Nora Roberts - Waiting for Nick

Frederica Kimball had been waiting all her lifewaiting to grow upwaiting forever for the day when Nicholas LeBeck would fall as desperately in love with her as she had always been with him. Nick didnt know what had hit him. Sweet, adorable Freddie, whom hed always loved like a kid sister, was suddenly all woman. And his feelings for her were anything but brotherly!

S he was a woman with a mission. Her move from West Virginia to New York had a series of purposes, outlined carefully in her mind. She would find the perfect place to live, become a success in her chosen field, and get her man.

Preferably, but not necessarily, in that order.

Frederica Kimball was, she liked to think, a flexible woman.

As she walked down the sidewalk on the East Side in the early-spring twilight, she thought of home. The house in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, with her parents and siblings, was, to Freddies mind, the perfect place to live. Rambling, noisy, full of music and voices.

She doubted that she could have left it if she hadnt known she would always be welcomed back with open arms.

It was true that she had been to New York many times, and had ties there, as well, but she already missed the familiarher own room, tucked into the second story of the old stone house, the love and companionship of her siblings, her fathers music, her mothers laugh.

But she wasnt a child any longer. She was twenty-four, and long past the age to begin to make her own.

In any case, she reminded herself, she was very much at home in Manhattan. After all, shed spent the first few years of her life there. And much of her life in the years after had included visitsbut all with family, she acknowledged.

Well, this time, she thought, straightening her shoulders, she was on her own. And she had a job to do. The first order of business would be to convince a certain Nicholas LeBeck that he needed a partner.

The success and reputation hed accumulated as a composer over the past few years would only increase with her beside him as his lyricist. Already, just by closing her eyes and projecting, she could envision the LeBeck-Kimball name in lights on the Great White Way. She had only to let her imagination bloom to have the music they would write flow like a river through her head.

Now all she had to do, she thought with a wry smile, was convince Nick to see and hear the same thing.

She could, if necessary, use family loyalty to persuade him. They were, in a roundabout way, semicousins.

Kissing cousins, she thought now, while her eyes lighted with a smile. That was her final and most vital mission. Before she was done, Nick would fall as desperately in love with her as she was, had always been, with him.

Shed waited ten years for him, and that, to Freddies mind, was quite long enough.

Its past time, Nick, she decided, tugging on the hem of her royal blue blazer, to face your fate.

Still, nerves warred with confidence as she stood outside the door of Lower the Boom. The popular neighborhood bar belonged to Zack Muldoon, Nicks brother. Stepbrother, technically, but Freddies family had always been more into affection than terminology. The fact that Zack had married Freddies stepmothers sister made the Stanislaski-Muldoon-Kimball-LeBeck families one convoluted clan.

Freddies longtime dream had been to forge another loop in that family chain, linking her and Nick.

She took a deep breath, tugged on her blazer again, ran her hands over the reddish-gold mop of curls she could never quite tame and wished once, hopelessly, that she had just a dash of the Stanislaskis exotic good looks. Then she reached for the door.

Shed make do with what she had, and make damned sure it was enough.

The air in Lower the Boom carried the yeasty scent of beer, overlaid with the rich, spicy scent of marinara. Freddie decided that Rio, Zacks longtime cook, must have a pasta special going. On the juke, Dion was warning his fellow man about the fickle heart of Runaround Sue.

Everything was there, everything in place, the cozy paneled walls, the seafaring motif of brass bells and nautical gear, the long, scarred bar and the gleaming glassware. But no Nick. Still, she smiled as she walked to the bar and slid onto a padded stool.

Buy me a drink, sailor?

Distracted, Zack glanced up from drawing a draft. His easy smile widened instantly into a grin. Freddiehey! I didnt think you were coming in until the end of the week.

I like surprises.

I like this kind. Expertly Zack slid the mug of beer down the bar so that it braked between the waiting hands of his patron. Then he leaned over, caught Freddies face in both of his big hands and gave her a loud, smacking kiss. Pretty as ever.

You, too.

And he was, she thought. In the ten years since shed met him, hed only improved, like good whiskey, with age. The dark hair was still thick and curling, and the deep blue eyes were magnetic. And his face, she thought with a sigh. Tanned, tough, with laugh lines only enhancing its character and charm.

More than once in her life, Freddie had wondered how it was that she was surrounded by physically stunning people. Hows Rachel?

Her Honor is terrific.

Freddies lips curved at the use of the title, and the affection behind it. Zacks wifeher auntwas now a criminal court judge. Were all so proud of her. Did you see the trick gavel Mama sent her? The one that makes this crashing-glass sound when you bop something with it?

Seen it? His grin was quick and crooked. She bops me with it regularly. Its something, having a judge in the family. His eyes twinkled. And she looks fabulous in those black robes.

I bet. How about the kids?

The terrible trio? Theyre great. Want a soda?

Amused, Freddie tilted her head. What, are you going to card me, Zack? Im twenty-four, remember?

Rubbing his chin, he studied her. The small build and china-doll skin would probably always be deceiving. If he hadnt known her age, as well as the age of his own children, he would have asked for ID.

I just cant take it in. Little Freddie, all grown up.

Since I am she crossed her legs and settled in why dont you pour me a white wine?

Coming up. Long experience had him reaching behind him for the proper glass without looking. Howre your folks, the kids?

Everybodys good, and everyone sends their love. She took the glass Zack handed her and lifted it in a toast. To family.

Zack tapped a squat bottle of mineral water against her glass. So what are your plans, honey?

Oh, Ive got a few of them. She smiled into her wine before she sipped. And wondered what he would think if she mentioned that the biggest plan of her life was to woo his younger brother. The first is to find an apartment.

You know you can stay with us as long as you want.

I know. Or with Grandma and Papa, or Mikhail and Sydney, or Alex and Bess. She smiled again. It was a comfort to know she was surrounded by people who loved her. But I really want a place of my own. She propped her elbow on the bar. Its time, I think, for a little adventure. When he started to speak, she grinned and shook her head at him. Youre not going to lecture, are you, Uncle Zack? Not you, the boy who went to sea.

She had him there, he thought. Hed been a great deal younger than twenty-four when he shipped out for the first time. Okay, no lecture. But Im keeping my eye on you.