“Yes, but that’s not the shocking part.” She fidgeted in her chair. “I saw him with a younger woman.”
Mick chuckled briefly. “That doesn’t surprise me, either. My father has a reputation for dating young women.”
She nodded. “Oh, I’m sure he does. This particular woman has strawberry-blonde hair and the body of a model. I... I saw her this morning in the parking lot, giving you an indecent hug and kiss.”
Mick held his breath, not knowing which part to be shocked over – that Tara was dating his father, or that Nicole had seen Tara throwing herself at him.
“You saw her hugging me this morning?”
“Yes. I was in my office, and I saw it out the window.”
He recognized the jealousy in her gaze and the bitterness in her voice, but he didn’t want her to think he was cheating on her. “Then I’m sure you saw me push her away when I told her to leave me alone.”
Nicole’s cheeks turned pink and her gaze dropped to her hands. “No. I’d closed the blinds on the window by that point.”
He relaxed a little on the sofa and folded his arms. “I had broken it off with her the day of your accident, but Tara has a difficult time with rejections. She’d followed me to work and hurried out to meet me when I climbed out of the car. I’d threatened her that if she didn’t leave me alone, I’d slap her with a restraining order.” He grinned. “You should have seen how quickly she left at that moment.” When the hesitation remained on Nicole’s expression, he quickly added, “If you don’t believe me, you can check the security cameras on the parking lot. I’m assuming there are security cameras, right?”
“Yes, we have cameras.”
“Good.” He exhaled slowly. “So, you saw Tara with my father at lunch today, huh?”
Nicole nodded. “And they were being very cozy together.”
It struck him as odd that Tara would flirt with his father earlier today, and yet only minutes ago, she tried to patch things up with him. Mick rolled his eyes. “Tara’s not the kind of woman who stays single for very long. But why she’d go after my father, I don’t know.”
Nicole licked her lips. Her leg bounced nervously. Finally, she rose from the chair and sat next to him.
“Mick, they were celebrating. Your father said he’d bought out another shareholder. Tara mentioned she came into the building and had overheard some of the employees talking about you being here. Then I heard them talking about us... about getting usout of their way. Your father mentioned something about me, and about how things had gone wrong with their firststunt. I didn’t know what they were talking about until I went outside to get in my car.”
She swallowed hard and grasped his arm. The fear in her eyes was unmistakable. He held her hand for comfort. “What did you see by your car?”
The color left her face. “Mick, I saw that black truck with the tinted windows... the one that forced me off the road. I wasn’t sure if it was the same truck, so I looked at the front bumper. It’s dented and has the paint from my car still on the bumper.”
Shock rattled through his body, and anger brought him to his feet as he released her hand. “Do you think the truck...”
“Yes, Mick.” She stood in front of him. “I suspected that truck belonged to your father or the woman, so I climbed in my car and waited until they came out of the restaurant. Your ex-girlfriend got inside the truck while your father went to his limo.”
Swearing, Mick raked his fingers through his hair. “Theyplannedthis?” He shook his head. “My father actually risked taking a person’s life just so he could have your grandfather’s company?” He paced the small space in the hotel room. “This has gotten out of control and needs to be stopped before someone loses their life.”
“I agree, but what are we going to do?” Her voice broke as tears filled her eyes.
In three large steps, he was in front of her, taking her in his arms. Thankfully, she didn’t fight him. “I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we’ll do it together. In fact, if we have to get your clever friends to help us, we will.”
She laughed, followed by a sob as she pressed the side of her face against his chest. “Oh, Mick. I’ve never gone through anything like this before. I’m so scared.”
“Shhh...” He stroked her back, tightening his hold on her. “I’ll protect you. I’m not going to let my father lay one finger on the woman I love.”
She tilted her head back and looked at him with red, watery eyes. He hated to see women cry, but because he’d fallen in love with this amazing woman, the pain in his heart was stronger.
“You still love me?” Her voice shook. “Even though I’ve been so moody and completely... rotten?”
Smiling, he caressed her cheek. “Sweetheart, I understand why you’re moody. You’ve had a lot going on in your life lately. I’ve just been hoping you’ll forgive me and love me again.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You are such a wonderful man, Mick Remington. Thank you for being patient with me. And thank you for still loving me.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He paused and then frowned. “Well, except the part about my father. I would really like to change that.”
“I agree.” She snuggled back against his chest as her arms tightened around his waist. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could get your father put in jail for attempted murder?”
