Page 94 of Perfect Together

Sam couldn’t rememberthe last time he hit up Joe’s on a Wednesday night without looking to see if Nicole was there or knowing he’d be meeting up with her later on. But something between them had changed. He would have thought it had to do with their visit to her father, but after the trip, she’d been distant, not gone.

It was Mike’s news the following morning—that the DEA bust had been successful, with the Russians picked up en masse while taking possession of a huge drug shipment—that seemed to have caused the shift.

Now that Nicole was safe from their wrath, she no longer needed Sam’s protection, and she’d pulled away. As if their relationship had been one of convenience, based solely on his need to protect her, and with that need gone, she’d left him, too. Emotionally, at least.

Which made no sense to Sam. One day she’d been warm and loving; the next she’d pulled away. He didn’t know what to do, so he’d given her the space she needed. He’d backed off, letting her leave for work at the crack of dawn and drive herself home after dark with no help from him. And unlike before, she wasn’t making time for him afterward.

She’d pushed him away. He missed her like crazy and he didn’t know what to do. With her grand opening coming up on Monday, he figured he’d regroup and come at her from a different angle.

Since it was still early, Joe’s wasn’t crowded, and the mood was mellow. Slow music played on the jukebox and Sam nursed a beer, waiting for his brother to show.

“Problems with Nicole?” Mike asked, joining him at the bar.

Sam shrugged. “You could say that. She wants nothing to do with me.”

Mike hauled himself onto the neighboring stool and gestured to Joe. “I’ll have what Sam’s drinking. And get him another one.” Turning to Sam, he said, “You do something stupid?”

Joe slid two bottles their way.

“Thanks,” Mike said to the bartender.

Joe nodded and made his way to another customer at the other end of the room.

Sam glanced at his brother. “It’s a sad day when you’ve become the expert on women,” he muttered.

Mike raised an eyebrow. “I’ve always been the expert on women. It’s just that now I’m also the expert on keeping one.”

“Good one.” Sam let out a laugh before sobering. “Something changed. I don’t know if it had to do with me meeting her SOB father or her finding out she didn’t need protection anymore, but she froze me out.” He took a long pull of his beer, seeking solace in something, even alcohol.

Mike leaned against the old, scarred wooden counter. “When I showed up at a 911 call from a neighbor after Cara’s father abused her mother, she was mortified.” Mike’s scowl reflected just how he felt about the situation.

Sam understood. Cara’s entire life had been shaped by the fact that her mother hadn’t left her husband.

“Cara didn’t want me to know how bad things were, and if it were up to her, it would have been worse between us once I found out.”

“How’d you get through to her?” Sam asked.

“That time? I made her sit down with me and talk.”

Sam shook his head and laughed. “That doesn’t sound like you. At that point, you were running away from commitment.”

“You see how well that worked for me. Seems like you’re going through the same thing. You didn’t want to trust any woman ever again, but as soon as Nicole moved here, you jumped in with both feet.”

If his older brother hadn’t gone through a similar experience, Sam would be embarrassed to admit his feelings. “She’s it for me.”

He shook his head, amazed he was so willing to say it out loud.

And even more amazed that he trusted her in a way he never thought he’d let himself trust again.

Sam groaned, deciding to confide in his brother. “Man, you have no idea how bad Nicole had it growing up. Her father barely acknowledges she exists. I always knew we were lucky, but seeing that?” He shuddered at the memory. “I don’t know how she ended up as warm and caring as she is.”

“Maybe that helps explain her twin?” Mike asked.

“Well, she truly has a mental illness, but having parents who don’t give a shit couldn’t possibly help her coping abilities. I said as much to her father,” Sam said.

Mike’s eyes opened wide. “How did that go over with Nicole?”

Sam shrugged. “Not a clue. She was already withdrawing into herself.” He vividly recalled Nicole’s arms wrapped around her body, staring out the truck window, lost to him on the ride home.