Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set (35 page)

She glanced up at him through watery eyes. “You never wanted to hear.”

“All couples go through last-minute jitters right before the wedding. I’m sure we can work things out. Compromise on some issues, things like that.”

Laughter bubbled from within, threatening to erupt in tears or hysterics, she wasn’t sure which. She shook her head. “No more, Peter.” She’d made her decision and intended to stick with it. The determination in her voice took her by surprise.

Peter slammed his hand on the desk. “I knew I couldn’t trust my do-gooder brother.” Peter stood and walked around the desk, kneeling in front of her. “If this is about Regina, it’s over. I swear she has nothing to do with us. She never did. From now on...”

Carly tried to absorb Peter’s words and meaning, but her head whirled and she couldn’t manage to think straight. Feelings, however, pulsed through her, their message clear. Betrayal, pain and anger. Every reason she’d picked Peter as her
safe
fiancé disintegrated in front of her eyes.

And as his excuses turned to pleading, she rose from her chair, obviously too fast because the room began to spin around her and she leaned against the wall for support. Somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to believe the truth. “Are you telling me you cheated on me?” Carly needed to hear the words.

“You didn’t know?”

“No.”
But Mike did
. And that, Carly realized, hurt most of all.

She swallowed hard. “Well, I’m only sorry I lost so much sleep agonizing over how to tell you.” She wrapped the remains of her tattered pride around her like a warm cloak, but nothing helped ease the chill inside her heart.

“Carly, please.” He rose and stood beside her.

“Please what?” she asked. “Don’t do this?” She shook her head. “It took everything inside me to do what’s right for both of us, while you never once thought of me.”

“That’s not true.” He placed his hand on her arm.

She shook off his grasp. “Don’t touch me.”

“I’m sorry.”

A brief knock jolted Carly into sudden awareness of her surroundings. She might not agree with how her mother had lived her life, but one lesson Carly had learned well: Keep private things private and never wear your heart on your sleeve. Although she’d never agreed with her mother’s refusal to discuss the pain that rocked their lives, Carly suddenly understood that defense mechanism better than ever before. A lawyer’s office was no place for theatrics or confrontations, and her emotions were hers. Peter didn’t deserve to know how badly his betrayal had hurt her.

The door behind her swung open wide. Mike stood in the door frame. In his standard denim jeans, black T-shirt and hiking boots, he looked sexy and masculine. A man confident in his own skin.

She shook her head. Her conservative ex-fiancé had never stood a chance. With a flash of insight, she realized that Mike appealed to her wilder side. The part she’d tried unsuccessfully to suffocate. To hide.

Seeking comfort from Peter’s admission, and what she viewed as Mike’s betrayal as well as her own, she wrapped her arms around her chest. “What a great time for a family reunion,” she muttered.

“Okay, what the hell’s going on?” Mike asked, his gaze darting between Carly and his brother.

She had no intention of explaining anything to the man who hadn’t seen fit to tell her the truth. Even as he’d spouted all the reasons she shouldn’t marry Peter, he hadn’t revealed the most important one of all.

“Ask your two-timing brother.” Suddenly exhausted, she leaned against the wall once more. “I’ll handle notifying the guests and the caterers and returning gifts.”

The small office felt suffocating. She walked around Mike, ignoring his burning gaze. She’d reached the door when she paused in midstride and glanced at Peter. He looked stricken, but at this moment Carly couldn’t bring herself to care. Nor could she bring herself to reassure him about his partnership. Before finding out about his affair, she’d made sure her decision wouldn’t affect her father’s feelings about Peter.

“One more thing.”

“Yes?” he asked warily.

“Take this.” She twisted her engagement ring off her finger and smacked it into his hand before turning on her heel and storming out of the room.

* * *

Mike started to sprint after Carly, but Peter’s strong grip on his arm halted his departure. He pivoted and came face-to-face with his brother.

“What?” Mike asked. He didn’t want to waste time dealing with Pete.

“The truth. Did you tell her?” For the first time, his composed brother looked shaken.

Though Mike wished he could pity him, the one person he felt for was Carly. “I wish I’d had that honor. Not telling her is something I’ll have to live with.” He prayed it wasn’t too late. “Obviously she’s brighter than you thought.”

Peter groaned, bracing a hand on the doorknob. “No, I’m just a hell of a lot dumber.”

Mike shook his head. “When will you learn, Pete? Things have a way of coming back to haunt you.”

But he needed to speak to Carly, and unless the elevators were slow, she’d had enough of a head start for her to disappear into the crowd. By the time he’d reached the street, the clouds that had looked threatening earlier had erupted in rain showers. In this weather, finding an empty taxi would be damn difficult if not impossible.

He glanced to his right and relief kicked into him. Carly stood on a corner flagging down a cab. He ran, reaching the taxi just as she pulled the car door shut. He rapped on the glass and called her name.

She rolled down the window. “Go away.” Her face was wet with moisture, making it impossible for him to distinguish between raindrops and tears.

“No.” He reached for the handle and opened the door.

She promptly slammed it closed again.

“Have a heart, Carly. It’s wet out here.”

She glared through the half-opened window.

“Have a heart? That’s a joke coming from you.” She smacked her hand down on the inside panel.

He reached for the handle before she could lock the cab door. This time he was prepared for her resistance. His strength was no match for hers and the door flew open wide.

Ignoring her murderous look, he flung his wet body into the seat, forcing her to move over or be crushed. She slid over quickly.

“Wise move,” he said, shutting the door behind him.

Silence greeted him.

Leaning forward, he spoke to the driver. “Seventy-second and Second.”

“Wait.” She tapped the driver and the man turned to look over his shoulder.

“He’s not going with me.” Carly gestured toward Mike.

“The hell I’m not.”

A wide grin encompassed the older man’s face. “Me, I don’t care where we go or how long we sit. The meter’s running.” He patted the metal box. As if on cue, the digital numbers increased.

“I’m in no rush.” Mike shrugged and leaned back in his seat.

She groaned but remained silent. Raindrops pelted the windshield and the cabdriver began whistling.

Mike slicked back his hair with one hand. This was one battle of wills he couldn’t afford to lose. He needed the chance to explain. More important, Carly needed to be with someone who cared.

He glanced at his watch. The meter ticked off another fare increase. The driver switched tunes. Over the off-key whistling, Mike heard a clicking sound and turned. Carly huddled in the corner, arms wrapped around herself, shivering, her teeth chattering. She pushed her wet bangs out of her eyes with one hand before wrapping her arms around her wet body once more.

He muttered a harsh curse and repeated her address aloud.

The driver looked at Carly. “Miss?”

“Just go,” Mike said through clenched teeth.

The man glanced over his shoulder at Carly again and she nodded. He swiveled back in his seat and placed the car in gear, jamming his foot down on the accelerator.

Mike looked at Carly and held out his arms.

“Either you’ve lost your mind or your ego is bigger than I thought.” She curled into a tighter ball.

He let out a groan, reached over and pulled her into his embrace. She tried to squirm free, but he held on tight. “Save your energy to argue with me later,” he said. “Right now we’re both wet and freezing. If you don’t want to come down with pneumonia, take advantage of my body heat.”

Heaven knew he was taking advantage of hers. Every breath brought with it her unique scent, and her soft body had begun to relax, molding to his.

“I’m only doing this to keep warm,” she mumbled.

He chuckled. “I know.”

“I’m still angry.”

He leaned his chin on the top of her head. “I know that, too.” And a confrontation was sure to follow.

* * *

After towel-drying her hair, Carly wrapped herself in an ivory terry-cloth robe. The hot shower had warmed her body but not her heart. She felt ice cold inside. Ironically, heartache wasn’t the problem.

She’d already broken up with Peter, already accepted that caring couldn’t replace love when he’d blundered into his admission. And though he’d shocked her, Mike’s silence hurt worse than anything Peter had done. Her ex-fiancé had merely wounded her pride and convinced her that she’d been going through life with blinders on, in more ways than one. She pulled the lapels of the lace collar together at her throat, drew a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom.

Mike stood in front of the credenza that provided a makeshift bar. He’d changed out of his wet clothes. He wore the large gray sweats she’d lent him, a towel draped around his neck... and nothing else. Her gaze was drawn to the muscles in his back and upper arms.

The strength in his body seemed as prevalent as the strength in his character. Another misguided perception, she thought. He too had betrayed her.

The rational part of her rebelled at the notion. The emotional part, the part that had been humiliated tonight, clung to the possibility. A confrontation with Mike was inevitable. Today’s encounters were like a flood after a lifetime drought.

He turned, drinks in hand. “Here.” He held out a brandy snifter. “I think we could both use this to warm up.”

After accepting the glass, she walked away from him. “You knew.”

“Yes.”

She admired his honesty. She just wished it had come sooner. Carly closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. How could the confirmation of something she’d already known hurt so much? She pushed up the sleeves of the oversized robe. “That’s something, I suppose.”

“What is?”

“At least you didn’t lie this time.”

He grasped her arm and swung her toward him. His eyes bore into hers. “I never lied to you.”

The heat of his fingertips seared her skin, branding her and making it difficult to remain focused. “What would you call it?” she asked. “A tiny omission?”

“Yes.” With a groan, he released her. “Put yourself in my position. Where would you find yourself?”

In the middle, she silently conceded.

“I did the only thing I could. I pushed with the knowledge you already had and hoped you’d come to the right decision.”

“And if I hadn’t?”

Guilt etched his features. “I hadn’t thought that far. I guess I had faith in you. And besides... I couldn’t bring myself to be the one to hurt you.”

“And you didn’t want to betray your brother.” A tear trickled down her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.

“That, too.”

She lifted her drink to her lips with trembling hands. “Where did you find this stuff?” Carly only used the credenza when she entertained or had friends over to hang out. Brandy wasn’t a staple in her liquor cabinet. She stifled a laugh. She didn’t have a liquor cabinet.

“I dug through your kitchen and managed to come up with something we could use. Drink up. It should help relax you.”

She took a sip. The dark liquid burned a path down her chest yet centered her somehow. She crossed the room and stared out the window to the street below. Carly tried to hold on to her anger at Mike. She had to. Without it, she didn’t have anyone to turn the brunt of her feelings upon. So he had been torn between her and his brother. His brother, his only family, or a woman he’d just met. Not much of a decision there, she thought bitterly.

He walked toward her and placed a hand on her arm. “Do you understand what I’m saying?” His intense gaze bore into hers, causing a pulse-pounding heaviness in her chest.

Afraid she understood him
too
well, Carly backed off, heading for the center of the room, searching for space.

M
ike watched Carly’s retreat. Somehow she seemed too composed for a woman who had not only broken her engagement but just discovered that her fiancé had been cheating on her as well. She set down her drink on the hardwood floor and turned her attention to a white wicker basket overflowing with magazines. She crouched down, knees resting on two over-sized throw pillows fringed in yellow.

As he watched, she began rummaging through the stack of magazines, tossing unwanted ones to the side. A huge pile formed beside her. Whether her task enabled her to ignore him or whether she was searching for something, he couldn’t say. The relevance of her actions escaped him, but she seemed to need the distraction.

Her movements caused her robe to part, revealing a hint of cleavage and the round swell of one breast. Mike sucked in a deep breath but found it impossible to look away. He shifted positions and lowered himself onto the couch because if she looked up now, she’d run far and fast. The sweats she had lent him were too tight under ordinary circumstances. What he felt now went way beyond ordinary.

He glanced at her again. “What are you...”

“Aha. Found it.” She rose, then ripped a page from the chosen magazine. “Did you know there’s such a thing as wedding insurance? Damage control for a wedding canceled due to unforeseeable events. Let’s see.” She skimmed the article in her hand.

Mike narrowed his eyes and focused on her distracted behavior. He realized now that she was more affected than he’d originally thought. He fought the urge to ease her pain. To wrap her in his arms and never let go.

Just because she’d dumped his brother didn’t make her ready for another relationship. Especially a short-term affair with a man who, as she’d so rightly said, was unable to commit. Whose career was destined to take him farther away at any time.