Sam’s gaze merely latched and held on to hers.
“I should go wait in my booth,” she murmured, when she couldn’t take the awkward silence any longer.
She turned and made her way to the back of the restaurant, knowing Sam’s silence had clearly made his point. He was still angry and upset.
She reached the private booth in the back just as he called her name.
She spun at the sound of Sam’s deep voice, finding him so close his body bracketed hers against the wall, confusing her since his actions were at odds with the emotional distance he’d put between them. “Sam—”
“I’m sorry.”
She lowered her jaw. “You’re—”
“Sorry I was a jerk. You were honest with me about your past and I reacted based on my own.”
She narrowed her gaze, as relieved as she was baffled. “Your past??
?? What didn’t she know?
“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his golden hair. “Look, we need to talk. How about after the game tonight?”
Before she could reply, a shadow loomed over them. “Nicole.” Tyler’s voice held more than a hint of disapproval, no doubt over finding her in a near-clinch with Sam.
She waited for Sam to step back so she could make the awkward introductions, but Sam was in no rush and remained in place, his hard body bracketing hers.
“Nicole!” Tyler repeated, obviously upset.
She eyed Sam imploringly.
“I’m just waiting for an answer,” he reminded her. “Tonight after the game?” He touched her cheek with one hand, obviously staking a claim.
Oh God. Her entire body trembled. “Yeah,” she said softly. “Okay.”
He grinned, obviously pleased he’d won this round, and eased away from her oh so slowly. By the time he’d removed himself from her personal space, she was surprised smoke and flames weren’t shooting between them.
Tyler cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” he asked.
She shook her head, hoping to clear her mind. “Tyler Stanton, this is Detective Sam Marsden. Sam, Tyler.” She gestured between the two men, refusing to give either one of them a designation like friend, boyfriend, or ex-anything.
They eyed one another warily, each assessing the competition. Which was ridiculous, since Sam had none and Tyler had driven all this way for no reason. But she didn’t want to hurt him, and Sam’s deliberate claim-staking hadn’t helped toward that goal.
By the time Sam strode away, Nicole was shaking inside, and she hoped her nerves didn’t show on the outside.
“Shall we sit?” Tyler asked.
She nodded, aware of her friends at the front of the diner, along with the other familiar faces who’d come in since she’d arrived. Serendipity was a small town and, like most, people here enjoyed good gossip. Nicole’s ex-fiancé and her new relationship with Detective Sam Marsden would certainly provide this morning’s talk and entertainment.
It took everything inside Sam not to turn around and watch Nicole and her well-dressed, clearly rich, everything-Sam-was-not ex-fiancé. It took even more fortitude for him not to sit back down with Cara and Macy and wait for Nicole to finish with her talk. Instead he strode straight out of the restaurant, headed for his car, and drove away, deciding he’d be better off doing work around the house. At least that way he’d be productive and not pathetic.
He hadn’t planned to compare, but clearly Nicole had a type. Both he and this Tyler Stanton had light hair and light eyes, his hazel, the other guy’s green, but where Sam was more of a guy’s guy, Tyler was obviously more of the GQ variety. Khaki pants, polo shirt, short hair that wasn’t barbershop cut. Which raised the question—what was the classy Nicole Farnsworth doing slumming with a Serendipity cop? And how long would her walk on the other side last?
Knowing he was in a precarious position, Sam asked himself what the hell he was doing. For a man who didn’t want to invest emotions or his heart, he seemed to care too damned much.
He’d been blindsided by a woman once before. This time his eyes were wide open, so if and when Nicole walked away, Sam had known the possibility existed going in.
And he’d have nobody to blame but himself.
Nicole couldn’t read her ex-fiancé because Tyler was still focused on what had gone down with Sam. So was Nicole. At least he wasn’t angry, but he had alluded to interesting information about his past. She couldn’t begin to imagine what had happened to him, nor did she have time to think about it when Tyler faced her across the table, his expression tight.