Sweet Escapes: Romance Story Boxed Set (2 page)

Ignoring Stan, she turned to Nick who was leaning against the open door frame, watching the whole exchange.

“I think we’re done here.  Let’s go home.”  She turned on her heel and walked out the door, leaving Stan staring after her with a look of stunned confusion and anger on his face.
 

Chapter Two

“Do you take all your clients out to dinner?”  Holly glanced sideways across the table at Nick, a hint of a flirtatious smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

The fine linen tablecloth felt crisp under her palms, the silverware reflecting sparks of light from chandeliers above.  In front of her, a plate with the remains of the most delicious salmon she’d ever tasted had been pushed aside in favor of dessert.  In the background, the soft tinkle of silverware against china and the low murmur of dinner conversation set an elegant, but relaxing ambiance.

Nick’s laugh was intoxicating,  his smile causing just the right amount of crinkles around his vivid blue eyes. “Only the pretty ones.”

His face became a bit more serious. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.  Discovering Stan had spent all your life savings in Nevada last week must have been quite a shock.”

Holly thought about how she had been forced to sell some of the jewelry her mother had left her to make ends meet and felt her smile fade. “Yeah, that’s for sure.  But my expenses are really very minimal and I can make do until I get a job.”

Holly swallowed her regret, forcing herself to think about the positive things happening in her life.  “It’s really not all bad … and I’m finding Stan’s leaving may have been the best thing to come from our fifteen-year marriage.”

“Oh, really?” Nick’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yes, well, for one I’ve become a lot more independent, more in charge of my own life.  And I’m going to be able to do a lot of things Stan never approved of me doing.”  Holly’s smile widened at the thought. “Like going to art school.”

“I didn’t know you were an artist.”  Nick leaned closer with interest. “I love art.  In fact, one of my friends owns the Cooley Art Gallery downtown.  Perhaps we could go there together sometime?”

“That would be lovely!”  Holly felt a hot flush of excitement at the prospect of seeing Nick again, but at the same time a nibble of doubt nagged at her.  She’d just gained her independence from Stan and feared letting another man in would mean giving that up.

Holly glanced at the table, her nerves making her jittery.  The last of the chocolate mousse had been scraped from their dessert plates and they were down to their final few drops of coffee. Their date was coming to an end and she wasn’t sure what she expected, or wanted, to happen next.

“Holly, have you noticed anything strange or out of place this past week?”

 The question surprised her, and a frown creased her forehead as she tried to recall the past week.  Now that Nick had brought it up, she realized she
had
noticed a few things.  “Well, now that you mention it, I have been getting a lot of hang up calls … and the other night I thought I heard someone outside the house.” She felt her eyes narrow, her senses now on alert. “Should I be worried?”

“No,”  Nick assured, putting his hand up.  “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, but next time you think something isn’t right, do me a favor – give me a call, okay?”

Holly felt only mildly reassured and then a little hurt. 
Did Nick only ask her out to get information?
  It seemed like he knew something and wasn’t sharing, which made Holly feel a little angry, especially if it had something to do with her.  But no matter what it was, she certainly didn’t need Nick Banks to babysit her – she could take care of herself.  Nevertheless, his question made her wonder – who was he worried about and why?

***

Holly felt a little nervous on the drive home.  She had truly enjoyed Nick’s company and had a good time despite his strange warning.  They pulled up in front of her house and Nick insisted on walking her to the door.  Holly wondered if  he was being gentlemanly, or trying to protect her from whatever unknown threat he thought was out there.

She worked her key into the lock and turned to thank him.  Nick stood very close and she had to bend her head back to look up at him.  He put his hand on her arm and a pleasant shiver made its way up her spine.

Nick leaned in as if to kiss her and Holly’s breath caught in surprise.  He seemed a bit hesitant, as if waiting to see if she would pull back.  Holly realized she didn’t want to pull back, and with her newfound post-Stan confidence, leaned forward to meet him.

Nick’s lips gently brushed against hers and she felt his arm circle her waist and then slowly pull her closer.  Holly let him, feeling her senses kicking into overdrive. Everything seemed magnified.  The brush of the warm summer night’s breeze on her skin was as soft as a lover’s sigh, and the sound of summer peepers created the perfect mood music.  At the same time, the delicious salty sweetness of Nick’s lips on hers brought back memories of other kisses – less moving ones. 
Had Stan ever kissed her like this?

Her arms snaked around Nick’s neck and she moved her body closer to his.  She felt curious, excited ... and she wanted more.  All her doubts and suspicions about Nick melted away beneath the feel of his lips moving hungrily against hers.

She parted her lips, letting his tongue in, meeting it with hers. Probing.  Exploring.  Small waves of pleasure cascaded through her body.  She let out a moan and pressed towards him, her body hungry for more.

***

Nick pulled Holly closer. His hands explored her body, sliding under the back of her shirt to caress her soft skin.  He wanting nothing more than to take her inside and explore more, but he didn’t want to move too fast.

Despite Holly’s passionate reaction to his kiss, Nick sensed she wasn’t quite ready to give herself to another man, and who could blame her? Her marriage to Stan was barely cold and she was just learning to figure things out on her own.  He would wait for the right time rather than risk scaring her off.

Reluctantly, he pulled away, eliciting a groan of protest from Holly.  He studied her face, tracing the corner of her mouth with his thumb, holding her gaze for a few exquisite moments before slowly bending in for one more quick kiss.

“I enjoyed our dinner very much Holly. Goodnight.”  He walked backwards down the walkway, his eyes on Holly standing in the doorway apparently still dazed from the effects of his kiss.  She raised her hand in a wave.  He answered back with one of his own, then turned to walk to his car, a grin creasing his lips which burned with the memory of their kiss. 
She would definitely be worth waiting for.

Pulling away from the curb, Nick glanced in the rearview mirror.  Two blocks down another car also pulled away. 
Was he being followed?

He drove slowly to the next intersection and then circled around the block, breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing the other car continuing straight ahead.

“Getting paranoid in your old age, man.” He chuckled out loud – now he was talking to himself.  He had learned to be a little paranoid over the years.  In his line of work it was a necessity.

Even though the car he’d thought was following him was long gone, he decided to circle by Holly’s house one more time, just to be sure she was in there, safe and sound.

Chapter Three

Holly sipped her first of tea of the day, smiling at the bright rays of early morning sun peeking through her kitchen window.  The thick mug sent tendrils of steam towards the ceiling and she peered through it at her bright yellow walls.  She’d painted the kitchen shortly after Stan had left; the color always made her feel cheerful. 

She thought about her date with Nick.  His kiss last night had stirred feelings she hadn’t had in a long time.  She wanted to see more of him.  But she couldn’t ignore the warning bells going off in her head, reminding her of what getting involved with someone entailed.  Her only adult relationship had been with Stan and he had walked all over her.  She’d fought too hard to get to where she was now and couldn’t risk that happening again with Nick.

Her thoughts drifted to the warning Nick had given her at dinner and she glanced at her phone with a frown.  Those phone calls she thought were innocent hang-ups seemed a lot more suspicious now.

Realizing she had more pressing problems, she reached for the newspaper laying on the table.  Opening it to the classified section, she started scanning the help wanted ads.  Having a career was another thing Stan had squashed, meaning now she had no education or skills and would have to settle for an entry level type of job.

  The ringing of her cell phone interrupted her from her task.  She checked the I.D. and felt her heart jump at the name on the display – Nick!

“Hi there,” she answered cheerfully.

“Hi, yourself.”  Nick’s voice sounded good.  Too good.  “Remember last night, how I told you my good friend owns the Cooley Art Gallery?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Well, I happened to talk to him today and it seems he has an opening over there. I thought you might be interested.”

Holly felt a rush of excitement.  Working at an art gallery would be a dream job for her.  For a moment, she was speechless.

“Holly?”

“Are you kidding ... I would
love
to work there!”

“Great. He said to just bring your resume over anytime. He’ll be there all day.”

“Wow, this is awesome.  I was just looking in the paper and there are no suitable jobs at all. I can’t thank you enough, Nick.”  Holly felt emotion rise up in her throat, making it hard for her to talk.  Not only had Nick remembered she loved art, he had also taken the time to talk to his friend about
her
.

After exchanging the usual pleasantries, Holly hung up.  The truth was she could have talked to Nick all day, but she was too excited to get over to the art gallery.  Her excitement quickly gave way to anxiety when she had to come up with a resume – whatever would she put on it?

*** 

Holly stood in front of the mirror, inspecting herself with a critical eye. She’d changed her outfit three times, trying to get just the right look for an art gallery interview. 

Her current outfit was one Rose had insisted she splurge on and, while Holly had balked at the expense at the time, now she was glad she did. 

The tan stitching on the black skirt and jacket gave it a classic but trendy feel.  The skirt was short enough to show off her shapely legs, but not so short as to make it inappropriate for business.  The form-fitting jacket hung just below her waist and was tailored to fit her perfectly.  A tan silk blouse underneath gave the outfit an air of class, and some funky jewelry added an artsy touch.
 Perfect.

Rummaging in the bottom of her closet for shoes, she emerged with a pair of black medium-heel pumps. Trying them on to make sure they still fit, she made her way over to the bathroom.  Standing in front of the vanity mirror, she swiped on a little mascara and lip gloss.  A final pass of the brush through her silky ash-blonde hair and she was ready to go.

Grabbing her resume, Holly squelched a case of nerves.  It had taken her a good three hours to come up with something appealing, given her lack of job-related experience, but the end result was pretty darn good.

Holly gave herself one last glance in the mirror before she headed out to her car.  Pulling in a deep breath, she tried to imbibe herself with an air of confidence.  Despite the fact this was her first job interview in almost fifteen years, she felt incredibly positive about it. 

Holly locked the house and slid in to the driver’s seat of her car.  She turned the key in the ignition, backed out, and pointed the car towards the Cooley Art Gallery.

***

Two and a half hours later, Holly left the art gallery with a smile on her face and a skip in her step.  Her interview had gone off without a hitch and she had a really good feeling she might get the job.  She had hit it off with the owner, Cal Cooley, right away as well, and the other staff members were warm and welcoming.  She felt at home among the various sculptures and paintings.  This would be a place she would love to come to work at every day.

She felt excitement bubbling up inside of her, the kind of excitement one needs to share with someone else. 
Should I call Rose ... or Nick?  Maybe both
.

As she rummaged for her phone, her stomach let out a large gurgle, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since breakfast.  She remembered her favorite little cafe was just a block down the street and decided to grab a bite before making any calls.  She turned down the sidewalk and headed towards the cafe.

“Hello Holly.”

The sound of her name startled her.  She turned, feeling a gasp tear from her throat. Standing on the sidewalk behind her was Stan.

Chapter Four

“What are
you
doing here?” Holly felt her brows furrow together.
How had Stan gotten back here with no money, and why would he come?

“I came to talk things out, Holly. We can’t just throw away fifteen years like this.” On the surface, Stan seemed apologetic, but Holly saw the same expectant gleam in his eye she had seen back at the hotel, and it made her furious.

“I don’t think so, Stan. After what you did to me I have no intention of ever going back to you.  We’re over.”  Fighting to keep calm, Holly turned and took a step away from him.

Stan grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face him.  “It’s because of that new boyfriend you have, isn’t it?” Holly could see jealous anger clouding Stan’s face. 
Had he always been this way?

“Boyfriend?” Holly jerked her arm out of his grasp. “Oh, you mean Nick?  He’s not my boyfriend, he’s a private investigator I had to hire to find
you
, after you took off with another woman and all our money.”