Perfect Together (11 page)

“I don’t . . . You can’t . . . What?! Why would you stick around?” Nicole finally sputtered.

Completely unruffled, he replied, “Because we belong together.” He reached across the table in an attempt to place his hand over hers, but she was quick enough to shift her shaking hands to her lap.

His eyes flickered with disappointment.

“I’m happy here,” she told him.

He raised an eyebrow in an arrogant expression she knew well. Tyler was many things—a gentleman, yes, but also occasionally entitled. “We’ll see.”

She shook her head. “I’m going to go about my life,” she warned him. And that meant seeing Sam.

“You do that. And I’ll be here to remind you of everything you left behind.”

Why? Because he thought they were such a love match? This determined behavior in the face of her rejection was so unlike him, she believed to the depths of her soul there was more going on than he was saying.

“Go home,” she tried once more.

He shook his head and pinned her with a steady, certain,
determined
glare. “I’m not going anywhere without you. There’s too much at stake.”

The morning crowd kept Macy busy after her friends
left, but not so busy that she didn’t notice that Tyler remained
behind for a while, obviously thinking over what had transpired between him and Nicole. Nicole, she’d noticed, had looked for Sam when she left, and had been disappointed to find him already gone.

What a tangled mess, Macy thought. Something the likes of which Serendipity hadn’t seen since . . . well, since Jenna left Sam at the altar for Brett, his best friend. Sam had had a rough time then. He’d been so humiliated and embarrassed, and everyone in town had gossiped about it for months. She shook her head, glad Sam was on the winning side of things this time around.

The rest of the day passed quickly, but Macy was embarrassed to admit she’d thought of Tyler Stanton more than a few times. He wasn’t her usual type, too buttoned up for Serendipity, but that didn’t seem to matter when he was so darned sexy. She sighed, wondering how many boundaries she’d be crossing by flirting with him. Just a little. Nicole was happily involved with Sam—or wanted to be—so what could it hurt?

She was pondering that very question around five
P.M.,
knowing she could leave soon to head home and change before the seven
P.M.
softball game.

Tonight the cops were playing the firemen.
Hot
didn’t begin to describe the field, she thought with a wry grin. Too bad she’d known all these guys since they were boys, dated a few, and was interested in none. She lifted her gaze at the same moment
he
strode into the restaurant.

“Hello, Ms. Donovan.”

“Macy,” she reminded him. “And we’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

He shook his head, obviously unsure what to make of her. Which was fine. Many had that initial reaction. She said
what she thought, joked even if only she understood, and tried to enjoy life.

“I’d like a seat. Counter or a table is fine,” he said.

“Take your pick.” She gestured to the line of empty booths.

He chose the first table closest to the hostess stand, and she eyed him with pure female appreciation as he took the few steps to sit down. Wearing the same khaki pants as earlier, she took in his very fine ass that accented his lean form.

She handed him the menu.

“I have a feeling I won’t be needing one after a while,” he muttered to himself.

She raised an eyebrow at that. “Planning on sticking around?” she asked, unable to stop the hope rising in her at the possibility.

“Looks like it. I think Nicole’s testing the waters, and I want to be here when she realizes everything she’s left behind.”

What did it say about her that Macy was pleased? Pathetic, that was what she was. Dimples or no, the man was stuck on another woman.

“What if she’s not just testing?” Macy asked.

He set his jaw. “She is.”

Macy raised her eyebrows. “Are you always so sure of yourself?”

He met her gaze, suddenly looking at her, really studying her as if seeing her for the first time, and she shivered beneath his steady stare.

“Are you always so blunt?” he asked.

“Yes, and you didn’t answer me.”

“Yes, I’m always that sure. If I want something, I get it.” And he obviously wanted Nicole.

But
Macy had been the bystander to many people falling in love over the last few years, and when that particular emotion hit, it hit hard. It also started with dynamic chemistry, and she’d seen explosive heat between Sam and Nicole. Tyler didn’t have a chance, but then . . . why did he want one? Why pursue a woman who’d made her lack of interest and intentions not to be with him so clear?

Macy liked a good puzzle, and Tyler was that. Especially since he didn’t look all that hurt by his ex-fiancée’s obvious feelings for Sam.

“So what is there to do in town?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Depends on the night.”

“Okay, how about . . . say tonight?” An amused smile lifted his mouth, making him even more handsome.

She swallowed hard. She really shouldn’t bring up the softball game. Sam was playing and he’d mentioned plans afterward with Nicole. But if Macy didn’t say anything and he wandered around town or asked someone else, he’d find out anyway.

“There’s a softball game at the high school, but you don’t know anyone here, so I’m sure that would be boring for you.”

“Are you going?” he asked.

She nodded.

“And do most people end up there?”

She inclined her head once more.

“So . . . say Nicole would be there?”

“Could be.” Macy rocked on her heels, consoling herself that she hadn’t been the one to offer up the information without him asking first.

“Then I guess I’ll see you there.”

She
looked him over, caught the determination in his green eyes, and decided not to argue, just to be there beside him. As a buffer, she assured herself, not because she was determined to turn his focus away from Nicole and onto herself.

“But you really can’t go so dressed up,” she said.

His eyes opened wide. “These are my casual clothes.”

She sighed dramatically. “Jeans are casual clothes. Cargo shorts are casual clothes. Khakis are dress clothes.”

He shook his head. “Suits are dress clothes.”

She bit the inside of her cheek and did her best not to laugh even if she did think he was cute, something she doubted he’d find amusing.

“If you’re hanging around for a while, do you want to stand out? Or do you want to fit in?” she asked him.

He frowned. “Your tone tells me there’s only one right answer to that question.”

“Did you bring
more
casual clothes than those?” Assuming he owned the kind of wardrobe to which she’d referred, which she was beginning to doubt.

“I didn’t plan on more than a day trip. I can drive home later today to pack up some things.”

“More of these?” She gestured to his polo shirt, this one a pale green with a blue pony on his chest. “Never mind, don’t answer that. The mall’s just twenty minutes from here. We can get you a couple of pairs of shorts and jeans, maybe a T-shirt or two, and be back before the game.”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sure I have a pair of jeans in my closet.”

She clasped her hands behind her back. “Are they pressed?”

He opened his mouth in outrage, then closed it again. “Probably.”

She
burst out laughing, enjoying this man way more than she should. “Come on. Order dinner and then I’ll take you shopping and show you how the other half lives.”

Sam was pitching at tonight’s game, which meant he
had less time to focus on what was going on outside the baseline. But he wasn’t blind, his peripheral vision was just fine, and he could see exactly what he shouldn’t let distract him.

Erin and the baby sat on a blanket, a safe distance away from the game and fly balls, with a good view of the field. Nicole had joined them, which provided enough of a diversion that Sam was off his game. But by the third inning, when his arm was warmed up and Nicole settled in to watch
him
, he’d begun pitching better. Until Macy arrived with Tyler Stanton—and they didn’t go to the bleachers. Instead, they pulled up folding chairs and joined Sam’s sister—and Nicole.

Instead of letting the other man get to him, Sam gritted his teeth and put his anger and frustration into the game.

Nicole had run into Erin at Cuppa Café, where they’d
both had the same idea to bring large iced teas with them to Sam’s game. They talked while they waited, and soon they’d agreed to meet up again on the field and share a blanket. Erin, an old pro, knew exactly where to sit so the baby wasn’t in any danger of being hit by a foul ball, and Nicole was happy to have someone to be with and talk to. She liked Sam’s sister a lot, and her daughter was the sweetest-smelling, most adorable-looking baby Nicole had ever laid eyes on. Both helped take her mind off her troubles.

Those
troubles revolved around Tyler. Thanks to a phone call from Macy, who had apparently appointed herself Tyler’s escort around town and Nicole’s go-between, Tyler had informed her he’d taken a room at the Serendipity Inn for an extended and undetermined period of time. And Nicole still had that awful feeling his presence here was tied to everything she’d left behind and still hadn’t decided how to handle.

She pushed the thought out of her head and focused on the reason she was here tonight. Sam. The man filled out his softball uniform, his thighs tight, his ass spectacular. Her sex clenched just watching him, a new and exciting reaction to just watching a man.

Three innings into the game, Erin realized she’d forgotten diapers in the car and took Angel with her to go get them. Nicole didn’t mind being left alone, as she was already invested in the game. The cops were up by two runs and she couldn’t take her eyes off Sam, his muscular arms flexing as he pitched, and the intense concentration on his face holding her transfixed.

“Do you mind company?” a familiar masculine voice asked.

Tyler. Nicole stiffened. “Umm—I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

She looked up and was grateful to find Macy standing beside him. Her presence took much of the pressure off Nicole. She didn’t feel bad turning him down.

“Come on. You’ve got the best seats in the house,” Tyler said, coming up beside her.

Resigning herself to the unavoidable, she waved her hand. “Have a seat,” she reluctantly said, but she refused to let their presence dampen her enthusiasm for the game.

She did her best to ignore Tyler and cheer Sam through
an erratic pitching period, relaxing when he settled into a rhythm once more. Up at bat, he drove in two runs, and when he hit what looked to be a grand slam, Erin, Macy, and Nicole yelled their loudest as he rounded the bases for home plate.

Nicole was aware of Tyler sitting beside her, a scowl on his face.

“You don’t have to be here,” she reminded him, no longer keeping her tone gentle or worrying about hurting his feelings. She’d made herself clear. He was choosing to ignore her request for him to go home.

“Yes, I do. Until you come home with me, I’m staying.”

“I
am
home.” With each day that passed, she felt more and more sure of her decision to settle in Serendipity.

Tyler grunted in reply.

None too soon, the game ended, the cops won, and they all stood, folding their chairs and blankets. Erin, who had the baby hanging from a sling around her chest, managed well, but everyone insisted on helping her carry things to the car.

“Thanks,” the auburn-haired woman said with a genuine smile. “I’m going home. Hopefully Cole’s finished working by now. He had a conference call with a new client and said he’d be a while.”

“Drive safe,” Nicole said, as Erin buckled the baby into the car seat in the back of her truck.

“Always. Precious cargo in here.” She shut the door and turned to face them. “It was fun. Let’s do it again next week,” she said.

“I’m in,” Macy said automatically.

“Same,” Nicole added, hoping she wasn’t beaming because Erin had extended such an easy invitation.

She thought about her friends at home and the posturing
that usually accompanied each and every invitation, nothing ever being what it seemed. Either there was a fund-raiser where someone wanted to one-up the other with clothing, a date, or amount donated, or there was behind-the-scenes bickering that turned Nicole’s stomach.

So different from the genuinely simple life here. No wonder leaving had been so easy. Her friends hadn’t been genuine, but she was finding out there were better people in the world. People she liked and who liked her. In Serendipity, she was discovering friends and filling empty holes. Except now Tyler had arrived, bringing Nicole’s old life here to confront the new. She didn’t know how to make him go away, and even if he left, she was all too aware that he wouldn’t be taking her most pressing problem with her.

Maybe once she and Sam settled things, she could consider confiding in him. . . . She immediately shook her head. He was a police officer, sworn to uphold the law. If she told him her father’s firm was laundering mob money, he’d be forced to report the information—and if that was the route she decided to take, she certainly wanted time to talk to Tyler and her father first. Assuming she felt comfortable enough to think they weren’t involved. Which brought her full circle and had her insides cramping once more.

“Hey, I’m starving. Let’s go get something to eat,” Macy suggested.

Tyler nodded, his gaze briefly meeting Macy’s before landing on Nicole’s—and lingering.

“Ummm, you two go. I’m going to wait for Sam.” They had a date, and Nicole didn’t plan on making it a double.

Tyler ran a hand through his neat hair, and Nicole recognized
the sign of frustration. She glanced at Macy. “Show him a good time?” The imploring
please
didn’t need to be said out loud.

She knew she was imposing further on her new friend, but she needed this night with Sam and she’d make it up to Macy. Who, Nicole suddenly realized, was smiling and not looking all that put out by the request.