—that we were groping one another in the dark until you pulled up?"
Phrased that way, so crudely and bluntly, the question forced Colin to acknowledge the absurdity of his inquiry. Except that Arden suspected Shaun had feelings for Nikki. And then there was that kiss he'd witnessed.
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't putting any moves on her. Like the night you went to that fund-raiser thing."
He still didn't remember what Nikki had called it, but he did remember—very clearly and in minute detail—how she'd looked in that shimmering dress she'd worn. He remembered the burning jealousy in his gut when his brother had kissed her.
"Saw that, did you?" Shaun grinned. "I should have figured you'd be peeking through the curtains."
"You're lucky I didn't toss you off the porch," Colin muttered. "Of course, I could always do it now."
"You could try."
"Don't tempt me."
"I never thought Nikki was the type to be impressed by brute strength, but she did marry you once." Shaun shrugged. "I guess there's no accounting for taste."
"And what kind of woman suits your taste?"
"I'm not particular."
"Well, go find one of your own," Colin said. "Nikki's mine."
His brother set the swing in motion again. "I didn't see a ring on her finger."
"Back off, Shaun."
Apparently unfazed by the warning, Shaun stretched his arms over the back of the chair. "Yeah, a woman like Nikki might be worth brawling over. I seem to recall that I could take you more often than not when we were younger."
"When we were kids," Colin scoffed. "Now you wear a suit to the office, and the most exercise you get is your weekly squash game."
Shaun rose to his feet, and looked down the four inches he had over his younger brother. But Colin stood his ground. They were pretty evenly matched in weight despite the differences in their height, and he was almost itching for an excuse to take his frustrations out on his brother.
It had been too many years since he'd worked off steam in a good fight. Of course, on the ice it was a five-minute penalty; on the street, it could be deemed assault. But his brother didn't worry him. Shaun might make his living spouting off about the law, but he wouldn't hide behind it.
"That comment was just condescending enough to make me want to prove a point," Shaun said. "But I don't think Nikki would appreciate having to mop up your blood off her porch. Besides, she's too blind in love with you to know she's making a mistake. Again."
Colin's irritation died almost as quickly as it had risen. "Do you think so?"
"That she's making a mistake?"
Okay, maybe the annoyance hadn't completely dissipated. He glared at his brother. "Do you think she loves me?"
Shaun shook his head. "Man, you're just as love struck as she is. It's almost embarrassing to watch the two of you make gaga eyes at one another."
Gaga eyes? Ordinarily a statement like that would have earned his brother at least one good punch, but hope expanded in Colin's chest, pushing everything else aside.
Shaun laughed. "If I wasn't so happy for you, I'd hate you."
"Have you and Nikki…" He hesitated. "Were you ever … involved?"
"No. I might have considered it at one time," Shaun admitted. "But I don't think she ever got over you."
Colin's relief was palpable.
"That doesn't give you license to screw up again," his brother warned.
"I have no intention of screwing this up," he said solemnly. "I love her, more than I ever thought it was possible to love somebody."
"So why are you telling me instead of her?"
"I've tried telling her. It hasn't seemed to make much difference."
"Give her time. Prove to her that she can trust you."
Colin sighed. He'd thought that's what he was doing. He spent his days with Carly, his nights with Nikki. He'd thought they were growing closer, that she was learning to trust him again.
But when he'd told her he loved her the other day, she'd looked stunned, scared. Not that he'd expected a reciprocal declaration. But he had expected more of a reaction than what she'd given. And her apparent dismissal of his love had struck him deeply.
Never had another woman had the power to hurt him.
Or to heal him.
He needed Nikki. He knew now that his life was incomplete without her in it. He'd been a fool to have ever let her go, and he wouldn't make the same mistake again. This time, he planned to hold on to her forever.
Except that he couldn't make any plans for forever until he knew for sure that the threats against his life had passed and his presence wouldn't endanger either Nikki or Carly. The realization frustrated him, and at the same time made him all the more determined to live each day to the fullest.
Colin forced his thoughts back to the present, and the annoying problem of his brother's continued presence. "Don't you have somewhere
else to be?"
Shaun grinned. "Nope."
Colin's steely-eyed glare would have sent a lesser man scrambling; Shaun only chuckled. But he did move toward the steps.
"All right, I'm going. Tell Nikki I'll talk to her later."
"Much later," Colin muttered.
Shaun was still laughing as he climbed into his car.
"Where's Shaun?" Nikki asked when she came back outside a few minutes later and found Colin in the swing his brother had occupied earlier.
"I sent him to find his own woman," Colin said.
"To find—what?" Nikki seemed torn between amusement and indignation.
"His own woman," he repeated. He stopped the gentle motion of the swing and tugged on Nikki's wrist to pull her down beside him. "I'm tired of finding him with mine."
"With … yours?" she spoke slowly, carefully.
Colin laid his arm across the back of her shoulders and leaned in, his mouth hovering above hers. "You are my woman."
When her eyes lifted to his, he saw that hers were spitting fire. "Just because I'm choosing to sleep with you at the present time does not make me your woman."
Colin clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in a sound of disapproval. "If you were being honest, you'd admit that neither one of us gets any sleep when we're together."
"Having sex doesn't make me your woman," she amended testily.
He moved a fraction closer, until he could feel the warmth of her breath mingle with his own. "Making love with you makes you mine." He brushed his lips over hers. "And it makes me yours."
Her arms came around his neck, and she pulled his head down to hers to kiss him more firmly.
"Well, then," she said, when she released him so they could both catch their breath. "As long as we're on equal terms."
"Always," he promised her.
There was nothing Boomer hated more than babysitting detail, and that's what this latest assignment had turned into. He'd been following the target around for what seemed like forever, determined not to lose sight of him now that he'd been found.
Under ordinary circumstances, the job would have been done already and he would have been long gone from this little nowhere town. But it had taken Parnell a few days to come through with the funds, and a few days more for Boomer to track down a supplier.
Even now, his source wasn't certain he could procure the necessary materials. Boomer had given him a twenty-four-hour deadline, after which he'd look elsewhere.
In the meantime, he was keeping an eye on the target. Today, that necessitated a trip to the zoo.
Boomer hated the zoo. He hated the crowds and the noise and the animals and the stench. He tossed the cardboard box toward a nearby trash can. And he hated the stale popcorn.
Most of all, he hated wasting time.
Efficiency wasn't just an asset in his line of work but a necessary rule of survival. Move in quickly, blend into the background, do what needed to be done and get out. He never stayed in one place long enough to become recognizable, and he knew he'd already been here too long.
He paused in front of the enclosure where a Siberian tiger was sleeping in the sun, oblivious to the passersby. He wished he could block out the crowd, as easily. He wished he could be anywhere but here.
Soon, he promised himself. Soon it would all be over.
He moved on, an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach that it wouldn't be soon enough.
As they wandered through the zoo Sunday afternoon, Carly's endless energy and boundless enthusiasm continued to amaze Colin. They'd been going for hours, and while both he and Nikki were showing definite signs of fatigue, their four-and-a-half-year-old daughter wanted to go back and see the monkeys "just one more time." Which would make it the sixth time already. But they followed without protest as Carly turned in the now familiar direction of the primate compound.
After Carly finally had her fill of the chimpanzees and the gorillas and all species in between, they headed through the throngs of people toward the exit. Colin made a brief stop at the gift shop on their way out and bought Carly a stuffed monkey with a garishly colored face.
She squealed with delight when he handed her the surprise, and Nikki rolled her eyes—as he'd known she would. She was always cautioning him against giving Carly everything she wanted, and more. But he figured he had a lot of years of gift giving to make up for.
To soften Nikki's disapproval, he pulled a second monkey out of the bag and handed it to her. She blushed as she accepted the offering, but he knew she was pleased with the gift when she kissed him in front of the masses of people milling around them.
Okay, it was a brief peck on the cheek, but it had to mean something. Especially since she'd refused to let him hold her hand as they'd strolled around the grounds, concerned that Carly might get "ideas" about the relationship between the two of them. Colin had decided to humor her, even though he figured their daughter was smart enough to know that he was head over heels in love with her mother.
He figured days like today—easy, lazy days that they enjoyed as a family—were just the ticket to easing Nikki toward the realization that she could be in love with him, too.
They stopped at a family restaurant off the highway to grab a bite to eat before going home. The diner was crowded and noisy, and as Colin glanced at the chaos around them, he couldn't help but smile. When he and Nikki had been dating the first time around, they'd shared wine by candlelight. Tonight it was milk under glaring fluorescent light, hamburger instead of filet mignon, and paper napkins rather than linen. And he was enjoying himself immensely.
At least until he turned to speak to Carly and caught a glimpse of the man seated a few tables away. He was sure he didn't know the man, and yet something about him was oddly familiar.
"Colin?" Nikki touched his arm, drawing his attention back to his own table. "Is something wrong?"
"No." He shook salt onto his fries, glanced at the solitary diner again. "Do you know that man?"
"What man?"
"The one sitting by himself in the corner."
She looked in the direction indicated, shrugged. "He doesn't look familiar. Why?"
"I think I saw him at the zoo today."
She laughed. "There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people at the zoo today. How could you remember one man?"
Nikki was right. The zoo had been crowded—with couples and families and tour groups. Which was precisely why this man had stood out. He'd been alone, wandering by himself in the midst of the couples and families and tour groups, yet always seeming to be close to Colin and Nikki and Carly.
Or maybe he was just imagining it, as he'd imagined that Eddy Luchyshyn was stalking him. He shrugged off the sense of unease, certain he was being paranoid again. But he breathed a silent sigh of relief when the solitary diner paid his check and left the restaurant.
Chapter 14
Carly fell asleep in the Jeep again on their way home from the restaurant. She didn't even stir as Colin carried her into the house. He and Nikki worked together silently, getting their daughter changed out of her clothes and into her pajamas. Colin tucked her into bed, Nikki tucked Emma under her arm, and they both kissed her good-night.
"I can't believe the way she just crashes like that." Colin followed Nikki out of the room. "She seems to go, go, go—full steam ahead. Until she runs out of steam."
Nikki nodded and smothered a yawn with the back of her hand. "I think I've about run out of steam, too."
Colin tugged her toward the sofa, lowered himself onto it and pulled her down onto his lap. She didn't resist but laid her head against his shoulder. "You've had a busy weekend."
She nodded again.
He rubbed a hand over her bare thigh. "My new bed was delivered yesterday."
She tipped her head toward him, smiling, "I don't know why you needed a new bed—you spend most of your time in mine."
"Except that you kick me out before dawn every morning."
"You know why."
He dipped his head to kiss her softly. "Anyway, I thought you might want to take a closer look at the bed."
"That sounds … tempting. But Carly's upstairs and—"
"Arden's back," Colin reminded her. He skimmed his lips over her cheek, nibbled on her earlobe.
"I can't just…"
Her explanation faltered when he nuzzled her neck, the stubble on his chin rasping her sensitive skin.
"Okay," she agreed.
Colin didn't give her a chance to change her mind. He lifted Nikki off the couch and led her through the kitchen, where Arden was standing at the counter making a sandwich.
"Carly's asleep upstairs," Nikki began. "So we were just going to … um … go down to Colin's for … a while," she finished lamely.
Arden finished cutting the sandwich, then turned around and smiled. "I saw the new bed."
Nikki's face flushed scarlet, but Colin just grinned. He figured Arden was smart enough to know he and Nikki didn't spend their nights playing euchre behind her bedroom door.
"We won't be gone long," Nikki said.
Arden lifted an eyebrow and turned to him. "I don't know, Colin, but I think she just insulted you."
Colin wrapped an arm around Nikki's waist and half dragged her toward the door, anxious to escape before she could disparage him any further.
"Don't wait up," he told Arden.
He heard her laugh as the door closed behind them.
Nikki's eyes widened when Colin opened the bedroom door and stepped aside for her to enter. The new king-size bed dominated the small room, the dark plaid cover turned back to reveal crisp navy sheets. "It's huge."
Colin grinned. "Now why couldn't you have said that in front of Arden?"
The corners of her mouth kicked up. "I am sorry about that."
But he was already tugging the T-shirt out of her shorts, unconcerned about her earlier comments. Then his hands were on her skin, and she wasn't thinking about anything but getting him naked and on to that massive bed.
He pushed her shorts over her hips and lifted her against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and they tumbled together onto the bed just as the phone started to ring.
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