Accidental Lovers (The Accidental Series, Book 3)

by Tina Martin

“But he didn’t have to marry you to take care of you. He could’ve very well put you up in an apartment, paid your bills until you got a job, but instead, he fell in love with you.” Rebecca watched tears roll down Shayla’s face. Shayla attempted to dry her eyes with her hands while Rebecca reached for a box of Kleenex under the counter. “Shayla, I know this is hard. I won’t even pretend I know what you’re going through, but I do know you love Carter. And I don’t think Carter would marry you just because of something his brother wrote. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “I’m just telling you how I feel.”

  “It’s going to be all right,” Rebecca said, throwing an arm around her friend. “You just need to talk to him.”

  “I know. You’re right. I just feel so betrayed.”

  “Well my advice to you is, talk to him.”

  Shayla dismissed herself for a bathroom break to get herself together. She analyzed her face in the mirror, thinking about Jacob. The empty pill bottle. His lifeless body. And learning about the note he’d written Carter made her realize that Jacob did love her. He wanted her taken care of. He wanted her to have a better life, and he wanted Carter to be the one who’d see to it that she did. Still it angered her to think about Jacob getting to the point where he decided to take his own life. And was it her fault? Did she put too much pressure on him about the wedding?

  On top of that, she had to determine what she wanted with Carter. How could she dread a one-on-one conversation with her own husband? Had he not bent over backwards to accommodate her? Changed his life for her? Had he not loved her harder and more feverishly than any man could ever love a woman? Still, he came with secrets and the man she thought she knew now seemed more like a stranger than a spouse. Than a lover.

  Chapter 4

  Carter sat at his desk again, eyes barely open. Days were rough. Mornings were rougher. He sent Julie to get him a strong cup of Starbucks coffee because he hadn’t slept much last night. Instead, he laid there, on the bed in his hotel room, staring up at the ceiling, longing to be with the woman he loved. He could smell her skin, the smell of her hair and imagine sucking on her lips, kissing them. He missed her greatly and wanted nothing more than to end this distance between them. His life would not get back to normal with the both of them carrying on this way.

  Before he checked an email, the newspaper or his voicemail, he took Jacob’s notebook from his briefcase, set it on his desktop calendar and began reading silently:

  I have a feeling Shayla suspects the wedding isn’t going to happen. She stares at me a lot lately and constantly asks me what’s wrong. I always tell her I’m fine, that everything’s okay, but she’s not buying any of it. I’m not good at hiding my emotions, especially from her.

  On another note, I was out to day searching for a job and four staffing agencies later, I have no prospects. I feel like I’m being punished for some reason, like God has forgotten about me but my brother is doing so well while I’m struggling. It’s bad enough that I can’t take care of my soon-to-be wife, but I can’t even take care of myself. And it’s getting harder and harder to pretend everything is fine while Shayla is around, when I know we’re struggling. She doesn’t…

  * ~ *

  Carter frowned, flipped the page over looking for the rest of the note but Jacob had ended it that way. He rubbed his hand across his head, confused, then took his cell from the desk, finding Jacqueline’s number.

  “Have you had a chance to talk to Shayla yet?” That’s how Jacqueline answered the phone. Carter had told her about the fight between himself and Shayla a few days after it happened. Jacqueline had been on edge since finding out, wanting to talk to Shayla herself because she knew there wasn’t a better woman for her nephew. But Shayla didn’t answer her calls the same way she hadn’t answered Carter’s.

  “No. She’s still not talking to me.”

  “It’s been two weeks now, Carter,” she said as if he wasn’t aware.

  He was painfully aware of how long it had been, of how much he ached for her.

  “I wish you guys would just work it out.”

  “Jackie, she’ll talk to me sooner or later.”

  Jacqueline sighed. “You do realize the more you let this thing drag out, the easier it’s going to be for the devil to ease in and attempt to destroy your marriage.”

  Carter nodded. “I’m not going to let that happen,” he told her. “Listen, the reason for my call is, I got my hands on some of Jacob’s notes…things that were on his mind right before he died. And…ah, he wrote something insinuating he and I weren’t brothers…said we didn’t have the same Mother. Do you know why he would think that? I mean, I know we don’t have the same father, but we did have the same Mother, right?”

  “Um…uh…Carter, there’s a lot that Lenora kept to herself. We didn’t talk much and she didn’t tell me a lot of things.”

  “So you wouldn’t know if I, or Jacob was adopted. You would know that, right?”

  “Carter, you boys were not adopted.”

  “So why would Jacob make a comment like that?” Carter asked, while reading an email Julie had sent to his inbox.

  Jacqueline sighed. “He was probably just using it to get back at you, knowing that you would find the notebook.”

  “No…because I’m not supposed to have this notebook. No one is.”

  “Well, Carter, the important thing now is that you work things out with Shayla.”

  Carter frowned. Was she really diverting from discussing the family issues he brought up? That only made him think she was hiding something. “I agree wholeheartedly, and I will, but I also think it’s important for me to know what happened to my family, Jackie, and it’s my belief that you know some things and I think you’re intentionally withholding information from me.”

  “Carter, like I said, Lenora didn’t tell me everything.”

  Carter frowned, had good mind to throw his phone at one of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that encased his office. He took a breath and said, “Jackie, my life is falling apart. If you know anything, please just tell me.”

  Jacqueline sucked in a breath. “Carter, I’m sorry about Lenora, okay. She was my sister, my family and so was Jacob. I grieve just like you do,” she said, her voice unsteady and trembling. “I wish there was something I could do to help you, but I don’t know what more you want from me.”

  Disappointed, Carter sighed and closed his eyes tight. “I’m gonna go.”

  “Carter—”

  “I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

  Carter leaned back in his chair and blew a breath. He stared at the wedding photo on his desk, touching Shayla’s face in the picture with his index finger. And he wondered what she was doing at this precise moment. Was she home? Still sleep, in the middle of their bed with her long curly hair spread about his pillow? Was she in the kitchen, having breakfast? Was she missing him? Was her body aching with a feverish, agonizing pain for him the way his ached for her?

  His thoughts were interrupted by taps at the door.

  “Yes?” he said, loud enough for whoever it was on the opposite side of it could hear him.

  He watched Julie open the door, a coffee cup in her hand. She walked towards his desk, set the cup in front of him and said, “Here you are, Sir.”

  “Thank you, Julie.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said, then looked at him as he stared at his wedding photo, his mind seemed to be taken away by it. “Is everything all right?”

  “What makes you think something is wrong?”

  “Well, you’ve missed the eight-thirty conference with Rock Hill, the team meeting at nine and,” Julie said, looking at her watch. “It’s ten minutes to ten now and you don’t look like you’re ready for the staff meeting just yet.”

  “I’m ready for it,” Carter said, knowing he wasn’t, but he was the type of person who could get ready upon the start of the meeting and be as contributing as those who’d came fully prepared.

  “Okay. Still, I haven
’t seen you eat a thing in the last week, and you look stressed out.”

  “Yeah, it’s been a stressful past few weeks for me…having some personal issues I’m trying to deal with.”

  “Oh,” Julie said with raised brows.

  “It’s not something I want to discuss, but I’m working through them. Thank you for your concern, though.”

  “You’re welcome, Carter,” she said, turning to head for the door and before she touched the knob, she turned around and asked, “Should I order lunch today?”

  “Yes…my usual from Just Fresh.”

  “All right, Sir,” Julie beamed, glad that at least he was eating something.

  When she closed the door behind her, Carter called Shayla from his desk phone, closed his eyes while the phone rang and hoping by some miracle she would answer. She didn’t, and he blew a frustrating breath, took a big gulp of his coffee, then checked his Outlook calendar to see which conference room the staff meeting was being held. The C.E.O., Chip Fargus, was going to be there today and he didn’t want to miss it.

  Chapter 5

  Shayla crept out of bed around lunch time. Sleep wasn’t easy for her, especially with this rift between her and Carter. And his manly scent, embedded in the sheets and his pillow case, made her yearn for him and dream about him the way she dreamt about him the last few nights. Still, it angered her that the man she was in love with was intentionally keeping things from her. She was sure he had his reasons, but when a couple decides to marry and become one, the other party can’t hide things. That’s not the way marriages work. That’s how, and why, they usually end.

  Shayla showered, threw on her robe then descended the stairs with Jacob’s obituary and suicide note in her hand. She ate a bowl of Grape Nuts for breakfast and just sat there, reading the obituary.

  Jacob and Carter are brothers.

  She let out a stressful exhale and set her bowl in the sink. Then she walked to the family room, laid on the couch, closing her eyes and remembering Jacob. He was so lively, so vibrant and fun-loving – a drastic change to the man he was before the suicide.

  Then her thoughts migrated to Carter. He’d had this letter all along – all those nights he consoled her, told her Jacob wasn’t her soul mate and that she deserved better – after all that time, he was the man’s brother. How could he be so deceitful?

  She sat up when her cell phone rang. She checked the display and saw it was Donovan calling. She sighed in those seconds, trying to decide whether or not to answer. Donovan had told her that he wanted to meet with her weeks ago, but given the current crisis in her life, she didn’t want to meet with him now. She had her own problems and whatever Donovan wanted would have to wait for a better time and she would tell him this right now.

  “Hi, Donovan,” she answered.

  “Hi, Shayla. How are you?”

  “Um…I’m…I’m okay.”

  “Why’d you hesitate?”

  “No reason,” she responded quickly. “How are you?”

  Donovan thought silently, wondering if she really wanted to know how he was or if she was just asking him because he’d asked her. “I’m good. I told you a few weeks ago I’d be in Charlotte.”

  “You’re here?”

  “Yep…staying at the Hilton in University,” he said standing by the windows in his seventh floor room, staring down at the boardwalk, the shops, and the ducks swimming in the water. “So can you meet me for dinner?”

  “No, I can’t.”

  “I really need to talk with you, Shayla.”

  “Okay, well whatever it is, will have to wait because this is not a good time for me. Or, we could just talk now, Donovan, over the phone.”

  “This isn’t the kind of news you give someone over the phone,” he said, partly because he wanted to see her so badly and her voice would do nothing to satisfy that desire. It had been a while since he last saw her and he thought about her often, especially her new marriage.

  “Well, can you please try?” Shayla asked, flustered. “My life is falling apart and…” she paused. “I really can’t meet you. I’m sorry.”

  Donovan frowned. He didn’t want to say this over the phone, but in order to get her to meet him, he knew he had to. “Shayla, I know your father and he wants to meet you.”

  Shayla sat still, stunned. Did she hear him correctly? “What’d you say?”

  “I didn’t want to tell you over the phone, but I found your father.”

  Shayla grew quiet. The drama with Carter seemed small in comparison to what Donovan had told her. Her father? The man she didn’t even have a memory of?

  “I would like to discuss it with you in person,” Donovan added. “Can you meet me at…ah…what’s around here? Chili’s?”

  Shayla nervously nibbled her bottom lip, thinking about it. Chili’s… “Um…okay. What time?”

  Donovan smiled, relieved that he would get to see her. He glanced at his Rolex and said, “Well, it’s almost one o’clock now. How about you meet me at five-thirty? Is that good?”

  “Yes. I’ll see you then.”

  “All right, Shayla. Later.”

  Shayla set her phone on the table with her trembling hand. How had Donovan found her father? She hadn’t been able to, and Carter seemed as if he didn’t want her to look for him, but Donovan had found him.

  She arrived at Chili’s at their agreed upon time and after parking, she walked in and saw Donovan standing in the lobby, looking just like she remembered him – handsome, tall, physically fit and dressed sharp. He appeared to have a fresh haircut, was freshly shaven.

  He smiled when he saw her approaching, studying her walk, remembering her face, those bouncy, curly strands of hair he’d become fond of and those petite, pouty lips that forced his attention every single time he laid eyes on her.

  “Hi, again,” she said, walking up to him, extending her hand for a shake, to keep things on a professional level with him, but when he embraced her, suctioning her into his grasp, she knew there was no more professionalism between them. She should’ve known that after the time she spent with him on Virginia Beach – the night they enjoyed dinner at Ocean Eddie’s. She shared so much with him about her life, then and he in turn confided in her about his wife who had died, something he rarely talked about but felt comfortable enough to share with her. And at the end of the night, they’d played in the chilly water like children, he picking her up and lowering her in it, then before the night ended, she asked for permission to hug him, feeling grateful to him for being a distraction from all the chaos she was going through with Carter at the time. And coincidentally, he was here again, at another chaotic time in her life, only this time, Carter wasn’t some guy she was head over heels in love with and couldn’t have. She had him. He was hers as indicative of the rock weighing down her ring finger. But he was causing her pain. Again.

  Shayla felt weird being in Donovan’s arms which is why she wiggled out of his grasp. And while they followed the waitress to their seats, she looked around, feeling nervous about being out to dinner with a man who wasn’t her husband. A man who she knew may have had some feelings for her.

  They got comfortable at a corner table, then ordered drinks. He wanted a beer and Shayla had asked for water.

  Donovan rested his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers and gave her his complete attention. “So how far do you live from here?”

  “Um…about twenty-five minutes.”

  “I would’ve picked a closer restaurant if I knew you had to drive that far.”

  “It’s fine,” Shayla responded. She had a lesser chance of running into anyone she knew on this side of town.

  “Well, I’ll remember for next time,” he responded.

  Next time, Shayla thought. Is he really making plans to see me again? She looked at him a little closer, waiting for a smirk or something to indicate he was joking, but she didn’t find such a clue.

  “So you’re okay?” he inquired.

  “Yeah,” she said.


  “Then why is your life falling apart?”

  Shayla frowned. “Huh?”

  “When we spoke on the phone earlier, you said your life was falling apart.”

  How did I let that slip? “Oh, um it’s nothing,” she said tight-lipped. “Anyway, you said you know my father.”

  He stared at her before answering, not liking the way she changed the subject. Yes, he wanted to talk about her father, but that’s not all he wanted to talk about. He wanted to play catch up with her, talk about her for a moment, then ease into a discussion about her father. But as he looked at her, he could feel her uneasiness. And why did he feel like she was in a hurry and didn’t want to talk much? The week she’d spent in Virginia, she was transparent about her personal life, but now, he noticed she wasn’t so forthcoming.

  “You remember I told you I knew some Klines from Virginia Beach?” he asked her.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, it just so happens that one of them is your father. His name is—”

  “Jack,” she said. “I know his name.”

  “He owns a construction company…did some work on my house last year.”

  Shayla didn’t respond. She thought about how if Jack owned his own company, why didn’t he bother to help her out as a child, or even look for her in her adult years? Did he not have a desire to know her? His own flesh and blood? Were men capable of having a strong connection with their children? Their legacy? Or was it so easy to walk away and not look back?

  Shayla glanced out the window, remembering when she’d told Carter about how she wanted to look for her father and he had insinuated that it wouldn’t be good for her, especially if her father turned out to be some jerk. But jerk or not, everyone deserved to know who their father was, no matter what his personality flaws might be.

  “Shayla,” Donovan said to take her out of her trance.

  “Oh, sorry,” she said, her cheeks turning a shade of red. “Um…I don’t know what to say. I mean, how’d you find him?”

  A smile touched his lips.