Perfect Fit (Serendipity's Finest 1)

Cara noticed he’d opted not to give Bill a description of who Cara was to him, and she tried not to let it bother her. Better no description than one she wouldn’t want to hear.

“Soft happens to all of us, buddy,” Bill said before turning his attention back to Cara. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Hartley.”

r /> She shook his extended hand. “Call me Cara,” she said. “And it’s nice to meet you too.”

Bill glanced at Mike and cocked his head to the side. “I didn’t know you were bringing company,” Bill said quietly, but not so softly that Cara couldn’t hear.

Mike shrugged. “Didn’t seem important.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Bill stepped back, his gaze sweeping over them. “Last booth on the right. It’s big enough for three. I’ll be in the back if you need me.” He paused and glanced at Cara. “Pleasure to meet you,” he said, before turning and heading back through the double doors leading to the kitchen.

Cara drew a deep breath. “Do you want me to wait here?” She wasn’t oblivious to the fact that his contact wasn’t expecting her and probably wouldn’t be happy Mike had brought her along.

“No.” Without another word of explanation, Mike started for the back, and Cara followed.

They reached the back booth where Mike’s contact was sitting, and she was stunning. A knockout from her long, brown hair accented with beautiful blond highlights, tanned skin, and perfect features, to the way she didn’t just wear her leather jacket and purple scarf—she owned it.

Cara’s mouth went dry as Bill’s words suddenly made sense. And Cara was suddenly aware that her dark green, puffy down jacket made her look like the Michelin man in comparison.

“Mike!” the woman said, gliding out of the booth and plastering herself against him like so much more than an old friend.

Cara gritted her teeth and promised herself she wouldn’t give in to insecurity. Petty jealousy? Yeah, she’d allow herself that. What she wouldn’t allow? For Mike to see how this affected her. She wondered if he and this woman had been lovers. Or did this woman just wish they were?

To Mike’s credit, he grasped the other woman’s forearms and pried her off him. “Always good to see you too. We have some questions for you.”

“We?” She flipped her hair over her shoulders as she became aware of Cara’s presence for the first time.

“Cara Hartley is a police officer in Serendipity. We’re working on a case, and we need your brand of expertise,” Mike said, gesturing to the booth, obviously ready to sit. “Cara, this is Lauren Nannariello.”

“When you said you needed to see me, I didn’t realize this was business.” Lauren raised her chin a notch and slid back into the booth. “But then you’ve mixed business with pleasure before,” she said in a deeper voice, and patted the seat next to her.

So they had been lovers. No more wondering there, Cara thought, a sick feeling in her stomach. Well, he’d made it clear a few nights ago he was with Cara now. And Cara wasn’t the type of girl who let another woman hit on her man. How Mike responded to this would be interesting, but hey. He was the one who’d brought her here without giving her a heads-up on the situation.

“Mike?” Cara asked in her nicest but strongest voice.

He turned.

She slid into the bench opposite Lauren, looked Mike in the eye, and patted the seat beside her.

He shot her a look filled with regret and slid into the seat next to his contact.

The rational, cop part of Cara understood he needed to do whatever would get the information. The female part of her resented the fact that he’d brought her here to deal with this, and she’d make him pay for that bit of insensitivity later.

Six

Snow came down hard as Mike walked beside Cara down the city street. Her silence gave him time to think, and he wanted to kick himself in the ass. Just because he hadn’t thought about Lauren as more than a contact hadn’t meant she would feel the same way. The minute she’d greeted him, he knew he was in trouble.

Somehow he managed to get through the awkward conversation and come out on top. He’d explained to Lauren what he needed and asked her to do some digging into the FBN’s computers to find out why the cash hadn’t been picked up from the evidence locker back in 1983. Miraculously he was also successful at fending off Lauren’s wandering hands beneath the table.

After Lauren agreed to help, Cara excused herself and went to the ladies’ room, leaving him alone with the other woman, at which point Lauren demanded an explanation for his disinterest. Apparently hooking up on occasion meant more to her than to him. Mike hadn’t managed her expectations well, and he was sure he’d done the same to Cara. Though Lauren was pissed, she was still willing to help him—for old times’ sake.

He and Cara left the restaurant and walked into heavy snow. Instead of taking her out for dinner, he decided they needed time alone first and headed to his place—another surprise he’d sprung on her. He’d seen the shock in her eyes when he told her his place was around the corner. And she hadn’t said a word since. Clearly he was batting one thousand today, and he braced himself for her anger when they got inside.

He lived in a decent neighborhood in a one bedroom rent-stabilized apartment that he sublet for a great price. They walked through the lobby and the old battered mailboxes with some names hanging off, and up one flight of stairs.

He opened the door and let Cara step in ahead of him before locking up behind them. Without asking, she slipped off her shoes, and he did the same.

“Home sweet home,” he said, tossing his keys onto the shelf in the small entryway.