Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (25 page)

He had considered telling her the truth
about S.A.T.O. tonight, but with Carlie’s fears about her enemies,
it might ruin everything. Nick was so afraid she’d decide he’d
played her, that he actually worked for the assassins. She was
suspicious enough to think that.

Maybe once he got her to safety, once she
was out of danger, he could risk telling her the truth. Once he
knew she was deeply in love with him and wouldn’t leave.

He glanced at his watch. Past midnight
now—already Sunday. The seconds ticked past too quickly. Paul’s
deadline was too soon. Carlie had to start trusting him. They had
to leave by Friday, before President Sharp returned from vacation.
It was the only way Nick would feel safe.

***

Carlie stepped into the exquisite dress,
trying not to worry about the price when she noticed the label. The
tag named a popular Italian designer. It probably cost enough to
pay her living expenses for a month.

The inner layer of charmeuse silk felt like
heaven against her skin, and Carlie slipped the strapless top over
her breasts, holding it tight against her. She could only zip it
halfway, unable to contort her arm enough to close the zipper, but
the fit was perfect.

She looked into the full-length mirror on
her bedroom wall and smiled. The empire waistline tapered down into
elegant lines, showing off her hips in a sexy way she’d never
before achieve. She looked hot and had no shame admitting it to
herself. The teal color of the fabric turned her hazel eyes into a
bright blue, and she couldn’t wait to do her hair and makeup. Nick
thought she looked great when they went to dinner before. She’d
impress him tomorrow for sure.

Nick certainly treated her as if she were
special. It wasn’t just the money he spent on the dress. It was the
time and thought put into the gift.

Funny to think she’d talked to Shelley about
new dresses earlier that evening and longed for one. Now she had
this and looked forward to whatever Nick had planned that required
a dress of this magnitude. It was sure to be special. While money
had never been important to her, what girl could resist being
spoiled?

She spun in a circle, loving the way the
silk flared around her legs.

A soft knock came on the door. “Carlie?
You’ve been in there forever. Do I get to see?”

“No way,” she called. “I want you to be
surprised.”

He chuckled. “At least tell me it fits.”

“Perfectly.”

“Then get yourself out of it and let me in
there. I miss you already.”

Carlie unzipped it and stepped out of the
dress, using the silken straps sewn inside it to hang it in the
closet. This was what she’d been waiting for her entire life.
Romance and love and passion. Nick was the whole package. Now that
he was being open and honest with her, they could truly start a
relationship.

She considered putting her pajamas back on,
but decided against it. “I miss you, too.” Pulling open the bedroom
door, she smiled. “So let’s say we have a little reunion?”

Nick’s eyes lit with fire as he swept her
into his arms.

Nick tried to escape the house before
Shelley arrived to help Carlie get ready Sunday afternoon. He
didn’t quite make it.

She stopped him at the doorway. “You planned
something wonderful, right? I expect you to take good care of
Carlie.” She lightly punched his shoulder. “Or else.”

He laughed and waved her away. “It’ll be
good. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it at work tomorrow. Don’t
call looking for details before then. Tonight, she’s mine.”

“Sounds like you have everything under
control.” Shelley winked and stepped past him, closing the
door.

Nick hopped in the Porsche and made the
short drive across town, knowing he’d have plenty of time before he
needed to get into his tux. Women were notoriously slow about
getting ready for a big date, and he wasn’t due back at Carlie’s
for two hours.

He needed to try calling Donovan again since
he couldn’t reach him yesterday. It was also time to do some
research. Nick was tired of relying on S.A.T.O. for information.
Maybe if he had a better understanding of who Carlie was and what
her real past had been, he’d relate to her better when the time
came to convince her to go to Canada with him. Back into hiding,
which she was adamantly against.

He wished their budding relationship was
reason enough for her to follow him, but Carlie wanted nothing more
than to stay put and run Carlie’s Creations. It was easy for him to
say she should give that up to leave with him. After all, he wasn’t
sacrificing much. Sure, he once thought S.A.T.O. was enough to
sustain him and keep him happy, but meeting Carlie changed his
dreams.

Payments would continue to roll in from the
restaurants he put money into, even if he was out of touch.
Dividend checks went into dummy accounts under his various false
names, which automatically transferred to his overseas account so
S.A.T.O. couldn’t track it. He was wealthy enough that he and
Carlie could open a new shop together, spending their days
contentedly with each other and their nights locked in passion. At
least, that’s the way he saw the future playing out.

However, that meant asking Carlie to give up
all friends and her shop, and she seemed attached to both. Then
again, she did miss her parents a lot. Maybe it would be enough if
he flew her out to see them. She said they were in Africa. It would
be easy to confuse their trail and make sure no one realized their
true objective. He’d book a sightseeing tour that happened to cross
paths with Carlie’s parents. No one would think anything of it.

Actually, that could be a good strategy to
get her to agree to go with him—assuming what she said about her
parents was true and not part of her fabricated life as Princess
Stephanie. Well, that was what he needed to figure out.

Nick let himself into his room and pulled
out the disposable cell phone he’d bought the night before, dialing
Donovan’s number. “It’s me,” he said when his friend answered.

“Sorry I missed your call last night. I
wasn’t sure if it was safe to call you back. So, how’s life
treating you...Nick?” It would take a while for his friend to get
used to his new name. By the time he was comfortable with it, Nick
would likely be someone else.

“Things are heating up around here. I called
to see if you had any idea of a timeframe on those papers.”

“About that.” Donovan chuckled. “My wife has
an idea and wanted me to run it past you.”

“Okay.” He was unable to keep the
apprehension out of his voice. Donovan was a good guy and Madeline
seemed nice, but he had no idea what to expect.

“Madeline’s parents are on a cruise to
Hawaii for the holiday, so we’re on our own. She wanted to know if
you and Carlie would mind company for Thanksgiving. The IDs should
be ready before we leave Wednesday, so I could bring them
personally.”

That could actually work in Nick’s favor.
Carlie wanted to know more about him. Bringing his oldest friend to
a holiday dinner had to earn big points as far as sharing. Then
again, they hadn’t even talked about Thanksgiving. He didn’t know
if she expected to spend it with him, or maybe planned to serve
food at Compassion For All. Knowing her, she probably wanted to do
charity work.

“Let me run that by Carlie, but I think it
should be okay.”

“Great. Maddie will be pleased. I think
she’s a little bored with our life now that it’s all kids and work,
and no murderers or crazy people.” He laughed. “She’s looking
forward to meeting my friend, the spy.”

Panic curled its fingers around his heart.
“Carlie doesn’t know about that. If you come, you can’t talk about
it, and you have to call me Nick.”

“Relax. Maddie’s already talking to the kids
about Uncle Nick. We won’t blow your cover.”

The more Nick thought about it, the more he
liked it. It would show Carlie he wanted to share his life with
her. Also, they would have the IDs ready and waiting to go before
President Sharp got home.

“I like the thought of being someone’s
uncle,” he said, “so I suppose you should get ready to make the
trip. I’ll work it out with Carlie.”

“Just one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“If we come, will things be safe? I know
Carlie’s in some trouble, and I won’t put my kids at risk.”

Nick considered that. Right now, it seemed
the only danger was from S.A.T.O. agents, and Stephen was pretty
much out of the picture. Carlie claimed assassins were after her,
but Nick didn’t know if that was even valid, considering she wasn’t
actually who she claimed to be. Either way, no one had watched her
the past month except him. Nick would have noticed.

“Things are quiet here right now. I’m the
one assigned to keep an eye on her as far as the organization is
concerned, so I think you’ll be as safe as anyone can ever expect
to be.”

“And things aren’t always secure in my
little community, as much as I’d like to keep my family from
harm.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you.” Nick
realized it would be nice to spend the holiday surrounded by people
he actually cared for. It had been too long since that
happened.

“Can I call this number when we get to
town?”

“Yep. It’s a disposable phone, so no one’s
watching it. See you soon.” He hung up, wondering if Carlie would
notice or ask about him having two phones. That was something he’d
worry about if it came up.

For now, he needed to power up his laptop
and start digging. After learning everything he could about
Princess Stephanie’s maid of honor, he’d plan a scenic tour in
Africa. It never hurt to be prepared.

***

Shelley applied more powder to Carlie’s face
and then added a thin layer of gloss to her lips. “Perfect. Now,
it’s time to take the curlers out of your hair.”

“I could do this myself, you know.” Carlie
didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, but Shelley had basically treated
her like a child since they entered the bathroom. Her friend seemed
even more anxious than she was about this date.

“You don’t put nearly enough makeup on,”
Shelley said. “He must be taking you somewhere super fancy, maybe
the symphony or something, so you need to look your best. Oh, man.
I’ll be so jealous if that’s where you go. I’d love to go to an
opera or symphony.” She sighed. “I never seem to find guys who want
to do that.”

Carlie shook her head as Shelley removed the
bottom row of curlers. “Why not go by yourself, if that’s your
dream? You don’t need a man to take you.”

Laughing, Shelley’s blue eyes met hers in
the mirror. “There are a lot of things I don’t need a man for.
However, most are more fun when I’m not solo.”

Fighting against her blush, Carlie changed
the subject. “Nick finally shared part of his past with me last
night. I think this might be more than a fling for him.” It felt
nice to say that aloud to someone. “I’m really hoping it is.”

Shelley set the last curler back inside the
case and grabbed bobby pins off the counter. “Well, considering you
told him your story, that’s the least he could do.”

Carlie sighed, knowing Shelley was right.
“He’s very secretive. I worried for a while he’d never open up,
even though I begged him to.”

Shelley winked at her in the mirror. “Can’t
blame a guy for not wanting to talk. Who wants to talk when sex is
so much more fun?”

“Shelley!” The blush won out and Carlie
stared at her hands. “I’ve been with a couple men over the years
where sex was all we had between us. I’m looking for more.”

“I know, sweetie. No matter how hot the sex
is, we women all wish for true love.” She took a pick to Carlie’s
hair, working to tame the curls.

Carlie hoped Nick wanted more than just sex,
too. He said he did, but he was hard to read. “How do you know if
you’ve found real love or he’s just another guy looking for
a...ummm, well, a booty call?”

“Ha! When you figure that out, let me know.
Men are a mystery, but the ones I meet all want a booty call. We
want love, men want sex.” Shelley pinned up some strands of hair,
letting others curl around Carlie’s face. “That’s perfect. Time to
put on your dress.”

She tried not to let Shelley’s view of men
bother her, but worry crept back in. Shelley dated so many guys
just in the short time Carlie knew her, and she still searched for
something real. Nick said all the right things, but did he mean
them? Then again, he did tell her about his parents.

She left Shelley in the bathroom and walked
to her bedroom. Before they started working on her hair and makeup,
they’d gone shopping and bought a sexy pair of panties and matching
strapless bra. They were both black and made of filmy lace. She
didn’t know why she bothered with the bra, since it was beautiful
but not really functional, but Shelley insisted the lovely dress
needed something better than her regular underclothes. A little
surprise for Nick if the night went well.

As though it wouldn’t. They had no problems
finding their way to the bedroom. It was communication they
lacked.

She put on the dress and returned to the
hallway. “Will you zip me up, please?”

Shelley did as requested and stepped back.
“You look incredible. Nick won’t be able to take his eyes off
you.”

“That’s good, I guess, but I really want
this relationship to be about more than physical attraction.”

“I’ve upset you.” Shelley sighed. “I didn’t
mean to imply that Nick’s not looking for true love. What do I
know?”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

Shelley shook her head, obviously not
willing to drop the subject. “I do know one thing, he’s good for
you. You’ve been happier and more open since he came around.”

Her increased openness was due to Stephen
beating the crap out of her. It essentially forced her into
trusting Nick and Shelley, but she nodded.