Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
The doorbell rang, giving him a reprieve, and he went to accept the delivery. When he returned, Nicole was looking at him with wary eyes, a far cry from the heavy-lidded, desire-filled gaze of earlier.
“Are we okay?” she asked, running her hands up and down her bare arms.
“We’re fine,” he said, knowing he was lying.
He needed to sort through his tangled emotions, which were clearly confusing Nicole and bringing up a past he wanted to put behind him. He wasn’t sure how to accomplish that feat.
So they ate in awkward silence, and eventually Sam drove Nicole back to her apartment over Joe’s. When she got out of the car, he didn’t mention their planned date tomorrow night after the softball game.
And neither did she.
* * *
Nicole paced her apartment, not easy considering how small an area she had to walk, but she couldn’t sleep. Nerves, anxiousness, and not a little bit of panic raced through her. Not only because she’d clearly messed things up with Sam but also because Tyler was in town. And that made no sense at all.
She’d dumped him. Most men’s egos would prevent them from calling, texting, or begging for a reconciliation. Initially after the breakup, he’d gone silent, as she’d expected. It wasn’t until she’d arrived in Serendipity that he’d begun to call her.
Now he was here. Which raised the question, why the shift? What was he doing here?
Unable to settle her stomach, she still had to try to sleep. She didn’t. At least, she didn’t think she did. She tossed and turned, awakening early the following morning.
After a quick shower, she dressed, her thoughts bouncing from having to deal with Tyler to Sam’s unexpectedly harsh reaction to her past. She just didn’t understand the extent of his withdrawal. It wasn’t like she was still engaged to Tyler. She’d been nothing but up front and aboveboard with her ex as soon as she’d realized she didn’t feel the way she should if she was going to marry him. But Sam acted like she’d left Tyler at the altar or something equally cruel.
She’d called Macy last night for more information, and Macy told her Tyler would be at the restaurant this morning. As much as Nicole wanted to get this meeting over with, she couldn’t go anywhere until she had her scheduled phone call with her sister.
Her mind was on everything but Vicky, yet Nicole needed to give her twin one hundred percent of her attention. She’d never seen Vicky try so hard to control her disorder, work with therapists, take her meds, and truly want to make amends for her behavior.
At least the gravity of what she’d done had finally sunk in. The incidents with Erin had escalated until Victoria had tried to run her over with her car. Only once she’d been medicated and thinking clearly had Vicky’s own behavior scared her, and Nicole was willing to do anything to help her sister overcome her past and try to live as close to a normal, healthy life as possible. Someone had to, as their parents considered both girls a lost cause when it came to representing their high standards.
At nine o’clock on the dot, Nicole’s phone rang, and she answered, settling in the middle of her bed for the conversation. “Hello?”
“Hi,” Vicky said, sounding clear and present.
“Hi yourself.” Nicole paused, always uncomfortable asking the usual how are you when her twin was in a mental hospital for the criminally insane. At least the institution where she was housed was filled with minimal-behavior-problem inmates. Hopefully, her stay would be temporary, contingent on good behavior and doctors’ reports to the court.
“So tell me what’s going on in your life,” Vicky said before Nicole had to fill in the silence.
Nicole paused, knowing her sister was still too fragile to confide in about her own troubles. Vicky’s recent behavior meant Nicole couldn’t yet trust her to stay on medication and keep a secret about what Tyler’s father had done. And though Vicky knew Nicole had moved to Serendipity, Nicole was still hesitant to talk about the town and remind her sister of Cole and her behavior there.
“I recognize that silence . . . you’re afraid to talk to me,” Vicky correctly said. “But my therapist said I shouldn’t avoid conversation or worry about triggers while I’m in here. That this is the best place for me to be while testing the waters, so to speak. So stop worrying so much and tell me about your life in Serendipity.”
“The twin connection at work again?” Nicole asked, figuring that was how her sister knew what she’d been thinking.
“No, it’s just obvious.”
To Nicole’s surprise, Vicky giggled, sounding like the little girl she’d once been. The warm sound helped her relax, and she leaned back against the pillows and the wall.
Freed up to talk about Sam, Nicole decided that was as far as she’d go with her own situation. “Okay, well—remember the cop who arrested me when he thought I was you? Sam Marsden?”