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.Only it didn’t come from…She raised her head off the pillow.Dallas O’Connor stood at the door.If he was… Who was…? She rolled over and stared at the dog.“You mean Bud,” Dallas said.“Sorry.He snuck in when I came to check on you,”The canine opened his eyes, and proceeded to pass gas again.She actually heard it this time.Slow… and deadly.The smell intensified.She pressed her hand over her nose and rolled out of bed.The stench must have reached the doorway, because Dallas slapped his hand over his nose and looked mortified.“I’m sorry,” he said, his hand still held over his nose as he walked into the room and pointed to the dog.“Bud, get out of here.” Dallas’s gaze shifted back to her.“I’ll bet Tyler fed him people food last night.He can’t do people food.But does Tyler listen? Hell, no!”Nikki, still half-asleep, wasn’t quite over the fact that she’d thought it was Dallas in bed with her, licking her neck and emitting the disgusting odors.A giggle started building in her chest.She shifted her hand over her mouth, but when the smell filled her nose again, she moved her hand back up.“Out, Bud.Good Lord, what did Tyler feed you—dead skunk?” His gaze met hers again.“I’m sorry.”The giggle escaped.Dallas studied her and his eyes crinkled with grin lines.Even with half his face covered with his hand, he looked really good in grin lines.And the tight T-shirt and fitted jeans didn’t look bad on him, either.She thought about cupcakes again and hard-to-resist temptations.“Why don’t we leave the room before that smell attaches itself to us?” He turned and walked out, Bud at his heels.Nikki followed.“But aren’t we bringing the source of the smell with us?”He bolted out a laugh.It was deep and rich, and reached deep into Nikki’s chest and made her want to hear it again.It wasn’t until they stood in the living room facing each other, that some of the awkwardness from the night before returned.“You want some coffee?” he asked, still looking cupcake-good.“That would be great.Thank you.” Realizing her hair was probably all over the place, that her breath was stale and her eyes were still morning puffy, she motioned toward the hall.“I’m… restroom.”“Yeah.”She felt him watching her as she moved down the hall.Awkwardness intensified with each step.The cloud of morning haze lifted and reality rained down on her like thumbtacks.She had to call and make sure Ellen was okay.She had to call Nana and see if she could borrow her car so she could visit Ellen.She had to get to the art gallery and see how badly ransacked it was.Oh, and she needed to clean up her place.Instead of going into the bathroom, she darted into the bedroom, where she’d left her overnight bag, which had her purse and her cell phone.The smell still thrived in the room, but she ignored it.She found the cell phone then searched through her purse for the receipt where she’d written Ellen’s mom’s number.It wasn’t in the side pocket.It wasn’t in the middle pocket.What the hell had she done with it?Suddenly realizing how bright the sun was streaming through the open blinds, she grabbed the phone and hit time.Twelve o’clock.Oh shit.Her panic grew.She dropped on the floor and feverishly searched.Finally, she found it.She dialed the number.It rang once.Twice.The image of Ellen’s hand hanging from the gurney flashed in Nikki’s head.Fear filled her chest.“Answer.Please answer.”“Hello, Nikki.”“Mrs.Wise.” No time for pleasantries, she blurted out, “Is Ellen okay?” Nikki’s voice shook, but she couldn’t stop it.Her friend had almost died and she’d stayed in bed until noon without a care in the world.She couldn’t believe she’d done this.“She’s fine.”“Thank God.” Nikki pulled her knees up to her chest.“I just talked to Milton and he said she was more alert than ever.I’m about to go to the hospital now.”“I’ll see you there soon,” Nikki said, her voice still shaky.“You okay?” Mrs.Wise asked.“I’m fine.” Nikki batted back tears she hadn’t known she’d released.“I know you had a terrible day yesterday yourself.I’m sure you have to deal with… your ex-in-laws and their loss.”Nikki realized how totally, unforgivably neglectful she’d been.She hadn’t called Jack’s parents.How could she not have called them? Did they know? Surely, someone had called them, right?Emotion swelled in her chest.“I… need to go,” she managed to say.“Take care of yourself.”Nikki stared at the phone.Jack’s parents had never been fond of her.They’d wanted Jack to marry well.In their opinion, a girl raised in a small house on the wrong side of the tracks by her grandmother—because her parents had abandoned their bastard child—didn’t exactly meet their expectations.And those had been Jack’s words, not Jack’s parents’ or her own.Of course, he’d laughed afterward and told her he’d been joking.When she didn’t seem to think it was funny, he’d told her he didn’t care what his parents thought of her.He’d married her, hadn’t he? It still had hurt.Maybe in part because she’d begun to question if their dislike of her wasn’t part of Jack’s attraction to her.A rich kid, rebelling against Mom and Dad.But their lack of affection, even Jack’s lack of tact, didn’t excuse Nikki’s behavior now [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]