"What have you done?" I start again.
He places a finger over my lips, and I nearly crumble under his touch. "Shhh. There is so much I want to say, to explain, but I had to find a way to get you alone—this was the best way I could think of."
"Why not just come to me at the shop?"
"I tried to reach out, but knew it would take a grand gesture. Even the chocolate I sent didn't sway you," he teases, and I can't help but smile.
"God, I've missed your smile." He brushes his cheek along mine.
"It's not that I didn't want to see you. I needed time. You really hurt me, Carter." I step back from him.
"And now?" He urges me to continue.
"I don't know," I answer honestly.
"While you're deciding, will you have dinner with me?" He seems nervous. Good to know I'm not the only one whose emotions are all over the place.
"Dinner," I confirm, already knowing I'm saying yes to so much more.
Following him out to the balcony, I gasp. The table is covered with a white cloth and overflowing with candles and flowers. The smell of the food coming from the silver service cart is mouthwatering.
"I hope you like the local fair. I took the liberty of ordering a variety of things. I wasn't sure what you’d like," Carter says as he pulls out my chair.
"I'm sure it'll be great."
"What's your favorite food? Besides chocolate," he asks, and it’s such a normal question for a conversation that's about to get heavy.
"Mac and cheese," I confess, smiling. "How about you?"
"Grilled steak and potatoes." He smiles back.
"Such a manly meal," I mock.
"For a manly man," he jokes.
Placing my napkin in my lap, I look out over the water at the cotton candy sky as he pours the wine.
"The view is so beautiful," I sigh.
"Yes, it is." I glance over to find his eyes on me, and I'm unable to hide the blush that stains my cheeks.
I mentally remind myself we have a lot that needs to be said before I go fainting in his arms. Enough small talk. "This is why I had to keep my distance. I can't think clearly around you," I speak freely.
"Mila, it's the same for me. Don't you see? I can't think clearly when I'm with you, but when I'm not with you, I can't think about anything else at all." His words chink away at the armor around my heart.
"I want to believe you, but I need the truth. No more secrets," I explain, hoping he can trust me.
Chapter 20
Carter
Taking a drink, I offer her an explanation. "I'll start at the beginning."
We enjoy our meal as I fill her in on how I came to be involved with AJ, or Amber, as she knows her.
"She was a spoiled party girl, I was an overindulgent playboy, and our dads were old college friends who both wanted someone to take over their empires someday…as if either of them would ever retire," I scoff.
"Amber’s father never had a son, so they always teased us about a merger of sorts, where we would be married, and I would run my father’s law firm and act as CEO of her father's media business."
She remains silent, nodding, encouraging me to go on.
"We never really got along—too much alike, maybe, in those days. But one year at a holiday party, we hooked up, and it kind of continued off and on. I never had feelings for her, but somewhere along the way she started to have feelings for me and got this idea in her head that we would do what our parents always joked about.
"We both went on with our wild ways, doing our own thing, yet she always figured we’d settle down together. Once I realized that, I completely cut off contact with her."
"Wow," Mila says softly.
"Yeah, but there's more. She became angry, and eventually, she moved to LA to try to be an actress and started sleeping around with whoever would offer her a part. She ended up getting mixed up with this Hollywood bigwig and got hooked on drugs. After a while, he grew bored with her, and she tried to trap him by claiming she was pregnant. Turned out, he wanted nothing to do with her or the baby, and he sent her away."
Her shocked expression causes me to pause, but I push through, knowing I need to get it all out.
"She came home and fell into a depression, and as a favor to her father, I took her out one night, we drank, and when I took her home…well, one thing led to another, we ended up in bed together, and around six weeks later, she claimed she got pregnant. When the news got around, my parents encouraged me to do the right thing and marry her. My father was already put out by my reckless ways, and basically gave me an ultimatum: shape up and marry Amber, raise our child together and someday takeover both companies, or walk away from everything."
"Carter, that's…I don't know what to say."
"So, we were engaged, our mothers began planning a lavish wedding, but Amber still didn't seem happy, and I found out she was sleeping around on me. I was so pissed. I was giving up my whole life for her and our baby, and she couldn't even be faithful. I broke it off, we fought, and she left. An hour later, I got a call from my mother. AJ had been in an accident—an accident she claimed she lost the baby in. She blamed me. Our parents blamed me. I was devastated." Looking across the table, I meet her tear-filled gaze.
"So, we separated. I threw myself into work, and she was the same old AJ. After a few months, she started coming around again, determined we deserved a second chance, but I knew I could never love her, and if my dad tried to force my hand again, I was prepared to walk away from everything.
"Then I ran into a buddy of mine in a bar. She apparently slept around with him, and one night, when she was drunk, she confessed she was never pregnant and had been drinking when she got into the accident. So, I hired a private investigator. He was able to get access to her medical records, and I found out she was never pregnant. She was lying to us all.
"I got confirmation of that the day before I came to the Hampton wedding. So that first night on the balcony when you saw me and I was angry, I was dealing with a lot of shit. I needed a release, and I was falling back into my old self. I was intrigued by you when I saw you, and figured it would be just like every other hook up, but I was so wrong."
Laying it all out there makes my body hum with nervous energy. I worry she'll get up and leave at any moment. But she doesn't.
"Mila, something happened that night. Something unexpected. Somehow, I felt more in that one night with you than I’ve ever felt in my entire life."
She reaches for my hand across the table, and our fingers lock together.
"I feel the same way, and it scares the hell out of me," she confesses.
"As for AJ showing up at the shop. A friend of hers saw us together at the reception. She got jealous and decided to mess with you. I'm so sorry. So very sorry you got dragged into this. What you saw that day at the cafe was me trying to get rid of her. She let me know she was in town and I came right away. I had no idea what she had done." I pour my heart out to her, willing her to understand.
"I believe you.” She smiles at me, her grip on my hand tightening. “I have a few secrets of my own."
She takes a deep breath. “I’ve spent enough time alone to know I don’t want be that way forever. I lost my parents to a drunk driver, grew up in foster care, and then found myself in a controlling relationship in college.” Hearing her talk about her childhood guts me.
“Mila, you don’t have to—”
“I do. I was all alone, then I met Bea. She helped save me, gave me a sense of family I had missing for years. Moving out here to take a job at Enchanted after graduation changed my life in so many ways. Ways I never dreamed possible. Even though it’s only been a few months, I feel like I’ve found where I belong. But that night with you unlocked something in me—not just love, but a passion I never knew I was capable of. It gave me something else to fear losing. And I’m so afraid of losing that feeling, of losing you.”
********
Camilla
Standing,he reaches out and gently pull
s me to my feet before leaning in and feathering kisses on my face, everywhere but my lips. I know I told him we should take it slow, but there's no going slow with Carter. There never has been.
Stepping back, he takes me by the hand. "Do you trust me?"
I nod, squeezing his hand. My emotions are all over the place. My mind tries to warn me that this isn't a good idea, it's too soon, but my heart beats for him, crashing against my ribs.
Walking through the bedroom doors, white gauzy curtains flutter in the wind, swirling around us. Once inside, my breath catches.
Candles surround the room, hundreds of tiny flickering lights sending shadows dancing on the walls. Red rose petals line a path to the massive bed, feeling like silk beneath my bare feet.
The only sounds are the waves crashing and our heavy breathing.
We come to the foot of the bed and he drops my hand. Walking to the nightstand, he lifts a bottle, and smiles. "A little liquid courage, maybe?"
It's the coconut tequila, and my chest tightens at the gesture.
"Looks like you’ve thought of everything—but a glass."
"We don't need a glass," he says as he unbuttons his tuxedo shirt and lets it fall to the floor next to his bare feet.
Moisture pools between my legs. "Oh."
Opening the bottle, he takes a sip, sets it aside, and walks toward me like a lion stalking its prey. Gathering my hair, he wraps it around his fist and pulls it to the side.
I lean back into him, and he drags his tongue up the curve of my neck. Pulling my hair, he directs my face back to him and kisses me—softly, then urgently.
His tongue tangles with my own, and the taste of him and the tequila is like a drug I want more of. I turn into him, and the kiss deepens, until he releases me, stepping back.
My body shudders at the loss of his touch.
"I'm trying to take this slow, but I'm not gonna lie, it's killing me," he rasps, his voice full of want.
Lifting the bottle, he takes another sip, but before he can set it down, I take it from his hand and swig it back. Handing it over, I turn around and reach behind me to unzip the dress. The alcohol makes its way down my throat, burning as I lower the zipper.
The gold sequin fabric falls at my feet, and I looking over my bare shoulder. "Then don't."
He takes another drink and comes to stand in front of me. Lifting my chin, he kisses me, and the warm rush of tequila fills my mouth as it spills from his, dripping down between us.
He licks every drop, taking extra time around my breasts. My fingers thread in his long, blond hair, tugging.
Once he's satisfied he got it all, he places a tender kiss on my lips. "I'm gonna take care of you," he states, and my knees go weak. I have a feeling we're talking about way more than sex.
He bends me over the cool white sheets, his fingers digging into my skin, and pulls my hips up into the air, grinding against me. My nipples rub the soft fabric as my bare chest presses farther into the mattress. He drags one hand down the length of my spine, his fingertips leaving tingles in their wake.
He's barely put his hands on me and I'm ready to fall off the edge of oblivion.
His beard tickles my back as he kisses his way up to my neck. His touch surrounds me as his hand finds its way to where I need him most. I bite my lip and fist the sheets, struggling to keep from losing control.
"Carter," I plead.
Hot breath pants against my ear. "I've missed the sounds you make, Mila. Don't keep them from me. Let me have it all."
In the next second, I'm flipped over to my back and my panties are gone. His hands secure around the backs of my knees, dragging me to the end of the bed. "I need to see your face, my gorgeous girl."
He drops his boxers, and I watch him from between my spread thighs, licking my lips in anticipation of what's to come.
Wide shoulders, firm chest, and tight abs leading to a perfect V—I could stare at his body all day, but I need him with me now.
He catches me ogling him and runs his hand down his chest. "Like what you see?" Taking himself in his hand, he strokes, teasing me.
I've enjoyed sex in the past, as a means to an end, but with him, it's so much more. It's not an action as much as an experience—one that demands all my attention and assaults all my senses. He rolls on the condom and lines himself up to me. But instead of driving in like I expect him to, he changes the pace and drags himself up and down my throbbing opening. Back and forth. Back. And. Forth.
"Please, now! I can't wait. Don't make me beg," I moan, grinding against him. "Carter!"
He growls, and in one swift motion, he fills me, pausing for a brief moment before he sets a pace that will give us both what we most desire.
"It's like you were made for me." His breath fans across my face.
Wrapping my legs around his waist, I draw him tighter into me. He presses his hands into the mattress on either side of my head, speeding up, our sweaty skin sliding with our movements.
"Mila, baby, this time, it's gonna be quick," he pants out, pumping faster and faster, rolling his hips. "Then I'll properly devour you."
"Yes!" I drag my nails down his back, clawing for release. His mouth finds mine and it's a frenzied mix of teeth and tongues.
The first wave builds, then hits me like an electric current, so intense, it's almost blinding. Then another crashes immediately after.
"That's it, baby. Give it all to me," he orders as his own orgasms follows, my body still shuddering as it milks his from him.
The pace starts to slow, then he collapses onto me, still inside me as we come down, catching our breath.
We stay like that for a few minutes, until he rolls onto his back and kisses my temple before pulling out. He takes care of the condom, the tugs me back across his chest and presses me tightly into him, holding me likes he's never letting go. And I hope he doesn't.
We hold each other in the dark, the candles long burned out, the only light the moonlight filtering in the room. His hand caresses my back, and I shiver as the breeze from outside cools my sweat-slicked skin.
He pulls the covers up around us. "Mila, I—"
I turn my face to look up into his blue eyes.
"Being with you, it's like nothing I’ve ever imagined, never even knew was possible. I know I fucked up, but please give me a chance. I need you."
My heart jumps to my throat. That's not at all what I was expecting. I'm not surprised, though. I feel the exact same way, but I need to be sure this isn't just a heat of the moment thing.
"Carter, this was amazing. This…" I gesture around the room, "the whole evening, your elaborate plan, the trip. It's like a fairytale or dream come true. But I'm scared—scared I'll wake up and it'll be over."
"I'm not asking for forever. Yet." He smiles. "Just a chance to be with you, to get to know each other. I'm not gonna pretend we can go backwards and start over like a normal couple. Nothing about us or this has been normal, but that's because what we have isn't normal, it's extraordinary."
Tears sting my eyes. Unsure I can speak without crying, I lay my head back on his chest and contemplate how to answer him. Then, I realize it doesn't matter if I say no, he'll still have my heart.
Leaning up, I run my hand across his cheek and look at him. "Okay," I whisper.
Pulling me to him, he kisses me tenderly and hugs me to his chest again. "You won't regret it."
"What now?" I ask, drawing lazy circles on his chest with my fingers.
Taking my hand in his, he holds it over his heart. "Now, I just want to hold you."
“What about Bea?” I ask, my voice laced with concern over abandoning my friend.
“What about Bea?” he laughs.
“I need to let her know—“
“She’s a big girl. I’m sure she’ll manage.” He winks.
“But—”
“Mila, it’s okay. She knows.” He peppers my face with kisses.
“How does she know?” I pull back to look into his eyes and find a grin on his
face.
“She was in on it the whole time,” he confesses, his cocky smile widening as he leans in to kiss me. “I knew I had to find a way to be with you, and in order to do that, I had to get through her, so I enlisted her help to make sure you went through with it.”
“Unbelievable!” I manage, before his lips claim mine.
As much as I want to be pissed at Bea, how can I? Her pushing me out of my comfort zone allowed me to take a chance with Carter. And then a second chance. As it turns out, I wasn’t borrowing him, after all. He’s mine.
The End
Acknowledgments
There are so many people who have believed in me and for that I'm forever grateful!
First and foremost, my husband Bruce and my two amazing kids... the ones who have had to put up with the late nights, the mood swings and me "checking out" to make this dream come true, thanks and I love you all! You’re my whole world!!!
*****
Mom, thanks for believing in me and encouraging me to follow my dreams! For stepping in and helping out so I could make them come true!
*****
Cary,
I love that you get me right back! I can't imagine not being on this journey together! Even when we're both tired and grouchy, and in desperate need of a coffee run! Even as I type this you're scowling at me... Love you!!! #BFF #TwinningIsWinning #nosleep #geterdone
*****
Grandma, thanks for giving me my first romance novel! Dad, I love you and I’m thankful for you! The rest of my amazing family, my in-laws, my brother Brandon, Whitney, Matt, Ryan and especially my Aunt Jackie and the "crazy cousins," life would be incomplete without you and the laughs and the tears we have shared. Aunt Pat, my biggest fan, love you! To the one no longer with us, my sweet Jamie, no words can say all I need to say, but I Love You comes the closest. #JamieStrong
*****
To my Library Crew aka Beta’s:
Oliva, my real sister, Shelly & Chelsea my selected sistas… Thanks for answering my endless random questions at all hours of the night. You rock! Enough said!
St. Helena Vineyard Series: Something Borrowed (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 8
