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)
Nicole nodded. “I hope that’s okay.” She’d hate to get him in trouble for betraying a confidence.
Sara met her gaze. “It’s fine. Sam knows I volunteer at the hospital, talking to domestic abuse groups, so sharing is what I do.”
Nicole stuck by her view of Sara being an incredible woman, but she wouldn’t embarrass her by saying it again. “I’m glad you and Sam are still close,” she said instead. Because Sara seemed like that rare person—trustworthy and loyal—and Sam deserved a friend like her.
She smiled. “The feeling’s mutual, and I just want him to be happy. He’s refused to open himself up to the idea of love. It’s like he shut down, and to be honest, I was beginning to think he’d always be alone. But just the fact that he brought you here tells me he’s changing.”
Nicole shook her head, not wanting Sara to formulate the wrong idea about her and Sam. “I’m only here because I’m in trouble, and we needed to get out of town for a few days.” Sam had mentioned that he’d been vague but honest with Sara about Nicole’s situation when he asked her if they could come stay.
“Well, he could have brought you to a hotel.”
“He tried. It’s racing season.”
“So why didn’t he choose another location?” Sara smirked, sure of her conclusions. “Instead, he brought you here, to an old friend who knows him better than anyone. That tells me he’s more invested than even he knows.”
Nicole’s heart squeezed tight, longing and hope threatening to rise, and she ruthlessly quashed the emotions. Sam had made himself clear. No matter how attached she might be getting, and she’d be a fool to deny it to herself, she couldn’t set herself up for pain and heartache. They were neighbors. And when things ended, she’d have to live in his small town and make their friendship work.
“Sara—” Nicole wanted to stop the speculation and conversation, but the other woman was on a roll.
“Now, maybe you’re not ready for a relationship, as you said,” Sara went on. “Or maybe that’s an excuse because Sam told you up front that he isn’t interested in one. I don’t know. But I like you. And I like you with Sam.”
“Thank you,” Nicole said, not knowing what else to say.
Sara tipped her head up toward the sun. “I’m just calling it like I see it. Sam’s relaxed around you. He watches you and smiles when he thinks you’re not looking.”
“He does?”
It took every ounce of Nicole’s self-control for her not to turn around and sneak a peek at the man and see for herself.
Sara merely grinned.
Which led her to wonder what she’d do if Sam Marsden suddenly decided he was all in and wanted more. The answer, which she’d never admit to out loud, had her wanting to dive in and submerge herself in the pool.
* * *
Sam glanced over to where Nicole lounged at the edge of the pool, talking to Sara. Water droplets glistened on her sun-drenched skin, her dark hair a contrast to her paler flesh. She simply took his breath away, bringing up emotions he knew he’d have to deal with at some point, but not until the threat against her was gone.
As the women spoke, their conversation broken only by Sara’s reprimand at her daughter’s splashing, he caught discreet glances coming his way. He didn’t know what, specifically, they were discussing, but he could take an educated guess that he was the general subject.
“Women,” he muttered, amused despite himself, as he lay down and shut his eyes against the glare of the sun.
His mind kept replaying last night’s talk with Nicole, the revelation and discussion of things he’d avoided discussing or thinking about for years. Yet revealing himself to her felt right. And he was forced to admit that talking about his biggest failures in life helped ease the burden he’d been carrying for years.
He might not trust his personal judgment, but Sara had no such problem, even after Frank, and the result was a great marriage to a decent guy. Mark Stein owned a couple of luxury car dealerships, hence this beautiful house and pool, and Sara’s ability to be a stay-at-home mom to her daughter. Sam couldn’t be happier for her, knowing what she’d gone through to get to this point.
His phone rang. At a glance, he saw it was his brother and he answered on the second ring. “Hey, bro. What do you have for me?” He’d given his brother the names of the Russian art dealers Tyler had passed on to him.
“I took the names you gave me to Cole, who went to his contact with the feds. They ran them through their database, and this is big for them. They want to set up a sting. Have Nicole wear a wire while talking to Robert Stanton. Once he confesses to money laundering on tape, they can leverage that information and get him to testify against the Romanovs. They want the big fish, which will take care of Nicole’s problem.”