Forever After (Paperback)

Nicky's determined to find the person who's stealing thousands of dollars from her grandfather's company. But that means returning to Montana and working with Sam Delaney, the man who broke her heart two years earlier. Falling in love with him wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done and she won't repeat the same mistake again.

Sam is the Chief Executive of Scotson Construction. When the future of the company is under threat, he knows Nicky's the best person to uncover the truth. But that doesn’t make seeing her again any easier. Overnight, his carefully ordered life spins out of control. He thinks nothing lasts forever...until Nicky shows him that forever is closer than he thinks.

Nicky Scotson opened her front door, expecting to see her best friend smiling at her. What she got was a whole lot worse.  

“Hello, Nicky.” Chocolate brown eyes stared straight at her, with no smile in sight.

Her heart slammed against her chest, catching her breath in a painful knot. Two years hadn’t made any difference to the way she reacted to Sam Delaney, chief executive of Scotson Construction, and the man she’d spent far too much time trying to forget. 

“Why are you here?” 

“I thought it would have been obvious.” 

“Nothing’s ever obvious with you,” she growled. A long time ago, she was madly in love with the man standing in front of her. Falling for him during her management internship with her family’s company wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done. And, looking at him now, she realized how foolish she’d been. Men like Sam didn’t play for keeps—they played for fun. 

Leaning casually against the doorframe, he folded his arms across his chest. “You’re staring at me like a bug under a microscope.”

Nicky frowned. “You haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t reply to the email I sent you.”

“I’m not going to Bozeman. I have a company to run and no reason to get on a plane with you.” 

Sam leaned in close. “You’re a business consultant. I have a major problem with your family’s company and you’re the only person who can help. You have to come with me.” 

Her eyes widened. His message only mentioned coming to Bozeman for a meeting. “Why didn’t you tell me that in the email?”

“I didn’t want anyone else to know what’s going on.”

“You don’t trust your staff?”

“I don’t trust anyone at the moment.”

That didn’t sound good. Regardless of how she felt about Sam, he knew she’d do anything for her family. “You’d better come inside.”

He moved forward, blocking the afternoon sun. “Where do you want to talk?”

“In the dining room. It’s the second door on the left.” She followed him down the hallway, wishing she could turn around and disappear outside for the rest of the afternoon. 

Helping her family was one thing. Helping the man who’d trampled over her heart was something she didn’t want to do. 

Sam stood in the middle of the room, hands on hips and a determined scowl on his face. “Someone’s stolen thousands of dollars from Scotson Construction. I want to know who took the money, how much is missing, and how we can stop it from happening again.”

Reaching for the nearest chair, she sat down. Her grandfather had started the family business over thirty years ago, growing the successful construction company from nothing more than sheer grit and determination. “How much money are we talking about?”

“More than eighty-five thousand dollars.”  

Resting her head in her hands, she tried to figure out how the fraud had gone undetected. And why the company’s chief executive had flown to Denver to speak to her. “There are other companies in Montana that could help you. Why do you want me and not another consultant?”

“You know how the company works, you’re discreet, and you’re professional.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “We could lose some major contracts if word got out that our financial management system’s flawed.”

“Does Granddad know?” 

“He’s the one who suggested you.”

Her eyes widened. For years her grandfather had refused to accept that she could match the skill and attitude of his company’s male managers. If it hadn’t been for his retirement, she’d never have been given the opportunity to complete the management internship with his company. 

Sam watched her from the other side of the table. “We’ll pay whatever you need to find the missing money. If it can be done within six weeks, I’ll be happy. My only condition is that no one knows why you’re working in Bozeman.”

Nicky tried not to look surprised. “You’re worried the people responsible will leave?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

He had a point. If she’d embezzled money, she wouldn’t hang around after an auditor arrived. “If I come back, I’ll have to find an apartment. I’m not staying with my dad and stepmom.”

Sam’s eyes softened to warm molasses. He thought he’d won.

She knew he had. But she wouldn’t make it an easy victory.

“You can use one of the Lofts in the Village.” 

She remembered seeing photos of the apartments Scotson Construction had built a few years earlier. A series of red-brick buildings had been designed around landscaped grounds, close to the heart of Main Street. With five floors, the Lofts were the closest thing to high-rise apartments in Bozeman. 

“If I’m going undercover, I’ll need a logical reason to be in Bozeman.”

“I’ll tell everyone I’ve employed you to do an efficiency audit. Being the granddaughter of the majority shareholder, and with your reputation, I don’t think you’ll get too much grief from anyone.”

Nicky scowled. “What do you mean by ‘my reputation’?”

“You’re strong-willed, demanding, and a perfectionist. Exactly like your grandfather.”

Giving Sam a level stare, she tried to work out whether those qualities were an asset or a liability. He glared back, daring her to find fault with his back-handed compliment. 

“If I come with you, I’ll need my own office, unlimited access to all company records, and you’re not to tell me how to do my job.” This time around her relationship with him would be according to her rules; professional, respectful and with as much distance between them as possible. 

The glimmer of a smile lurked in his eyes. “Okay. But I reserve the right to make intelligent suggestions.” 

Leaning back in her chair, she thought about how interfering his suggestions could become. “As long as you remember who’s in charge of the investigation, that’s all right.”

Sam nodded.

“I also have my own business to run.”

“Can you do it from Bozeman?”

Nicky drummed her fingers against the table. “It might work, but only if the rest of my team can take on extra work.” 

“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

It would help if she wasn’t working for him, but he couldn’t do anything about that. “I’ll call my team. If they’re able to help, I’ll pack my suitcases and come to Bozeman with you.” 

Sam’s relieved smile was so genuine that she almost forgot how single-minded he could be. If he wanted something, nothing stood in his way. And right now, he wanted her.

* * *

After a quick change of clothes, Nicky found her suitcases and wheeled them into her bedroom. Pulling clothes out of her closet, she tossed them into the open bags before she changed her mind about leaving.  

Between calling her staff and her neighbor, she filled three suitcases to overflowing. Staring at one of the bulging bags sitting in the middle of her bed, she began to have serious doubts about what she’d agreed to do.

“Cheer up. It can’t be as bad as that.”

Sam stood in the doorway, looking like a man who really cared. “It’s okay for you. I have six weeks of family life ahead of me. Six not so glorious weeks of fashion advice, grooming tips, and man advice.”

Sam laughed. “I thought Maureen would've stopped matchmaking after your last boyfriend left.”

Nicky’s head shot up. “How do you know about him? I never saw you the whole time I was in Bozeman.”

“You mean you made sure you never saw me. But I heard what you were doing.”

“It was Cody, wasn’t it? My brother thinks Maureen’s matchmaking tendencies are funny. Just wait until she turns her attention on him. He won’t be laughing then.” 

For some strange reason, Cody and Sam had become great friends. Between a chief executive who thought he could tell her what to do, and a brother who had as much common sense as a snail, she knew she’d be heading into dangerous territory. “That’s why I need my own apartment. At least Maureen won’t be able to pounce on me.”

“Don’t be too sure about that,” he muttered.

It sounded as though someone else had been on the receiving end of her stepmom’s rescue missions. Every time Nicky visited Montana, Maureen packed months of advice into whatever time frame she had to work with. 

Regardless of what she thought about Maureen’s pearls of wisdom, Nicky had to hand it to her, the woman was a force to be reckoned with. 

She lifted her suitcase off the bed. 

“Three suitcases?” Sam looked at the bags stacked in her doorway.

“You should be thankful I stopped when I did. Otherwise, you’d be paying a lot more for excess luggage.” Frowning, she looked around her room. 

This was it. The beginning of the worst six weeks of her life.