Page 93 of Perfect Together

Sam stiffened at the reminder of the Russians and any danger. He hoped like hell the DEA bust and round of arrests had gone down as planned.

“I know that, Dad.”

“No, I don’t think you did, or you would have come to me long before now.”

Guilt flashed across Nicole’s face, which infuriated Sam on her behalf. “Maybe if she thought you gave a shit about her, she’d have brought her problems to you instead of thinking she had to handle them herself,” he said, unable to rein in his anger any longer.

“Sam—” Nicole placed a warning hand on his arm, but he was finished letting anyone treat her with cold dismissiveness.

“Excuse me, but I’d say this is between me and my daughter,” her father said with an air of authority and entitlement.

Oh hell no,Sam thought. “Considering I’m the one keeping her safe, I’d say you’d better include me in the conversation. You’re lucky she cares enough to warn you. I wouldn’t have been so generous. Now tell me what you plan to do to make sure your partner can’t use his connections to hurt Nicole.”

Paul Farnsworth stepped back and studied Sam, suddenly seeing him as someone worth assessing. “What are your intentions toward my daughter?” he asked, surprising Sam by turning the conversation to the personal.

“That’s between me and Nicole.” Sam couldn’t help but play this man’s game. He didn’t like him or his smug arrogance, but mostly he didn’t like how he treated Sam’s woman.

He reached out and snagged Nicole’s hand. Let the man takethatas an answer. As of this moment, Sam was claiming her, at least in his mind. He’d take the time to sort through what that meant for him later.

For now, he’d deal with the situation at hand. “I asked you a question about how you intend to protect your daughter.” He looked the other man in the eye without backing down.

***

Nicole couldn’t believeSam was engaging her father. For her. She couldn’t help but wonder what it meant that he would. Until now, Sam was adamant about not wanting a serious future but here he’d all but claimed her.

“I’ll call the police myself and cooperate,” her father said, taking Nicole by surprise. “If they have the evidence from Tyler and me to arrest my partner, that should protect Nicole.” He spoke to Sam as if she weren’t in the room, his tone bland, as if he were discussing a business deal, which was the way he always acted toward her.

Her father was the iceman. That had been Vicky’s name for him growing up, and she hadn’t been wrong. To have Sam, who came from a perfect family—loving, caring, kind—see her treated like that was both humiliating and embarrassing.

She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, unwilling and unable to face him.

“When this is all over, I’ll talk to Tyler and see what we can salvage businesswise,” her father continued. Because after all, that was what mattered most to him. Business. Not his daughters.

Finally, he turned his gaze on her. “Now Nicole, I suggest you and your friend head back to Serenity—”

“Serendipity,” Sam muttered, obviously disgusted that the man didn’t even know the name of the town where his daughter now lived.

Whatever, she thought. She just wanted to get out of here. “Good luck,” she said to her father.

He inclined his head. “Thank you for the heads-up. And thank you, detective, for your help.”

The men shook hands, and none too soon Sam and Nicole were in the car and speeding home to Serendipity. She didn’t have anything to say and kept quiet.

“That went well,” Sam said into the silence.

She leaned her head back against the seat. “About as I expected.”

Keeping his gaze on the road, he placed his hand on hers. Although his touch usually warmed her, today she was ice cold, inside and out, her father’s behavior having reminded her of her place, not just in his life, but in Sam’s.

Passing through. That was all she was to the men in her life. Someone who wasn’t permanent.

“It’s almost over,” Sam said, and she didn’t know if he referred to her father’s business mess or to them. Given what he’d just witnessed, she wouldn’t be surprised if he was ready to bail.

“Yeah,” she said, keeping her gaze on the passing scenery outside the car window. “It is.” She wanted nothing more than to get back to Serendipity and throw herself into her work.

After her father’s performance, Nicole was glad Sam wasn’t a man looking for a serious relationship, because seeing what she knew of love and affection, if he had been looking, he’d run far and fast from her now.

***