Christmas at the Cove. Rachel Brimble

turned as Nick’s words reverberated in her mind. Trepidation gnawed at her stomach. Scott could have a wife. He could be a father to other children. Why had she not thought about that? Why hadn’t she thought about his life, period?

      She looked at Nick and his anger permeated the air between them. She clutched the strap of her bag to hide her trembling. “I don’t want anything from Scott. You can think what you want, but I came to Templeton to tell him something important and then I’m leaving. Why don’t you do me a favor and tell him that, okay?” Carrie looked to Marian who glared at Nick’s profile. “It was nice meeting you, Marian.”

      “You too, sweetheart.”

      “Where are you going now?” he demanded.

      “None of your business.” Carrie faced Marian once more and smiled. “Thanks for the coffee. Maybe I’ll see you again before I leave.”

      She nodded, still glaring at Nick. “Make sure you do.”

      Carrie snatched her umbrella from the stand and threw open the door. She walked out into the rain, her heart racing and her chin high. Nick Carson’s animosity had done her more good than he could imagine. It had made her more prepared and given her prior warning of Scott’s life now.

      The biggest worry was, if he had other children, would he want Belle more than she could have anticipated...or would he completely reject her? He might not want another child. Carrie’s stomach dropped. What if he was married when they spent those crazy, lust-fuelled days together? Was his wife away on business? Is that why they never left her hotel room?

      “Oh, God.” Heat burned her face and in her chest. Had she slept with another woman’s husband? Partner?

      Sickness rolled through her. She might have kept Belle a secret from Scott for longer than she should have, but infidelity? Being the other woman? No, no, no.

      She exhaled a shaky breath as further shame engulfed her. Before the possibility of Scott already being a father came to the table, a father who was present in his children’s lives, things had been laced with a romantic ideal in her mind. She had to face the truth that she had come back to the Cove as much to find out about her feelings for him as she had for Belle’s sake.

      She would tell him about Belle then leave. If he loved and provided for his existing children, the chances were he’d want to love Belle, too. Carrie worried her bottom lip. Would she have to deal with a wife who’d lived in marital bliss, only to now find out her husband had created a baby with a past lover?

      Carrie vehemently shook her head. She had to believe Scott was single when he slept with her. She had to or everything had just gotten a whole lot messier. She strode along the street, her head spinning. What confused her was Scott’s intensity seemed no different today than when she’d met him years before, and wouldn’t children soothe him? Belle had certainly softened Carrie’s need to work twenty-four-seven. Carrie now preferred instead to spend time at home doing close to nothing as long as she was with her daughter.

      What was going on with Scott that his children hadn’t healed the hurt she had sensed when they lay side-by-side, skin-to-skin in a hotel room?

      Carrie narrowed her eyes. She wouldn’t go there. The reasons behind his state of mind weren’t her problem. Since losing Gerard, her resolve had strengthened more than any stranger would detect on the surface. Any man worth their salt should learn and learn quickly, never mess with a mother protecting her child. Ever.

      * * *

      STANDING TOE-TO-TOE with Nick in the garage office, Scott’s anger poured into his blood, making his chest constrict with the overwhelming need to punch Nick clean in the face for the first time in their twenty-year friendship. “What the hell do you mean you faced her off? What did you think you were doing?”

      Nick planted his hands on hips. “I was looking out for you, that’s what. She’s trouble. I saw it in her eyes. Whatever it is she wants from you, she won’t be going anywhere until she’s got it. Why would you even want to find out what that is? Just use some common sense and stay the hell away from her. If she finds you, shut the door in her face.”

      “You had no damn right.”

      “I had every right. I’m your friend and it was you who called me, remember? You asked for my help, and I’m not going to sit back and let her walk all over you a second time.”

      “I asked you to help me find her, not find her and get in her face.”

      “She was there. I did what I had to do.”

      “God damn it, Nick.” Scott shoved his hand into his hair as he scrambled for the right words. “The woman meant something to me.”

      “Yeah? You never went after her though, did you?”

      Scott glared, words failing him. He hadn’t gone after Carrie for fear of the unknown. He didn’t want commitment...and after their amazing time together, he couldn’t risk hurting her. He’d let her go because he couldn’t promise her anything. A woman like Carrie deserved to be promised the world.

      Nick’s shoulders slumped. “Look, she might be back...but this time she’s wearing a wedding band. I’m sorry, man. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

      Shock struck Scott’s chest. She’s married and come back looking for me? What the hell does she think she’s doing? He shrugged as he struggled to maintain some semblance of nonchalance. “Well, if she’s married, this isn’t about us hooking up again then, is it? At the end of the day, this is between me and her, not you.” Scott moved to walk past him but Nick gripped his arm. Scott scowled. “What?”

      “If she isn’t here to hook up with you, what the hell is she here for?”

      “How the hell should I know?”

      “Then I did the right thing by sending her on her way. Whichever way you look at this, her turning up can only mean grief.”

      Scott pulled his arm from Nick’s grasp. “Whatever... You still shouldn’t have gone off at her.”

      Nick glared. “So we don’t watch each other’s backs anymore? Will you listen to yourself? She clearly gave you a better time than any other woman has in months. What’s going on with you?”

      Scott screwed his eyes shut. “I have to see her.”

      “Didn’t you hear what I just said? She’s married.”

      Scott opened his eyes and clenched his jaw as he searched for the reason why he battled the overwhelming urge to sprint from the garage and track Carrie down. It was an answer he didn’t have. All he knew was as soon as she stood in front of him, he wanted to kiss her, touch her, make love to her and have her smile at him in the same soft, sexy way she had when she was in bed with him before.

      He shook his head, snatched his keys off his desk and pointed them toward the door. “You need to go.”

      “What?”

      Their gazes locked as Scott’s blood roared in his ears. “If you think she walked all over me last time, we’ve nothing else to say to each other. How could she have walked all over me when we were barely together more than a few days, huh? What happened after she left has nothing to do with her. Don’t you get that? It was me who hit bottom. It wasn’t her fault.”

      Nick’s eyes widened. “So you’re going back for more of the same?”

      “I have to know why she’s back.”

      “No, you don’t. You want to. What is it about this girl? Sure, she’s pretty but God, man, it’s like she’s got hold of your damn dick.”

      Frustration coursed through Scott on a vibrating wave. He had no clue what it was that burned like an inferno between him and Carrie Jameson. The only thing he was sure of was the same shock mixed with desire had gleamed in her gaze at the garage as it had when she took his hand and led him from The Coast Inn straight to her hotel