Perfect Stranger (Novella)

by Carly Phillips

  “I think Mandy was just the most recent in a long line. He never liked being tied down.”

  Luke stiffened, wanting to beat the crap out of the other man. “Then he shouldn’t have gotten you pregnant the summer before college.”

  She sniffed but ended in a laugh. “Takes two to be stupid, Luke. And I wouldn’t trade my kids for anything.”

  “What will you do now?”

  “The kids and I moved in with Mom and Dad. I need some time to work out a plan.”

  He kissed her temple. “You will. And I’ll be here to help you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Anything for you, sweet cheeks. You know that.” He loved his sisters even when they were being pains in his ass.

  She sighed. “I do. And I love you for it. So how was your trip east?”

  “Business was good, got some solid endorsement deals lined up.”

  “Just for Men? Erectile dysfunction meds? Hemorrhoid cream?” She nailed him in the ribs with her elbow.

  He rolled his eyes. “This is when ‘sweet cheeks’ changes to ‘brat,’” he muttered. “How about Ford Broncos and my own cologne?”

  She let out a Texas whoop. “I’m proud of you! So what else did you and Sawyer do? Pick up any hot chicks while you were there?”

  Luke weighed just how much to tell her, then decided to go for broke. He needed to talk about it and Ash needed the distraction from her own life. “Cleaned out Sawyer’s dad’s house, though I think he’s gonna do some work on the place and keep it instead of selling. And, yeah, I met someone.”

  Ashley sat up and turned in her seat, her eyes slitted as she stared at him.

  “What?” he asked, uncomfortable under her narrowed gaze.

  “I asked if you and Sawyer picked up any hot chicks. You countered with I met someone. Big difference. What gives?”

  Luke glanced up at the cloudless sky. “Been asking myself that same question since I laid eyes on Alexa.”

  “What makes her special?”

  Luke could list a million things, but the ones that came to mind were too personal for him to share, even with his sister. Like Alexa’s stunning vulnerability. For a doctor who held lives in her hands, she’d been manipulated her entire life and didn’t know her own self-worth. He’d tried to give her that in a few short days, then he’d invited her out here, and when she didn’t jump at the chance like the other women in his life—the women who meant nothing to him and who he easily left behind—he threw those insecurities in her face and told her she needed to figure out what she wanted.

  Nice of him, he thought, with no small amount of regret and an even healthier dose of self-directed disgust.

  “Oooh, silence,” Ashley said with a grin on her previously sad face. “You’re in deep and you can’t even say why. You’ve fallen hard!” She clapped her hands in glee, suddenly back to being the sister who liked to tease him when they were kids. “I want to meet this girl.”

  No chance of that, Luke thought, frustrated. “Cool it,” he muttered, instead of letting her in on what he’d done.

  “Sorry.” Ashley settled back in next to him. “What’s she like?”

  “She’s a doctor. Busy. Not sure she loves the work situation she’s in. She’s loyal, saw her step up to take care of her best friend when she was attacked, then stayed overnight at the hospital to look after her. Pretty. Auburn hair—”

  “Brown with reddish highlights? About my height? Does she ever wear her hair in a ponytail and would she look uncomfortable at a Texas barbecue?” Ashley asked, a too-big grin on her face.

  Luke jerked his body around and there she was. Dr. Alexa Collins, walking across his parents’ big Texas spread, talking to his mother, as she led Alexa to where Luke and Ashley were sitting.

  “I’ll be damned,” he muttered.

  “Since I always know everyone at these shindigs, I figured that had to be her. What’s she doing here?” Ashley asked.

  “I invited her,” Luke said, stunned.

  “What? You didn’t tell me she was coming!” Ash punctuated this with a shot to his shoulder.

  “That’s because she said no.” Luke rose to his feet as the women approached.

  “Lucas Thompson, you didn’t tell me we were having a guest!” His mother, Louise, who ruled this ranch along with her family, glared at him like he’d committed a crime.

  “He didn’t know, Mrs. Thompson.” Alexa spoke softly.

  “He invited you. That means you’re important to him, and that means he should have told me.”

  “Ma!” Luke knew he’d better call her off before she scared Alexa away.

  Alexa grinned and, man, Luke had missed that smile. “It’s fine,” she assured him.

  Luke shook his head. Nothing about his mother’s form of torture was fine. “Alexa, this is my sister, Ashley. Ash, this is Alexa.”

  His sister jumped up and shook Alexa’s hand. “He was just telling me all about you!”

  Luke rolled his eyes. “God save me from the two of you,” he muttered. “Ash, take Mom away, would you? Go eat. Drink. Something.” He met and held Alexa’s gaze. “We need to talk.”

  “We’re going,” Ashley said, understanding in her tone despite her earlier teasing. “Come on, Ma. You can talk to Luke’s girl later.”

  “Ash!” Luke’s voice vibrated with annoyance, but to his surprise, Alexa’s eyes were lit with amusement as she obviously held back her laughter.

  “At least someone finds them amusing,” he muttered to his mother and sister’s retreating backs.

  “You have no idea how lucky you are,” she said, staring after his family, a wistful expression on her face.

  Luke didn’t know what she was doing here, but he had to assume it boded well for him that she’d come. He hooked his arm in hers and led her away from the yard and around the side of the house to his mother’s special place. When Luke was born, she’d insisted she needed a place of her own and his father had put up a gazebo in the most private corner of the yard, right off the side door to the house.

  They settled in the swing chair. “I take it getting away wasn’t easy?” he asked.

  “That would be an understatement.”

  Her pretty green eyes told the painful story. He wouldn’t push her for an explanation, sure it would come when she was ready. “Yet you’re here.”

  “I hoped the invitation was still open,” she said hesitantly.

  There it was, that vulnerability he’d been thinking about before she materialized in front of his eyes. In her blue jeans and white lace tank, with a light denim blouse tied around her waist, she looked like she belonged here on the ranch. Yet everything about her screamed her uncertainty, something he never wanted her to feel around him.

  “Invitation’s always open, darlin’.”

  She released a long-held breath. “Well, that’s good, since when I took a leave of absence from work, my boss informed me he wouldn’t be holding my position open.” Her jaw set tight at the admission.

  That bastard. “Your father said that?”

  “It seems he didn’t appreciate the idea of me finding my own path.”

  He wasn’t sure what surprised him more, the smile she gave him or the fact that she’d listened to his advice and was taking time to figure out what she wanted, despite the consequences.

  “I think that’s great,” he said, grasping her hands, thrilled down to his bones that she’d come to him. “So you’re here for a while?”

  Alexa shrugged, wondering that herself. “I’m here. How long? I thought we’d figure that out together. See if we still like each other and all.” God, she sounded like an unsure idiot, Alexa thought. It was a wonder she’d survived the plane ride, not knowing what awaited her here.

  She’d gotten Luke’s address from Sawyer Rhodes, who swore his friend would be happy to see her and encouraged her to surprise him with the visit. Since she wasn’t in any hurry to have Luke turn her down if he’d changed his mind, she’d agreed and hopped on a pla
ne.

  “See if we still like each other?” Luke chuckled. “I don’t know about you, but what I feel for you is a lot more than like, darlin’.” Luke brushed his finger down her cheek, his golden eyes sparkling with reassurance as he dipped his head in close.

  His heat reached out to her, his familiar scent settling the butterflies deep in her stomach.

  “I started falling hard for you the second we met,” he continued. “Having you come down here, unsure of your welcome but taking that chance on me? That just cemented the deal. I can’t see us going anywhere but forward from here.”

  “Me neither.” She swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest, everything inside her screaming this was right. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

  “Same. And I sure never thought I’d want a woman with me, by my side, not talking about leaving any time soon, but that’s how I feel about you. So let’s take this time to get to know each other better, and help you figure out what you want to do with your career.” His eyes held hers. “And while you’re thinking on what you want, maybe you’ll reconsider where you do it. Assuming things keep on…keeping on.”

  He grinned, and Alexa knew everything would be all right.

  “Would you like that?” he asked.

  “A lot,” she whispered.

  “Good. Did I say I’m glad you’re here?” Before she could answer, he said, “I’m glad you’re here. Good play, darlin’.”

  She grinned. Not a good play, she thought, as he closed his lips over hers. A perfect one.

  Read on for a preview of the Serendipity’s Finest novel

  PERFECT TOGETHER

  Available February 2014 from Berkley!

  There was something about being a Marsden that made people think if they asked him for a favor, Sam—the younger brother and the good cop—would be nice and accommodating. Take how his sister-in-law, Cara, was looking at him with big, pleading eyes, fully expecting him to agree to her beyond-unreasonable request.

  “There is no way in hell I’m going on a date with Margie Simpson.” Sam Marsden glared at Cara, a woman he usually also called his best friend, from across their respective desks at the Serendipity police station.

  “Her last name is Stinson, not Simpson, and you know it.” Cara frowned back at him. “Come on, Sam. Her parents are the biggest donors for the Women’s Heart Health fund-raiser, and the Serendipity Police Department is a co-sponsor. Do you want to be the one to tell the hospital, who will be the recipient of that shiny new medical equipment, that the Stinsons pulled their donation because one of our finest wouldn’t escort their daughter?”

  “She’s more like a pit bull,” Sam muttered. “And isn’t there another single cop you can get to take her? What about Hendler?”

  “He’s too old.”

  “Martini?”

  She shook her head. “Too young. Besides, Margie wants to go with you.”

  He shuddered. “All the more reason for me to say no. I don’t want to give her the wrong idea.” Margie was one of those women who assumed that just a look imparted male interest. Sam didn’t want to go there. No way, nohow.

  “Are you giving my wife a hard time?” Sam’s brother, Mike, strode over to Cara’s desk and placed a possessive hand on her shoulder.

  “More like she’s giving me one. Call her off, will you?” Sam asked.

  Mike laughed and shook his head. “I like my life just the way it is. Sorry, bro. You’re on your own.”

  Sam rolled his eyes. Ever since his bachelor brother had fallen—hard—for Sam’s sometime partner, Cara, he was now wrapped around his wife’s cute little cowboy boots—when she wasn’t in uniform, that is. Where she went, Mike followed. Sam was happy for him. Problem was, Sam’s single friends were dwindling fast. First Dare Barron, then Mike, and even their sister, Erin, had fallen.

  Sam wasn’t jealous, but he could admit that his life and the routines he’d always enjoyed were growing stale around him. But that didn’t mean he was open to marriage, let alone escorting the female from hell, even for a good cause.

  Cara rolled a pencil between her palms. “Do you already have a date?” she asked.

  “Hell, no,” Mike said, before Sam could answer. “He hasn’t dated anyone in longer than I can remember. In fact, the last woman who remotely interested him—”

  No, he would not let his brother go there. “Don’t you have an office to get back to?” Sam pointed to the police chief’s workroom at the back of the stationhouse.

  Mike grinned. “Not when this is so much more fun.”

  Cara elbowed him in the stomach. “Go. I’ll have more luck if you aren’t here poking fun at him and making this worse.”

  Mike shrugged. “Hey, it’s not my fault he’s such an easy target.”

  “Now that you’re happily married, you’re an even bigger pain in the ass,” Sam muttered.

  Mike smirked and kissed his wife on the lips, lingering way too long before he finally walked—make that swaggered—away.

  “Get a room.”

  “You too could find true love,” Cara said, leaning closer. “We all want that for you.”

  But Sam didn’t want that for himself. He’d tried, come close, and failed in the biggest possible way. As a cop, he trusted his instincts, but when it came to women? To relationships? To personal choices? Not so much.

  His so-called gut instinct had hurt one good friend, and his gullibility had led to him being betrayed by his fiancée and best friend. His family knew only some of the reasons he remained wary of trusting his personal instincts, and with his siblings settled down, Erin with a husband and a baby, they’d all turned up the pressure on him.

  Cara leveled him with a serious stare. “I’m not asking you to marry Margie, just accompany her to the benefit. Make nice and go home. Can you do that for me? For Mike and the police station? Please?” Cara batted her eyelashes over her big blue eyes.

  She’d been his best friend long before she became involved with Mike, and he’d have thought he was immune—except now she was also his family and he didn’t like turning her down. Besides, as she’d pointed out, the fund-raiser was for a good cause and he’d be representing the police force.

  He blew out a disgusted breath. “You’re only doing this because I can’t say no to you,” Sam muttered, shuddering at the thought of accompanying the one woman in town who sent fear into any single man’s heart.

  “Is that a yes?” Cara tapped her pencil against the blotter on the desk, her expression almost gleeful.

  “Yeah,” he muttered, knowing he would absolutely live to regret the decision.

  “Yay!” She jumped up and hugged him tight before resettling herself into the chair behind her desk. “This is perfect! One huge problem taken care of. I knew I could count on you.”

  Yeah, perfect, Sam thought, hating that word even more than usual.

  “Hey, I promise Mike and I will stick by you all night. I won’t leave you alone with that leech.”

  Sam narrowed his gaze. “So now you admit she’s a leech.”

  Cara didn’t look up or meet his gaze, but the red flush in her cheeks gave her away. Yeah, he was a patsy for his sister-in-law and a good cause.

  “You know,” Cara said, peering out from beneath her long fringe of lashes, “you could avoid this whole kind of thing if you’d just—”

  Find a woman of his own. “Let it go,” he said in response to her unspoken words.

  “Okay, but Mike’s right. The last woman who interested you was—”

  “Let. It. Go.” Sam set his jaw.

  “Fine. I won’t say her name.” Cara buried herself in work at her desk, but she’d accomplished her mission.

  She’d brought up the one female in more than a decade who’d made Sam want to drop his guard and rethink his vow not to get emotionally involved with any woman ever again. But Nicole Farnsworth,
the raven-haired beauty who’d triggered his current state of discontent, had left town months ago and she wasn’t coming back.

  * * *

  Nicole Farnsworth packed up her clothing and the last of her things, trying to convince herself she was moving, not running away. In fact, she’d planned to leave Manhattan since deciding to end her engagement, but now instead of just the excitement of beginning a new life, she felt the dual need to flee. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Nothing she could do but go—get away—and do some soul-searching, during which she hoped to find clarity. But what clarity was there when she knew she held people’s livelihoods and even freedom in her hands?

  The doorbell rang and she looked into the peephole, unwilling to take chances by just opening her door. She stared into the familiar if unwelcome face of her mother who, as usual, was perfectly dressed in a Chanel jacket and wool slacks.

  Suppressing a groan, she opened the door and let Marian Farnsworth inside.

  Before Nicole could say hello, her mother launched into one of her typical tirades. “No sane woman breaks off her engagement to a handsome, extremely wealthy man. One you grew up with, might I remind you? He and his family are in business with your father. What were you thinking?”

  Nicole walked into the family room and leaned against the nearest wall, knowing not to give her mother an edge by sitting down. “I was thinking that I shouldn’t marry a man I don’t love.”

  Her mother joined her in the room filled with the remaining boxes waiting to be loaded into her car. She folded her arms across her chest and pinned Nicole with her disappointed stare. “What does love have to do with anything?”

  Nicole did not want an explanation for that bit of insanity. It meant she’d have to look more deeply than she cared to into her parents’ marriage. Instead she drew a deep breath and promised herself she’d be on her way soon.

  “Nicole, it’s insane to think someone like you needs to worry about a love match.”

  She shrugged. “You know as well as I do, sanity doesn’t run in our family.”

  “Don’t talk that way about your sister,” her mother chided, always looking to hide Victoria’s mental instability, as if being bipolar carried a stigma Marian couldn’t bear to admit to in her family.