Running Towards Love Read online

  Running Towards Love

  MARISA ADAMS

  Copyright © 2013 Marisa Adams

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13:978-1482607482

  ISBN-10:1482607484

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author.

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to Robin. Without you, I never would have explored the possibility of Danny and Nikki’s story. Thank you!

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  There is no way I could ever dream of completing my novels without the help of my pre-readers and editors. To my Mom, Dawn, Nina, and Mechelle – you ladies rock!

  Chapter One

  Nikki Camarelli ignored the incoming call on her cell phone for the tenth time as she stood on the expansive front porch. She wasn’t sure why she was so hesitant to knock. Jason and Rebekah Taylor were her best friends, practically family, and they would welcome her in an instant. But she knew once they opened that door, she would have to admit her fears and reality would smack her in the face. ‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought as she quietly knocked.

  Moments passed and Nikki felt her clothing stick to her even more as she waited. She loved visiting her family here outside Houston, but she had never once been able to get used to the heat or the humidity. It was mid January for crying out loud and she would have been fine in shorts and a short sleeved shirt! Finally, the porch light flickered to life as the door knob rattled and light spilled onto the porch. “Surprise,” she called, fake humor lacing her voice.

  Jason stood in the door way as a look of shock spread across his face. “Nikki!” he sputtered. “What are you doing here?”

  She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at his tone. “That’s the best welcome you have, Jason?”

  He returned her look with a stare of his own, their years of banter back and forth clearly not missing a beat even though they had not seen each other in months. “Come in, Nikki,” he smiled as he reached for her bag, looking over her shoulder at the same time. “Is Danny here?”

  At the sound of his name, her smile tightened and she knew Jason immediately noticed the change but before she could answer, Rebekah swept into the room. “Nikki!” she practically squealed with glee as she rushed forward to warmly embrace her friend. “What a surprise! How long are you staying?”

  With a tired sigh, she returned her friend’s hug. “I don’t know yet.” Keeping one arm around Rebekah, she turned back towards Jason. “Now, that’s what a welcome is supposed to be like, Jason.” She scolded.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he replied, biting back his own laughter. “You know I think it’s always good to see you, Nik.”

  “We just put the girls down. Emily is going to be so excited when she wakes up in the morning,” Rebekah said as she led Nikki into the kitchen. The warm, spicy scents filled Nikki’s nose as they walked reminding her of her own cozy home that she and Danny had together. Shaking her head, she worked to quickly rid her mind of any images or thoughts of him.

  “I can’t wait to see my girls,” Nikki gushed. “The most recent pictures you sent of them were absolutely adorable! I can’t believe how big Elizabeth is.”

  Rebekah sighed almost wistfully. “I know. It seems like just yesterday that we were in New York having her. Now, Emily is almost five and Elizabeth just turned two.” Turning back towards the cabinet, she pulled down two mugs, asking Nikki, “I made cider earlier. Would you like some?”

  Nikki inhaled deeply, letting the scent fill her senses. “That’s what I smell that is so wonderful. You know I love your cider, Beck. I can’t wait to have some.”

  Rebekah flashed a smile as she pulled down a third mug. “If I’m going to heat us some, I might as well heat some for Jason, too. He loves the stuff almost as much as you do.” Soft music filled the kitchen, drifting from somewhere else in the house; the quiet melodies usually bringing her such peace. But even with the friendly banter, the music did nothing to relieve her stress.

  “Mmmm,” Jason practically moaned from behind her as he walked into the kitchen. “That has to be one of the best smells in the world.” He walked behind Rebekah, smiling as he snaked his arms around her waist and pressed his lips against her neck before turning to Nikki. “Do I have the best wife, or what?”

  “No,” she replied with a laugh. “I have the best friend. You just lucked out when she let you hang around.”

  He glared pointedly at her with a smirk of his own as he joined her at the kitchen table. “Need I remind you that I was the one who met her first? You are the one who is lucky that she tolerates you.”

  “Do I need to be here for this conversation?” Rebekah called out as she carried the steaming mugs to the table. “Cause, I don’t have to tolerate either one of you.” Her eyes twinkled with merriment despite the stern look she tried to plaster on her face.

  Rebekah mock glared at both of them and before she could control it, laughter bubbled from Nikki. For several minutes the combined hum of their laughter filled the kitchen sounding like happiness and home. But Nikki’s heart could barely contain the extra emotion and before she knew it, she found her eyes filling with tears. “Oh honey,” she heard Rebekah whisper as her friend reached across the table and pulled Nikki’s hand into her own. She saw the concerned glance between her friends and knew the question was coming before it was even asked. “You know we love you, Nikki. And,” she continued, “you know you are welcome here anytime. But this is different. What’s going on, Nik?”

  She closed her eyes and fell back against the chair afraid to say the words out loud but knew she had no choice. “Danny’s having an affair. He’s planning to leave me at the end of the month.”

  Silence filled the kitchen as she looked imploringly at her friends. She had known Jason for half of her life; he was her brother in every sense of the word and more than anything, she needed him, needed both of them, now more than ever before.

  “Oh, Nikki,” Rebekah practically cried out and Nikki could hear the emotion and pain in her friend’s voice. “Are you sure?”

  But it was Jason’s voice that rang louder. “Have you lost your mind Nicole Johnson Camarelli?”

  “Jason,” Rebekah admonished but he continued anyway.

  “No, it’s a legitimate question. That man worships the very ground you walk on and you know it, Nikki. He always has. There is no way he is planning to leave you after fifteen years together and nearly ten years of marriage.”

  Almost immediately, the dam that had been holding back Nikki’s emotions for the past twenty-four hours burst and white-hot anger spewed forth. “How would you know, Jason? You don’t live near us anymore; you hardly see him, or us. There is no way you can know what it has been like for either one of us.”

  Jason sobered slightly at the combined reprimand of his wife and Nikki. “Maybe not. But I do know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he loves you more than life. I may not see you all the time anymore, but I talk to him on a regular basis, and I’m telling you you’re wrong.”

  Dropping her face into the palms of her hands, Nikki worked to calm her breathing and her emotions. “Maybe this was a mistake,” she began.

  “Of course it was,” Jason broke in to the middle of her sentence.

  She lifted her head cat
ching Rebekah’s eye as her friend silently watched the exchange. “I meant maybe it was a mistake to come here. I don’t have to stay.”

  “Stop right there, Nikki.” Rebekah glared at her husband, her eyes promising a conversation later between the two of them. “It was not a mistake for you to come here. You are more than welcome to be here for as long as you need. And you,” she turned her attention to Jason. “Whether or not you think your friend is wrong is beside the point. She needs our help and we’re going to give it to her.”

  Between the raised eyebrow and the pointed stare, Jason simply nodded his head in agreement. “I’m going to go check on the girls,” he muttered as he stood and left the kitchen.

  Silence reined in the small space. “Well, aren’t I just the life of the party?” Nikki sarcastically laughed.

  “Sometimes I wonder how in the world the two of you ever dated!” exclaimed Rebekah.

  The sheer exasperation in Rebekah’s voice forced Nikki to actually laugh despite her current state of emotions. “Haven’t I ever told you about our first date?”

  Rebekah’s eyes softened. “We don’t have to talk about this now.”

  “I know. But, I’m not ready to talk about Danny yet. I promise I will explain everything I know, but right now, I just want to get lost in happier times.”

  “Well then,” Rebekah’s amusement filled her voice. “Carry on.”

  The air crackled with excitement. After two long years of flirting, longing glances, and soft touches, Nikki was finally, finally going to have the chance to sample Jason Taylor’s lips. She could practically taste the soon-to-be kiss and knew it would be phenomenal. The fact that the kiss was going to be witnessed by at least fifty people was of no consequence to her. Of course, neither was the fact that the kiss was scripted and that she wasn’t really going to be kissing Jason; his character Brad was supposed to be kissing her character Ellen because the soap opera executives finally decided they should be an official couple.

  None of that mattered. The only thing that was important to her was kissing Jason, because she was positive it would be absolutely amazing and it certainly would not be the last time.

  Walking further into the studio, Nikki found the object of her affection sitting on the couch in one of their sets. “Hey,” she called as she sauntered over to join him.

  “Nikki,” Jason replied, a soft smile on his lips.

  Moving behind the couch, she leaned forward, draping her arms around his neck and offered a small squeeze. “You ready for today, Sugar Lips.”

  Turning his head slightly, he raised an eyebrow studying her cobalt eyes. “Um, yeah?” She could feel his shoulders tense and knew he was as nervous about today as she was excited.

  “Don’t be nervous, Jase. Today is going to be fantastic.” She grinned at him. “In fact, I think today is going to be so extraordinary we should plan a celebratory dinner.” She sensed more than saw him begin to shake his head and immediately continued. “I know you have always said no in the past, but that was before I was eighteen. I crossed that bridge two months ago and waited for you to ask me out. Now, I’m done waiting.”

  Jason stood from the couch, taking a few moments to pace around the room. It was times like this that Nikki wished she could read his mind. Surely he had been waiting for this moment as long as she had. Finally he turned to face her, the familiar twinkle she saw everyday on camera lighting his eyes. “I’ll tell you what Nikki. You actually get all your lines correct today, on the first try, and I’ll take you out.”

  “Really?” She squealed.

  “Yes,” he grinned back, his shoulders finally relaxed as he smirked at her reaction to his proposal.

  “You’re on!” She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his torso, relishing in the strength of his hug.

  Several hours later, Nikki was dressed and ready to go on their first date. Several of their other coworkers had stopped by to congratulate her on the fantastic day of filming. Notorious for forgetting her lines, Nikki had an almost perfect day. The only blemish on the afternoon was the kissing scene she taped with Jason. The magic she anticipated simply did not filter through to her. Instead, their kiss was broken multiple times by the directors who wanted different angles or to change where their hands were positioned. But, she supposed that would change this evening. There would be no distractions tonight and that was exactly the way she wanted it.

  Smoothing on a last dab of lip gloss, she headed towards Jason’s dressing room. “You ready to follow through on your promise of an unbelievable evening?” She pushed his door open surprised to find him staring in his mirror almost as if he was psyching himself up for their date. But she knew that couldn’t be right. Maybe something else had happened after she left the set. “Jase?”

  He shook his head and met her gaze in the mirror with a soft smile. “You ready?” he replied.

  “Of course,” she offered him a warm smile as she took his arm. “I’ve only been waiting for this date for two years!”

  That broke the ice between the two of them. “Yeah, like I was going to date you when I was 18 and you were 16. Can we say jailbait?” Jason said as they entered the elevator together.

  “Please,” Nikki laughed, “like there would have been any issues at all. You know my family’s virtually non-existent and doesn’t care at all about me or what I do.”

  “Better than my family. They worry entirely too much about each other.” He caught the surprised look on her face before he continued. “Don’t get me wrong. I love every member of my family and really love that we are all there for each other. But my Dad spends too much of his energy trying to manipulate all of us instead of getting to know us. It makes family time quite difficult at our house.”

  They exited the front of the building and Nikki was pleasantly surprised to see Jason hold the door for her; she didn’t think guys like him existed anywhere except in romance novels. “How often do you see them?”

  “My family?” Jason hailed a taxi for them and rattled off instructions to the driver once they were inside. “I see my mother, sisters, and grandmother as often as possible and work hard to avoid my father just as much.”

  Silence descended on the couple in the cab as they watched the New York skyline drift by quickly, each lost in their own thoughts. Nikki was completely surprised. She was positive their first date would leave them both completely wrapped up in each other and there would be no time for quiet moments. “Where are we headed?” She asked simply to break the monotony of quiet.

  “I was thinking we could have Italian. I know this great out of the way restaurant.”

  “Uh, sure,” Nikki replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. They were finally going out on a date where they could be seen by the world, and he wanted to spend the time shut away in a small restaurant.

  “Did you want to try something else?” Even though she was a great actress, apparently Nikki hadn’t been able to hide her thoughts from Jason.

  She looked wistfully outside. “I absolutely love December in New York. We could go ice skating!” Nikki was so lost in the excitement of the idea she completely missed the hesitancy on Jason’s face.

  Thirty minutes later, Jason was sitting on the ice after falling once again. Women crowded him from every side, each of them desperate for a quick autograph or picture. Nikki watched the scene with laughter in her eyes. “I’m so glad you are finding this amusing, Nikki,” Jason ground out as he rubbed the temples of his forehead.

  “Oh, don’t be a spoiled sport,” she called back as she watched him haul himself to a semi-standing position. “They just want their five minutes of fame with you. It’s one of the perks of acting.” She loved being in crowds like this. Sure, it was exhausting some of the time, but these fans were the only reason she had a job. She skated closer to Jason. “Come on,” she reached out her hand. “We’ll skate together.”

  Holding hands, they tentatively made their way around the outdoor rink several times. She inhal
ed the cool, crisp air, feeling it settle deep into her lungs. The setting was wonderful; she could not have staged a more perfect night. The only difficulty she was facing was the lack of connection with Jason. She had assumed once they were alone things would magically fall into place. So far, that had not happened.

  Glancing towards the vine covered archway, Nikki found her answer. “Let’s skate this way and you can rest for a minute.”

  Jason grimaced slightly and Nikki bit her lip to hold back a smile as he answered. “Sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve been ice skating.”

  “Not too steady on your feet?”

  “Uh, no. Not at all.” Jason leaned against the edge of the arbor. “I think this brings my ice skating experience to a sum total of three times. I can honestly say ice skating has never been high on my list of things to do.”