Page 88 of Last Date

“So it was Nick who drove by me in the van that night?”

“Yes. He knew ahead of time about the flower arrangement Allister had ordered for you.” Merrick loosened his tie, frowning. “To be honest, it was kind of callous of Allister to use the florist Nick worked at. There are other florists in town.”

“Knowing what I now know of Allister, he probably liked rubbing his other conquests in Nick’s face,” I muttered.

“I think you’re right.” Merrick shrugged. “I told you Allister was smarmy.”

I wrinkled my brow. “Yes. You did. I didn’t believe you.”

“You’ll have to learn to trust me more.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He didn’t look pleased with my response, but he didn’t address it. Instead, he said, “When you escaped the poisoned champagne, Nick decided to go old-school. He attacked you at the Rusty Pier.”

I shivered. “He really was stalking me, I guess.”

“He was. That’s how he knew where you were today for lunch.”

I glanced up. “How did you know?”

“You mean, that you were being attacked?”

“Yeah. How could you possibly just show up in time?”

He looked uneasy. “The truth is, I heard the call about someone being assaulted in a parking lot, and I responded because I happened to be nearby. I’d just had coffee with the mayor, and I figured maybe I could help the units that responded to the call.” He swallowed and shook his head. “I never in my wildest dreams thought the call involved you.”

“Of course not.”

He gritted his teeth. “When I pulled into the parking lot and saw you lying there, I thought for one second you were dead.” He shook his head. “I… I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t breathe.”

I touched his arm because he looked so upset. “I… I’m fine Merrick.”

“Yeah,” he rasped. “Yeah, you moved, and I thought, ‘Oh, thank God. He’s okay.’ But then I saw the van heading right for you.”

I shuddered, also remembering the horror of that moment.

“It wasn’t even a conscious thought.” He laughed gruffly. “I just hit the gas and headed straight for the van. I was afraid I’d be too late. I was afraid he’d get to you first, but he didn’t.” He rubbed his face. “He didn’t.”

“No. He didn’t. Thanks to you.”

“I hit his van so hard, I thought I lost a filling for one minute.” He laughed.

I smiled weakly. “When you crawled out of the car, you looked like a white knight. Your hair was still perfect; your tie wasn’t even crooked. I thought I was dreaming.”

He laughed sheepishly. “My car is totaled.”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised.” I took his hand in mine. “Thank you. I guess you really do have my back.”

His expression was very serious. “Told you so.”

I dropped my gaze. “So, now what?”

He looked at our clasped hands. “I talked to Peter.”

I winced. “I know. I could tell from the hatred in his eyes.”

“Nah. He took it pretty well.”