Perfect Fling (Serendipity's Finest 2)

A few hours later, after a stop at The Family Restaurant to pick up the cake Erin had promised Nick she’d bring with her today, they pulled up to Nick and Kate’s cabin on the lake. Serendipity Lake was located on the edge of town. Many of the wealthier residents owned summer cabins, and some had been renovated.

Erin was surprised when she’d heard Nick had built his permanent home here, but she knew he was a builder, having inherited his father’s business when he passed away. She’d figured he’d bought a rundown place at a good price and fixed it up.

Except that as they approached, it became clear Nick’s home wasn’t a renovated cabin—this was more like a state-of-the-art luxury home.

“Wow,” Erin murmured as they pulled up the paved drive. The other homes they’d passed had gravel-lined paths for cars to take.

“It’s something, right?”

“Amazing!” Erin loved the house on sight.

Nick had maintained the rustic feel, so the house wasn’t completely out of place in the area, but it had a newer, more modern look on way more than one lot of land.

“Nick put his heart and soul into building this house. He planned it for years and worked during slow times, when he could get his crew here.” Cole parked behind a Ford F-150. “Inside and out. He even carved a lot of the furniture.”

“Impressive,” she murmured.

“Nick doesn’t like to brag, though. He doesn’t show off.”

Erin nodded. “Kate’s not like that either. I’ve always liked her.”

Cole met her on her side of the car. She took a few steps forward, only to realize he wasn’t beside her.

“Cole?” She turned back to face him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He took two steps forward and she stopped him, putting a hand on his arm.

“Tell me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “How do you read me so damned well? I’m an undercover agent, for God’s sake. I’m good at hiding things.”

She grinned, pleased he thought she could get past any facade he tried to erect. “I’m just good at knowing you. Now talk.”

He let out a groan. “I don’t do this. See family. Hang out with friends. Just . . . be.”

Her heart twisted at his hesitantly admitted words. “I know. Just try it. If, after a little while, you want to leave, just get my attention and tug on your ear. I’ll take the hint and make an excuse to go. Fair?”

“More than fair.” He slid his hand over her cheek, cupping her face and holding her in place for a kiss that was rich for all he didn’t say, but there was a wealth of feeling behind it.

He knew she got him in a way no one else ever had, or he wouldn’t be so surprised. Or touched. Progress, she thought, was a heady feeling.

• • •

Friends and family. Cole might not know from them, but he spent the day surrounded by both. Nick had invited everyone from his mother and sister, April, to people Cole hadn’t seen or spoken to in years. There were the three Barron brothers: Ethan, whom Nick remembered from high school, his brothers Nash and Dare, and their wives. Cole recognized some of the women too, including Ethan’s wife, Faith, who’d grown up in that mansion on the hill, and whose father was spending life in prison for a monster Ponzi scheme rivaling Madoff’s. Others were new to town, like Nash’s wife, Kelly, whose smart-mouthed teenage sister, Tess, joined them midway through the day. Dare, another cop and a friend of Erin’s, had married Liza McKnight, an architect.

Then there were the babies and toddlers running around, whose ages Cole couldn’t remember, never mind which kid belonged to which parent. Nick and Kate opened their home, happy to have everyone hanging out together, neither seeming the least bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of people or the noise level of the screaming, laughing, sometimes crying kids.

Cole expected to feel so far out of his element, his skin would itch with the need to get back to what he knew—pretending to be someone else, living a lie, the pretense manageable because he was doing what he did best, doing his job for the greater good. And because he didn’t know how to do things any differently.

Today was giving him a glimpse of what he was missing. Hell, the last few weeks with Erin had been doing that too. And despite everything he’d once believed about himself, he couldn’t deny the appeal of his cousin’s type of life. The same one he was currently living. Except Cole’s current situation, just like his undercover one, was a pretense built on necessity. As soon as Erin didn’t need his protection anymore, Cole could go back to his old existence, which suddenly didn’t hold as much interest as it used to.

“Hey, you okay?” Nick asked, joining him on a lounge chair beside his, overlooking the lake.

“Fine. Just taking a breather.”

“Yeah, it can all be a bit much,” the other man said, laughing. “Where’s Erin?”

Cole tipped his head toward the pier Nick had built near the shallow part of the water. She, along with some of her friends—Macy included—were with the toddler-aged kids. Erin was holding one child beneath her little arms, despite the round tube encircling the girl’s stomach. Shrieks and laughter would occasionally reach his ears.