Frank twiddled his thumbs, occasionally casting a quick glance over at Nicole for some — any — sign of reaction from her. She was several pages into Back In The Day, and so far her face had given away nothing.

"Remind me to never play poker with you."

Glancing up from the book, she replied, "I don't play poker."

"Well, you should! You've been reading for twenty minutes now and you've showed no expression whatsoever."

"Are you planning to sit there watching me the whole time I'm reading this?"

"That's the plan."

"Why don't you read your own book? You're making me nervous."

"Fine." Frank reached over for the book on his bedside table, then settled back against his pillows as he opened it to the bookmarked page.

When Nicole made a slight sound a few minutes later, he turned toward her. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just clearing my throat. Though this is starting to get interesting."

"Interesting how? Good or bad?"

"Neither so far. Just interesting."

When Frank tried to glance over at the book to see what page she was on, she closed it, keeping her finger inside to mark her page.

"Seriously, Frank? If you keep this up, I'm going downstairs to read."

"Okay! Okay!" He returned to his own book, though it was a waste, as the words passed straight through his head.

Nicole continued to read, smiling at times, even chuckling, as well as grimacing other times. "Well, that's just disgusting."

Frank refrained from asking what she was referring to, allowing her to continue reading uninterrupted, until she turned to him, and said, "You guys were a bit brutal, weren't you?"

"It was necessary at times."

She looked at him in shock. "That sounds like something Danny would say, not you."

"I know. Just keep reading."

"You dogs!" she offered several minutes later, giving him a disapproving look, then returning to her reading. After turning a few pages, she added, "In the ladies restroom at the airport? And you kept watch for him outside the door? While in police uniform? Shame on you, Frank Reagan!"

Frank closed his book, placed it back on the table. "Keep reading. It's gets worse."

A few pages later she commented, "The restroom on the plane? That had to be tight."

"Trust me, it was." He paused, then added, "In my defense, it was a late night flight, and the plane not even half full. And I wasn't in uniform that night. I was off duty."

"Yes, so it says in the book."

Frank knew it was a lame attempt at excusing his behavior, and he wondered why he had even tried.

Nicole continued to read. When she got very quiet, and began to squirm in the bed, Frank knew she had reached the first chapter involving Mary. Several page turns later, she closed the book.

"I think I'll continue reading downstairs."

"Nicole—" Frank pleaded. "Why don't you stop reading for tonight? Finish it tomorrow."

"No, I want to finish it tonight. Just not here. With you."

Frank was still awake when she finally returned, turning her back to him as soon as she got in the bed.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked, placing his hand on her arm.

She moved her arm away from his touch, remaining with her back to him. "Not tonight. It's late."

Dressed in black and white plaid lounge pants and a black tee shirt, Frank trudged down the stairs, groaning as he stretched the tight muscles of his back. In his younger days, two nights of virtually no sleep had little effect on him; nowadays it pretty much did him in. He'd loved to have slept in this morning, something he and Nicole often did on Saturday mornings when neither had anything pressing on their calendar. But when he'd reached over to pull her close, he'd discovered she had already left the bed.

Catching a whiff of burning wood as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he made a quick detour to the kitchen for a cup of muchly needed coffee, then headed to the den.

Nicole sat cross legged in the middle of the sofa, her own cup of coffee pressed to her chest. She was dressed in black yoga pants and white long sleeved turtleneck. Her feet were bare, exposing red painted toenails. She seemed to be staring straight through the burning flames of the open fireplace.

"I'd offer a penny for your thoughts, except I'm not sure I'm ready to hear them," he said, breaking the silence of the room. A log shifted as if in reply, spatting out a great number of sparks.

"Morning." A half smile seemed all she could offer him.

"I wished you'd stayed in bed. I'd like to have cuddled for a while."

"I'm sorry. I was restless, and didn't want to wake you. I know neither of us got much sleep last night."

"Thanks to Lenny and that damn book!" Frank pointed to the book on the coffee table. "I'd love to toss it in the fire and watch it burn."

"That won't make it go away, Frank."

Frank pursed his lips. "I know." He walked over to the fireplace, stood with his back to it.

"It's actually quite good," Nicole said. "Extremely well written, immediately attention-grabbing, quite entertaining, for the most part. I'm actually envious. It has all the makings of a fiction bestseller — humor, drama, violence, sex, and even romance. It's got it all. In less than five hundred pages. Impressive."

"Well, like I said. Lenny never leaves anything out. I just wish he'd written it as fiction."

"But he didn't. And the fact that it is based on fact, with the current commissioner of New York City it's lead character, it will no doubt be a number one best seller before it even hits the bookstore shelves."

"Not exactly what I want to hear, but Lenny will no doubt be pleased." Frank sipped his coffee, then continued. "Now that you've offered your critique as a writer, how about sharing your personal feelings as the current wife of the lead character."

Nicole took in a deep breath, set her cup on the table. She drew her knees to her chest, hugged them.

"I can't say I actually enjoyed reading about my husband's flings with other women, his sexual escapades."

Frank focused on the leaf pattern of the Orienta rug under his feet. "I didn't expect that you would." Raising his head to make eye contact with her, he quickly added, "But, Nicole we were young and single—"

"I know all that, Frank. You know what keeps going through my head."

"What an arrogant asshole I was back then?"

Nicole chuckled. "No, actually not. Though you do come off that way in the book. All of you do. And the liberal press will certainly eat that up, not to mention all the cop-haters out there."

"I know. I've already been through all that with Garrett. I believe he used the words 'head-knocking, stewardess-banging, hard-drinking, mad dogs."

"That covers it pretty well. He must have made quite a mess on the floor."

"What do you mean?"

"Garrett — when his head exploded. But back to my issue. I can't help but wonder how Mary would feel about the book, having such intimate details of your relationship exposed for the world to read."

"Mary was a very private woman. She wouldn't like it. But Lenny did do Mary justice. He showed her to be the good woman she was."

"Who put up with a lot of crap from you, it seems. The woman deserved a medal."

"That she did. But Mary's not here now. And she knew what she was getting when she married me. She knew how unworthy of her I was. You on the other hand are just now finding all that out."

"Did you think the crap in that book would change my opinion of you?"

"I had that concern. Yes. And you've got to admit. You didn't want any part of me when you came back to bed last night. You made that clear when you turned your back to me. You've never done that before. We've always fallen asleep in each other's arms."

"Frank. It was late. I was tired. That's all."

"No. It was more than that, and we both know it."

"Okay, fine. I had just finished reading intimate details of you and your first wife. So, yes, it was difficult to come back to bed and be intimate with you. Yes, Frank, it bothered me to read all that. I already admitted that to you. What more do you want from me?"

Nicole stood, picked up her empty coffee cup. "I need more coffee."

When she started to leave the room, Frank grabbed her arm. "Nicole—"

"I'm just going to get more coffee, Frank. That's all."

Frank pulled her close, kissed her lips. "I love you, you know that."

"I do know that." She pulled away from him, turned and exited the room.

Frank turned to face the fireplace. Realizing the fire had dwindled, he poked at it while adding two more logs, then sat in one of the easy chairs and waited for Nicole's return.

Several minutes passed before she returned, carrying a plate of assorted pastries.

"I was suddenly starving. Want some?" She placed the plate on the corner of the coffee table as she sat on the end of the sofa next to Frank's chair.

"Back to Mary—"

Reaching for an apple danish, Frank interrupted her. "I don't want to talk about Mary, I want to talk about us."

"That's where I'm headed, Frank. I didn't marry the young cop in that book. Mary did. Obviously she saw past the hell raising badass you were at the time to see the great man you would become. The man you did become. The man I married. Nothing in that book changes who you are now, how I see you, and certainly not how I feel about you. I love you. Nothing anything Lenny Ross or anyone else pens in a book is going to change that."

"You're going to have to deal with a lot when the book comes out though," Frank said. "The press will hound you for your reaction, your friends probably will as well. It's going to be rough going for quite a while, for both of us. For all of the Reagan family, for that matter. Jamie will probably suffer the most. He'll take a lot of heat about his 'old man' in the locker room."

"And my agent will send Lenny a bottle of his favorite drink and a big box of chocolates with a thank-you note enclosed when my book sales skyrocket again. I can handle the press, and my friends, and any and all gossip. And Jamie's tough under that soft exterior. He'll be okay. And you will address the press and all the liberals who try to use the book to their advantage with the pride and dignity of the office you hold, just as you have always done. You will get through it, Frank. We will get through it together."

Frank leaned over and kissed her.

"So we're good? You and I?"

"Of course we are, Frank. We will always be good."

The End (Perfect Match II Series)

A/N — Thanks to all who have supported The Perfect Match Series by reading, following, favoriting, and most of all, reviewing. It's been fun.