Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set

by Carly Phillips

  Her mother had reseated herself on the couch and her father grabbed for Anne’s hand. “We’ve been in counseling for years. Each time we tried to make an overture, you turned us away. We didn’t blame you, but we couldn’t figure out a way to make things right for you either.”

  Carly smiled. “Because it wasn’t your job. I’m a grown-up, and I chose to be ruled by the past.” But not anymore.

  “We’re so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  She shook her head, then wiped the tears that dripped down her face. “You know, we’re all to blame in a way. But...”

  “I want to start over,” Anne said. “I know it’s too late to be the mother you should have had, but I want more than we’ve had lately. It’s selfish, but...”

  Carly didn’t wait for her to finish. Without thinking, she joined her parents on the couch... and became part of her family once more.

  ELEVEN

  “Hi. I’d like to cancel my subscription to your paper.” Carly spoke to the faceless telephone operator.

  “You can’t shut your eyes, Carly.” Juliette kicked her feet out onto the cocktail table across from the couch. “It’s on television and radio too. Do you have the name of his boss? Or maybe Peter has news...”

  Ignoring her friend, Carly repeated the newspaper operator’s question aloud. “Why cancel?” Because she hadn’t been able to face her morning coffee and the news of the day without reading about the war torn country where Mike had gone. The news was never good and the result was too many nightmares and not enough sleep.

  She sighed. “My schedule just doesn’t work and I haven’t been reading. I’m sorry.” She juggled the phone. “No, I don’t even want tomorrow’s paper. Thanks.” She hung up and stared at the months’ worth of papers on the table.

  “The recycling dump is going to love you,” Juliette said.

  Since Carly had forgotten to cancel her subscription before leaving for the summer, her considerate neighbor had taken in her back copies of the Times while she was away, keeping them for her return. Stacks of papers would have blatantly advertised an apartment ripe for theft, and Carly was grateful that a friend had been aware. She hadn’t thought beyond getting away.

  And she hadn’t known what awaited her once she got back.

  She lifted the top paper and the headlines jumped out at her, taking on a life of their own. Another small, war-torn country. More injured... She tossed the paper aside. She closed her eyes but couldn’t escape the harrowing visions that plagued her.

  Juliette draped a soft arm around her shoulders and gave Carly a friendly squeeze. “These aren’t helping.” She scooped up the remainder of the newspapers and headed for the disposal in the hall.

  “You’re a good friend,” Carly said when the older woman returned.

  “So are you. Now, what do you say we go for a walk? Clear your head and maybe you can figure out a way to contact that man and...”

  “No!”

  “Why not? You love him; you’ve admitted as much.”

  “Because how I feel isn’t what matters. He left, Jules. I didn’t ask him to stay, but it doesn’t matter. If he wanted to be in the States, he’d be here regardless of me. I have no right to interfere in a life he loves. He isn’t one for commitment. I always knew that.”

  This wasn’t a case of accepting and avoiding, it was one of understanding the man she loved and moving on. A loud rapping sound caused her to jump. She rubbed her damp hands on her jeans and headed for the door. She peered through the peephole and her stomach did an involuntary flip.

  She hadn’t seen Peter since the Hamptons. His appearance now couldn’t be good news. Carly flung the door open wide. “What’s wrong?” she asked before she said hello. “Is he...”

  “He’s alive,” he said in a reassuring voice. He placed a hand on her arm. “But...”

  She glanced at his drawn face. He didn’t look as if he’d had much sleep the night before. “He’s alive but? What is it? You’re scaring me.”

  She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the apartment. She felt Juliette’s hand on her shoulder for support and her heart swelled inside her chest. “Out with it Peter.”

  He let out a deep breath. “Mike’s back, but he’s in the hospital.”

  * * *

  The next hour passed in a foggy haze. Carly barely recalled the taxi ride to the hospital. Only the fact that Juliette had begged her to call with news and Peter had shoved her into the backseat registered in her memory.

  She ran down a long corridor and stopped short before the door indicated by the hall nurse. “You go on. You’re his brother.”

  “Now’s not the time to argue over who’s more important,” Peter said and gave her a nudge in the ribs.

  “Ouch.” She shot him a dirty look. “Watch it before you do some permanent damage.”

  “Quit stalling.” He drew his arm back as if to give her a second push.

  “Okay,” she muttered, mentally acknowledging that fear held her back. She let out a deep breath and opened the door.

  The room was small and antiseptic in appearance as well as smell. Beige walls and white bedsheets did little to add cheer to an otherwise bland atmosphere. Her heart thudded against her ribs and she glanced toward the bed where Mike lay, apparently asleep.

  Quietly, so as not to disturb him, she tiptoed into the room and pulled out the chair next to the bed. She sat, then lifted his warm hand and clutched it between her own. Love rose deep within her and filled the emptiness that his departure had created. The need to throw herself into his arms and stay there forever grew with each passing second.

  The panic that used to automatically follow her intense feelings for Mike didn’t surface this time because thanks to her parents, she’d learned a lot. Like the fact that the father she’d accused of not honoring his commitments had done just that. By returning to his marriage and making it work, he wasn’t the man of disgrace she’d believed, but a man of conscience.

  Like Mike. Another man she’d accused of not knowing the first thing about keeping promises. His return abroad was proof... She’d been wrong again.

  She let her gaze rake over him, and she took in the fact that he was home and safe. Carly gave a silent prayer of thanks that he would be okay. It wasn’t nearly enough. Peter had reassured her many times on the ride over that Mike wasn’t injured, merely out of commission. Never before had her ex-fiancé’s words given her so much comfort.

  Mike stirred in his sleep and her gaze focused again on his face. Though he had only been gone a month, his hair was noticeably longer. He hadn’t shaved at all during his stint abroad and his almost full beard did little to dim his sexy good looks. Despite the gray pallor beneath the tanned skin, he possessed that give ’em hell look she’d come to associate with Mike.

  With care, she pushed a stray lock of hair off his forehead. When his golden eyes opened, relief washed through her and she smiled. “You’re the only man I know who can spend a month in a war-torn country and come home unharmed only to get blindsided by appendicitis.”

  He grinned, but she could see the gesture took a great deal of effort. “You always knew I was unique.” He motioned toward the plastic water jug.

  She poured for him and he gulped the entire cup. “Better?” she asked.

  “Much.”

  Silence filled the small room. Carly glanced over her shoulder and realized that Peter had sent her in alone. She turned back to Mike. “I was worried,” she said in a whisper.

  “I wanted to come back sooner.”

  “You did what you needed to. I understood that.” She fingered her bangs. The desire to admit her feelings was overwhelming, but his weakened state stopped her. So did the fact that she had no idea how he felt in return.

  Yes, he was back, but for how long this time, she wondered. And even if he was to stay, what kind of future could they have? What was she capable of giving to him, and he to her?

  “Can I get you anything else?” she asked instead.

&n
bsp; He shook his head.

  “Now that I know you’re okay, Peter’s waiting in the hall.” She rose, carefully releasing her grip on his hand. Before she could take a step, he caught her arm in a surprisingly strong grip for a man just out of surgery.

  “Wait.”

  Carly swallowed hard and tried to keep her inner panic from showing on her face. Deep, cleansing breaths, she silently ordered. When dizziness assaulted her, she knew she’d been unsuccessful.

  “I’m not running anymore,” he said, in a voice still rough from medication but also tight with emotion.

  “I know. You’re flat on your back,” she quipped with more lightness than she felt.

  “You can’t joke your way out of this. We need to talk.”

  “And you need to rest.”

  Mike closed his eyes. Apparently she was right. The exhaustion was evident on his face and every forced word he spoke.

  “You’re right,” he said finally.

  “I usually am.” She smiled.

  “Am I interrupting?” His brother pushed open the door to the hospital room.

  Mike leaned his head back against the stack of hospital pillows and groaned. “Come on in,” Carly called out, saving him the effort. She turned to Peter. “I was just leaving.” She squeezed Mike’s hand once and headed for the door without meeting his gaze.

  * * *

  Mike leaned back against the uncomfortable pillow and waited while Carly slipped out the door. A floor nurse walked in behind Peter. “Hey, Pete.”

  His brother grinned. “Looking better. I have to admit you scared the living daylights out of me.”

  “Doubling over in the airport wasn’t my idea of a good time either.” He waited while the nurse did her thing—temperature and blood pressure.

  “All set, Mr. Novack.” She jotted notes in his chart and walked out.

  “If I had known about those good-looking nurses, I would have checked myself in here,” Pete said, his eyes following the attractive nurse’s departure.

  “You’re one of a kind, little brother.” Mike eased himself higher in the bed, ignoring the pain as well as the painkiller the nurse had tried to force on him. He preferred having a clear head.

  “I am, aren’t I?” Pete chuckled. “When are they releasing you?”

  “Not soon enough,” Mike muttered.

  “What’s your hurry?” His brother glanced back toward the closed door, but no voluptuous blond nurse answered his silent plea.

  Mike laughed, then clenched his teeth at the accompanying pain in his side. “I can’t get my life together from a hospital bed.”

  Carly had visited him twice yesterday and once already today. Each time she had stayed longer but left as soon as the questions turned personal.

  “She playing hard to get?” Pete asked.

  “She just needs some coaxing,” Mike said, deliberately vague. He had no intention of discussing his relationship, or lack thereof, with Pete.

  His brother paced the room. “I know she’s worth the effort,” he said at last.

  “Having second thoughts?”

  “Hell no.” Pete laughed. “She’s all yours. Carly and I wouldn’t make each other happy,” he said.

  Mike raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Since when does happiness count?” he asked his work-devoted brother.

  Pete sat himself on the chair next to Mike’s bed. “Since I nearly destroyed someone who was nothing but good to me. And since Regina expected to marry the newest litigation partner on her way up the corporate ladder.”

  “Didn’t like being on the other end of things, huh? There might be hope for you yet, little brother.”

  “Don’t get carried away,” Pete muttered.

  Mike laughed. “Well, you did good letting Carly know after the hospital notified you.”

  He shrugged uncomfortably. “It was the least I could do. You’re my brother, after all.”

  Mike nodded. It was something Carly had reminded him of time and again. He needed his brother, something he wouldn’t have been able to admit prior to his return to the Middle East. He could face that truth now.

  Along with many others. He only hoped it wasn’t too late.

  * * *

  Carly stepped out of the bathroom to the sound of an insistent ring. “I’m coming,” she called to her impatient visitor. She’d just gotten out of the shower and finished blow-drying her hair, probably missing the first couple of rings. Whoever was out there had his finger permanently attached to her doorbell. She opened the door a crack and glanced beyond the chain lock.

  “Mike?” She closed the door to unlatch the lock. “What are you doing here?” He wasn’t due to be released from the hospital until the next day.

  “I couldn’t take that place another minute.” He smiled and headed straight for his chair. Holding his right side, he lowered himself slowly and dropped a duffel bag onto the floor. “I’ll never take being mobile for granted again.”

  Carly stopped in the kitchen for a glass of ice water and tried to calm the pounding of her heart. She wasn’t ready for this conversation, not without warning. Apparently, though, Mike had set the timetable. She’d just have to listen... and hope he hadn’t come to tell her he was leaving again as soon as he was able.

  “You checked out against doctor’s orders, I’ll bet.” She handed him the glass and sat down on the couch.

  He shrugged. “Another day or night wasn’t going to make a difference.”

  “I’m sure your doctor had other ideas.” She chewed on her lower lip. Finally curiosity got the better of her. “Where are you staying?” Until he was healed, she didn’t have to worry about him hopping on the nearest airplane out of the country. At least not yet. She fingered her bangs. Her hand trembled and she shoved it beneath her leg.

  “I’ll stay with Pete for a week or so.” Mike deliberately paused for a sip of water and watched her reaction.

  She nodded slowly. “And then?” Her lips, which had been damp before, had lost their luster as she nibbled on her lower lip with her teeth.

  “What do you expect me to do?”

  Startled, she met his gaze. Her brown eyes reflected confusion and something else. What, he didn’t know. Since his return he hadn’t been able to read her as easily as before.

  “Do you expect me to head overseas?”

  “I... I don’t know what to expect.”

  He placed his glass down, rose carefully and resettled himself next to her on the couch. “There was a time when I didn’t either.”

  “And now you do?”

  He nodded. “You accused me of not understanding the concept of commitment once, and as much as that hurt, it was the truth.”

  She shook her head. “I was wrong. You’ve always been committed to your job, to your brother. To me, when you set your mind to proving certain points,” she said with a grin.

  He placed his hand beneath her chin, turning her so their eyes locked. “Committed to running away. It’s not the same thing.”

  “Maybe not,” she murmured.

  “Definitely not. Until you damn near married my brother I didn’t realize what a mess I’d made of my life. That was a wake-up call if I’d ever gotten one.”

  “I thought you provided me with the wake-up call.” She smiled, the gesture so warm and open, he nearly forgot the last month of deprivation.

  “We’re good for each other.” If her appearance was any indication, she’d missed him as much as he’d ached for her. She’d lost weight in the time they’d been apart. Slender legs were encased in tight leggings and suede boots. Her damp hair trailed over an oversized white sweater that hugged her thighs. And shadows lurked in her dark eyes. Shadows he’d do his damndest to remove, if she’d let him.

  He touched her soft cheek with one knuckle. “In your own quiet way, you showed me all I was missing.

  She shook her head. “I abandoned you.” She didn’t meet his gaze.

  “No.” Pulling her against him, he buried his face in her hair and
inhaled the scent he’d only had the luxury of dreaming of. “You cared enough to let me go when I needed to.”

  In a move that stunned him, she jerked backward, removing herself from his arms and distancing herself from his touch. She stood. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks.

  “Don’t give me so much credit.” She shook her head and laughed, a harsh sound that tore at his heart. “I let you go because it was easier than walking away myself. But if you hadn’t gotten that call, don’t think for a minute I wouldn’t have found an excuse to pull away.”

  He stood and remained silent. Nothing she said came as a shock to him, nor did it bother him the way she obviously thought it should. “And?”

  “Don’t you get it? I wanted you to go.” She obviously felt she owed him the truth.

  He respected her for that, he thought, watching her sink back into the couch. “And you wanted me to come back, just as much as I wanted to come back to you.” He stayed silent until she looked at him. “I went because I had to and came back for the same reasons.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Or she didn’t want to. The glimmer Mike saw in her eyes wasn’t happiness, it was uncertainty, and his heart clenched with the same emotion. Because for the first time he acknowledged that he might actually lose her.

  “Commitment,” he explained. “I had to complete one before I could make another.” He leaned over. Lowering his head to hers, he tasted her lips, reveling in the sweetness that was uniquely Carly. His mouth moved over hers, coaxing and teasing, seeking acceptance. Her resistance fled in seconds, with a soft sigh and an intimate greeting. Her tongue met his and Mike’s self-control went into remaining gentle but insistent. He couldn’t, wouldn’t lose her now.

  She raked her fingers through his hair as she allowed him to draw her closer. He brushed feather-light kisses on the tip of her nose and across her jaw. He sat beside her and drew her close. She didn’t pull away and that gave him hope.

  Now he owed her honesty. “Orphaned isn’t abandoned. Do you remember telling me that?” He separated them so he could look into her brown eyes.