“I have.” She pursed her lips. “I don’t think it’s dislike.”
“Hmm,” I said, smiling at her. “So I have a chance?”
“Carter.”
“Okay, I know. Stay away from the forbidden fruit.”
“It’s not just forbidden because of our situation. I also don’t want you getting involved.”
“Why not? I’m a perfect gentleman.”
“We both know you aren’t.”
“Okay, fine. I’m better than some guys, though.”
“Sure,” she said, smiling finally. “You’re better than some guys.”
“High praise, coming from you.”
She laughed, finally loosening up. “Listen, this isn’t easy on her. I’ve never really done anything like this, and I think it’s coming as a surprise. So please, be easy on her.”
“Aye, aye, Evie, dear,” I said. “I’ll go nice and easy.”
She sighed. “Good night, Carter.”
“Night, wife.” I stood and blew her a kiss then shut her bedroom door behind me.
I smiled all the way down the hall to my room. Evelyn just confirmed my suspicions, that Emily wanted me maybe as much as I wanted her, but that wasn’t necessarily good.
If anything, it made things much, much fucking harder.
7
Emily
I did a lazy backstroke, trying not to think about Carter, and failing miserably.
It was another gorgeous California summer afternoon, and the water felt great. I was trying to entertain myself without resorting to fantasizing about Carter, but I was failing miserably.
I kept thinking about that night in his music room. I saw a new side of him that I never expected to see. Carter didn’t strike me as the kind of man to enjoy a large music selection let alone the type to talk knowledgeably about it. That was a side of him that I wanted to see more of, but he quickly let that side disappear when we sat on the couch.
Truth was, I liked his other side, too. I liked that dominant and intense side almost as much as I liked that softer aspect. He was a strong man who got what he wanted and didn’t seem apologetic about that at all. It got him into trouble a fair bit, but that was to be expected with a man like him.
Still, it was dangerous to get anywhere near Carter Green. He was my fake stepfather in this insane scheme my mother decided to get involved with, and that was that. I didn’t know what the heck she was thinking, but it was too late for that now.
My mother was a rational, normal person. She worked hard to give me a decent life, and I loved her endlessly for that. This thing with Carter was so far outside of the norm for her that I almost didn’t recognize hr. A get-rich-quick scheme was basically the opposite of what she taught me.
Mom instilled one thing in me above all else: hard work paid off. I believed her, even as a little girl, and I strove to work as hard as she worked. That was probably impossible, since my mother was tireless, but I still tried anyway. She put aside a lot of her own personal life for me, and I knew that I had to find a way to repay her down the line.
Maybe this was my chance to repay her. As much as I didn’t want anything to do with Carter, I knew that I had to suck it up and do this for her. This was as much her situation as it was his, though having that prototype phone did make the stakes a bit lower.
It was hard to figure out what the right thing was. I knew that I wasn’t going to tell on them or anything crazy like that, since being disloyal to my mom seemed like the worst thing imaginable for me to do, but I wasn’t ever going to be happy with having Carter around all the time.
Still, I could get used to staring at his shirtless body, covered in sweat . . .
I climbed out of the pool an hour later, tired from swimming laps, but still surprisingly frustrated.
I toweled off and headed inside. I had a convenient little entrance on the side of my wing that led right up into my living area, and so I didn’t see a single person on my way back. It was almost like I lived in the enormous house all alone.
I headed up the steps and into my apartment, squeezing my hair off into a towel. I tossed it into the little laundry room and headed into my bedroom, not paying much attention to what I was doing, whistling a little song.
Before I could leave and head into the bathroom for a shower, a box caught my eye. I looked at it and stopped in my tracks. On my bed was a gift, wrapped in black wrapping paper with a white bow. I slowly walked over to it, not sure what the hell it was doing there.
I picked it up but there was no card. I pulled open the string, removed the bow, and tore open the paper. The box was plain and white. I lifted off the lid, my heart beating fast, and found a card on top of some tissue paper.
I opened it up and read, excitement pooling between my legs. For when you want to call me Daddy. – C