Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set (33 page)

Her lower lip trembled and she shook her head.

“It can’t wait, Carly. You’ve been so busy planning that you haven’t dealt with... things. I don’t want to see you or Peter hurt.”

She turned wet, shadowed eyes toward him. “I would never hurt your brother.”

At that moment the mechanism on the Ferris wheel kicked into gear and they began their descent. “Damn,” he muttered. “That wasn’t what I meant. You and I...”

“Forget it.” Eyes wide, she spoke with something akin to fear in her voice.

“No. We’re getting off this ride and sitting down someplace to talk.”

She backed into the corner of the small car. “No. We’re getting off this ride, collecting my animals and going home. We’ll listen to the radio and talk about comfortable things but nothing remotely personal.” Without looking in his direction, she scrambled to gather her prizes.

They reached the bottom. The ride’s operator waited for Mike to exit before extending his hand and helping Carly from the car. He patted Mike on the back. “Enough time for you and your lady to enjoy?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Not nearly,” he muttered. He had to sprint to keep up with Carly, who appeared to be running for her life.

* * *

Mike reached out and turned off the car radio. Carly felt his steady gaze. She clenched her jaw and flipped the stereo back on. Easy-listening music filled her ears but wasn’t nearly loud or distracting enough. She fiddled with the dial until she found hard rock. His hand reached out and stilled her frantic movements.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked.

“Nothing. We had a great time.”

“Am I wrong in thinking there’s a connection between us?”

She didn’t want to hear this. She had kissed him while engaged to another man. Kissed him while engaged to his brother, she amended. Worse, she had enjoyed it. Apparently her father’s blood flowed through her veins after all. “Don’t you love carnivals?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Carly, do you trust me?”

“Of course. That’s a stupid question. How did you fit that bear in the backseat anyway?” She fidgeted uncomfortably, hoping he would take her not-too-subtle hint and drop the idea of discussing
them
.

“I stuffed it in headfirst.” He muttered a curse and slammed his hand against the steering wheel.

Ignoring his agitation, she turned the radio louder. She replayed their first meeting and today’s brief kiss in her mind. Her traitorous body responded to the mere thought of his lips on hers. Two men at the same time. Two brothers, no less. And she thought her father should be tarred and feathered? With a groan she laid her head against the car window.

He made a few more attempts to draw her into any kind of conversation, which she childishly ignored, pretending instead to be asleep. Finally he lapsed into blessed silence. She knew her behavior was infantile, but she couldn’t help feeling relieved nevertheless.

Anything he might have said would only reinforce the fact that each time she let her guard down around Mike, she lost a little more self-control.

She and Mike were an explosion waiting to happen and Carly knew one thing for certain. Explosions, once they occurred, were impossible to control.

* * *

This afternoon Mike had visited heaven. Now he prepared himself for hell. Sure, Pete had asked him to watch out for Carly and help with last-minute wedding details. But he hadn’t asked Mike to take his fiancée out for the day, nor had he asked him to kiss her... or enjoy the experience quite so much. Pete also hadn’t asked Mike to push her into questioning her upcoming marriage.

Mike muttered a curse. He approached Pete’s apartment with as much excitement as a man facing a firing squad. Turning the key in the lock, he silently prayed for the strength to do the right thing for everyone involved. Damned if he knew what that was.

He stepped into the dimly lit apartment. “Hey, Pete, you back yet?” Silence greeted him, granting him a temporary reprieve. He tossed the keys on a shelf near the door and walked inside unprepared for what he saw.

Pete and a young woman sat on the floor of the living room poring over files and legal briefs. They didn’t glance up, obviously too engrossed in work to have heard him come in. Nothing unusual or untoward about that, Mike thought.

Unless you knew Peter. The last time Mike had seen Pete casually dressed, they’d been teenagers... and he’d asked Mike for pointers on how to dress to impress the opposite sex. Looking at his brother now, Mike suppressed a groan.

Dressed in one of Mike’s Polo shirts, a pair of khaki chinos and Docksiders, his brother looked like he’d stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad. The woman gave the appearance of a little pixie, but based on Carly’s description, he’d guess barracuda would be more accurate.

Mike walked into the room and was about to say hello when Pete burst out laughing, prompting the attractive associate to place a manicured hand on his shoulder and laugh with him. Her bare feet nudged Peter’s calf. Then, as if a silent understanding had been reached, they returned to their respective files and work.

Innocent, and yet... Mike shook his head. He ought to throttle his brother, but even as the thought took hold, he felt the vise that had gripped his heart for the last few weeks lessen and ease, until breathing became effortless.

“Hi.” Mike cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt.”

His brother glanced up from his seat on the floor. “No big deal. We were just finishing up some work.” Pete stood, then reached out a hand to help the woman up from the floor.

Was it Mike’s imagination or did her fingers linger seconds too long before releasing Peter’s hand?

“Regina Grey, this is my brother, Mike.” Pete smiled. “Mike, Regina.”

Mike shook the dainty hand she held out toward him. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same here.” Regina began collecting items off the floor. “I just want to go over some things at home and we can meet first thing Monday morning and discuss strategy,” she said.

“I’ll be there.”

No haggling, no bargaining, no compromise. Interesting, Mike thought.

When Peter returned from escorting the pretty Miss Grey to her cab, Mike turned on his brother. “What the hell’s with you?” Mike asked.

Pete bent to retrieve the documents Regina had left behind. “What? The air-conditioning broke in the office and we came back here to work.”

Mike waved a dismissive hand in the air. “I don’t mean that.” But he didn’t know how to approach the subject with his brother. He raked a hand through his hair. “What is it with you two?”

“Who?” Pete asked, his brows crinkling in confusion.

“You and Carly, that’s who.” After shoving his hands in the front pockets of his shorts, Mike began pacing the room. “You laugh with this Regina?” he asked finally.

“She’s quick.”

“And bright. And pretty...”

“So is Carly,” Pete chimed in. Too late, Mike thought.

“And an attorney,” Mike continued as if he hadn’t heard his brother speak. “And you have a hell of a lot more in common with her than you do with your fiancée, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“You’ve always spoken your mind before,” Pete said. “But this is my life, Mike. We didn’t have parents to meddle in our lives as kids. I sure as hell don’t need you to do it now.”

“You’re going through with this marriage, then?”

“The end result was never in question.” Pete groaned and sat down on the leather sofa. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

“You’re dead wrong. You may not mean to, but you’ll destroy Carly and suffocate yourself.” Forget what this marriage would do to him, Mike thought “Is that a way to live?”

His brother didn’t answer.

“Pete, you’re not...” Mike trailed off. As close as the brothers had always been, they’d never traded sexual exploits, and Mike had no desire to start now. Still, he couldn’t protect Carly if he didn’t know the truth.

And though no one had appointed him her keeper, he’d taken on the role as if it was meant for him alone. “You’re not sleeping with Regina, are you?”

Pete stared from his seat on the couch. His silence pronounced him guilty.

Mike let out a groan. “For the love of...”

Pete had the grace to look ashamed. “I thought I could wait, but...”

Sweet and innocent. How the hell had she gotten involved with either one of the Novack brothers? Each had the power to break her heart.

Pete shrugged. “We’ve been engaged for the last five months and dated on and off for three before that. A guy certainly can’t go that long without...”

“He damn well can,” Mike shouted. “And if you loved her, you would have.”

“If she loved me, I wouldn’t have had to look somewhere else,” Pete retorted.

Mike clenched his teeth. “And what does that tell you?”

“Go back to globe-trotting and let me handle my own life.” Apparently Pete was about to dig in his heels as hard as Carly had. Neither wanted to face reality.

Considering Mike had abandoned his own reality, he had no right to force theirs on them. “Just don’t be surprised when things backfire.”

Peter glared at him through narrowed, suspicious eyes. “Mind your own business,” he said, clearly warning Mike to keep his mouth shut.

“Because you think your partnership’s at stake?”

“Possibly.”

“Then why’d you bring Regina back here? You know I’m staying over. Or did you take that risk on purpose?”

He couldn’t stomach being in this apartment for another minute. Mike turned, scooped his keys off the counter and grabbed his camera from the front hall closet.

“Don’t tell her, Mike.” Pete’s words reverberated in his head as he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Parents and children, men and their dates, guys and their dogs and one lone man with his camera romped in Central Park. Mike wandered around, snapping photos without paying much attention to the setup. Each shot captured life in a way he treasured. Each would have a spot in his private collection. A select few he’d bring downtown to his new editor. He wasn’t used to soft pieces, but after the hard stories he’d covered until recently, he welcomed the reprieve.

Until today, he’d retired his camera to the depths of Peter’s closet, hoping to banish the unpleasant memories that went with it. To his surprise, when he’d picked up the camera and snapped the first shot, the rush of adrenaline had been powerful and positive. Of course, it had helped that Carly was his first subject.

If only he could view his life the same upbeat way. During his last assignment, he’d hitched a ride home from the countryside. Close to civilization, mortar fire hit the back tires of a bus ahead of him, sending it careening down the side of a ravine. Nothing Mike hadn’t seen hundreds of times before in cities with different names. By the time he’d reached the bus, the smell of gasoline permeated the air. He and his companion managed to get the survivors out before the explosion hit. Jagged metal ripped through the muscle in his right shoulder. Just the memory made him break into a sweat and he wiped the back of his hand over his brow.

All those young kids abandoned because their mothers had sat in the front of the bus while they played in the back. The luck of the draw, something Mike had also seen too many times before. All the carnival food he’d eaten with Carly threatened to come back up.

Over the next few weeks he was sidelined with his injury. He’d used the time to help track down the kids’ fathers or other living relatives. Most had already been killed. All those children, orphaned like Mike and Peter. And though his boss had ordered him back to the center of the conflict once the doctors gave him a clean bill of health, Mike had bailed out instead.

He’d left mid-assignment, hopping the first plane back to the States. Three weeks early for his brother’s wedding... or just in time, depending on one’s place in this awful triangle, he thought wryly.

He glanced down at the camera in his hand, a piece of equipment that felt as comfortable as his own skin. At that moment, Mike knew. No matter what memories or doubts haunted him, he’d be facing them sooner rather than later. When his boss called—and he would—Mike wouldn’t hesitate. Though Dom had finally given in on the extended leave issue, he swore that the next hot story was Mike’s. Mike trusted his boss and friend not only to give him the time he needed, but to drag his butt back out there as soon as he could afterward. It would be the push he needed to return.

He’d be going back to the only life he knew. Carly’s face flashed in front of his eyes. But in facing his past, he’d be leaving her behind... and exchanging one set of painful memories for another.

F
ive days and no word from Mike. With her wedding a little over a week away, Carly knew she ought to feel relieved. Life went on, and Peter had even managed to get out of work early one night and take her for dinner. A sure sign things were looking up. If one believed in signs. These days Carly took any good omen she could get.

She put the finishing touches on her last column before summer repeats began and hit the print button. She’d drop the printout at Juliette’s later in the week. Glancing at her watch, she realized she couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer and headed uptown for her fitting. Since she hadn’t been in touch with Mike, she hoped she could safely assume she was on her own.

She entered the bridal showroom where she’d purchased her gown, grateful the place wasn’t crowded. With a little luck, this would be over in no time. Minutes later, the salesgirl who had taken her name reappeared with a long garment bag draped over her arm. One glance at the zippered bag and Carly’s stomach did a nervous flip. Before the salesgirl could lead Carly back to the fitting room, she was paged to the front of the store.

She smiled apologetically and hung the gown from a hook on the side wall. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here.” Alone, Carly stared at the white bag, her stomach fluttering nonstop. Inside was the dress she’d wear when she married Peter. When she became Mrs. Peter Novack. When her life changed forever.

She pushed aside the nagging knowledge that something was terribly wrong. Since the fateful day she’d met Mike on the street, a tiny seed of doubt had taken root. She’d denied it, starved it, but it wouldn’t go away. Now wasn’t the time to examine it too closely. Once Mike was gone, life would return to normal. Safe, calm and peaceful.