“Traitor!” Nick’s warm smile proved he clearly loved the child. “Keep it up and I’m taking the cell phone back.” He slid another book from the pile. “I’d like one too, Summer.”
Before Shelby could refuse, a gorgeous, dark-haired, feminine version of Nick rushed to his side. “Sorry, I just got your message. I came as fast as I could.” She took Emily from his shoulder. “Come here, honey.” Then she turned and stuck her hand out to Shelby. “Hi, I’m Emily’s mom, Lori. We just adore your books. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you. So, Nick is your . . . brother?”
Lori nodded. “Yes. Are you two friends?”
Shelby said, “No,” at the same time Nick said, “Yes.”
Lori frowned at her brother. “What have you done now, Nick?”
Nick met Shelby’s gaze and winced. Suddenly he looked like a kid caught climbing through his bedroom window after curfew instead of his normal arrogant self.
“Nothing. Let’s go. See you, Shelby.” Nick wrapped his arm around his sister’s waist and tugged.
The sexy blonde woman behind them called out, “Nick, wait. Here’s my number.”
Nick stopped his hasty retreat. “Great, thanks.” He accepted the piece of paper and then sent Shelby a pained look. “Um . . . so I’ll call you?”
Her jaw clenched. If she weren’t in a store packed full of kids who looked up to her, she’d tell Nick to take a hike. “I’ll call you. Please don’t call me.”
CHAPTER THREE
“Asking for help when you’re in trouble is hard to do . . . especially for bad little monkeys.”
Chester’s Disastrous Day at The Zoo
Tired of sitting on the couch tapping away at her keyboard, Shelby yawned and stretched her hands over her head. She needed a break from Chester and his antics. Was it her imagination, or was Chester acting particularly naughty in this book? She might have to clean up his act a bit. Chester was starting to operate like Nick.
Worse, she hadn’t slept well the night before. Visions of Nick and his muscles from the Facebook pictures had bounced around her brain all night. Nick and Greg were the only men her body had reacted to in such a visceral way. Now she was even dreaming about the Neanderthal’s smile.
She’d call Nick later, tell him she wasn’t the right matchmaker for him, then give him a full refund. She wouldn’t want an unhappy customer as successful as Nick out there talking poorly about her, so maybe she’d offer to set him up on one meet for free before they went their separate ways.
The only good thing about her inability to sleep because of Nick, was that it helped her figure out how to fix her story.
A loud knock sounded on her front door.
She laid her computer on the coffee table and crossed to the entry. Standing on her tiptoes, she peered through the peephole.
No freaking way. It was him. And he looked like crap.
She didn’t think that was possible.
He wore the same suit as the day before, now rumpled, his jaw covered with day-old stubble. His hair was a mess, as if he’d been running his hands through it.
She picked up the bat she kept in the entry and yanked the door open. Thankfully a locked glass storm door still separated them. “Go away, or I’m calling the police.”
“Good. You’re home. I have an emergency.” He blinked at her as his smile grew. “You wear glasses? Cute.”
She forgot she had them on. And she was wearing dumpy sweats.
Nice.
Clutching her bat tighter, she said, “How did you get my address?”
“I know your cousin, Jake. We belong to the same climbing club. Small world, huh? Anyway, he gave it to me. And since you told me not to call . . .”
She breathed out a sigh and lowered the bat. If Jake trusted Nick enough to give him her address, then Nick wasn’t a horrible person. Just an annoying one. She unlocked the door so they wouldn’t have to yell through the glass and pushed it open. “So, you’re having a dating emergency?”
“No, it’s my niece, Emily. She’s in the hospital.”
Shelby’s anger instantly dissipated. “What’s wrong?”
“Appendix. They got her into surgery just in time last night. Em’s uncomfortable this morning, but mostly she’s scared of dying, leaving her mom all alone. Her father was killed while in the military, fighting overseas. Emily’s got issues.”
Issues? Only someone who hadn’t lost a parent, especially at such a young age, could call what Emily was feeling issues. It’s heartbreak. “I’d be happy to help Emily. You’re lucky I asked questions first before I beat you with my bat. I thought you were a stalker.”
“I’m not a stalker, Shelby.” He sent her one of his sexy grins. “But if you’ll help Emily, I’ll let you take a free swing. She’s inconsolable because she can’t find the book you signed for her. She had it with her when they admitted her, but it’s disappeared in the shuffle last night. Will you sign another for her? Please?”
The man said please? Would wonders never cease?
She held the door open wider. “Fine. Come in. And if you’ll wait while I change, I’ll deliver it in person. I have a little experience at being a kid in the hospital.”
Relief softened his face. “Thank you, Shelby. I owe you one.”
“And I won’t let you forget it.” She let go and the spring loaded door slapped closed behind him.
Nick looked ready to drop at any moment. She shouldn’t offer him anything because she really didn’t want to encourage him, but she had manners. Maybe he’d learn by example. “Have a seat. Want some coffee?”
He sighed and dropped onto the couch. “More than I want to draw my next breath.”
She beamed her sweetest, fake smile. “Too bad I’m out of arsenic, or I might have been tempted to arrange that.”
She left him on the couch and went to the kitchen to get his coffee. As she poured him a cup, she remembered he’d liked her chocolate chip cookies from their first meeting, so she grabbed two from the cookie jar and put them on a plate. When she returned to the living room, Nick was smiling and tapping the down arrow key on her laptop.
Rude!
“What are you doing?”
“Sorry. I couldn’t resist. Your Chester books rock. This is the best one yet.” He gulped his coffee, then ate a cookie as he read. The sincere smile on his face made him even sexier, dammit . . . and that he liked her books didn’t hurt.
But then, of course he liked them. Chester was acting as badly as Nick.
She shook her head and then went to get ready.
After a few minutes, he called out, “Can I have some more coffee?”
“Last I checked, you had two hands,” she yelled back from her bedroom. “Get it yourself!”
Maybe she shouldn’t have said that about his hands. He’d think she was checking out the size of them to gauge the size of his other . . . parts. She’d be more careful about that.
After she put her contacts in, touched up her makeup, and combed her hair, she changed out of her favorite writing sweats into jeans and a sweater. It had been an unusually warm fall, so she’d forgo a coat.
After grabbing one of her latest books from the box her publisher had sent, she signed it, then added an extra get well wish. Ready to roll, she went to find Nick.
He sat on the couch with his arms crossed, his chin resting on his chest, sound asleep. She glanced at the screen of her laptop, relieved he’d fallen asleep at the end of her story instead of the middle.
She couldn’t fight the urge that overcame her. Really, her middle name should be Chester. She leaned down and shouted in his ear, “All ready to go!”
Nick jerked upright and banged his knee on the coffee table.
“Dammit, Shelby!” He ran a hand through his hair and glowered at her.
“What?” She plastered on an innocent smile. “How was I to know you’re such a light sleeper?”
***
When they got to the hospital, Nick held the
door open for Shelby. Guilt clawed inside his gut for spying on her. Especially when she hadn’t hesitated to help Emily. He’d been tempted to dig through Shelby’s computer when he’d had the chance, but he couldn’t be that underhanded. He’d just stuck to asking probing questions about her business during their drive to the hospital.
Now to keep Shelby and Lori apart so she wouldn’t accidentally blow his cover. It had been a close call at the book signing. Luckily Lori used her married last name for her business, not Caldwell, so Shelby wouldn’t recognize Lori as her competitor. And hopefully his sister wasn’t back yet after going home to get Em’s favorite doll.
They turned toward the elevators, but after a few steps Shelby wasn’t beside him like she’d been a moment before. Her pale face made him rush to her side and grab her arm. He led her to a nearby bank of chairs. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She lowered her head between her knees.
“Deep breaths, Shelby.” She probably wouldn’t appreciate comfort from him. But he hated feeling so helpless.
Taking the risk, he slowly ran his hand up and down her back, testing the waters. She tensed at first, but relaxed a little as he continued his soft strokes, waiting her out.
While growing up, he’d had more than his share of calming upset women. As an adult, he’d made it a point to avoid upset women at all costs. But he owed Shelby, so he sucked it up.
When his fingers gently massaged the tense muscles in her long, kissable neck, she sighed.
Progress.
Her breathing became more steady, so he said, “I think we may have gotten off to a bad start, but—”
Shelby snorted as her color returned a bit. “Ya think?”
“My sisters tell me I’m a pretty good listener.”
She sent him a smoldering look, but as he stared deeply into her pretty green eyes, he couldn’t help the smile that tilted his lips. She was beautiful, even though she wanted to beat the crap out of him with her bat.
“Stop that! I’m not like other women. You can’t charm me with that you-know-you-want-me smile of yours.” Shelby frowned and looked away.
Just when he thought he’d been shut down, she whispered, “When I was a kid, I lost my family and then spent almost a year in and out of the hospital. Being here, the smell, it sometimes conjures all the bad memories from back then.”
He took her hand and gently squeezed. “What happened?”
She glanced at their entwined fingers and blew out a long resigned breath. “When I was seven, I’d missed dinner one night, so I sneaked to the kitchen and made myself a grilled cheese sandwich. After I ate it, I went back to bed. I awoke later to a house filled with smoke. I must’ve forgotten to turn off the stove, although I swear I remember turning the knob off. Then I heard my little sister crying, so I ran down the hall to her room and pulled her out of her crib. I tried to open her window, but it was stuck and I couldn’t lift it. I finally got it open a little so I held my sister out so she could breathe, but the window crashed down on my back and I got trapped. I woke up later in the hospital and found out my legs had been burned from about here”—Shelby pointed to a place mid-thigh—“to my feet. I had over twenty surgeries to repair my skin.”
So that’s how she’d lost her family. It was obvious she still blamed herself for it, just as he blamed himself for the destruction of his parents’ marriage. Although, in contrast, his pain couldn’t match hers. “I’m sorry, Shelby. I’ll take you home.”
She shook her head and stood. “I’m good now. Let’s go.”
“Okay. But just say the word and we’re gone.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. She still looked kind of wobbly.
“Thanks. But you still owe me!”
He chuckled. “I had no doubt.”
When they got to Emily’s room, Nick’s mom, who was seated by Emily’s bed, sent them a strained smile. Things must’ve not improved much since he’d left. Em’s lunch tray hadn’t been touched and the little worry line in the middle of her forehead was deeper than he’d ever seen it. She had a death grip on the doll Lori ran home to get, so where was his sister? “Hi, Mom. This is Shelby.”
His mom stood and shook Shelby’s hand. “Nice to meet you. We’re all fans of yours. Lori will be sorry she missed you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Caldwell. It’s nice to meet you too.” Shelby smiled that cute smile at his mom that he’d only seen when Shelby looked at kids. Apparently everyone but him got that smile.
His mom turned to him. “Lori just stepped out to get us some lunch. She’ll be back in a bit.
Thank God for that. Maybe they could be in and out before Lori got back.
Shelby sat beside Emily on her bed. “How are you doing kiddo?”
Emily worked up a sad smile that poked at his heart. “I lost your book.”
“No problem. I brought you another.” Shelby pulled out a book from her ginormous purse.
“Thank you, Summer.” Emily’s eyes lit with joy.
“You’re welcome.” Shelby tossed her purse onto a nearby chair. “But you can call me Shelby. Summer Sinclair is a pen name. Sometimes people who write books have to use a different name than their own because theirs doesn’t sound as good, or someone else already writes under that name. Or, sometimes, you belong to a family who doesn’t like that you write kids’ books, so you have to change it for them.”
Emily’s brows knit. “But if you have two names, how do you remember when you should be Summer and when you should be Shelby?”
“That’s the tricky part.” Shelby reached out and wrapped one of Emily’s hands in hers. “I hear you’ve been feeling a little scared about being in the hospital. How come?”
Nick leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Why wouldn’t Shelby’s family be proud of what she did? Shelby’s books were fantastic. His favorite to read to Em whenever he tucked her in.
Emily glanced at Nick’s mother. “People die in the hospital. I don’t want my mommy to be all alone if I died like my daddy did.”
Shelby gave Em a quick hug. “You’ve already done the hard part. You’ve had your surgery and now you’re fine. Most of the time, people get better in hospitals. I missed a whole school year when I was just a little older than you because I had to have a lot of surgeries to make the skin on my legs better after an accident.”
“Do they still hurt?” Emily reached out and rubbed Shelby’s leg.
“No.” Shelby covered Emily’s hand with hers once more. “Actually, they’re sort of numb. But I’m all better now, just like you’ll be tomorrow or the day after.”
His mother leaned down and kissed Emily’s forehead. “See? Shelby says everything’s going to be fine too, and it will. Now, why don’t you try to eat some lunch?”
Shelby poked around Emily’s untouched lunch tray that held a sandwich and some applesauce. “They usually have a secret stash of desserts for the kids who eat their lunch, you know. The nurses just don’t tell you about that unless you ask.”
“Really?” Emily perked right up at that.
“Yup. All you have to do is press the button and they come. But you have to ask really nice.” Shelby found the call switch and handed it to Emily. “Chester would love to have all the ice cream and pudding he could eat, don’t you think?”
Emily pressed the button. “Maybe you should write a Chester book about being in the hospital, Shelby.”
“That’s a great idea. Maybe you could help me. What kind of things do you think Chester would do to get into trouble?”
Emily pursed her lips, as if in deep thought. “He’d probably turn the TV up real loud, jump on the bed, and then see what kind of things he could stuff down the toilet. And he’d definitely sneak ice cream and pudding from the fridge.”
Shelby laughed. “I agree. He can be a very naughty little monkey.”
“Chester doesn’t mean to be bad.” Emily’s expression turned all serious. “He just can’t help it sometimes. Especially when he’s s
cared.”
“That’s right. So, are you still scared? Will you be jumping on the bed and stealing pudding?”
Emily wrapped her arms around Shelby’s neck and grinned. “No. I’m going to get better. Like you did.”
“Good plan.” Shelby returned her hug.
Nick closed his eyes and blew out a long breath. Shelby saved the day. She’d said just the right things and pulled Emily out of her funk.
Shelby was right, he did owe her—big time. For more than she knew.
He sucked.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Getting all dressed up and wearing stiff shoes is annoying . . . especially for bored monkeys.”
Chester Goes to a Wedding
Shelby drew in the subtle scent of Nick’s sensual cologne as he drove her home from the hospital in his equally sexy Porsche. It made her miss the one she used to own. Her Prius was nowhere near as fun to drive.
Staring out the window, she still couldn’t figure why she’d shared her past with him. Was it the way he’d held her hand so tightly, steadying her, and the way his whole face softened when he smiled at her? No man had ever looked at her like that before. Certainly no one like Nick. Hopefully she’d see the same gleam in Greg’s eyes when she saw him soon.
Just to be sure she wasn’t sending Nick mixed signals, because they were pretty darned mixed-up in her own head, she added a dose of snark to her tone and said, “You do realize if everyone drove a car like this, your children won’t have clean air to breathe, Nick.”
“I’m never having kids, so I figure I can use up more than my fair share.”
“I don’t believe you. Not after seeing the way you are with Emily. She adores you and vice versa.”
He scowled as he stared at the road ahead. “I make it a policy to tell the truth. And after watching my father devastate my mom when I was a kid, I swore I’d never marry.”
“Oaths made when we’re children don’t count.”
“Speaking of kids, why would a seven-year-old miss dinner and then have to make her own grilled cheese?”
She turned and looked at him. Concern etched his features. Just like it had at the hospital when he’d led her to the chair she’d so badly needed during her almost-fainting moment. But after meeting Nick’s mom, a tall, dark-haired, beautiful and caring woman, she wasn’t sure Nick could understand.
Matching Mr. Right (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 1) Page 3
