Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

truck,
he gave her a quick hug. “You’re a good person, Carlie. I
appreciate everything you do to help me.” He chuckled and stepped
away from her, nodding toward the door of Carlie’s Creations. “But
your boyfriend just saw that hug, and he’s really going to hate me
now.”
    “He’s not my—”
    “Then he wants to be.” He hopped into the
driver’s seat and started the engine, winking before he drove
away.
    Carlie turned to the shop. Nick stared at
her through the glass doorway. She hurried back to the building,
shivering as the wind cut through her cotton t-shirt, and Nick held
the door again.
    “Shelley said you need about an hour to
close up shop,” he said without preamble. “I’ll be back to pick you
up then. Do you like Chinese food? There’s a new place over on Mill
Plain I want to try.”
    But I didn’t say yes.
    That was a weak excuse. She wanted to say
yes, even though she knew better.
    Shelley picked that moment to approach them.
“I couldn’t help but overhear, Nick. Better give her an hour and a
half.” Her friend bumped Carlie’s hip with her own and leaned to
whisper in her ear, “I’ll help you get ready. You’re going to wow
him!”
    “Okay, fine.” Carlie was obviously
outnumbered. “I'd love to have dinner. See you at
seven-thirty.”
    ***
    Nick didn’t bother to hide his victorious
grin while leaving Carlie’s Creations. He’d been in Sayle,
Washington a month, and from the second he stepped foot in town,
his objective was to get Carlie on a date. As much as Shelley
irritated him yesterday, she’d certainly changed her tune and
become helpful tonight.
    What he’d observed about Carlie still rang
true. She didn’t trust very easily. For a minute there, he was sure
she wanted to refuse dinner. With Shelley backing him up, Carlie
hadn’t stood a chance. Her support definitely gave him an
advantage.
    He hopped into his red Porsche, started it
up, and pulled onto the road. Although disappointing, he wouldn’t
be able to impress Carlie by driving around with the top down. He
pictured how she’d look with her hair blowing back, a smile on her
face, as they cruised around. However, it was November and cold. No
way he could take her out for a spin like that. Carlie didn’t
strike him as the kind of woman impressed with fancy cars
anyway.
    He wished he knew what did impress her.
Hopefully dinner was a good start.
    Turning left at the light, Nick headed for
his hotel. If he ended up staying here very long, he’d have to
think about renting an apartment. Unless, of course, he found
himself staying at a certain blonde’s house.
    But those were thoughts for the future.
Tonight, he wanted to get to know her better and convince her to
agree to a second date.

Chapter
Three
    “Open your eye wider,” Shelley ordered.
    Carlie did her best not to flinch away from
the mascara brush as Shelley did her magic. Never one to wear much
makeup, Carlie feared she would look like a clown. Shelley refused
to let her peek into a mirror until she finished.
    “You know, Nick’s been asking questions
about you for the past two weeks. Whether you were single, that
sort of stuff,” Shelley said, the stiff little brush coming within
centimeters of Carlie’s eyeball. “I wondered how long it’d take him
to get his courage up and ask you out.”
    “Why didn’t you say anything?” If Carlie had
known Nick was interested, she might have taken a little more care
with how she looked. Scratch that concern—more importantly, she
wouldn’t have been forced to date Stephen if she had the confidence
to ask Nick for help.
    Shelley shrugged and put the mascara wand
back in its bottle, then grabbed a tube of red lipstick from the
backpack she brought in from her car. “I didn’t want to get your
hopes up, in case things didn’t work out.”
    Which translated to, she thought she could
interest Nick in herself instead. After all, Carlie hadn’t missed
the way she shamelessly flirted with him during