A Little Secret between Friends

A Little Secret between Friends
C.J. Carmichael

It's amazing how one decision could change your lifeBack in law school Sally Stowe and Colin Foster argued in and out of class. One night, after a study session in the library, Colin offered to drive Sally home. They ended up in his dorm room making love. The next day Sally discovered that her best friend, Beth, was really into this guy in Sally's class–Colin. Sally stepped aside and started seeing someone new.Sixteen years later Sally is a distinguished lawyer, up for a judicial appointment, and Colin is Beth's widower. As Sally and Colin spend more and more time together, a horrible suspicion takes hold. Could Sally's daughter be Colin's?

Sally’s first instinct was to drive away

But Colin was already walking toward her car. He had on jeans and an old—a very old—University of Alberta sweatshirt. She’d probably seen him in that sweatshirt a hundred times.

Including, if memory served her correctly, that one, fateful night over sixteen years ago…

When Colin was close enough to touch her car, she lowered the passenger-side window.

For a moment they just looked at each other, and in his eyes she recognized the sorrow that she’d been feeling.

She also saw that he was concerned about her. But there was something else she couldn’t name. It was like a spark, alive and glowing. And it reminded her that despite how she felt at times, she was a woman with half her life still in front of her.

Dear Reader,

A difficult moral dilemma is at the heart of many stories I write. This story is no different.

Imagine you are a student in your last year of university. There’s this guy who has been in many of your classes…and something about him really gets to you. He’s good-looking, charming and way too smart for his own good. You keep wanting to show him up. Then one night you’re at the library late at night together and he offers you a ride home. Sparks fly, and before you know it, this guy you thought you couldn’t stand is someone you just can’t resist.

The next morning you check in with your roommate and best friend. Before you can tell her what happened last night, she tells you about this guy she really likes—and it’s your guy!

Do you tell her to back off? Or do you leave the field clear for your friend?

In the story you're about to read, Sally Stowe faced just this situation. Sally decided to date someone else and leave the guy for her friend…and the repercussions of that decision still live with her—and her daughter—sixteen years later.

I hope you enjoy this story. If you would like to write or send e-mail, I would be delighted to hear from you through my Web site at www.cjcarmichael.com. Or send mail to the following Canadian address: #1754-246 Stewart Green S.W., Calgary, Alberta, T3H 3C8, Canada.

Sincerely,

C.J. Carmichael

A Little Secret Between Friends

C.J. Carmichael

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

For sharing her knowledge of family law

and the challenges of juggling a career with motherhood,

I thank Sandra J. Hildebrand, barrister and solicitor.

Thanks also to Joe Nolan, retired RCMP officer,

and Terry Evenson, Executive Director of the Canadian

Bar Association of Alberta (and also a lovely aunt!).

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER ONE

“BE CAREFUL with that knife, Sal. You wouldn’t want to hurt yourself.”