Circle of Friends, Part 3

by Susan Mallery

  “You’re not that into marriage, either,” he said, remembering that she’d been engaged twice but never married.

  “I will be,” she told him. “It wasn’t right before.”

  He almost asked what would make it right, because that’s what he had trouble with. How did anyone know when it was right?

  “Will you stay here?” he asked, nodding at the apartment.

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead. There are two bedrooms, but... Gee, now I have to think about moving. I guess the baby will want a yard.”

  “Not the first week.”

  She laughed. “Good point. I have time.”

  “If money’s an issue, I could help.”

  She shifted on the sofa. “Okay, we’ve officially crossed into uncomfortable territory. Let’s avoid talk of moving and money for a while.”

  “Fair enough.”

  She shook her head. “Carter, I’m really sorry this happened. I didn’t mean to mess up your life. Or mine.”

  “We’ll make it through. Kids aren’t that bad.”

  “You don’t actually know that.”

  “My sisters are doing fine and between them they have a bunch.”

  “So you’re an uncle.”

  “Many times over. And now that they’re married, there are finally guys around.”

  “There aren’t that many women in your family.”

  He looked at her. “I only have nieces.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No. Chances are you’re having a girl.”

  She smiled. “I’d like that.”

  Under other circumstances, the relaxed body language and gentle smile would have been his cue to move in for a kiss and whatever else was being offered. Under these circumstances, that wouldn’t be the wisest move.

  Instead he stood and stretched. “I should get going. Thanks for dinner.”

  “I only heated it. I should thank you. And your sisters.”

  “I’ll tell them you had seconds. That’s thanks enough for them.”

  “Everything was great. Thanks for bringing it.” She followed him to the front door. “We didn’t really get anything resolved.”

  He smiled at her and fought against the need to feel her mouth on his. “Sure we did. I know you’re a sucker for tiramisu and that dancing on Broadway was your second choice.”

  She swayed toward him. “You know what I mean. About the baby. But you’re right. We have time. I...” She ducked her head, then looked at him. “I know neither of us wanted this to happen, but since it did, I’m glad it was you.”

  She blushed bright red. “I mean, you’re really nice and I know you want me to think you’re dangerous, but you’re really not and I think you’ll be a good dad. That’s all I meant. Nothing, you know...”

  “Mushy?”

  She smiled. “Yeah. Mushy.”

  He gave in because after that little speech, how could he not? He put one hand on her shoulder, leaned toward her and lightly brushed her mouth with his.

  Her lips were as warm and soft as he remembered. His body went on instant alert, but he ignored the wanting and drew back.

  “I’ll give you a call the first part of next week,” he said. “We’ll do this again.”

  “I’d like that. Night, Carter.”

  “Night.”

  He walked to his truck and climbed inside. It was barely ten on a Saturday night and he didn’t feel like going home.

  He made a U-turn and headed the couple of miles to the Blue Dog Bar. Once he arrived, he parked a street away and walked in through the kitchen entrance, so he wouldn’t be seen by anyone up front.

  George stood by the deep fryer where most of the snacks were made. “Hey, Carter. What’s up?”

  “Not much. Is Jenny around?”

  “Sure. Watch this. They need to come out when the buzzer sounds. I’ll go get her.”

  Carter monitored a basket of what looked like chicken wings until George returned with Jenny in tow.

  “Hey, you,” she said. “How are things?”

  “Okay. Can you take a break?”

  “Already told Dan I’d be gone for a few minutes.”

  Jenny followed him into a small breakroom in the back. At this hour it was empty. They settled on some plastic chairs placed around a round table.

  “Dan was a little hurt,” Jenny said. “You know he hates it when you talk to me instead of him.”

  “He’s a typical guy, same as me. How is he going to help?”

  “He’s not,” Jenny said with a grin. “But he has delusions of grandeur.”

  “Is that why you married him?”

  “I couldn’t wait for you forever, darlin’.”

  “I don’t remember you waiting at all.” He leaned back in the chair. “You called my mother.”

  “I know. I was there.”

  “You’re supposed to be my friend. That means being on my side.”

  “There’s a baby now, Carter. You don’t get a side.”

  “Still, you could have waited.”

  “Actually I called more for Rachel than for you.”

  He didn’t question how Jenny knew Rachel’s name. Her sisters were close to Jenny and would have filled her in on everything they knew.

  “Rachel’s fine.”

  “I wanted to be sure,” Jenny said. “I have to tell you, I’m surprised. You were always compulsively careful.”

  There was something about the way she said it. “Was that a problem for you?”

  “Not a problem, more of a symptom. You made it clear you wouldn’t be trapped and while I wasn’t interested in that, a woman likes to think a man can be swept away from time to time.”

  “Look what happens when he is.”

  Jenny nodded. “You don’t seem too angry.”

  “I’m not. I’m...” He wasn’t sure what he felt. He’d always liked kids and had thought he’d want them in his life. It was the whole marriage thing he couldn’t relate to.

  “Think I have what it takes to be a good father?” he asked lightly, although he was deadly serious about the question.

  “Absolutely,” she said. “You’ll be great. You know your mom thinks you should marry Rachel.”

  “I think she mentioned that. What do you think?”

  “That a baby changes everything. For what it’s worth, marriage is pretty cool.”

  “I can’t believe you’re happy with Dan when you had me.”

  She laughed. “He loves me and you never did. Besides, you’re not all that.”

  “Sure I am.”

  “Okay, yes you are, but you were never the one for me and I wasn’t the one for you.”

  He didn’t think he had a “one” but there was no point in saying that to Jenny.

  She stood, walked around the table, then bent over and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re going to be a daddy, Carter. It’s time to stop playing and grow up.”

  “I’m plenty grown-up.”

  “You’re still fooling around. Look at what you’re doing with your life. Get a real job.”

  He frowned. “I have a real job.”

  “You know what I mean.” She touched his earring. “You’ve always gotten by on charm and looks, that body and a great personality. Now it’s time for some substance.”

  “Ouch.”

  “I only say this because I love you. I have to get back to work.”

  She left the breakroom. Carter stayed where he was.

  Jenny had always been able to say the words. For her, professing love was as easy as folding socks. But not for him. Oh, he knew he loved his family and cared about his friends. But love, romantic love?

  Not even once.

 
He told himself it didn’t matter. That he was still a great guy. He almost believed it, too. Only he couldn’t figure out why his heart had never been touched and what about him would change if it was.

  * * *

  RACHEL PICKED UP the containers of paint and carried them to the sink. The mess was indescribable, but it had been worth it. Her class had met all its goals for the week and because of that, they’d been able to pick their reward. Unfortunately for her, the reward had been finger painting. Both she and the room were now brightly colored and smudgy, but the water-based product would wash off and she and her class had had a great time together. She’d even created a finger-painting masterpiece of her own, although she had no idea what she was going to do with it.

  She’d just finished washing off the tables when she noticed three men walking toward her classroom. They’d come through the play area, so they were visible through the large set of windows in her room. All three were in uniform, two from the local police and one in what looked like a firefighter uniform.

  Her first thought was that they were coming to arrest her, only she hadn’t done anything wrong. Her second was that her apartment had burned down. She met them at the door.

  “Is it bad?” she asked fearfully. “Is everything gone?”

  The firefighter smiled. “Everything’s fine. You’re Rachel Harper, right?”

  Everything was all right? “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Good,” one of the cops said. “We’d hate to welcome the wrong person into the family.”

  Rachel blinked. “Excuse me?”

  One of the guys nudged the other two. “This works better if we introduce ourselves. I’m Frank and I’m married to Liz. This is Adam. He’s with Merry.” He pointed to the other police officer. “Gordon’s married to Shelly. This is complicated enough without worrying about last names. You can learn them later.”

  It took her a second to figure out what they were talking about. “You’re married to Carter’s sisters,” she said more to herself than to them.

  Gordon, the firefighter, said, “The family is kind of crazy close, but that’s what makes them so special. Our wives have been talking about you, so we thought we’d come down and introduce ourselves when things were quiet. It will make it easier to get to know the family.”

  “It was really nice of you to stop by,” she said, “and I don’t mean to sound rude, but why did you?”

  “Because of Carter. Now that the two of you are getting married,” Frank said.

  “Married?” Rachel took a step back. “I don’t think so. Not married. Carter and I barely...” She hesitated, thinking that due to her pregnancy, saying she and Carter barely knew each would be really tacky. She cleared her throat. “We’re not getting married.”

  All three men glanced at her midsection. “You have to,” Gordon said. “You’re going to have Carter’s baby.”

  That was the theory, she thought, still not sure any of this was real, although thinking about it too much sent her into a panic.

  “Once you start to show,” Adam said, “won’t you want to be married? I know this is sudden, but Carter’s a good guy to have at your back. I’d trust him with my life. I have.”

  She frowned. “Excuse me? How? He works in a motorcycle shop.”

  “Right.” Adam shrugged. “Still, I’d let him date my sister.”

  There was a recommendation, Rachel thought, not sure if she should laugh or run for the hills.

  “You’re all being terrific,” she said carefully. “I really appreciate the support and the welcome, but Carter and I...”

  Three pairs of disapproving eyes focused on her.

  “That is, I don’t think we...” She pressed her lips together. This was her life. She didn’t have to answer to anyone. If Carter was happy to not marry her, why did these guys get a vote?

  But she didn’t know how to say that and for reasons not clear to her, she couldn’t seem to tell the three of them to mind their own business. Maybe it was because they were part of a family and she’d wanted that ever since she’d lost hers.

  “We’re dating,” she said at last, doing her best not to wince at the lie. “We’re dating and we’re really hopeful.”

  She smiled brightly and prayed that was enough. The three guys nodded.

  “Good,” Frank said. “Okay, then. We’ll let you get back to work now. But if you need anything—I mean anything—just call. One of us can always get to you. Okay? You’re not alone anymore, Rachel. You’re one of us.”

  With that, they left. She stared after them knowing that the smart, independent side of her should resent the implication that she couldn’t handle things on her own. When in truth, she was really touched by their visit and envious of their closeness. What would it be like to be a part of a family like that?

  She drew in a deep breath and reminded herself that she had a more pressing problem. Namely informing Carter that they were now a dating couple. Honestly, she had no idea how he was going to take the news.

  CHAPTER SIX

  CARTER ARRIVED AT Rachel’s house after work. She’d left a message for him on his cell, saying that his brothers-in-law had stopped by and that she needed to talk to him. She hadn’t said much else, but then she hadn’t had to. He could imagine how the conversation had gone.

  As he climbed up the stairs to her apartment, he wondered if any of the three had told her about his real job. Some women were fine with it but others freaked.

  She opened the door before he could knock. “Thanks for coming. I just didn’t...” She drew in a breath. “Okay. Come in and we’ll talk, right? Because that’s what rational grown-ups do. We talk. We don’t panic, we don’t allow ourselves to be influenced by the thoughts of others. Especially people we don’t know. I mean, I’m sure your family is perfectly lovely, but they don’t have the right to dictate how I live my life. Plus, I have to say, I hated the disapproval. I understand it, sort of. They care about you and they want you to get what you want. I don’t mind that, either, but you’ve made it really clear you’re not interested in marrying me and who am I to complain? I don’t want to get married, either.”

  He’d been content to let her wind down, but when it became obvious that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, he stepped in to fix the problem.

  He moved into the apartment, grabbed Rachel by her upper arms, drew her to him and kissed her firmly on the mouth.

  He had a brief impression of heat and softness, then he pulled back. The reaction was exactly what he’d hoped. She stopped talking and stared at him.

  “You kissed me.”

  “I know,” he said with a grin. “I was there.”

  “I didn’t think there would be kissing.”

  “There doesn’t have to be if you don’t like it. I didn’t know how else to get you to take a breath. Whatever happened, we can fix it.”

  She closed the front door behind him and shook her head. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But I have my doubts.”

  He had a feeling she was going to get wound up again, and while he wouldn’t mind the excuse to kiss her a second time, they needed to make a little progress on the information front.

  “Tell me what happened,” he said as he led her to the brightly colored sofa and urged her to sit. “Start at the beginning.”

  She sank down. He settled next to her and waited.

  “Your brothers-in-law came to visit me at school today.”

  He groaned. “During class?”

  “No, after.” She flopped against the back of the sofa. “How on earth would I have explained them if they’d showed up in the middle of the day? Five-year-olds can ask a lot of questions. I can only imagine the phone calls from worried parents after a visit like that.”

  “There won’t be another visit like that,” he told her, knowing when
he got home, he was going to have a little talk with his sisters. He appreciated their concern, but this wasn’t their business.

  “I hope you’re right,” Rachel told him. “I mean it was really nice to meet them, even if I wasn’t sure who was who, let alone which guy had which sister. But Carter, they think we’re getting married. They sort of implied it was required. I don’t know what I want. I haven’t even accepted the fact that I’m pregnant. I saw the truth on the test sticks, so I have the information in my head, but I really don’t believe it. Not yet. And when I do try to convince myself that it’s real, I start to hyperventilate, and that can’t be good.”

  She was adorable, he thought as he watched her sit up and give a good imitation of someone unable to catch her breath.

  “Relax,” he told her. “Take a deep breath and hold it.”

  She did as he suggested.

  “Now let it out.”

  She exhaled.

  “You’re fine,” he said, wishing he had another excuse to kiss her or even touch her soft wavy curls. Her hair was a tempting combination of reds and browns and gold. He remembered how it had felt in his fingers the one night they’d made love. Of course touching her hair was only one of several experiences he would like to repeat.

  “I don’t feel fine,” she admitted. “I feel weird. I don’t want to disappoint your family. I know they’re important to you. But I won’t be dictated to.”

  “No one’s dictating.”

  “It felt like that.”

  “That doesn’t make it real. This is between the two of us. We’ll work it out in the best way for us.”

  She ducked her head. “It’s not that simple,” she whispered. “There were three of them and I felt trapped.”

  He could imagine. “What did you say?”

  She looked at him. “That we were dating and hoping for the best.”

  He could live with that. Besides, she looked so dejected and guilty that he couldn’t be annoyed with her. “So you didn’t promise to marry me.”

  “Of course not.” She narrowed her gaze. “Are you smiling? This is not funny.”

  He kept his expression as neutral as he could make it. “I’m not smiling.”

  “It looks like you are. Nothing about this is funny. We’re talking about lives on the line here. We’ve made a baby. When I think about that, I can’t breathe anymore. Besides, this is all your fault.”