“I need to speak with you,” he said, smothering a smile.
She nodded, tightly tying the belt of her robe. “My office is a good place.” She stopped in front of her mother, who was staring at him with open interest. “Mamá, this is him. This is Carter.”
“Carter,” Carmina said, studying his face. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“You, too, Mrs. Gordon.”
“And this is Cherri, my other best friend. And this is Maggie. She works here.”
“Nice to meet you both.” He nodded at them and then turned his gaze to Belinda.
“My office is just down the hall.”
He followed her, trying not to look at her bottom as she walked. But it was hard. He knew what she was wearing underneath and he liked the way it wiggled as she went.
“Stop staring at my ass,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Not going to happen.”
They entered her office. He closed the door behind them and then pushed her against it. Her eyes went wide again, but he ignored the surprised look on her face as he undid her robe.
“No need to cover up for me, Bell.” He pressed his lips to her throat. “You know I’ve seen it all before.”
“Carter,” she groaned, but she didn’t push him away as he slid his lips along her skin.
“This thing has to come off,” he said as he went for the hooks on her bustier.
“Do you know how long it took for me to get this thing on?”
“Don’t care. I want it off.” He kept undoing the tiny hooks, revealing her skin inch by inch. She never attempted to stop him; just looked at him with a slight frown.
“My mother is out there. And my best friend and her baby. And one of my employees. They’ve probably got their ears pressed against the door.”
He grinned, kissing down the seam of her throat, while his fingers worked to undress her. “That’s probably why you should stop talking and let me do this.”
He finally reached the last hook of the bustier, freeing her of the confining thing. All she was left in was her silky robe, garters, and those little black lace panties. But as much as her body drove him to distraction, it was her face he couldn’t stop staring at. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. He could see it in her eyes. She never could hide it. It was one of the reasons he fell for her in the first place.
“You’re the only man who has ever looked at me like that,” she said in wonder.
He pressed his face closer to hers, close enough so that his lips brushed hers. “Like what, Bell?”
“Like you…”
“Like I?” She didn’t have to say it. He already knew, even if she couldn’t find the words. He looked at her like she was perfect for him, like he loved her. He had tried to convince himself long ago that his feelings had died, that she was just some woman who had passed through his life, but apparently he was wrong.
Just being around her again, he was feeling that same pull he’d felt four years ago.
“Never mind.” She shook her head, then closed the distance between their mouths and kissed him.
“Why were you wearing that thing? It left marks.” He ran his hands over her torso, his thumbs soothing her slightly inflamed skin. “You don’t need to wear a bustier. You’re sexy enough as it is.” The backs of his fingers brushed the undersides of her breasts, her nipples tightening in response.
“That feels good.” She swallowed as her eyes drifted shut. “Someone made it for me. Unfortunately the designer underestimated my girth. Lucky for me, the guy I married prefers his girls a little chubby.”
“Hmm? Chubby?” He shook his head. “Chubby is not sexy. You’re not thin but you are curvy and warm and you feel good. You’re the way a woman should feel.”
He cupped her breasts, pressing a kiss to each of them. She moaned. “Why are you here today?”
“I just came to say hi. Wanted to see if I could feel you up a little before my next meeting.”
“Hi,” she said back, smiling with pleasure. “I wish you would have called to let me know this. I would have planned my day a little better.”
“You would have avoided me.”
“I totally would have.” She cupped his jaw in her hands and brought his face to hers. She kissed him that time and he was happy to let her take charge of it. He had been turned on the moment he saw her walk out of the dressing room, but her kiss brought him over the edge. He closed the small gap between them, bringing her naked chest against him and deepening their kiss. He cupped her thigh in his hand, bringing her leg around his hip.
This wasn’t enough for him. He needed more from her. He needed to feel closer. But then he remembered where they were, and why he was here.
To talk about ending their marriage.
But he was never going to get enough of her. Never. There was no putting her out of his mind, no calming of their extreme magnetism.
She broke the kiss, returning to sanity before he did, and rested her head on his chest. They stood together for a long time, just holding on to each other, their breathing unsteady. This kept happening. Every time they were alone together things spiraled out of control. And as miserable as she had made him he didn’t want to give her up, give up the way she made him feel.
She felt like home to him. And there was no way he could just give his home up.
“I’m going to have to order a shit ton of those bustiers for the store. If they turn you on that much, imagine what they’ll do to regular men.”
“It’s not the bustier. It’s you in the bustier. Put on a garbage bag and I’ll come after you the same way.” He kissed her lips once more. “Be glad your mother is out there or this meeting would have ended differently.”
“I wish it had. I’m going to be uncomfortable for the rest of the day now,” she complained.
He raised a brow at her. “You’re going to be uncomfortable?” He took her hand and placed it on his pants where he throbbed painfully. “How the hell am I going to hide this?”
She gave him a bashful grin and pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him. “My poor baby. I wish I could fix it for you.”
“You can,” he said seriously. “You can come home with me right now.”
She blinked at him, and he could see the thoughts on her face. She wanted to, but something was holding her back. “You’re supposed to be divorcing me.”
“I’m also supposed to floss twice a day but that’s not happening right now, either.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you’re gorgeous and before I die I’m going to get you in a bed and make love to you until one of us can’t see straight.”
“You sound so sure of yourself,” she said softly.
“I’m not, but I’m sure I haven’t got you out of my system.” He kissed her once again and forced himself away from her. “This isn’t over.”
It would be easy to send the papers, but he was fooling himself to think it would all be over once she signed them. The thoughts wouldn’t stop, the feelings wouldn’t die.
He knew it couldn’t end them. Not yet. There was still hope.
CHAPTER 12
Baby on board …
“Knock knock.”
Belinda looked up from the catalog of classes she was studying to see Ellis standing just inside her office door.
“Hey, Ellie. You’ve finally unchained yourself from your needle and thread?”
“Yeah.” She walked in and plopped herself on Belinda’s couch. “Come sit next to me. I need to talk to you.”
Belinda studied Ellis’s face for a moment. She looked as weary as Belinda felt. She was pale, and her face was a little puffy. Ellis had been working nonstop for the past year. Brides were now on waiting lists for one of her dresses. Belinda sometimes worried about her friend, but Ellis seemed to love every minute of it. She was happier than Belinda had ever seen her.
“Are you okay, Ellie?” Belinda reached out and touched her forehead
. “You look kind of sick.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I told Mike that I wanted to hire a full-time seamstress to help. That part-time work I’ve been hiring out isn’t enough to cut it. We are going to need another full-time employee. Mike says we have enough to hire her but he wanted to make sure it’s okay with you before we start the search.”
“Of course it’s fine, Ellis. If you need somebody, you get them. You don’t need to ask me.”
“I do. We’re partners, dummy.”
“I thought Size Me Up Bridal was separate from the clothing store. That business belongs to you and Mike.”
“Nope. You own forty percent of that, too. So you really can’t go running off.”
“But, Ellis,” she said seriously. “What if I need to?”
“I heard Carter was here this morning. I also heard that you were wearing only lingerie that Alexander sent you. I’m not sure if I like that one of our suppliers is sending you panties, but if it gets us a discount, let him. Maggie told me his dresses flew off the racks today.” She shook herself. “What were we talking about?”
“Carter. He showed up here, undressed me, felt me up, and warned me that we weren’t finished yet.”
“He undressed you?”
“Yes. I really think we’re going to have to get Alexander to make some lingerie for us. I have never seen that man more determined to get me out of something before.”
“Start with a dozen and then we’ll go from there. PS—What the hell goes on around when I’m not here? Do you have sex with him?”
“Not today, but I’ve slept with him once already. And what I didn’t tell you is that last week when my tire blew, Carter was the one who found me and he stayed with me until the tow truck came, and we fooled around like horny teenagers on spring break. When we are near each other we just lose our damn minds.”
“Is that such a bad thing? He came here, Belinda. He could have gone anywhere else in the world but he came here where he knows you have strong ties. And he hasn’t divorced you yet. If he didn’t want you he wouldn’t be here. Maybe you should think about getting back together with him.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It won’t work. Sex is the only thing we do well together. We are from two different worlds.”
“Are you? It doesn’t seem so to me. He’s here. He put his daughter in school here. He gave up a higher-paying job to be here. He’s in your world now. Or at least he’s trying to be. I know you. I know when things get overwhelming you want to run, but going away is not going to solve your problems.”
“I just need space away from him to think, and as long as I’m here I can’t do that. This town is too small.”
“Well, how much time do you need to think? A week? A month? Belinda, I’m going to need you more than ever this year.”
“What’s the matter?” She looked into Ellis’s eyes. “What happened?”
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.
“What?” Belinda wasn’t sure why she was shocked. Ellis was a married woman. Her husband couldn’t keep his hands off her. She just hadn’t expected Ellis to actually venture into motherhood so soon.
“I know. This is a crazy time. We’re so busy here and we’re renovating our house. And there’s the small fact that I told my husband that I never, ever wanted to have kids. And now I’m pregnant. And I’m scared shitless.”
“Mike doesn’t know you’re pregnant?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Don’t tell him. I just found out myself the other day. I kind of planned this without running it by him.”
“Ellis! Are you fucking crazy?”
“Shh! And yes, I am. But I know Mikey wants to be a father. I can tell by the way he looks at Colin and Cherri’s boy. It’ll make him happy.”
“So why didn’t you just tell him you were ready?”
“Because he has given so much up for me. He quit his job. He borrowed an obscene amount of money from his father to buy this building for me. He loves me more than I deserve and I want to do this just for him. I want to give him a little piece of him.” She shook her head. “Does that make sense?”
“Yes.” She nodded, her heart feeling heavy. She knew what it felt like to love somebody so much that she wanted to give up a piece of herself for him. “I know you want to make your husband happy, but are you sure this is what you want?”
She nodded, and suddenly her eyes went teary. “I want to be a mommy. I want to have his baby.”
“Okay then.” Belinda nodded. “I’m here for you. I’m happy for you.”
CHAPTER 13
It’s a hard-knock life …
“Ruby, let’s go!” Carter barked at his daughter for the tenth time that morning. He had finally slept the entire night through after weeks of hardly sleeping at all, but he woke up an hour late, which meant Ruby woke up an hour late and he had to get her to school. He had a meeting in the city with one of his parents’ oldest friends. At first he didn’t want to take it. He wanted to leave that world behind him, but designing a house for Mr. James Westmore was a big project for Steven and his little firm. It was a good way to grow their business, and if he was going to make it on time he needed to be on the road in twenty minutes.
“Ruby, let’s go.” She was dragging her feet this morning. He swore he had never seen her move slower. It was hard to get her going in the morning; he often wondered how other single parents managed. The thought of hiring help crossed his mind again but he disregarded it. He was going to raise his daughter. He refused to be like his parents who had never taken him to school or put him to bed. He was going to spend time with his kid even if that meant he had to bark at her sometimes. “Put on your shoes.”
“But, Daddy—”
“Shoes!” He walked away from her, snatching her book bag off the counter. “Where is your homework folder? I told you a million times to put it back in your book bag after you’re finished with it. We have to go on a mad hunt for it every morning, which all could be avoided if you would put it back when you’re done with it.” He tossed a bottle of water and a banana that was starting to turn brown in her backpack for snack and made a mental note to stop by the store on his way home from work today. “You manage to wake me up at six o’clock on a Saturday morning but when it’s time to go to school you sleep the sleep of the dead.”
He found her folder, grabbed the sweater Belinda gave her, and turned back to her—only to see her standing there in the same spot he had left her.
“Is there a reason you aren’t moving?” She only had one shoe on. A brush had not visited her hair that morning and she had toothpaste smeared on her face, but he couldn’t waste any more time. “You know what? I don’t care why you’re not moving. You’re going to move now.” He scooped her up, grabbed her missing shoe and her backpack, and headed out the door. Her school was ten minutes away and she was already late for it. He hated being late and Ruby hated being rushed.
He didn’t say another word to her as he placed her in the backseat. When he went to strap her in she blocked his hand and grabbed the seat belt. “I can do it by myself.”
She was pissed at him and he was irritated with her but that was the way of parents and children sometimes. He watched her buckle herself in, silently willing her to move faster, and then got in the car and peeled out of the driveway. They were really late for school. There wasn’t a single school bus in sight, not a parent milling around. He pulled into the fire lane.
Shit. He would have to sign her in now, which would take another five minutes. He was kicking himself for not setting an alarm, but he’d never needed one before. He would have to make sure he set one from now on.
He threw his car into park and rushed around the back. She still had one shoe on, her face was twisted in anger, and she looked an absolute mess. His irritation melted away. She was a five-year-old, doing what five-year-olds did. “Come on, babe. You’re late.”
She unbuckled herself, shoved her foot in her shoe, and got out of t
he car without his assistance. He didn’t even try to hold her hand as they walked the few steps to the front door. The secretary greeted him with a knowing grin and handed him the late-arrival clipboard.
“Thank you. We woke up a little late this morning.”
“It happens to the best of us.”
He liked this school. He liked the people here. It was so different from Ruby’s former private school. Everyone was so much kinder here. He turned to his daughter, seeing that her arms were folded across her chest and that she still had that mulish expression on her face. He bent before her, smoothing his hands over her wild hair and scraping the toothpaste off her cheek. He kissed her forehead and then both her cheeks. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”
“You didn’t give me breakfast,” she said, her voice full of hurt.
“Oh, baby, I—”
“I don’t want it now! My tummy hurts.” She walked away from him and stomped down the hallway to her classroom.
“I can get her some cereal,” the secretary said behind him. “I know you’re running late. Don’t worry about her. We’ll take care of her.”
“Thank you.” He got to his feet. Guilt was kicking the shit out of him. He was tempted to cancel his meeting, pull her out of school, and make it up to her, but he couldn’t do that. He was just going to have to do better by her tomorrow.
Carter made his meeting on time, but the whole drive down to the Upper West Side he kept thinking about Ruby. He tried not to. He knew she would be fine at school but she stayed with him. He could see her little angry face in his mind. He could still feel her hurt, but he pushed that all aside when he arrived at his meeting. Mr. Westmore was a close friend of his parents and he wanted Carter to design the weekend home he wanted to build on top of Forster’s Ridge, right on the outskirts of Durant. When he walked in, he thought that Westmore was going to be a difficult picky client, like the ones he was so used to dealing with in San Francisco. He wasn’t. He made no demands. All he required was that Carter meet him at his main residence so he could get a feel for his family’s personal tastes.
“I think I have a good idea of what you and your family would like.” Carter packed his briefcase after spending two hours in the comfortable but upscale home. “I’ve never designed a log cabin, especially one of this size, but I think we can do some amazing things. I’ll call you at the end of the week so we can review the first set of plans.”
Gentlemen Prefer Curves: A Perfect Fit Novel Page 15
