by J. S. Scott
I definitely didn’t want to talk about that, so I replied, “I don’t need a relationship, Laura. I’m too busy. I still need to travel, and we have the future business to think about.”
She sighed. “I think you’d like a relationship, but you’re afraid. It’s funny that I really want one myself, but I’ve never met the right guy. And I really want to have kids. I’ve always wanted them.”
“Are you still thinking about using a sperm donor? Laura, you have time—”
“I’m just thinking about it and getting a consult,” she said, holding up her hand defensively. “But the more I consider it, the better it sounds.”
Maybe I wasn’t interested in finding a permanent guy, but I wanted Laura to have one. She deserved someone to cherish her and any children that she had. “Just wait a little longer. Maybe you’ll meet somebody.”
She snorted. “I’ve been saying that for years, and I’d like to still be young enough to have fun with my kids. But this isn’t about me right now, Brynn. It’s about you, and a guy who might really like you, somebody you could end up caring about.”
I rolled my eyes. “I barely know him.”
“But he gets to you.”
“He’s attractive. It’s lust, Laura. Who wouldn’t want to get Carter Lawson into their bed?”
I shuddered even thinking about the reaction that my body always had every time I was close to Carter.
Laura shrugged. “Then sleep with him and find out if he’s really a sexy stud.”
The problem was, I did want to explore the insatiable lust I felt every time I saw him, but something told me that Carter Lawson was different. He wouldn’t be a one-nighter. At least, not for me. I had a feeling he’d be hard to forget. And even though I didn’t want to admit it, the way he affected me made me uneasy.
There was something about him that I connected with, and it wasn’t just his hot body and ridiculously handsome face.
Sometimes, Carter looked…haunted during his occasional unguarded moments, and against my better judgment, I really wanted to know why.
Finally, I shook my head. “Forget it.” I wasn’t sure whether I was talking to myself or to my best friend. “I’m recovered, and my ankle is okay, so we probably won’t see each other much.”
Although I wouldn’t trust my injured leg with another jog right now, the swelling was pretty much gone, and I could walk without limping. Carter hadn’t shown up early this morning, so he obviously knew I could take care of myself now.
“I wouldn’t count on him not hanging around anymore. I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Laura answered.
“How does he look at me?”
She laughed. “Like a guy who’s desperate and determined to get what he wants. He’s not giving up, Brynn. Count on it.”
I frowned at Laura, hoping she was wrong. If Carter were to hang out at my place any longer, I’d find myself pretty tempted to take her advice and sleep with him just to see if the ache I experienced every single time he was near me would just go away.
Honestly, it was getting unbearable.
I’d never responded to a man the way I did to Carter.
He didn’t even have to touch me to make me want him with an intensity I’d never experienced before.
Because I didn’t want to think about Carter Lawson, I changed the subject. “How are things going at the store?”
Laura smiled. “Amazingly well. But we’re going to have to scale up production soon. We’re selling things almost as fast as we’re making them. It’s been really busy.”
Our costs were high because our production numbers were small with just one shop. It would reduce our costs to produce a higher quantity. “Then let’s do it. Now that we know what items are selling hot, we can up the amounts produced on those items.”
Laura leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “I really think you should think about producing your ideas for the handbags. They’re brilliant. You could do your own thing. They don’t have to be manufactured for our brand. You can make them your own.”
I’d worked on various designs for my purses, and I’d just shown Laura some of them before we’d sat down for coffee. “You don’t think they’d fly at the store?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea if they would or wouldn’t, and I’m very willing to try them there. But because your ideas are more specialized for travel, I think you should make your own brand for them.”
The more I worked on the designs, the more determined I was to make the perfect bag for a woman who travels. Having been the victim of more than one purse snatching while I was abroad, I really wanted to make the perfect line of travel bags. One that actually made sense.
“It was just an idea,” I explained. “And I need to work on more designs for the store.”
“I can handle that,” she said. “I’ll just run the stuff by you before I put them into production. I have more items than we can possibly produce right now, Brynn, and I keep piling them up every single day.”
I felt guilty about not contributing to our design portfolio as much as Laura did, but my friend was a natural at producing new ideas for clothing every day. Truthfully, I was so much better at handbag designing than I was at developing fashionable attire.
Was it possible that I really could eventually start my own line of purses?
“Maybe I should just step out of Perfect Harmony,” I considered. “This has always been your baby, and you started the store. I love the line, but it’s more yours than mine.”
It was possible that I’d gotten caught up in the idea and the excitement. And while I was perfectly capable of doing an adequate job at designing clothing, I wasn’t nearly as good at it as Laura.
She lifted an eyebrow. “Is that what you want? Truly, Brynn, I won’t be mad if you want to go in your own direction. But I won’t be able to pay you back your investment right now.”
I shook my head. “Don’t worry about that. Maybe I can just be an investor. I know a great startup company when I see it. And I know the company is going to thrive.”
I didn’t need the money I’d put into Perfect Harmony, and I honestly knew it was going to be enormous someday. The world needed a company that embraced body diversity, and a designer like Laura who could create styles that would flatter most women.
She nodded. “We’ll work it out. And I’d love to see you working on something that’s really your passion.”
“I’ll still help you out,” I vowed. “Carter offered to help me with marketing the brand, and giving advice on scaling up when you’re ready.”
Laura let out a low whistle. “What I wouldn’t give to have a marketing genius like him in my corner.”
“Then I’ll take him up on his offer.”
She beamed. “Thanks. I’m grateful for any input or ideas. Marketing isn’t my strong point.”
“I hope it won’t strain your finances if I drop out of the partnership,” I said sincerely. The last thing I wanted was to cause Laura stress.
“I’ll be fine,” she reassured me. “I have the funds, and I’ve been thinking about launching online. Now that I have the flagship store, maybe I could make everything more internet-based. I know what sells, and if I had the right marketing, I think I could make a go of it on the web.”
“That’s brilliant,” I said excitedly.
Laura and I both had an enormous following on social media, and she had a lot of friends who had big audiences.
“I’d have to do more research, but I really think this is a business that needs to be on the internet.”
“You know I’ll help you in any way I can,” I said softly. “It’s not like I’m going to dump the company altogether. I just think it really should be yours.”
“You know I’m going to hound you until you get your own brand going,” she warned.
I smiled. “I know.”<
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When my best friend wanted me to do something she thought would be good for me, she was tenacious. It was a trait that I both admired and hated.
“I’ll work on it,” I promised.
“You know, you could move back to Michigan. Now you really have no reason to stay in Seattle except me,” she said. “But I’m selfishly hoping you won’t go.”
“Not a chance,” I said adamantly. “I’ve come to love this city. Besides, you need me. I’ll still be an investor, and I have to convince Carter to help with a marketing plan.”
I didn’t mention that the last thing I wanted was to move back to my hometown. I’d used the excuse of needing to be in the city so Laura and I could launch our shop, but deep down inside, I realized that I couldn’t go back permanently. The memories would haunt me.
“Thank God,” she answered with a sigh. “I don’t know what I’d do if you were that far away.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I assured her. “But I am booking a trip to see my mom. She’s seeing someone, and I want to talk to her.”
“She has a man in her life?” she questioned. “I think that’s fantastic.”
“I don’t,” I replied flatly. “What if he’s not everything he seems to be?”
“What if he is?” she questioned. “What if he’s amazing, and he makes her happy?”
“Then I have to see it with my own eyes,” I told her.
“When are you going?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll book my flight this afternoon.”
“Don’t judge the poor guy because of your history,” she said in a soft, soothing voice. “I know you’re wary about men in general, but he could be the best thing that ever happened to your mom.”
It was hard not to let my past color my judgment. “I’ll try to be fair.”
“Is she still trying to get you to date more?”
I laughed. “When doesn’t she try to get me married off so I can provide her with grandchildren?”
“Never,” Laura said. “But I think she just wants you to be happy and finally heal.”
Laura had met my mother a couple of times over the years when I’d dragged her along for my holiday visits back home, and she’d experienced the pressure my parent could exert.
“I am happy,” I said. “I don’t need a man to complete me.”
“No,” she agreed. “But it would be nice to find that guy who makes you even happier than you are now.”
I contemplated Laura’s words as she got up and took her mug to the dishwasher.
Was there any man who could ever make me feel like my love for him was more important than my fear?
Sadly, I was pretty certain that the answer to that question would always be no.
And for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why that fact troubled me more now than it ever had in the past.
I’d always been happier alone.
Now, even though I knew I wasn’t capable of loving a man that much, the whole idea of spending my life solo was more than slightly depressing.
Brynn
“What in the hell am I doing!” I said to myself as I tossed the lipstick I’d been applying onto the vanity with disgust.
After not hearing from Carter the entire day, he’d finally called a half hour ago. Against my better judgment, I’d accepted his invitation to come see his penthouse.
I’d showered.
I’d fussed with my hair.
I’d put on a pretty sundress.
And on top of all that, I was putting on makeup like I was getting ready to do a cover shoot.
Enough! I don’t plan on being in Carter’s penthouse for more than ten minutes.
Even though I hated to admit it, I was nervous.
I’d been okay when I was physically incapacitated, but now that I was going to his place healthy, it was kind of nerve-racking.
Yeah, he’d asked me how I was getting around, and there had been concern in his voice, but after that, his low baritone had been full of sin, promised pleasure, and so many other things that made me edgy.
I’m going to thank him for what he did for me. That’s all.
I heard my doorbell ring as I was exiting my bedroom, and I knew exactly who it was.
Carter had to come get me since I couldn’t get to the penthouse without a card key.
I tried to shrug off the electric tingle that slithered up my spine in anticipation.
This is not a date. This is not a date.
The mantra was still playing over and over in my brain as I opened the door.
The second I saw him, I knew I was in trouble.
Although he looked good in anything, he was wearing a gray, custom suit with a gorgeous navy-blue tie that matched his eyes.
“Hi,” I said breathlessly.
“You look beautiful,” he rasped, his voice sounding scratchy, like he was unused to giving a compliment.
And yeah, I’d gotten used to accepting compliments, but there was something about the way he looked at me, like he wanted to devour me whole, that felt so much different than any other flattery I’d ever received before.
“Thanks,” I said automatically as I grabbed my purse, my heart thundering against my chest wall as I exited my condo and turned to lock the door.
I needed to stop acting like a giddy idiot.
This wasn’t a date.
I couldn’t ever be with a man like Carter Lawson.
The attraction between us was way too intense, but I had to learn to ignore it.
We were silent until we got to the private elevator. Once we stepped inside, I said, “I want to thank you for everything you did to help me while I couldn’t get around.”
“Did you really think I’d abandon you after I’d slammed you to the ground?” he asked, sounding slightly disappointed.
“I’m not sure what I expected,” I shared honestly. “But I guess I never expected you to be so…nice.”
He shrugged as he put the keycard in to make the elevator climb. “Guess I can’t blame you. I’m not exactly known for being considerate.”
He said the words like it was just a fact.
I leaned back and crossed my arms. “Why?”
“I’m a businessman, Brynn. And I’m good at what I do. That generally means I have to be ruthless.”
“Are you?”
“What?” he questioned.
“Are you ruthless?”
“When I have to be,” he countered.
For some reason, I didn’t think he was a jerk all the time. In fact, I’d experienced the more amiable side of him for the last several days, so I knew for a fact that he could be genuinely nice. “I think there’s a soft spot inside the cutthroat businessman,” I observed.
Generally, I would never get personal with a guy I’d only known for a short period of time, but there was something about Carter that made me want to figure him out.
He was an enigma. I knew he could be brutal in business, but I didn’t buy that it was anything more than a performance for him.
Carter was definitely used to getting his way, but he was still empathetic. Maybe he wasn’t very good at showing it sometimes, but I had a feeling he wasn’t completely narcissistic.
As usual, he looked composed, sophisticated, and completely in control.
He leaned back as we climbed to the penthouse, giving me a dangerous look. “Don’t count on finding something good inside me,” he drawled. “It doesn’t exist.”
“Everybody has a weakness,” I mused. “What’s yours? Your family?”
There had to be something that broke him down, something that made him more human.
The elevator bell dinged as we hit the top of the building.
“Right now, that weakness appears to be you,” he answered as the doors swung open, and he didn�
��t sound happy about it.
Honestly, I understood his reluctance to admit he had any vulnerability. I didn’t like having an Achilles’ heel either.
The elevator doors whooshed closed, leaving us in a small space that led to his penthouse.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked after he’d unlocked the door and we stepped inside.
“White wine if you have it,” I murmured distractedly as I surveyed his home.
The floor-to-ceiling windows made for a breathtaking view, and I walked to them without thinking about it. “You have an amazing vantage point here,” I told him as I gazed down at the sweeping views of the city lights. “And I thought my condo had fantastic views.”
I finally turned to find Carter at the bar, making drinks.
“Feel free to look around,” he offered.
“I’m pretty sure I might get lost,” I mumbled.
He looked up and shot me a grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll find you.”
Since he’d offered, I wandered into the kitchen, which was positively enormous. A chef’s kitchen that had me dumbfounded. What guy who didn’t cook needed one this damn big? The monstrous island was over the top.
“I thought you didn’t cook,” I called out to him.
“I don’t.”
“That’s a shame,” I said in a voice he couldn’t possibly hear as I continued my journey, discovering that he had a private gym that could put professional ones to shame, an indoor pool and spa, a media room, and a library I’d love to have—all on the first floor of his home.
I let out a sigh as I touched the leather spines on a beautiful set of Harvard Classics, and an Easton Press collection that made me envious.
Strangely, everything in the home was contemporary, a style I actually loved. But he seemed to have eclectic tastes when it came to reading. There was sci-fi next to the classics, and he seemed to have a lot of history books.
I strolled out of the library after I’d gotten over the fact that Carter apparently loved to read.
Moving back out to the open living space, I passed him as I moved up a spiral staircase to see the second floor.
