You Belong To Me (31 page)
Authors: Patricia Sargeant
“No, I don't mind.” Nicole kept her voice light as she started her story. “I was leaving Joyce's house. Do you remember Joyce Allen?”
Frank nodded, rocking back on his heels. “Tyrone's fiancée.”
“Yes. I was leaving her house, and as I started to cross the street, a car came out of nowhere. It would have hit me if Joyce hadn't screamed my name. But when I turned back to her, I lost my balance and fell onto the sidewalk. Hence the mild concussion that kept me here overnight.” Nicole lifted her arms to encompass the hospital room.
“Wow.” Frank shook his head in wonder. “You're so lucky Joyce was there.” He folded his long frame into the chair next to her bed.
“Yes, I am.” Nicole tried not to get tangled in images of what might have happened if Joyce hadn't been courteous enough to watch her walk to her car.
The comfortable squeak of nursing shoes advancing toward her room caught her attention. A willowy young nurse appeared in the doorway. She aimed a quick, appreciative look toward Frank before focusing on Nicole.
“Good morning, Ms. Collins.” The nurse's husky voice sounded too full for her slight frame. “I'm Lucy Dunn. I see you're ready to leave us.”
“Yes.” Nicole watched the young woman smooth first her curly blond hair and then the slim skirt of her uniform. “But I appreciate your taking such good care of me while I was here, Nurse Dunn.”
The nurse beamed at her. “Oh, it was our pleasure, Ms. Collins. You were an ideal patient.” Her hazel eyes snuck another peek at Frank.
“Thank you.” Nicole allowed some of her amusement to escape in the form of a smile.
Lucy slid repeated glances at Frank as she fussed around Nicole, checking her pupils and the bump on the side of her head. Her small hands were competent yet careful. Frank seemed unaware of the attractive nurse's preoccupation with him. Instead he chatted about possible plot twists of a science-fiction novel Nicole had recommended to him.
“I'm glad you're enjoying the story.” Nicole extended her arm so Lucy could check her blood pressure.
“I can't put it down.” Frank's smile made his model good looks even more appealing.
Lucy's glance lingered a bit longer on Frank this time as she wrapped the blood-pressure cuff around Nicole's arm. Nicole wondered how Frank's mother would feel about young Lucy's interest with her son. The nurse seemed nice, but Ava probably would not be pleased. Nicole doubted the overprotective mother would approve of anyone. She seemed much too possessive of her baby boy. Poor Lucy. Poor Frank.
Lucy looked directly at Frank for the first time, seeming to gather her confidence. “Are you taking Ms. Collins home?”
“Well, we hadn't discussed it.” Frank glanced at Lucy before turning back to Nicole. “But I can take you home, if you'd like.”
Lucy smiled admiringly at Frank. “That's so kind of you.”
“Not at all,” the young man protested. His Superman-like lock of dark hair fell forward.
“I appreciate the offer, Frank. But Mal's meeting me,” Nicole said, rolling down her sleeve once Lucy removed the blood-pressure cuff.
“Well, since I'm already here, we could call him and let him know I'm taking you home.” Frank sat forward in his chair. “It would save him the trouble.”
“He's already on his way.”
“Then we should call him right away.” Frank flipped open his cell phone. “Maybe he hasn't driven that far.”
Nicole frowned at Frank's persistence. “No, really, Frank. I'd rather wait for Mal.”
Frank held out his cell phone. “Are you sure?”
“I'm sure, but thank you for offering.”
Lucy looked uncomfortable with the exchange. “It was a nice offer. I'm sorry. I hadn't realized you'd made other arrangements.”
Nicole waved away the nurse's apology. “Don't worry about it.”
Lucy smiled, her humor restored. “You're healing very well, Ms. Collins. But no more picking fights with the sidewalk.”
With a smile, Lucy strode out of the room, casting a parting glance at Frank on her way.
“It was a good idea,” Frank said after Lucy disappeared.
“Yes, but I would hate Mal to go out of his way to pick me up only to find I'd accepted a ride with someone else.”
“I understand.” Frank's tone conveyed his reluctance. “But it's not out of Malcolm's way to pick up his wife.”
Nicole stared at Frank, wondering if her concussion had affected her hearing. “What did you say?”
“Hi, Nicky. Frank.”
Malcolm appeared in the doorway. A wary expression sharpened his gaze. But Nicole wasn't as anxious to leave now. Nicole cut her gaze back to Frank.
“What makes you think Mal and I are married?”
Frank looked uncertain. He glanced between Nicole and Malcolm. “The article in
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said you two were married.”
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said you two were married.”
Nicole's lips parted, and her eyes grew wide in surprise. She turned to Malcolm, unable to form the question.
“I was going to tell you, but then the accident ... I forgot,” he said, walking into the room.
“You two aren't married?” Frank asked, standing.
Nicole shook off her surprise. “No, we're not.”
Not anymore.
She wondered how and why the trade magazine had found out about their former relationship.
Not anymore.
She wondered how and why the trade magazine had found out about their former relationship.
Frank's brows gathered. “Then why did the
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say you were?”
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say you were?”
“I have no idea,” Nicole prevaricated.
She looked at Malcolm, who quirked an eyebrow at her. She glared at him, certain he was to blame for this invasion of her privacy.
“That's weird.” Frank shook his head, rocking back on his heels. His gaze swung between Malcolm and Nicole again. “Well, I'd better get out of your way so you can get home.”
“Thank you for coming,” Nicole said.
“Oh, sure. See you around.” Frank's parting wave encompassed both of them.
He kept a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and an eagle-eyed stare on the hospital entrance, not wanting to miss Nicole and Malcolm's exit from the hospital. He ignored the sweat trickling down his back. The car was hot and stuffy, although the day was cool and windy. But he didn't roll down the windows. He didn't want to do anything that would distract him.
He couldn't believe the answer to his problem had been right in front of him the entire time. The solution was so simple, so obvious. To protect his family, he would have to assume the role of caregiver.
Nicole had betrayed his family, and if she didn't make amends by calling off the movie project and buying back the rights, he would be forced to separate her from his family.
He sat up straighter as he saw Malcolm assist Nicole out of the hospital in a wheelchair. His gaze tracked them as Malcolm helped her out of the chair and, with the help of an aide, assisted her into his car. Malcolm's manner was solicitous and gentle. Even from this distance, his affection for her was visible. Nicole was important to him. And, if he didn't miss his guess, Malcolm was important to her. Maybe more important to her than his family. He squeezed the steering wheel tighter.
In the past, he'd been reluctant to remove Nicole. In her role, she was too important to his family's continuance. He'd considered her irreplaceable. But now he realized Nicole could be replaced. If he was forced to get rid of her, he would assume the responsibility of continuing his family. The balance of power had turned. He was the one in control. He didn't need Nicole anymore. And, if she didn't remember where her loyalties lay, his family wouldn't need her, either.
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Nicole went to the family room to wait for Malcolm. He was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher and cleaning up the remains of the wonderful dinner he'd prepared.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” he asked, entering the room.
Nicole lowered herself onto the sofa. “No, thank you. I'm fine.” Her lips curved teasingly. “Between the delicious lunch you prepared earlier and that fabulous dinner, we know my appetite wasn't affected. You're spoiling me.”
“I want to spoil you.” He took her hand as he sat beside her. “I almost lost the chance to do that. It's going to be a while before I'm able to stop hovering.”
Nicole squeezed his hand before rising to wander the room.
“I know what you mean,” she said over her shoulder. “It sounds trite, but being reminded of how fragile life is made me reconsider what I'm doing with mine.”
She paused in front of the mantel, staring into the empty fireplace. “Don't get me wrong. Overall, I'm happy. The only regret I have is the unresolved issue between us.”
“I regret that, too.”
Nicole breathed in her courage before turning to face her ex-husband. He stood beside the sofa, studying her with a wary but steady gaze. “Mal, I need to know the truth, no matter how hard it may be to hear.”
“What is it?”
She took a fortifying breath. “Do you blame me for our baby's death?”
She felt Malcolm's shock, and then his expression changed to irritation. His reaction reassured her better than any verbal denials ever could.
“I never blamed you. Never. I've told you that before.”
“Then why did you file for the divorce?”
Malcolm gusted an impatient breath. He prowled the room, dragging one hand through his hair. Nicole felt his inner struggle.
“Because I blamed myself.” His voice was low and hesitant.
Of all the things he could have said, that wasn't the response she had expected. “Why?”
Malcolm stilled and faced her. “I felt like a failure. I felt as though I couldn't take care of my family. I couldn't protect you.”
“Why would you need to protect me?” Nicole strained to push her defenses down. Now wasn't a good time to be hypersensitive about what she considered to be Malcolm's old-fashioned view of the roles husbands and wives play in a marriage.
“You shouldn't have had to continue working during your pregnancy. And when you stopped talking to me, I thought you blamed me, too.”
“Never,” Nicole exclaimed. She rushed to him, putting a hand on his muscled forearm. “I never blamed you, Mal. I stopped confiding in you because ... Well, Mal, talking to you was like talking to a wall. I'd share all my pain with you, and you never gave anything back. It was a lonely feeling.”
He gave her an apologetic smile. “You told me that. And I'm sorry. I didn't realize that's how you felt.”
Nicole stepped closer, sensing their body heat wrap around them. “Does your offer to start over still stand? Can we try to put the past behind us?”
A brilliant smile added a twinkle to his brown eyes and brightened his features. He pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. She melted against him, his embrace making her warm and restless.
She skimmed the tip of her tongue against the roof of his mouth, groaning at the taste of him. The heat of him. He growled low in his throat, a hungry, hunting sound that stoked the furnace inside her. She swayed against him as his long, nimble fingers stole under her sweater and skimmed her waist. His arms curved around her, his fingertips playing the length of her spine. Nicole shivered, and he pulled her closer still.
He broke the kiss, and through heavy-lidded eyes, Nicole watched him feather his fingers over the healing scratches along the side of her face. He tenderly kissed the bruise above her right cheekbone. Pain darkened his eyes as he recaptured her gaze. “I could have lost you.”
Nicole pulled his head down to her and sealed his lips with a kiss meant to take his pain away.
His lips left hers to sip along her jaw. Malcolm's tongue traced the shell of her ear, sending shivers to the very heart of her passion. Her body became weightless, supported only by her desire. Malcolm's mouth returned to hers, his tongue slipping past her lips to toy with hers. Stroking, sucking, pulling at the hunger within her. Her passions raced toward the begging point. She moved restlessly and felt the mattress beneath her.
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