Snowed In Page 22

  “What about Laverne and Shirley?” he asked.

  A smile appeared on her face and for the first time since the phone call from her mom, she didn’t look like she was going to throw up. “You remembered my parents’ dogs names?”

  “Of course. How could I forget Laverne and Shirley?”

  “Well, now that you mention it, Laverne has really bad gas and Shirley has a bit of a slobber problem,” she said with mock sincerity.

  “Got it,” he nodded as they drove through town.

  He hadn’t really been paying attention to his surroundings when he’d driven in the night before. But now as he drove through the small town of Hope Falls, he couldn’t believe that this was a real place. It was everything you could imagine a small mountain community would be. Picturesque and peaceful. Just driving through it, Mike felt more at home than he’d ever felt in his life.

  The town itself sat at the basin of a large mountain so the range was the town’s backdrop. Wooden sidewalks lined Main Street, which looked to be filled with family owned shops. Of course, they might be chain establishments but Mike really doubted it. There were people shopping up and down the main strip. They all seemed friendly, several waved at he and Nikki. He loved it. He loved everything about it.

  Nikki had told him that she’d been bored out of her mind growing up here and he could totally see that, but to him it seemed like a slice of heaven. Tucked away from all the noise and congestion. Surrounded by nature. There were pine trees, aspens, wildflowers, and rivers. The colors were so vibrant. He felt alive up here.

  “Turn here,” Nikki instructed sharply. “It’s the third house on the left.”

  Mike pulled up to a beautifully maintained home that reminded him of the Eight is Enough house. It had white wooden siding with a large porch and green shutters in the windows. It made Mike happy knowing Nikki grew up here.

  “You ready?” he glanced beside him at the passenger seat to see Nikki anxiously staring up at the house.

  “Everyone is already here. That’s Jake’s SUV, Eric’s truck and Amy’s car.” She turned to him looking like that was significant.

  “So, are we late?” he asked not really following.

  “Nope, but the boys are never on time which means they probably know you’re coming,” she whispered conspiratorially.

  Damn, she was cute even when she had no idea she was being cute.

  “I think it’s pretty normal for brothers to want to meet their sister’s boyfriend,” Mike reasoned hoping it would ease some of her anxiety.

  “Oh,” Nikki’s mouth opened in surprise before a large smile spread on her face. “So you’re my boyfriend?”

  “Is that a question?” Mike didn’t really understand why she was asking.

  “Well, yeah. I mean. We never really said what this was and so I just…I don’t know…I didn’t know and was worried that they would ask.” She motioned to the house.

  Mike couldn’t believe that she still had any doubts about them or how he felt. “Nikki, as far as I’m concerned we are together. And not casually, this is by far the most serious relationship I have ever had. I was actually on my way home from the office yesterday to ask you if you would move in with me.”

  Her entire face lit up with excitement, “You were?!”

  “Yes,” he said cupping her face and pulling her in for a deep, torturous kiss. Her kisses were so addictive, the more he tasted her the more he wanted her.

  “Mike and Nikki sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” a loud male voice sang from outside the car.

  Nikki pulled away from Mike just an inch and without looking to see who their serenader was, declared, “That would be Jake. He has the maturity of a middle-schooler.”

  Mike chuckled as he got out of the car and went to the other side to open the door for Nikki. In one graceful move, she swung her long, beautiful legs out of the car and stood facing him. He was struck again at how lucky he was to be here with her. As he started to move to let her by, Nikki, stepped close to him and put her hand gently on his chest. She looked up at him, her golden eyes shimmering with love. “Thank you. For today.” She inclined her head towards her parents’ house.

  “I haven’t done anything yet.”

  “Yes, you have,” she said, as she stretched on her tip-toes and gave him a sweet, peck on the lips. “Yes, you have,” she repeated as she gave him a smile that felt like a warm, intimate hug. Wow, so lucky and happy to be here.

  --- ~ ---

  “What could they possibly be talking about?” Nikki asked as she blew a stray hair out of her eyes and sliced the garlic bread. As soon as the introductions had been made, Nikki’s dad had pulled Mike into his study because he “had something he wanted to show him.” Her brothers and Amy’s boyfriend, Matt, had followed in right behind them. Nikki felt like Mike was the lamb being led to slaughter.

  It had been well over thirty minutes and Nikki’s mom had kept the girls busy in the kitchen. Nikki was going crazy not knowing what was being said behind the dark wood doors to her father’s study.

  “They probably just want to make sure that he’s on the up and up,” Amy offered.

  “What could not be on the up and up,” Nikki’s mom threw up her hands dramatically as she shuffled across the kitchen to stir the sauce. “I just saw him in my magazine. Of course he’s on the up and up.”

  To Rosalie, People magazine was the next best thing to the bible. Nikki knew as soon as her mom found out that Mike was featured in it, then he could probably walk on water in her eyes.

  “So you guys are all good?” Lily and Amy whispered quietly in unison as Nikki’s mom stepped into the walk-in pantry to grab some seasonings.

  Nikki beamed as she nodded her head. Amy smiled back at her happily and Lily did a little happy dance in a circle.

  She and Mike were better than ‘all good’ they were officially a couple.

  “What is all the dancing about?” Nikki’s mom’s voice boomed as she walked back into the kitchen.

  “Oh I’m just excited about the wedding,” Lily winked at Nikki as soon as her mom turned back to the stove. If there was one thing that could take her mother’s mind off of Nikki’s new boyfriend it was Eric and Lily’s upcoming wedding.

  As her sister, mom, and soon to be sister-in-law all began talking about flowers, venues, colors and cakes, Nikki silently sat thinking about how much had happened over the last few weeks. Who would have ever thought when Mike had walked up and “saved” her from that douchebag, that they would not only be a couple, but having Sunday dinner at her parents’ house? Not her. That’s for sure.

  “Alright, call the boys,” her mother instructed as she took the sauce off the stove.

  With pleasure, Nikki thought as she hopped off the stool and sprinted down the hall. She quickly knocked two times and didn’t wait for a response before opening the door. “Dinner’s rea-”

  She had to do a double take. Mike was sitting in her dad’s chair. No one sat in her dad’s chair and beside him her father was doubled over in laughter. He was laughing so hard he was wiping his eyes beneath his glasses. Her brothers and Matt were all laughing as well, just not as hard as her dad.

  Well, they all seemed to be getting along. So that was good.

  When Mike saw her walk in he stood and walked over, leaning down he gave her a quick kiss. Right on the lips. In front of every male in her family.

  What the…

  Not addressing the lip lock, Nikki looked up into Mike’s deep brown eyes and asked, “What’s so funny?”

  He placed his hand on the small of her back as they all made their way into the dining room. “Your dad was just telling us stories about his rowdy days growing up in Ireland.”

  “What stories?” Nikki asked. Her dad never talked to her about his misspent youth in his homeland.

  “Oh now darlin’, some things are not for your wee ears to hear,” her father said as he sat in his place at the head of the table.

  Wee ears. He had to be kiddin
g. She was in her late twenties.

  “Oh now, take that puss off your face. Me and the boyo’s were just gettin’ to know ya fella here,” her dad declared as he leaned over and patted Mike heartily on the back.

  “Yeah Nikki, take the puss off your face,” Jake repeated their dad’s words with a smug grin on his face.

  He knew she hated that term and was just turning the knife.

  “Now Jake, leave your sister alone,” her mother said as she brought in a steaming bowl of pasta.

  Nikki almost fell right off of her chair. Her mother was actually taking her side against one of her precious baby boys?! Had hell frozen over and Nikki didn’t know about it? Were monkey’s about to start flying?

  Mike squeezed her knee under the table. Oh that’s right. It was the “Mike Gowan” effect. His charm had accomplished the impossible and caused her mother not to side with the boys. Nikki’s head was spinning.

  They all joined hands and her dad led them in a prayer over the meal. Nikki settled into her seat and her leg brushed against Mike’s. A chill ran up her body at the brief contact, which one would think would be uncomfortable at a family dinner, but oddly enough it wasn’t. It just felt so right to have Mike beside her at her parents’ table. After her dad finished the prayer, the food started being passed around and the conversation flowed easily.

  Mike was definitely in the hot seat fielding most of the questions for the first half of the meal but it wasn’t too long before the subject turned to the new home Jake had just purchased, Eric and Lily’s upcoming wedding, and Matt and Amy’s summer vacation plans.

  As the dinner began winding down Nikki offered to clear the table. Mostly because she was scared that she was going to start crying out of pure joy, but still she didn’t want to make a scene. Mike had fit in like a missing puzzle piece. He had immediately found common ground with her smart ass brother, overbearing mother, quiet sister, brooding brother, and her artistic, free spirit soon to be sister-in-law. He really was too good to be true.

  She had just dumped a few plates in the sink when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning she saw her brother, Eric, standing with a scowl on his face.

  Uh oh. Maybe Mike’s charms had not worked on everyone.

  “I like him,” he said in his all-business-police-intimidation tone.

  “Okay,” Nikki tilted her head to the side, “then why do you sound like that?”

  “I never thought I worried about you, only Amy, because even though you’re the youngest, I knew you could take care of yourself. But I felt like a weight, I didn’t even know I’d been carrying around, got lifted off my shoulders after meeting Mike and talking to him for just five minutes.” Eric stepped closer to Nikki, “He’s a good guy, Sis. If things work out with you guys, I know he would take good care of you.”

  Tears filled Nikki’s eyes at her big brother’s words. Dammit. She’d come in here to avoid crying.

  “Get the cannoli and ice cream,” her mom yelled from the dining room.

  A mischievous older brother glint appeared in Eric’s eyes. He smiled as he turned and said, “I think she was talking to you.”

  Nikki wiped her eyes and shook her head as she watched her brother walk back into the dining room. Eric may not have known that he actually worried about her but Nikki hadn’t known how much her brother’s opinion actually mattered to her.

  “Nicoletta,” her mom rushed in the kitchen calling her by her full name and clapping her hands together. “Cannoli’s and ice cream, fretta, hurry.”

  “Sorry, Mama,” Nikki quickly stepped to the freezer to pull the ice cream out.

  “He’s a good one, bella regazza.” Her mom surprised her by wrapping her arms around Nikki and pulling her close into a tight embrace. She was going to have to get used to the effect Mike was having on her mom, who wasn’t prone to random hugs and sticking up for her to her brother. She squeezed Nikki tightly once more before stepping back and shaking her finger in her face. “Don’t mess it up.”

  And there she was, the mother she knew and loved.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Mike stepped out into the hall and immediately turned on his phone. He had been in a closed door session all morning so he hadn’t been able to check his messages or have any contact with the outside world. But he knew something was wrong.

  During the meeting today not one, not two, but over a dozen people had congratulated him. It was all done in whispers while other people had the floor and were talking so he hadn’t had a chance to ask, “For what?”

  When Senator Peirce had leaned forward and slapped him on the back telling him “congrats, son” he’d figured it had something to do with the Fire and Ice Ball since Peirce had been in attendance and they’d managed to raise near double the amount than they had any year prior. But after the third person had quietly offered their congratulations, Mike had gotten a sinking feeling that something was definitely up.

  His phone came to life and he didn’t even bother checking his messages. He immediately called Jane.

  “Hey,” she said sounding very unlike her normal business-like self.

  “What’s going on?” he asked skipping any pleasantries.

  “Have you seen it?” she said with trepidation in her voice.

  “Seen what?” Mike’s jaw tensed.

  She sighed, “I did not want to be the one to tell you.”

  “Jane,” he snapped. He wasn’t trying to be an asshole but he needed to know what the hell was going on.

  “There is a story that several major news outlets and many entertainment outlets have picked up. They are reporting that you and Elizabeth are engaged.”

  “What?” Mike must not have heard her right.

  “Yes. They are claiming to have confirmation from multiple sources including a member of your staff.”

  Phil. He knew it was Phil.

  “Also, not to add insult to injury but the I.T. guys traced the I.P. address of the person that hacked the network and messed with the schedule on Saturday. It was Phil’s home address.”

  “Book me the next flight out.” Mike needed to get home to deal with this. There was no way he was staying in D.C. while someone was methodically sabotaging his life. “Do not tell anyone that I am coming back.”

  “Done,” Jane said. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

  “Jane,” he said before she could hang up, “thanks.”

  “Just doing my job,” she said before disconnecting the call.

  The second the call went dead he pulled up Nikki’s name and hit call. The phone went straight to voicemail. Damn, he forgot she was flying right now.

  Her happy voice came over the line, “Hey, it’s Nikki… you know what to do.”

  “Hey baby, I don’t know if you’ve seen it but there is a story that’s circulating claiming that Lizzie and I are engaged. I’m going to fix it. I love you. Call me when you get this.”

  Mike put his phone back into his pocket. His head felt like a balloon that was about to pop. He didn’t care about how any of this would affect his life or his career, all he cared about was it not hurting Nikki.

  It hadn’t even been a week since Lizzie had shown up on his door and Nikki had taken off to Hope Falls. Luckily, although it may have started out bumpy, they’d had an incredible weekend. They’d worked out some pretty important relationship issues and he’d even met her family.

  Oh shit. Her family. What was her family going to think?

  Mike made it a policy never to place a phone call without knowing exactly what he wanted to say. But this time he grabbed his phone and dialed without having any sort of a game plan.

  The phone rang twice. “Heya.”

  “Mr. Maguire, this is Mike Gowan.”

  “Oh boyo,” Nikki’s dad’s voice grew serious, “we read the papers.”

  “I just wanted to call you and Mrs. Maguire and let you know that there is absolutely no truth to what they are reporting. I love your daughter, Sir.”

  “Oh
now son, I do appreciate ya callin. But I’m not thick you know. I know ya love my girl and the misses does too. We just know all this noise must be murder on ya.”

  Mike already loved Nikki and in that moment he fell in love with Nikki’s family. “I just tried to call Nikki. But she must be in the air.”

  “Ay, she is. She won’t be back this way ’till tonight.”

  “Hopefully I’ll talk to her before then.”

  “I’m sure ya will. Well now boyo, you let us know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  As Mike hung up the phone he was just hoping that Nikki would take this as well as her parents seemed to be.

  His phone buzzed and for a split second he thought it might be Nikki calling him back. He looked down and saw that it was Jane.

  “Yeah,” he answered.

  “I got you on the one o’clock. Which means you have to get to the airport now.”

  Mike stepped out the glass doors to hail a cab. “Is Phil in the office today?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “Do me a favor. Don’t leave him alone there.”

  “You got it.”

  Adrenaline rushed through him as he hopped into the back of the cab. He was actually a little glad he had the six hour flight to calm down before he confronted Phil. Because if that man was standing in front of him right now, he couldn’t be held accountable for his actions.

  --- ~ ---

  Nikki drove through the mountain roads on her way back to Hope Falls. She was so depressed even her normal musical therapy wasn’t helping.

  When she’d seen the reports that Mike was engaged to that woman at first she’d laughed. Literally, she laughed out loud. But as the day had worn on and more and more outlets were picking it up it started getting to her. Really getting to her. It also made matters worse that every time they ran the story they would flash a picture of her and Mike, from the Fire and Ice Ball, and labeled her the other woman. Her.

  Of course it helped that as soon as she’d landed, she’d had three voicemails from Mike and two from her parents. All of them reassuring her that the story was bogus and making sure that she was okay.