Right in Front of You: (A Friends to Lovers Contemporary Romance)

by Lacey Silks

  “You mean when I told you how proud I am of my hose and that I’m always in heat?”

  I laughed. “Among others.”

  “Well, if you must know, most of it is true. Especially when I’m around you.” Carter’s voice deepened. It had that sexy grunt to it that made the hairs on my arms stand up.

  “I don’t doubt it, Carter.”

  I felt his chest shake underneath me as he chuckled. “Molly?”

  “Yeah?”

  “That fire was one of the best things that happened to me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it brought us closer. Can I ask you something else? In that letter – and please hear me out, I’m not going to pester you. But why did you swear on my life, not yours? People usually swear on their own lives.”

  I smiled at him, remembering that sometimes Carter needed things spelled out to him. “Because you mean to me much more than I do to myself.”

  After a longer pause, he squeezed me tighter. “Hey, don’t say that. You mean a lot, Molly. You’re irreplaceable.”

  My guilt swam up to the fore.

  “I don’t like the part where I hurt you, because I lied to you and didn’t tell you everything about the barn fire, but I do like the part of us being closer,” I whispered, looking up again, hoping he would ask for more details. Carter already had his half-bandaged hand on my cheek, stroking his thumb back and forth, and I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to because I knew what was coming. I knew what he was about to do, and I promised myself that I’d never let a man be this close to me. But this was Carter. He wouldn’t hurt me. Ever.

  The touch of his lips to mine was better than cold ice cream on a hot summer’s day. And it was warm — a warm kiss that soothed my soul, removed my doubts, and created a safety I had never felt in my life. I moved higher to meet him. He lingered around the seam of my lips, teasing and nibbling, playing with me. The tenderness of Carter’s mouth took my breath away. He caressed my lips with his, taking his time, and I enjoyed every second of it. My world was spinning with empty thoughts, which was great, because for the first time in my life, I didn’t want to think. Carter must have reached for the lamp switch and dimmed the light. I could still smell the aftershave on him from this afternoon and as of now, it was my favorite smell in the world.

  The tip of his tongue investigated further, slowly inching toward mine, where I met him in the middle and our kiss deepened. He tasted of happiness and hope. He tasted confident; like the kind of a man who would forever protect me from the dangers of the world.

  The longer we stayed connected, the fiercer the kiss became, and the wilder my heart beat in my chest. Carter’s breath was becoming uneven and his lips more demanding. I let him take my entire mouth. I allowed him to control it and make it his. I wanted to be his. Tracing his fingers up my arm, his hand slowly grazed over my neck, and I leaned my head back as his lips ventured to my cheeks, then my chin and my neck. His hand swept higher, up behind my head, and he raked his fingers through my hair, the pressure of his palm tilting my head back so that his searing kisses found my mouth again.

  I wasn’t sure how long we were making out for, but I didn’t want it to stop. And when we did, I lay my head back on his chest and listened to his heartbeat again. Somewhere in between the pulses underneath my cheeks, I fell asleep.

  CARTER

  I’d been kissing Molly for two weeks. That was fourteen days of her lips being mine. And did she ever kiss me back! Molly didn’t just kiss. Every single time our lips met felt like it was for the first time. She smiled through her mouth; sometimes she moaned and made these tiny noises that came out of her throat that made my dick throb with impatience. But kisses weren’t exactly enough to satisfy the craving I had for this woman.

  As it turned out, our first date never happened. Molly had a few emergency changes in her shift, and each time I was forced to cancel our reservations. Thinking back now, maybe that had been for the best, because tonight, she had no choice but to let me take her out. We were going to celebrate her becoming a doctor the right way; if not with family, then with our closest friends. As of last night, it was official: my girl was a doctor. When she came home from her graduation, which only I attended, as Molly never invited her family, I had a cake ready in the fridge and a bouquet of field flowers, all of Molly’s favorites, on the table. We popped a bottle of champagne, watched a movie, and she fell asleep in my arms, the way she had done every night for the past two weeks. It was bliss. We were living in a bubble of emotions, away from the real world. I’d do anything and everything to stop that bubble from bursting.

  Molly was a morning person. It didn’t matter what shift she worked, she’d religiously get up at seven, have her black coffee on the balcony, take time to breathe and inhale life, and then she’d go back to bed. I learned that she liked it when I joined her outside and we just sat there in silence.

  Though we’d technically celebrated her graduation yesterday, today it was my turn to surprise her. I had the evening planned to the last detail, and if all went well, we wouldn’t be getting back to the apartment until the next day.

  “Are you ready?” I called out to her bedroom. She’s been fussing over her clothes for the past hour.

  “You sure you said something sexy?” she called back.

  “Yes, I’m sure. It’s our official first date, Molly.”

  “But this is way out of my league.” She stepped out of the bedroom and took my breath away. The light pink dress with some sort of lace overlay of gray hugged her waist and then fluttered out at the knees. And I knew what lace was because my grandmother wore it each Sunday morning when she went to church. When I was in high school it used to get caught in my braces when she hugged me hard to her chest. Not that Molly reminded me of my grandmother – she didn’t – but that split second of doubt in my mind must have shown because Molly retreated to her room, saying, “No, that’s not it.”

  I checked my watch.

  Shit, I have to like the next one or else we won’t make it on time.

  I went back to the hallway, sans crutches as of three days ago, and checked myself out in the mirror. The new pair of loose-fit jeans my mother bought were wide enough to not aggravate the healed skin, and a white shirt with sleeves half-rolled up didn’t look too shabby either. My left arm had a compression sock on it, so while the healing scar wasn’t visible, I looked like I was wearing a sleeve. I wondered whether they made compression sleeves with tattoos. It would take a long time for me to come to terms with my injuries, but Molly made it easy. She made life worth living again and made me look at life through a pair of rose-colored glasses. At least I had a life. If I complained, what were kids like Sarah, who was battling leukemia, supposed to say? She’d barely gotten to live and was fighting for every extra day. I’d gone to see her a few times. We played checkers and colored unicorn-filled pages (not something I would admit to my firefighter friends), and all the while I wondered how long Sarah and Daisy’s family would live at the hospital.

  The click of high heels echoed from the hallway and I turned. When I laid eyes on her, time stopped. She’d curled her brown hair and let the spirals fall to her bare shoulders. The dress… oh, what a dress it was! A corset top with exposed neckline and deep cut out over her chest — all the places I liked to kiss best — especially her collarbones that stuck out at the base. Then there was that slight dip between her breasts. My tongue had gotten that far one evening, but it so wanted to taste what was underneath the bralette. When she spun around, showing off her ensemble, I felt myself grow in my pants. At the back of the dress was a long silver zipper all the way from the bottom, glistening from the hem of the short outfit to her neck. She looked back at me over the shoulder, smiling. Those long luscious legs must have had a beckoning power because I couldn’t stop looking. They shined and glowed. I wondered where Molly had gotten that tan if she always wore scrubs.

  “Now I know why they call it a little black dress. It really is… little.”
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  Any smaller and my dick would jump out of my pants.

  “You’re staring.”

  “How can I not? You look gorgeous. Stunning, actually.”

  Her cheeks flushed red and she looked down to the floor. I liked how my compliments made her so timid. It spoke to the simplicity that Molly had. Simple and unique. Loving and full-hearted.

  “Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.” She sauntered toward me, her hips swaying back and forth. I bet she didn’t even know how seductive she looked. Molly took my breath away whether she was wearing her scrubs, sweats, or a sexy dress; but tonight, wearing that dress, we were venturing to dangerous grounds.

  “Are you sure about leaving the crutches behind?” she asked, as she took my arm.

  “Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been preparing for today.”

  “Well, I’ll have to test you out, then.” She bit her lip. For a shy girl, the things that sometimes came out of her mouth made me want her that much more.

  “Okay, no questions about where we’re going, though. The cab is waiting.”

  Our driver had explicit instructions not to give away our destination. I saw that Molly had noticed we were heading toward Hope Bay, because she twitched nervously in her seat.

  “I promise we won’t go to town, your house, or my parent’s house. Okay?” I squeezed her hand in reassurance. An hour later, the cab pulled up to Pebble Lake, and I saw Molly grin with giddiness. There was nothing in sight, because the surprise I had for her was hidden behind a small island.

  “Maybe I should have taken my bathing suit,” she said.

  “From what I recall, you don’t need a bathing suit to swim in this lake.” I winked.

  “Well, you play your cards right tonight, and I may fulfill my promise.”

  The sun was setting. The beautiful glow reflected on her cheeks in orange and red tones.

  “Come on, we have half an hour to get to our destination.”

  “We’re not there yet?”

  “No way.”

  I took Molly’s hand and led her around the bend where the small rowboat was waiting for us: except it had an engine. It would have been more romantic if I were physically capable of rowing myself, but my body wasn’t still up to par.

  “Let me help you in.” I removed my shoes and rolled up my jeans before picking Molly up in my arms.

  “What are you doing? You can’t—”

  “I can and I will. No arguments.”

  “But your wounds—”

  “I said no arguments, Molly.” Her arms were around my neck with her body snuggled against mine. “Otherwise I’ll need to spank you.”

  She wiggled in my grip as if getting her ass ready for the sweet threat. Once I set her down in the boat, I hopped in, not as swiftly as I would have liked, and started the engine. Molly sat patiently as I steered around the island in the middle of Pebble Lake, until a small yacht appeared behind it. Okay, so maybe I’d stretched the time on the half hour to our destination. It was more like five minutes.

  “Carter? What is this?”

  “Your surprise.”

  “You got me a yacht?”

  “Not exactly. Max actually purchased it last week and was nice enough to lend it to us for the night.”

  “That was nice of him.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  I couldn’t wait until Molly saw the rest of the surprise, and I didn’t have to wait too long because my most favorite girl in the world was already standing at the bow, waving. “Uncle Carter! This way!”

  “Is that Mackenzie?” Molly smiled. Her mouth stretched even wider when she saw Joelle and Nick emerge from behind and wave to us as well.

  “Hi, Molly!” Nathan yelled out.

  “My brother’s here?” she asked, surprised.

  I pulled up to the back and Nick helped me tie the boat to the yacht.

  “This way, my lady.” I reached for Molly, guiding her onto the deck.

  “Congratulations!” Joelle was the first to welcome her friend and squeeze her tightly.

  Mackenzie took the opportunity to jump in my arms. “I missed you so much, Uncle Carter.”

  “I missed you more.”

  She giggled.

  “What are the congratulations for?” I heard Molly ask. I gently set Mackenzie down and asked her to bring out the surprise with her father. Not only did Molly not know we’d be on a yacht tonight, but she also didn’t know why. I gently touched her waist from behind and whispered in her ear, “Congratulations on becoming a doctor.”

  Right on cue, Nick and Mackenzie rolled out a cake Jo had baked this morning. It was a scrub uniform with a marzipan stethoscope. A dozen or so sparklers flickered on top.

  “This is for me?”

  “Of course it’s for you. It’s the least we could have done. You’re an actual doctor, Molly! That’s unbelievable.” Joelle hugged her friend again.

  “Thank you, guys. You really didn’t have to.”

  My brother came out from inside the cabin with a bottle of champagne. He popped the cork, saying, “It’s a big deal, Mols. I can count on one finger the number of people from Hope Bay who became doctors. Okay, maybe two if we include Doctor Burke.”

  “Molly, are you going to give me my shots from now on?” Mackenzie pulled on Molly’s hand.

  “Only if you would like me to.”

  “You don’t like Doctor Burke giving your shots?” I asked.

  “I do, but since Molly is a new doctor, she could practice on me.”

  “Mac, Molly lives in a different city for now. Maybe if she moves back to Hope Bay?” Joelle looked to Molly, who shivered slightly at the mention of moving back. I wondered whether there was anything I could do to make her love Hope Bay as much as she used to when we were growing up, before her father started drinking.

  “But Doctor Burke is getting old, and his hearing is not that good anymore,” Mac pouted.

  “Mackenzie, that’s a little rude to say about Doctor Burke,” Jo scolded.

  “But it’s true. Last time I asked him for a popsicle, he said he doesn’t have icicles,” Mac replied.

  I was pretty sure that Doctor Burke had been joking about the icicles, but who was I to get in between a mother-daughter discussion?

  “Daddy, is Mommy right?” Mac looked to her father. It was still a new sight for me to get used to. When Nick had been gone, the little munchkin would have usually come to me for advice.

  “You miss her, don’t you?” Molly whispered from the side.

  “Yeah, I do. But this is for the best. They’re a family now and they’re happy.”

  As if on cue, Nick clinked the side of his beer bottle to get our attention. Mackenzie sat down on the deck to play with Nathan’s new toy car.

  “We have another surprise and this one’s for everyone.”

  I cocked my head and stole a glance at Jo. She was standing beside Nick and glowing. Her cheeks were flushed red, and as her hands slowly slid over her stomach, she said, “We’re expecting. We’re going to have a new addition to our family in just about seven months. Mac, you’re going to have a little sister or brother.”

  Mackenzie shot up to her feet and screamed with joy. She was running around the boat deck, repeating, “I’m going to be a big sister! I’m going to be a big sister!”

  After a round of congratulations to the expecting couple, I sat down beside Molly, who seemed to be taking in the sight of new stars up in the sky. The gentle breeze stroked her hair and an occasional ripple in the water echoed. I secretly hoped that tonight would revive something inside that girl. I wanted her to remember what it felt like to be in the company of good friends, close to home. I wanted her to know that I had her back, no matter what. I wanted her to trust me.

  “Thank you so much for this. It was a really wonderful surprise.”

  “The night isn’t over yet, Molly.” I kissed her on the cheek and left her to catch up with Jo while I talked to Max and Nick, who had set up fishing rods for Mac and Nathan. W
e turned the spotlights on the boat and put on some music. Joelle set up a table with sandwiches and fruit. After Mac caught her third trout, I took her to the middle of the deck for a dance to tire her out. It wasn’t as fast as I wanted it to be, but if no one knew about my injuries, I was pretty sure they wouldn’t have been able to tell that I had been pulled out of a burning house a month and a half ago.

  “Uncle Carter, how do you kill a fish?” Mac asked me, with the most serious face ever, and then added quietly, “Ask me how.”

  “How?”

  “You drown it.” She started giggling uncontrollably. I lifted her up into my arms and spun her around. “That’s a funny joke, Mac.”

  “I have another one.”

  “You do?”

  “How do you kill a bird?”

  “I don’t know. How?”

  “You throw it off a cliff.”

  “You’re all full of jokes today, aren’t you?”

  She yawned widely and snuggled into me, wrapping her little arms around my shoulders. “I missed you.”

  “I think it’s time to call it a night, sweet pea.” I passed her into Nick’s arms. She climbed onto him like a little monkey, then rested her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

  “I’ll help you guys off,” I said, gathering their backpacks onto the rowboat.

  “Are we all going to fit on there?” Molly asked.

  “We’re not leaving yet.” I grinned.

  “No?”

  “Jo and Nick will drop Nathan off at home. I know you have the day off tomorrow, so we’re staying the night here. On the boat. Just the two of us.”

  “Oh.”

  “Jo brought some toiletries for you. There’s a bathroom and two bedrooms downstairs.” I didn’t want Molly to feel uncomfortable. No pressure and no expectations. I only wanted her relaxed. She’d been working so hard the past seven years that she deserved a little getaway from the city, and even from life. “Are you okay with that?”

  “There’s nothing I’d love more.” She rubbed her arms up and down. Nights on Pebble Lake tended to be chilly. I removed my sweatshirt from the bag my brother had brought for me and pulled it over Molly’s head. “There. That should keep you warm.”