Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (26 page)

Shelley wrapped an arm around Carlie and
squeezed her shoulders. “I think he must care about you. Just this
dress alone, not counting whatever you do on the date, Nick’s spent
a lot of money to impress you.” She grinned, as though the amount
he spent was directly proportionate to how sincere his feelings
were.

“Yeah. I guess that’s true.”

“So let’s not worry about his motives. He
must be serious. No guy would go to all this expense for a simple
booty call.”

What Shelley didn’t seem to remember was
Carlie already had a man spend lots of money on her. It was Ryan’s
way of life and didn’t have anything to do with love or wanting to
make her happy.

Nick had a lot of money too. Hopefully her
trust was well placed and he really was a better man than Ryan.

As he pulled into the driveway, it pleased
Nick to see Shelley’s car was already gone. That must mean his date
was ready for him. He hadn’t found any additional information about
Prince Rayhan and Princess Stephanie than what S.A.T.O. already
provided. Unfortunately, her maid of honor was never named in the
information he found, so Nick couldn’t determine Carlie’s true
identity and his search went cold. Still, he decided not to let it
spoil their night.

It didn’t matter who she was in the
past—what was important now was the future. The goal was to let her
know he truly cared for her. It was now or never. He only had a few
days before all hell might break loose, depending on what the
President decided. He wanted to enjoy the time with Carlie—let
himself feel joy for the first time in far too long.

Tucking the jewelry box into the band of his
slacks, Nick climbed out of the car and made sure his tux jacket
hid it from few. He retrieved the single long-steamed rose from the
dashboard and made his way to the porch. Ringing the bell, Nick
smiled when he heard immediate movement on the other side of the
door. Carlie was ready and waiting for him.

The door pulled open onto the most beautiful
sight he’d ever enjoyed. Carlie had curled her long blond hair and
pulled up on one side, soft and feminine. The dress hugged her
torso like a second skin, drawing attention to her slight, but
lovely, curves before flaring around her legs. Classy. Elegant.

He glanced back up and caught her gaze. Her
eyes were as blue as the sky on a bright day. A grin flirted across
her face and Nick smiled in return.

“You, my lady, are a vision of perfection
and beauty.” He held out the rose.

She accepted the flower and raised it to her
nose, her cheeks turning slightly pink. “And you look fantastic.
Very handsome.” Lifting her free hand to his face, she caressed his
cheek. “I’m really excited about tonight.”

“Me too.” He turned his face into her hand,
kissing her palm. “But there’s a problem.”

“Oh no! What’s wrong?”

The look of dismay on her face almost made
him feel guilty for worrying her. Carlie was used to things going
wrong in her life. However, he was about to make it up to her. He
stepped inside the door, forcing her back as he closed it behind
him.

“Well,” he continued, grabbing her hand and
pulling her close to his body, “your dress is missing
something.”

“Oh, that. Don’t worry, I won’t get
hypothermia on this date. Shelley lent me her wrap, so I don’t have
to wear my ugly coat.” She snuggled into his neck and kissed it
softly. “You smell so good.”

He dropped a kiss into her hair, noting that
she smelled of vanilla. “So do you. Your scent is like
sunshine.”

Laughing, she pushed away from him. “Okay.
We’re getting too sappy even for me to handle.”

“You started it.” He reached beneath his
jacket and pulled out the slender box. “I didn’t mean a coat,
though. Your neck is too bare for my tastes.” He opened the
case.

Carlie gasped, dropping the rose to the
ground as she covered her mouth. “Nick, you can’t be serious.
That’s too much.”

The necklace had strands of tiny diamonds
encased in white gold, creating two thin, sparkling chains, which
wound together. In the center of the box was a pair of diamond
earrings. All told, the set cost more money than Nick had ever
spent on a woman, but Carlie wasn’t just any woman. He was coming
to realize she was worth much more than money.

“It’s not too much,” he insisted. “I went
with something delicate, beautiful but not overwhelming. When I saw
it, I knew it would look perfect on you. Do you like it?”

She lightly fingered the chain. “It’s so
pretty.”

“Like you.” He set the box on the coffee
table and picked up the necklace, twirling his fingers in a
spinning motion to get Carlie to turn around.

She lifted her hair out of the way, and Nick
put the chain around her neck, surprised at the way his hands shook
while he fastened the clasp. He wanted tonight to be perfect—he
wanted to make her happy. Inhaling deeply, he lost himself in her
scent and kissed her bare shoulder.

A shudder went through her, but she dropped
her hair across his face and stepped away. “None of that, or we’ll
never make it out of the house.”

Nick handed her the earrings. “I’d be okay
with that.”

“I wouldn’t. I’m excited to find out what
you planned for tonight.” She put the earrings in. “Let me see how
this looks, and then I’ll grab my wrap and we can leave.”

Deciding he better keep his hands to
himself, Nick stuffed them in his pockets, admiring the view as
Carlie walked from the room. Even though they could certainly have
a fun time here, he looked forward to taking her out on the town.
First, they’d eat dinner at a five-star restaurant overlooking
Elliot Bay, which had breathtaking views of the Seattle skyline.
He’d heard great things about the place. Luckily, he secured a
reservation even on short notice. Any night other than a Sunday,
the restaurant would have been fully booked.

After dinner, he’d take her to the symphony
at Benaroya Hall. Tonight’s performance would be a lot of popular
classical tunes, and he hoped that would please her most of all.
Often the tunes she hummed while cooking where vaguely familiar,
and Nick thought they were all classic songs.

Knowing she had once been friends with a
princess, he wondered if his plans would seem impressive or
commonplace. Then again, even if she went fabulous places with
Rayhan and Stephanie, Carlie had been running for six years. Plus,
she’d never experienced those things with him. Hopefully that alone
made it special.

He picked her rose up off the floor, amused
that in her excitement over the diamonds she completely forgot
about it. Then again, he’d been so taken in by the nearness of her,
he forgot about it too. Setting it on the coffee table, the sound
of heels clicking on the hallway floor caused him to look up.

Carlie walked back in, a white wrap in her
hands. Her new jewelry sparkled in the light, made all the more
beautiful by her wide smile.

Nick took the wrap from her and placed it
across her shoulders. “Ready to go?”

She threaded her arm through his and
nodded.

“Every man there is going to be
jealous.”

Laughing, she bumped her hip against his.
“So will every woman.”

“I won’t even notice the other women.” The
real question was whether he would ever notice another woman again.
With Carlie by his side, he felt happy and satisfied. He knew she
worried that the only thing between them was sex, but he felt it
was much more than that and wanted to prove it to her.

Tonight, he would open up and show her who
he truly was, even if he had to leave out parts of his past. They
left the house and Nick helped Carlie into the car, proud to have
such an amazing lady as a part of his life. She truly did fit. It
might have been a line invented to make her trust him, but it was
truer than he ever expected.

He looked forward to spending more nights
like this, even if they happened in another country. The trick was
to convince Carlie she wanted the same thing.

***

Dinner was as perfect as Nick had imagined,
but the true magic he counted on was the symphony. Carlie fidgeted
in the chair beside him while they waited for the performance to
start, but smiled when his hand covered hers.

“I’ve never been to the symphony before,”
she confessed. “Actually, I’ve never been to anything like
this.”

“They’ll play a lot of classical music
tonight. I’m guessing that is something you like.”

She grinned. “Why do you guess that?”

“Beethoven being on your ring tone for your
phone.”

Twining her fingers through his, she nodded.
“Classical is my favorite.”

The lights blinked several times, warning
people attending the concert to get to their seats. When the first
swell of music started from the violin section, Carlie’s hand
tightened against his.

It made him happy to know he’d picked
something she enjoyed. Glancing down at her, Carlie had her eyes
closed and her head gently bobbed to the beat. She was entirely
lost in the music.

He lowered his mouth to her ear and kissed
the lobe lightly. “Dance with me.”

She raised her finger to her lips,
“Shhh…”

Standing, he pulled her up next to him. He’d
purposely gotten them seats at the back of the hall so that when
they danced they wouldn’t bother the other people. “Dance with me,”
he insisted, pulling her hand to led her to the empty aisle behind
their chairs.

Relenting, she face him and he led her in a
waltz. It was hard to tell in the low lighting, but he was sure she
blushed. Hopefully after a few moments she’d loose her
self-consciousness and just enjoy. There was nothing sweeter than
holding Carlie in his arms.

If he could prove how much she meant to him
through his actions rather than words, hopefully she’d want to stay
in his arms forever. That’s where he needed her.

He cuddled her close to him and Carlie laid
her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh.

“You know this embarrasses me, right?” she
asked softly.

“How could two people, perfect for each
other, dancing together ever be embarrassing?” he countered. “You
are the only person in this place that matters. Being close to you
is all I need.”

Her lips pressed into his neck. “You do have
some super slick moves. I’ve never waltzed before. However, I like
slow dancing like this even better.”

“I don’t care how we dance, just as long as
I get to touch you.”

She chuckled softly. “You’ve certainly been
saying all the right things tonight. Trying hard to be that gallant
knight, huh?”

He stepped away from her slightly so he
could look into her eyes. “They aren’t just words, Carlie. I can’t
imagine my life without you.” He hesitated, uncertain whether he
should tell her he loved her. She really wanted him to show his
feelings, not say the words. She’d made that clear.

He cradled her back to him. “I need you in
my life, Carlie.”

“Well, then,” she said, caressing her hand
up his back, “let’s dance the night away. I don’t care who
watches.”

***

Carlie snuggled into the silk wrap and
adjusted the heater vent to blow more directly on her as Nick drove
them home from Seattle. It had been the best date she ever
experienced.

“I loved that restaurant,” she said, not for
the first time.

Nick placed his hand against her thigh,
squeezing lightly and sending pleasant tingles throughout her body.
“I knew you would. My favorite part was dancing though.”

“You do like to embarrass me in public
places by making me dance, don’t you?”

Nick chuckled. “I told you I wanted to go
dancing. Waltzing in the aisle seemed like the right thing to
do.”

Although for the first few seconds Carlie
had been mortified, knowing the people around them were watching,
dancing with Nick was wonderful. She had felt a little
self-conscious and overdressed at first—who knew people showed up
for the symphony nowadays in jeans and t-shirts? Still, once she
allowed herself to trust in Nick and do what would make him happy,
she’d never had more fun in her life. It felt like they had taken a
real turn in their relationship.

“When you said you wanted to take me
dancing,” she clasped his hand in hers, “I assumed we’d go to a
nightclub.”

“Nah. Way too boring.”

“You made me very happy tonight, especially
the way you opened up and told me about your childhood.”

He’d shared so much more at dinner than she
ever expected. Nick obviously didn’t do things by half measures. It
broke her heart to hear how bad his relationship had been with his
father, who looked at Nick as some sort of robot around to win
trophies to put on display. Second place was unthinkable and
followed by bitter disappointment and disgust from his father.

She squeezed his hand tighter.

Nick returned the pressure. “My mom would
have loved you, Carlie. I think you’re the type of woman she always
hoped I’d meet.”

His mom had sounded fabulous. Carlie didn’t
know if Nick could have made it through his father’s stern and
loveless care if it hadn’t been for his mom’s sweet soft side. From
what Carlie could piece together, her murder completely shattered
Nick. It sounded like he’d pushed away any meaningful relationship
ever since. Maybe things would have been different if her murderer
had been brought to justice, but an arrest had never been made.

“I wish I could have met her,” Carlie
finally answered. “She sounded amazing. And, she definitely raised
an amazing man, for which I’m very grateful.”

This relationship with Nick was the most
remarkable thing she’d ever felt. Now, he shared his life and
opened up to her. That was the best part of the night. Forget the
money he spent on dinner, forget the dancing and the presents. He
showed her his heart, and Carlie knew she was done for—head over
heels for him, and not wanting to stop it.