by Tina Martin
“Anyway, I’ll see you tonight, baby,” she told him.
“Okay. Meet me here at 6:30.”
“Will do. I love you.”
“Love you too, hun. Later.” Carter set the phone down and rubbed his face in anguish. He didn’t even like the thought of Shayla talking to another man. Albeit he knew Donovan and he was a pretty decent guy in college, he was still a man and he obviously had some interest in Shayla that went beyond their short work relationship.
Shayla immediately dialed Donovan’s number after hanging up with Carter.
“Hi, Shayla,” Donovan said, sitting alone at a restaurant in Tampa. He was still out of town for business.
“Hey, Donovan. How are you?”
“I was fine up until I received your voicemail this morning.”
“I know, and I’m sorry I had to leave that on your voicemail but I tried to call you a few times before and didn’t get an answer, so—”
“Why’d you quit?” he broke in. “You didn’t like the job?”
“Actually I loved the job, but I moved back to Charlotte.”
So you quit because of Carter. “That’s too bad. Everyone said you were fitting in very well.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Donovan sighed. Not only did he lose an employee, but he lost a good woman. He liked her. She reminded him a great deal of his wife. Why was she wasting her time with a man like Carter? “So did you move back because of him? The man you told me about? The one who had you crying every night in the parking lot?”
Crying every night. How did he know she’d cried every night? Was he following her every single night, or had he made an assumption? Shayla grinned. “Gee…you make it sound so awful, but yes, I moved back for him.”
Donovan sighed. “You’re one of the good ones, Shayla,” he said remembering the night they spent together at Virginia Beach. “You deserve a man that’ll treat you with respect and dignity, not someone who’ll hurt you and play games with your heart. Remember that.”
Shayla smiled awkwardly. “Okay. I will.”
“All right, well I’m going to get back to work. If you ever want to come back to Zenadel, just call me. I’ll see to it that you’re hired.”
“Thanks, Donovan. That’s really nice of you. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And if you’re ever in Charlotte, call me. I can introduce you to Carter and maybe we can all have lunch together or something.”
Introduce you to Carter. He wanted to tell her that he already knew Carter – knew him better than she did. “That sounds good, Shayla. In the meantime, take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
“All right. Later.” Donovan looked at his phone. He’d still had Shayla’s name programmed in it, even though Carter told him to get rid of her contact information. But he wasn’t ready to delete her number just yet.
Chapter 14
“This is a beautiful place,” Shayla said, as she stepped in Bentley’s on 27, looking around, admiring the art glass collection of varying colors – lime green, blues and oranges. Tall ivory-white pillar candles stood by the fireplace, while golden chandeliers dangled over a few dining room tables. But even more exquisite was the extraordinary view from the twenty-seventh floor of Charlotte Plaza building. And while Shayla stood next to the table, staring out the windows taking all of this in, she remembered how just months ago, instead of having dinner in a ritzy place like this, she was begging for spare change in the streets below. “This place looks expensive, Carter.”
Carter pulled out her chair, watched her sit, kissed her cheek then sat adjacent to her. “It’s not that bad.”
Shayla smiled briefly, turning her attention to the view again.
“You look beautiful,” he commented, looking upon her adoringly and stroking her hair.
She was dressed very elegantly, her curly hair flowing nicely over her shoulders. She wore a white halter-top blouse and black slacks with a pair of black flats.
“Thanks.”
“So what did you do with the rest of the day? Did you call Donovan back?”
Shayla frowned. She was almost certain she hadn’t told Carter the name of her boss. There was no reason for her to. So how did Donovan’s name roll off of his tongue so easily?
“Shayla?” Carter said, when he noticed she went mute on him.
“Oh, yeah. I called him.”
“And?”
“Um…he was upset and rightly so—”
“He’ll get over it,” Carter said nonchalantly, interrupting her thoughts.
Shayla squinted at him, trying to recall a time when she’d mentioned the name of her boss to him. She couldn’t find one. She scratched her temple and stared at him.
Carter sat quietly staring at her, thinking about his life before her. He thought about the emptiness of it, of living for himself without a connection or concern for anyone else. Now he had a connection and there was no way he would lose her again. And he wasn’t about to spend a romantic dinner with his lady talking about Donovan.
“Shayla,” he said soft-spokenly.
“Yeah?”
“Can you see yourself with me?”
Shayla smiled and blushed at the same time.
“Why are you smiling?” Carter asked, but before Shayla could respond, the waitress approached the table.
“Good evening folks,” the waitress said with a cheerful smile, interfering with the flow of their conversation.
“Good evening,” Carter said, sending an inquisitive glance Shayla’s way as if trying to read her thoughts.
“Here are your menus,” the waitress continued. “While you look them over, can I start you off with something to drink?”
“Yeah. Bring us a bottle of Rosé,” Carter said without even having to check the wine list.
“I’ll get that right out to ya,” the waitress said then walked off.
“So I get to drink alcohol tonight?” Shayla grinned.
“Just a smidgen.” Carter interlocked his fingers, briefly looked out the windows and at the buildings that made up the Uptown area and asked, “So…can you see yourself with me?”
“You mean like this…like we’re together now or—”
“I mean forever,” Carter said with conviction.
“Can you see yourself with me, forever?” Shayla tossed back.
“Why do you do that?”
“What?”
“I asked you a question but you deflect it back to me.”
The waitress brought over the bottle of Rosé and two champagne glasses. She poured some from the bottle for the both of them, then asked if they were ready to order.
Carter gestured to Shayla to order first, but her eyes were glued to the menu. “Shayla, you ready to order, hun?”
“Um…not yet,” she said, more interested in the prices than the actual entrees.
“Okay, well, I’ll have the filet and lobster tail,” Carter told the waitress. “And I want the steak cooked medium-rare.”
“And for you ma’am.” The waitress looked at Shayla. “Or do you need a few more minutes…”
“Um…hmm,” Shayla crooned. “Sorry. This is my first time here.”
“That’s fine. Do you need me to come back?”
“No. I’ll try the filet and scampi,” she said nervously, choosing the first dish that caught her eye.
“And how would you like your steak cooked?”
“Medium-well, please.”
“Okay,” the waitress said. She collected their menus and walked off.
Shayla’s eyes met Carter’s. For a split second, she wondered why he was staring at her so acutely. Then she remembered he’d ask her a question. “Carter, the reason I deflected the question back to you is because I wanted to know how you felt about me before I answered your question.”
“But you know how I feel about you. Besides, if I’m the one asking you if you can see yourself with me, then nine times out of ten, you know I wanna b
e with you. So instead of answering my question, why did you turn around and ask me the exact same question?”
Shayla shook her head. “It’s complicated.”
“Try me.” Carter took a long swig of champagne, analyzing her.
“Okay…um…I’ll try to explain this the best way I can. Um…when you look at me, I feel like you’re looking at the homeless woman you found…not at how I’ve changed since then. So for you to ask me if I can see myself spending the rest of my life with you…um…it just seems like a question only you can answer, Carter. I’ll be in your life if you want me to be in your life.”
Carter frowned. Now he was getting irritated. “What are you talking about?”
“I just think you hold all the cards in this relationship, Carter. I mean, you’re the one with everything so our relationship is lopsided.”
“Our love isn’t lopsided, is it?”
Shayla shook her head. “No. I think you love me just as much as I love you.”
“You think, or do you know?” he asked her.
“I know.”
“So I’m not the one with everything then, right? You have my heart. I don’t own it. You do.”
Shayla smiled.
“And, sweetheart, when we’re married, everything that’s mine is yours. I mean, it already is, baby, but if you want to get technical then…”
Did he just mention marriage, again? Carter Williams? The man who once told her love wasn’t for everyone? That it complicated things? She smiled when he said it, felt a joyful beat in her heart at the thought of being his wife. Even if he didn’t mean it, even if he was just tossing up marriage in the air because he thought it was something she wanted to hear, she didn’t care. She was already happy. Marriage would just be the icing on the cake.
* * *
The two talked more while they ate, about random things. He wanted to know if she liked living in Charlotte and if she was comfortable with the size of their home. She tossed out a few jokes about his middle name, wanted to know if he was happy with his career and how things were working out with Jacqueline in his life again.
Later after they were nearing the end of their entrees, Carter took a napkin, wiped his hands and mouth then said, “I see you’re slowing down. How was it?”
“It was delicious. I just can’t eat anymore.” Shayla took a sip of champagne. “You look very handsome tonight, by the way.”
“Thank you, sweetie,” Carter told her.
“You seem very relaxed and happy.”
“I am. I’m here with the woman I love, just had a good dinner…life is good.” Carter took her left hand into his. “You know I’d do anything for you, don’t you?”
Shayla nodded, her hand trembling in his.
“I don’t think you do,” Carter told her. “You don’t know how much I love you, how much I appreciate you. But you will know. You’ll have a lifetime to know.” Carter pushed away from the table, then kneeled in front of her.
Shayla felt a tingle run up her spine.
“Shayla, sweetheart, you mean the world to me and when I didn’t have you, I was miserable and unhappy and angry. And when you came back to me, all the sadness went away. And now,” Carter said with tears in his eyes, “I’m on my knees, asking for you hand in marriage.”
Shayla’s eyes bubbled with tears. Her heart was beating so fast, she could hardly think straight.
“Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Tears streamed from her eyes as she stared at Carter holding an opened, black velvet box with a huge, four-carat, princess-cut, diamond ring there, awaiting placement on her finger. She saw his lips moving, but still in a state of shock, she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Everything sounded muffled, like her ears were plugged and for some reason her body seemed numb.
“I hope those are happy tears,” he told her.
Shayla gasped for air. “I can’t breathe.”
“Shayla?” Carter said, concerned. “Baby, relax. Look at me.”
Shayla did as he asked while pacing her breathing, squeezing more tears from her eyes.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” she cried. She wiped her eyes so she could see him clearly.
“Shayla, are you okay?” Carter inquired again.
She nodded while continuously wiping her eyes.
When he noticed she’d regained some of her composure, he asked, “Will you marry me?” sending a peck to the backside of her hand.
“Yes,” Shayla said tearfully. She wrapped her arms tight around him. The patrons sitting closest to them admired the beautiful moment between the couple. And Carter, with watery eyes, was happy and ready to start his new life.
Chapter 15
The plane effortlessly descended at Honolulu International Airport as the pilot’s monotone, robotic-like voice filled the cabin, telling passengers that the temperature was a perfect eighty degrees and how he wished everyone would enjoy their stay in Hawaii.
Sitting comfortably in first-class, Shayla stared out the window, reliving Carter’s proposal. Her stomach was filled with butterflies, a feeling akin to stage fright, and as she took slow, deep breaths she could sense Carter looking at her.
“You nervous?” he asked, clenching her right hand.
Shayla squeezed his hand as tightly as she hugged him a few nights ago when he popped the question. He didn’t tell her at the time that he had already bought plane tickets to Hawaii, the place where they would tie the knot and permanently establish a lifelong commitment to each other. He was that confident she would say yes.
“Shay,” Carter said to get her attention.
“Yeah?” she asked, using her thumb to twirl her new diamond ring.
“You nervous, baby?” he asked again.
“I’m a little nervous, but I’m glad we made it…in one piece,” she said, then giggled.
“Actually, I wasn’t talking about the flight…I was talking about the wedding.”
“Oh,” Shayla said. “Well, I’m a little nervous about that, too.” Why was she nervous? She was marrying the man she wanted. But lingering in the back of her mind was Jacob.
“Just think, we’re gonna be married in a few hours.”
“Yeah,” Shayla said idly as she thought briefly about Jacob, but trying to disguise her feelings with a plastered smile. Why was she thinking about Jacob when she was so happy with Carter? Was this marriage happening too fast? Was she going with the flow?
Carter studied her for a moment. “Hmm…you act like you don’t want to be Mrs. Carter Williams.”
“I do.” She looked adoringly upon him. “I just want to be sure you’re sure.”
“Of course I am. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, baby.”
Shayla smiled while a Caucasian couple sitting next to them looked on.
“Are you guys getting married, too?” the woman inquired.
“Yes,” Shayla told her.
“So are we,” she screeched, beaming like a normal soon-to-be-bride would. “I’m Kaitlin and this is my fiancé, Russell.”
“Nice to meet you guys. I’m Shayla, and this is my fiancé, Carter.”
“Nice to meet you,” Carter told them.
“Where are you guys staying?” Russell asked, looking at Carter.
“We’re at the Hawaii Prince,” Carter told him.
“So are we,” Kaitlin said with a burst of enthusiasm. “Are you getting married today or tomorrow?”
“Today,” Shayla said, clenching Carter’s hand.
“That’s awesome,” Kaitlin replied. “Well, if we run into each other, you guys mind hooking up for dinner or something?”
“That sounds nice,” Shayla said.
By that time, the plane had stopped at the gate and the seat belt lights went off. Carter grabbed the carry-on bags from the overhead compartment and Shayla followed him off the plane, smiling at a flight attendant on the way out.
“So we need to get the luggage and the rental, right?” Shayla asked
Carter.
“Yep. Let’s go grab the bags first.”
Shayla followed Carter to baggage claim. After waiting for about twenty minutes, they took their luggage from the carousel then headed for the car rental section.
Carter rushed off to get the car while Shayla waited outside with the bags.
Moments later, he drove up in a Dodge Charger, a black one. He jumped out, telling Shayla how much he liked the car, and how he might get one when they were back home.
He opened the passenger door for her, placed the suitcases in the trunk, then followed the directions to the hotel, by way of Nimitz Highway to Ala Moana Boulevard.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Carter grabbed and held her left hand with his right as they drove up to the hotel.
“It’s amazing,” Shayla said in astonishment. Besides Virginia, she’d never been anywhere outside of North Carolina so it was truly an amazing experience to see the beauty of this place.
Carter came to a stop in front of the hotel, near the entrance. The bellhop took their bags, then valet drove off with the car. Two beautiful Hawaiian women with long, curly black hair and blemish-free, perfectly-tanned skin greeted them with oshibori towels.
“Aloha,” they said, both wearing peach and red flower leis around their necks.
“Aloha,” Shayla and Carter replied in unison.
They proceeded on to guest services to check in. Shayla watched as Carter whipped out his credit card, reading his every move, his expressions. He was happy and excited. He was ready to get married. But was she?
He handed Shayla a keycard, then they walked hand-in-hand to the elevator, following the bellhop, riding up to the thirty-third floor, the royal suite.
Shayla stood still, staring at the closed elevator doors, unclenching Carter’s hand.
Carter frowned when he felt her pull away. Sure, she was physically standing next to him, but not mentally. She was some place else and he had an idea where. This feeling of uncertainty, on her end, had him frustrated. He was sure of what he wanted but she was hesitant.
When the elevator doors slid open, they took a few steps to the suite. Carter slid his keycard in the slot and quickly pulled it out, opening the door.
