Perfect Stranger (Novella)

by Carly Phillips

  Now Nicole.

  He’d known her for a short time, when she’d been in Serendipity tracking her missing sister, who it turned out had been stalking Erin. Sam had arrested her lurking outside Erin’s condo, assuming she was her psychotic twin. But there was nothing unstable about Nicole . . . and she’d made a profound impact on Sam. From her dark hair to her big beautiful blue eyes, he felt like he could see inside her soul.

  On first meeting, she’d been scared, then defiant, but ultimately he came to admire how she’d handled herself while in that small interrogation room. But the real turning point between them had come when Cole barged in. She’d immediately turned to Sam, as if assuming she could trust him to look after her. She hadn’t been wrong. And not just because he had a reputation for being the good cop in any scenario. With Nicole, the protective surge he’d experienced surpassed the normal doing of his job. It made no damned sense to him then, and it still didn’t now. Hell, her draw scared him as much as it pulled him toward her.

  Once her sister had been arrested, Nicole had gone back to the city where she belonged before Sam could act on any stupid sexual or deeper impulse he might have. He hadn’t had an emotional connection with any female since Jenna’s betrayal, and he wouldn’t allow himself to be hurt that way again. But none of that seemed to matter now that she was back in town.

  Sam couldn’t imagine why Nicole had opted to move to Serendipity—but there was one way to find out. Raising his hand, he knocked on her door.