Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (27 page)

“I forgot to ask you about Thanksgiving.”
Nick glanced at her briefly as he pulled off I-5 at their exit for
Sayle. “I have an old friend coming to see me. He’s bringing his
wife and children, who I’ve never met. I told him about you, and
they want to meet you. I hoped we could spend the day
together.”

She didn’t know why she’d just assumed Nick
was spending the day with her, but she hadn’t considered anything
else. “I think I’m already way too comfortable with you.”

Turning the car onto the main road, Nick
narrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t understand. Are you saying you
don’t want to spend it with me?”

“Oh, no, not at all! It’s just that I didn’t
even think about asking what you had planned. I assumed you’d be
with me.”

His features smoothed out and a sexy smile
crawled slowly across his mouth. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me too. I haven’t even met your friends
yet, but I know this is going to be the best Thanksgiving I’ve had
since I was a kid.”

“That’s funny.” He stopped the car at a red
light and leaned across the console to kiss her lightly on the
cheek. “I was thinking the same thing earlier about spending the
holiday with you. It will be the best I’ve had since Mom died.”

She ran her hands through Nick’s hair and
closed her eyes, drawing him to her for a kiss. Her body clenched
with desire when Nick’s hand slid down her side. For the first
time, she was grateful Shelley talked her into getting the
ridiculous bra and panties. Nick was sure to appreciate them.

A car behind them honked, and Nick jerked
away. “Too dangerous to kiss and drive,” he said, voice husky.
“I’ll cause an accident.”

“Or someone behind us will get road rage and
ram into us.” Laughing, she raised his hand to her mouth as he
drove through the intersection. Feeling playful and naughty, she
nibbled lightly on the tip of his thumb. “Remember when we talked
about exploring your fantasies?”

“Yes.” The word was a guttural growl, more
than anything.

“Tell me about one.” She took his thumb into
her mouth, sucking it.

“God, Carlie. I want you so bad.”

She gave one more slurp and then released
his hand. “Almost home, and then you can have me.”

“Right.” He floored the accelerator, revving
the Porsche’s engine as he streaked down the road. “As far as
fantasies, I just formed a new one. I make a beautiful woman in
diamonds scream in ecstasy.”

“Come on, my lady, wake up. You’ve hit the
snooze button three times already.”

Carlie sighed and snuggled against Nick’s
bare side. Why did she have the bright idea of running her own
shop? She was too tired to make cupcakes and bread bowls. Plus, she
needed to start a pot of French onion soup if it would ever be
ready for lunchtime. Still, it was so much more comfortable here.
She’d just sleep a few more minutes.

Nick’s fingers trailed across the small of
her back, waking her up a bit, but giving her cravings for
something other than food. Not that she hadn’t received plenty of
what Nick had to offer before falling asleep.

She stroked his chest, opening her eyes and
struggling to focus. “Call my boss and tell her I’m going to be
late.”

He chuckled. “No can do. I heard your boss
is a real hard ass. She’ll be pissed if I don’t get you there on
time.”

Sighing, Carlie sat up and stretched her
arms over her head, trying to force herself more alert. “You make
me sound horrible.” She shot a fake pout at him over her shoulder.
“I’m not that bad. Remember the fun we had in the office the other
day?”

“Good point.” Nick caressed her face with a
feathery touch, drawing her mouth toward his. “You’re very
beautiful first thing in the morning.” He kissed her softly and
Carlie forgot about pretending to be offended. “I would love waking
up with you by my side every single morning.”

Happiness cradled her in a warm glow. Nick
talking about being together long term was as important as sharing
their life histories. “Sounds perfect to me.”

“I especially like this.” He laughed and
slipped his finger beneath the chain of diamonds, using it to pull
her close once again. “Super sexy. That’s one fantasy we’ll repeat
soon. You’re wilder in diamonds.” His lips closed on hers, revving
her heart rate sky high.

Though heat spread across her cheeks
thinking about just how wild she’d been, Carlie knew she should let
go of her inhibitions. There was no need to be embarrassed with
Nick. Sex with him went beyond satisfying her need for physical
contact and intimacy. Making love to Nick was a true sharing of her
soul, and she was sure he felt the same way. She could tell by the
sweet way he kissed her. Never before had she experienced that
level of tenderness.

Forcing herself to back away before she
really was late to the shop, Carlie sighed and slid off the edge of
the bed. She crossed to the closet and grabbed a robe off the
hanger, wrapping it around her naked body. “I better cover up, or
something tells me you’ll quit caring if I’m late to work.”

“Who says I haven’t already stopped caring?”
Nick raised his eyebrows and his sexy grin melted her willpower.
“Want to come back over here?”

Carlie untangled the earrings from her hair
and took them out. “Whether I want to is not even a question, but I
only have a half hour before I should be in the shop and
cooking.”

“Fine.” Sighing heavily, he crawled out of
the bed and slipped into a pair of boxers. “You owe me later.”

“Actually, we played out your fantasy last
night.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “If we’re keeping score, you
owe me.”

“Either way, I win.”

“Yeah. Me too.” She laughed and turned
around, piling her hair on top of her head and holding it in place.
“Could you help me? I need to put this jewelry in the safe before I
leave. It’s a little too fancy for Carlie’s Creations.”

“Safe?”

Something in the timbre of Nick’s voice was
off. Carlie looked at him over her shoulder. He seemed stunned,
which was odd. “Not a real safe,” she hurried to explain, wondering
what about that bothered him. “That’s the first place a robber
would look for something. I’m not that naïve.”

“Oh good. That really is the first place
they look.” He crossed the room, and his fingers brushed lightly
against her neck while he worked the clasp. “I guess I was just
surprised you would have a safe, since you said you were out of
money.”

He sounded like he was accusing her of some
sort of wrongdoing, but Carlie tried to tell herself that was just
her interpretation of his words. They only slept for three hours.
Maybe he was tired and upset because he thought she hid something
from him.

“I have a little money left, actually, and
some jewelry that I didn’t return to Ryan’s mom. I have the perfect
hiding spot for it.”

Nick undid the clasp and handed her the
necklace. “I guess it’s good to know this will be safe, then, if
anyone wanted to rob you.”

She transferred the necklace to the same
hand as her earrings and twined her fingers through his. “Come on.
I’ll show you.”

Carlie led him from the bedroom, hoping Nick
realized how much trust she placed in him by showing him her hiding
spot. Her secret stash was all she had in case of a total emergency
where she needed to run again. Not that she planned on running, but
it would be foolish not to have a safety net.

When they walked into the kitchen, she let
go of his hand and went to the sink, opening the cupboard beneath
it. “No one would ever look for valuables here.” She pulled out a
box of powdered dishwasher soap and set it on the counter.

Nick took a step forward, confusion on his
face. “You put it in the dish soap? Will that ruin it?”

Setting the gifts from Nick on the counter,
she opened the top of the box, showing him the soap inside. “It’s a
trick.” Carefully, she extracted the thin box on top holding a
small amount of detergent, revealing that the container was
actually free of soap beneath it. Tall cardboard lining the inside
held the top portion in place, making the box appear full on casual
inspection. “I don’t think someone would actually open it, so the
soap probably isn’t needed, but better safe than sorry.” She
reached inside and pulled out two plastic bags. One contained money
and the other jewelry.

Nick let out a low whistle. “I thought you
were broke.”

“Five thousand dollars is all the money I
have left from what my mother-in-law gave me.” She put that back
inside. “The jewelry is worth a lot more than that, but there’s one
piece I refuse to sell, no matter how desperate I become.”

“Why’s that?”

She opened the bag and pulled out the
emerald ring, ruby earrings, and diamond bracelet inside, setting
them on the counter. “The ring and earrings really don’t matter,”
she explained, “but the bracelet is special.”

For some reason, Nick’s face totally closed
down. Carlie had the impression he was disappointed about the
jewelry. Either that, or angry.

“What’s special about it?” His voice sounded
flat, devoid of emotion.

She put everything into the bag, dropping
Nick’s gifts in with it and placing it back in the box. “Nick, are
you mad? I wasn’t hiding this from you. It’s just an emergency
fund.”

“Mad?” He laughed and wrapped his arms
around her waist, kissing her forehead. “Of course I’m not mad. I
just thought I gave you something special last night, that’s
all.”

Relief flooded through her. He felt
insecure, that was his problem. Carlie knew what to do about
that—tell him the truth. “Your gifts are worth so much more than
money.” She pressed her cheek against his and hugged him tightly.
“You picked them because you care about me. Except for the
bracelet, I could care less about the stuff Ryan gave me.”

“Why’s the bracelet different?” He still
sounded strange.

Carlie backed away from him, struggling
against the emotions welling inside her when she thought of the
bracelet. “It’s not what you think. Please don’t be jealous. I’m
not holding onto it because I’m sentimental about Ryan. You’re not
competing with his ghost. I promise.”

“But you don’t intend to sell it for money
if you need it?”

“No. I could never do that.” She turned
away, trying to hide the tears as they spilled down her cheeks. “It
doesn’t belong to me, not really.”

Nick walked over to the counter and put the
soap back on top of the jewelry. He placed it beneath the sink
before facing her. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” With gentle
fingers, he brushed away her tears. “Do you want to talk about
it?”

She nodded and took in a shaky breath,
trying to calm herself. “It’s actually Gabi’s.”

“Gabi?”

“My daughter. Remember? I told you about
her.”

Nick nodded. “I remember.”

“I planned to hold onto it until Gabi was
older and give it to her.” Her heart ached and the burning in her
chest was impossible to control as more tears fell. “Ryan gave it
to me after we were married as a wedding gift. It’s a family
heirloom and was supposed to make me feel welcomed to royalty or
something like that, but I never wore it.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “I’m kind of
surprised his mom didn’t ask for it back after his death. If it was
that important to the family, I mean.”

“She didn’t know I kept it, I’m sure.”
Carlie shook her head, still feeling guilty about that. “She
probably thought it was safe in Maharla. You see, we sent most of
our stuff there ahead of us when we made plans to leave the
country. I was supposed to send all the jewelry, but I didn’t want
the bracelet out of my sight. I wore the ring, and I honestly
forgot the earrings were in the bathroom when we packed.”

“You didn’t just leave with your stuff?”
Nick sounded skeptical about something, though Carlie wasn’t sure
why.

“Ryan had someone take our belongings, but
he had one more meeting to take care of and we were supposed to fly
out two days later.” She scrubbed at the tears on her face. “I was
left with almost nothing, which I guess made it easier to go into
hiding after Ryan’s murder.”

“So why’d you keep the bracelet with you
instead of sending it on ahead?”

There was a coldness to Nick, which Carlie
didn’t understand. Maybe since he’d never been a father, he
couldn’t sympathize with the fact that she’d lost her baby and had
clung to the one connection she had left.

“Gabi’s grave is in Maharla. I planned to
bury the bracelet near her headstone once I got there.” She
shrugged and looked down at her hands, not wanting to see the ice
in Nick’s eyes any longer. “One day, I hope to sneak into the
country and leave it with her. It’s hers. She should have it.”

Unexpectedly, his arms circled her and he
pulled her against his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m being a jerk, and I
shouldn’t be. I wanted to do something special and when I saw that
stuff, I got jealous that Ryan already did that for you.” He
caressed her back with a tender touch. “It sucks that you’ve had so
much heartbreak. I’m sorry about Gabi.”

Carlie sighed with relief and sagged against
him. “Now that we’ve found each other, we can replace our old
heartbreak with new, happy memories. Let’s not talk about the past
anymore.”

“I thought you were all about sharing.”

“I was, but I think we’ve covered the
important stuff.” She squeezed him tightly. “Let’s focus on our
future.”

Though Shelley always came to work a few
hours later than Carlie and after the baking was finished, the
second she showed up Nick made an excuse and left the shop. He
raced back to Carlie’s house to inspect the bracelet more
closely.

It took all his acting skills and experience
as a S.A.T.O. agent to pull things together this morning when
Carlie pulled out her ‘safe.’ He knew his initial reaction alerted
her, but hopefully she bought the explanation of jealousy. If she
figured out he knew what the bracelet really was, knew she had been
lying this entire time, the game was over. She’d tell her terrorist
associates all about Nick. He’d never learn her secrets if that
happened. In fact, he’d probably find himself on their hit
list.