Free Waiting For You by Marie Higgins Page A

friends. She’s nothing but lint stuck on static clothes. That’s what it feels like when she clings to me.” Nick looked down. “I hope that doesn’t sound too rude.”
    Abby laughed and shook her head.
    “Too bad you can’t come with me.” He grinned. “I enjoyed what you did to her the other evening when she wouldn’t leave me alone.”
    Abby stared at him with wide, innocent eyes. “Whatever are you talking about?”
    “Don’t play coy with me, Miss Carlisle. I know Vanessa isn’t that clumsy. You were the one who spilled the sauce on her dress, made her trip, and splashed water on her face.”
    “You knew it was me?”
    “How could I not? Vanessa isn’t like that at all. She prides herself on being very graceful.”
    Abby squirmed in her chair. “I don’t know what came over me, but I could see how uncomfortable you were, and I didn’t want her getting close to you like she’d been doing.”
    “Well, it worked. I thought you were reading my mind.” He winked. “I owe you one.”
    She glanced down at her clenched hands. Nick had never met a woman so unsure of her beauty. Abby was completely innocent.
    He reached in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his cell phone. “I guess I’d better get it over with now.”
    He punched in Vanessa’s number, hoping it would go straight to her voice mail. On the second ring, Vanessa’s voice purred a greeting.
    “Hi, Vanessa. It’s me, Nick.”
    “Oh, hello,” she snapped. “What do you want?”
    “I owe you a dinner.”
    “You owe me more than that. My dress was ruined.”
    He rolled his eyes. “And I’m sorry, but I’d like to make it up with dinner if that’s okay.”
    There was a pause at the other end, and Nick switched his gaze to Abby. As he stared deeply into her wide eyes, he almost forgot he was in the middle of a phone conversation with another woman. Still, he couldn’t take his eyes off Abby.
    “Oh, all right,” Vanessa answered. “I’ll let you take me out and make it up to me.”
    “Thank you. How about tonight? Are you free?”
    “Well, I did have other plans, but I’ll cancel them to be with you.”
    What does she want from me—to kiss her feet in gratitude? Not this time. But he did feel badly about her dress, and he needed to ask her about her father’s building. “Thanks. I appreciate that. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
    Vanessa gave him her new address and he jotted it on the pad of paper in front of him. After he hung up, he met Abby’s gaze again.
    “Are you sure you can’t leave the building and come with me tonight?” he asked.
    She laughed and shook her head. “I’m sorry. You’re on your own.”
    “It won’t be fun without you.” After seeing Vanessa trip on her heels, spill sauce on her dress, and drench her face with water, Nick knew it would be an adventure to have Abby with them at dinner. Hopefully, he’d be able to leave quickly after getting the pertinent information, and he already looked forward to reporting the news to Abby.
    * * * *
    This isn’t a date, Nick repeated to himself. A date was when he took a woman out, had a great time, and didn’t leave until morning. Well, that was the old Nick’s idea of a date. The new Nick’s strategy would be getting through the evening without having to kiss Vanessa.
    He released a heavy sigh as he walked to her townhouse. In the past, she had been a hard woman to resist. So far, he’d done a great job of avoiding temptation since coming back to Sacramento. If she had a clue as to how important information about Cassandra Brown was to him, Vanessa would have him on his knees begging like a dog for a bone.
    That couldn’t happen. As much as he wanted to know about the woman in the newspaper article from 1917, giving in to Vanessa wasn’t the way to get it.
    Determined to be more professional than charming, he’d put on a gray suit and white shirt. If Vanessa was anything like he remembered from their past, she’d want to go somewhere that