Page 84 of Perfect Together

Nicole nodded, but her pain-filled expression told him she wasn’t up to the news. And he’d known that.

The doorbell rang again, and Nicole threw up her arms, wincing in agony. “What now?” she asked, her voice rising. She glanced through the door before swinging it open wide. “Am I glad to see you,” Nicole said.

Macy walked in with a cake box in hand. “I was coming to bring you a get-well present from my family. Then I saw the car in the driveway.” Her voice darkened as she narrowed her gaze on Tyler, who’d clearly been caught back in town visiting his ex—before he’d told his current... whatever Macy was to him that he’d returned.

Now it was Tyler’s turn to be in the doghouse, Sam thought, taking no pleasure in anyone sharing his predicament. Having Nicole mad at him ruined his damn day.

“Might as well come in and join the fun,” Sam said to Macy.

She rolled her eyes and handed Nicole the cake. Then she folded her arms across her chest and glared at Tyler, hurt and fury warring for dominance.

Even Sam winced at what poor Stanton was in for.

***

Macy had takenone look at Tyler’s Porsche parked in Nicole’s driveway and wanted to vomit. Of course he’d comeherebefore letting her know he was back in town. If he was back. For all Macy knew, he’d planned on leaving again before she even realized he’d returned. But she refused to let him stop her from checking on Nicole and delivering her gift.

Once inside, it took all her willpower to keep her focus on her friend and not the man who’d asked her to wait but couldn’t be bothered to keep in touch.

“Anyway, Aunt Lulu said she can take the deliveries if you aren’t up to working,” Macy said, ignoring Tyler’s heated gaze.

“I’m not missing any more work because of this mess.” Nicole sliced a hand through the air for emphasis. “And what about you? What are you doing out and about? You were in that car with me,” Nicole said.

“What!?” Tyler stepped forward. “Are you okay?” He reached for her, but she backed away.

“I’m fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “Nice of you to ask.”

Tyler ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know. Mike only told me about Nicole. He didn’t know you and I...” He trailed off, obviously unsure of how to characterize their relationship.

Hurt rocked through Macy, but she didn’t want to deal with him now. “What mess are you talking about?” she asked, referring to what Nicole had said earlier. “What don’t you want to keep you from work?”

“Umm—” Nicole glanced from Sam to Tyler.

“Macy, I’ve been trying to keep you in the dark for your own protection,” Tyler said, stepping closer to her again.

She turned to face him, lost and confused. “My protection? What are you involved in?”

Sam shook his head and groaned. “Macy Donovan, if you breathe a word of this around town, and I mean one word—”

“Hey! Just because I’m outspoken doesn’t mean I’m a gossip or can’t be trusted,” she said, annoyed by the implication. “I can keep a secret. Ask Erin,” she said pointedly. She’d kept his sister’s pregnancy a secret last year.

“I know. I’m just trying to tell you how important this is. How dangerous,” Sam said to emphasize the point.

A chill rushed over her skin, and she shivered. “Tell me.”

Tyler reached out and took her hand. He then began to explain how his father was involved with Russian money launderers and that he’d come after Nicole to protect her. He’d left Serendipity last week to try to talk sense into his father. That or find evidence of guilt so the feds wouldn’t want Nicole to wear a wire to get information.

Macy listened in disbelief.

“Then I heard about Nicole’s car accident, and I thought maybe they’d sent someone after her. To scare her into coming back to Manhattan. So I came here to see for myself that she was okay. And to tell her if anyone was going to be wearing a wire, it would be me. Not her,” Tyler summed up at last.

Macy bit down on the inside of her cheek. So he wanted to put himself on the line. For Nicole. She swallowed hard. Before she could speak, Nicole chimed in.

“And that was the first time I learned about me wearing a wire because Sam thought it was in my best interest to keep me in the dark,” Nicole said, her voice low, angry.

“Just like Tyler thought it was in mine?” Macy asked in a sugary-sweet tone she didn’t mean.

The two women locked gazes, and Nicole stepped up alongside Macy. “You two. Go away. We need to talk.”