Fated by Carly Phillips Read Free Book Online Page B

scared so I pushed you away before you could do it first.”
    “That never would have happened.”
    She laughed out loud. “Lesson learned. I promise.”
    He crooked a finger her way. “Sweetheart, come here.”
    She didn’t have far to go and she was in his arms where she belonged, kissing him until they tumbled backwards onto the couch.
    “Just so you know, I’m not letting you get away from me again.”
    “Sounds good to me.” She sighed, unable to believe she could be this happy.
    “I know things have gone from zero to the speed of light, and we probably should take things slow, but I’m hoping you love me and my house enough to consider moving in one day?”
    “Oh my God!” Could her heart fill any more? She stroked a hand down his cheek. “If we don’t kill each other in the next phase of whatever this is, I think that could be arranged.”
    Nick grinned and Kate knew—no matter how hard the road in getting here, she and Nick were definitely meant to be.

Carly Phillips returns to Serendipity, New York, with
    PERFECT FIT
    The first book in the Serendipity’s Finest series, coming from Berkley in January 2013.
    Here’s a sneak peak!

Perfection was overrated, Mike Marsden thought, as he approached his childhood home. He arrived in time for dinner, just as he’d done every Sunday since his return to his hometown of Serendipity, New York, almost a month ago. Sunday evening meal at his parents’ house was mandatory, and each of his siblings would be there. Nobody said no to Ella Marsden. And since Mike had been away for a half dozen years or so, his mother was especially glad to have him back, no matter how uncomfortable the notion of coming home made him.
    He shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and looked up at the white clapboard house with blue trim and matching shutters. Small but well kept, the two-story home on a residential street was as perfect on the outside as it was on the inside. Same as it was when he’d left for Atlantic City all those years ago. Maybe that was why he was itching beneath his skin now. The idea of perfection made him antsy. It always had. And despite wanting to please his parents, Mike was the kid who’d always tried their patience.
    Impulse control issues, his teachers called it. Mike blamed heredity. He couldn’t stick with one thing very long, be it his small hometown, a relationship, or a monotonous job. Simon Marsden, Mike’s adopted father and the man who’d raised him, had been the police chief of Serendipity. Mike’s brother, Sam, had followed in his footsteps, becoming a homegrown cop like his dad. Their sister, Erin, was the assistant district attorney to Serendipity’s D.A.
    And Mike? He liked his life, choosing his career as a New York City undercover cop, where he’d carved out a name for himself by skating the rules instead of strictly following them. He made sure his job, his women, and even his friends were easy enough to walk away from when the impulse arose. Never again would there be a repeat of a woman misinterpreting his intentions or expecting too much. He’d run from that strangled feeling once before, ending up in Atlantic City. He wasn’t about to repeat past mistakes or risk what he knew was a genetic inability to stick around.
    Yet here he was, back in his small hometown, having taken over his father’s job as chief of police while his dad fought cancer. The doctors said it was treatable, and Mike forced himself to believe it. Coming home was the least he could do for the man who’d both raised him and treated him no differently than his biological children—even if Mike hadn’t always deserved it. The situation was temporary while Simon recovered, or Mike didn’t think he’d have been able to say yes to the position.
    He knocked once and let himself inside, the smell of his mother’s pot roast seducing his senses and making his stomach grumble.
    “Michael, is that you?” his mother called from her post in the