“Umm—” Nicole glanced from Sam to Tyler.
“Macy, I’ve been trying to keep you in the dark for your own protection,” Tyler said, stepping closer to her again.
She turned to face him, lost and confused. “My protection? What are you involved in?”
Sam shook his head and groaned. “Macy Donovan, if you breathe a word of this around town, and I mean one word—”
“Hey! Just because I’m outspoken doesn’t mean I’m a gossip or I can’t be trusted,” she said, annoyed by the implication. “I can keep a secret. Ask Erin,” she said pointedly. She’d kept his sister’s pregnancy a secret last year.
“I know. I’m just trying to tell you how important this is. How dangerous,” Sam said to emphasize the point.
A chill rushed over her skin and she shivered. “Tell me.”
Ty
ler reached out and took her hand. He then began to explain how his father was involved with Russian money launderers and that he’d come after Nicole to protect her. He’d left Serendipity last week to try to talk sense into his father. That or find evidence of guilt so the feds wouldn’t want Nicole to wear a wire to get information.
Macy listened in disbelief.
“Then I heard about Nicole’s car accident and I thought maybe they’d sent someone after her. To scare her into coming back to Manhattan. So I came here to see for myself that she was okay. And to tell her if anyone was going to be wearing a wire, it would be me. Not her,” Tyler summed up at last.
Macy bit down on the inside of her cheek. So he wanted to put himself on the line. For Nicole. She swallowed hard. Before she could speak, Nicole chimed in.
“And that was the first time I learned about me wearing a wire because Sam thought it was in my best interest to keep me in the dark,” Nicole said, her voice low, angry.
“Just like Tyler thought it was in mine?” Macy asked in a sugary-sweet tone she didn’t mean.
The two women locked gazes, and Nicole stepped up alongside Macy. “You two. Go away. We need to talk.”
“Give me a break,” Sam muttered. “You can’t be angry because I was looking out for you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. I can.”
“Macy, I just told you everything about me. We need to talk,” Tyler said.
“Later,” Macy muttered. “If you’re lucky.”
Nicole met her gaze. “We’re taking the kitchen. You two stay here.” She grabbed Macy’s hand and pulled her into the other room, leaving the two know-it-all men alone.
Macy wanted to laugh, but her heart was heavy because she couldn’t separate what she’d learned about Tyler’s past from his feelings for Nicole. And unless he convinced Macy he didn’t have any feelings beyond friendship, she was getting out of this non-relationship before it ever got started.
Fifteen
Nicole and Macy retreated to the kitchen; Nicole wanted to make her point to Sam that she was not happy with him making decisions about what she should know and when.
They sat at the kitchen table, staring at each other.
Nicole broke the silence first. “The last thing I want to do is fight with Sam, but I can’t believe he kept me in the dark.” They’d spent an entire weekend getting closer and all along he knew what her future held.
“Umm, same?” Macy sighed, propping her head in her hands. “Was he even going to tell me he was back in town?”
Nicole looked at her friend. “Honestly? He was probably going to wait until this nightmare was over. I mean, why get you involved in something potentially dangerous? If he cares about you, then he wouldn’t want you hurt.”
Macy grinned, and Nicole narrowed her gaze. “What’s that smile for?”
“Oh, I’m just finding it amusing that you can justify Tyler’s reasons for not telling me things, but you’re furious at Sam for doing the same to you. For the same reasons.”
Nicole shot her a dirty look. “Fine. Be like that.” She glanced down at her hands, knowing Macy was right. “I’m not apologizing for being angry, though. Sam has to know he can’t do that stuff to me no matter how good his reasons.” Her parents thought they could control her life and decisions. She didn’t want anyone trying to pull that on her again.