Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
We’d had a lazy day just as Carter suggested. He’d arranged at-home massages for us, which I didn’t realize I needed so terribly until I was a sated bag of bones afterward. There was a quick group FaceTime call after with Chloe and Will, long enough for them to show us their luxury hotel room right on the water before bidding us adieu until their elopement party once they were back. Then, Carter had made us a ridiculous snack board from all the random things in his pantry, from Zebra cakes and popcorn to aged cheddar cheese and garlic olives.
We’d laid in the sun, watching the boats drift by in the canal behind his house. I’d taken a nap while Carter played video games. When I woke up, we went for a long, slow walk with Zamboni, throwing a Frisbee at the park until he ran out all his energy. And now, the evening was winding down, the sun set, our bellies full of the Mexican food we’d had delivered — along with cookies from Bake’n Babes — and I was as happy as a royal pet as we did our own separate things, quietly, together.
“I’m glad we did this.”
Carter’s voice shook me out of my jewelry-making meditation, his hand squeezing my ankle in his lap. It was too intimate, the way I let him hold me like that, and yet I was powerless to fight against it tonight.
Because I was glad, too.
I was glad to not be alone. I was glad to feel so cozy and warm inside his little house on the water. I was glad to have my feet in his lap and his dog’s head in mine.
I’d never had it like this with a man. I’d never let them get close enough to even try.
I smiled, eyes still on the delicate chain and stones in my hand. “It wasn’t a terrible day.”
“Whoa, easy there. I might think you actually like spending time with me.”
I snorted, setting another bead on the chain. “Don’t push your luck. But, speaking of people I actually do like spending time with, how was your day with Ava the other day? I have her tomorrow, and I’m thinking manis and pedis are in order.”
“You know she’ll love that. As long as you let her get hockey pucks painted on her nails, anyway,” Carter said.
Will and Chloe were on their elopement trip, and as a group, we’d convinced them to leave Ava here with us. We knew how much they loved her and wanted her to be a part of their union, but we also knew the two of them needed some alone time to celebrate first. So, as a team, we’d planned to make sure Ava was cared for in their absence.
“My day with her was pretty low key. She wanted to get on the ice and practice, so I took her to the rink out in Wesley Chapel.”
“Isn’t that against the rules of the league? You’re not supposed to practice right now, are you?”
“It wasn’t me who was practicing. Besides, no one has to know — least of all Coach, who would probably pull me off the ice by the ear if he found out.”
I chuckled. “Well, I’m sure she had fun, but I bet she’s bouncing off the walls waiting for Chloe and Will to get home.”
Carter snorted. “Or praying they don’t. Mia Love has been her nanny all week and she’s had the rest of us to entertain her twenty-four-seven — pretty sure that kid’s living her best life.”
“True. She’s probably hoping her parents extend their trip another month.”
Carter’s grin softened. “She really is a good kid, though. If I ever had one, I’d want one just like her.”
The comment startled me. My eyes flicked up, but Carter was watching the screen again now, like the statement was a flippant one, and not the kind that sank my stomach to the floor like an anchor.
“Do you…want kids?” I asked carefully.
I couldn’t understand the feeling that swirled through me when I asked, the way my chest tightened and my fingers stilled where I was working on the bracelet.
But before I could digest any of it, Carter let out a short laugh — one of half amusement, half disbelief. “Me? God, no. I mean…” He rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head as a bigger laugh tumbled out. “I can barely keep this one alive.” He roughly scrubbed Zamboni’s head then, who peeked one eye open before letting out a huff and closing it again. “I still forget to do laundry until I’m out of socks,” Carter continued. “I feel like a kid myself most days. And I’m in therapy, still trying to figure my own shit out.” He waved a hand over me. “Case in point, our little arrangement. The idea of being responsible for another human, of possibly causing the trauma that they have to go to therapy for one day? That’s terrifying.”