Carter sat at the bar, sandwiched between Mac and Lincoln. He wasn't sure why Mac had insisted they come here to eat since it was the same hotel where he'd first laid eyes on Eliza. Knowing Mac, it was to torture Carter and rub salt in the wound.
"Marsali said Eliza looks awful," Mac said.
"They make a matched set then," Lincoln added from Carter's left.
He glared at his so-called friend and brother in the mirror over the bar, his drink halfway to his lips when he spotted Eliza crossing the lobby behind them.
Carter swiveled on the seat and glanced at Mac long enough to see his smirk.
"You're not the only one who can read a calendar—or want her to have help if she needs it."
Carter took off out of the bar, his gaze taking in Eliza's small frame. "Eliza."
She swung around and he hated himself when he spotted her red-rimmed eyes. She did look awful—beautiful but gaunt, like she'd lost weight and hadn't slept. "Hey."
Eliza blinked at him, her head shaking slightly as though she tried to clear her vision.
"What are you doing here?"
"Where are you going?"
The questions were asked in unison, filled the space between them and hung there in awkwardness. "The, uh, guys— Mac knew where you'd be and brought us in case you needed help."
"Marsali," she whispered.
He nodded, uncaring about the details. Only that she was there. "Probably. Where are you going?"
"Oh, um, I-I was going up to my room to fix my face before… I was coming to see you."
"Now? Aren't you in the middle of a wedding?" he asked, his entire body tensing at the hope springing to life inside of him.
"Yes, but… I have to talk to you. Can we? Please?"
Now that his temper and frustration had cooled, talking seemed like a really good idea. "Walk you to your room?"
She smiled, the expression on her face revealing that she remembered the night they first met, and he felt it like a punch to his gut.
Carter stepped toward her and clasped her shoulder in his hand, tucking her to his side, and tried to be the strength she needed looking as tired as she did.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "You were right about me… about me judging you. I totally did that and it was wrong of me and I apologize."
"Apology accepted," he said, stopping in front of the elevators. He punched the button with a finger and waited for her to continue.
"I wish you'd told me the truth from the beginning—"
"Me, too," he readily agreed.
"But I also totally get why you didn't. After what I said about my family, you knew I'd… I'd have a problem with it. That I'd see the divorces rather than you."
Another gut punch. He nodded once, holding her gaze and silently willing her to continue.
"Carter, I'll be the first to admit this scares me, but do you think we can start over? With me being less judgy and you understanding I have severe issues that require complete and total honesty, whether I like hearing it or not?"
The elevator doors opened, and he was beyond thankful that they were empty. He tugged her inside and pressed the door close button, not bothering to wait before pressed her into the corner of the elevator and kissed her like the starving man he was.
"Is that a yes?" she asked against his lips.
He stared down into her gorgeous green eyes, maintaining contact as he slowly kissed her again. "That's a yes, sweetheart. I apologize for taking off like I did, but when I saw how disappointed you were and it sank in that I'd blown it, I had to get out of there."
She framed his face in her small hands and kissed him again.
"It wasn't disappointment. It was shock and jealousy and anger and… fear that you'd kept it from me. I let it overwhelm me and—"
He kissed her, hard and fast and purposeful, not letting her up for air until she clung to him and sagged against the wall behind her. "From now on, no secrets." He kissed her again. "We communicate." Another kiss. "We fight… and make up," he growled against her lips, kissing her at the same time. "But we figure it out together. You and me."
She stared up at him, tears glistening in her eyes as she nodded.
"You and me."
Four months later, Eliza stared down at the sparkling rings on her finger before shifting her gaze toward her almost-husband.
She wore fitted winter-white jeans and a matching sweater paired with boots and a beautiful cashmere coat borrowed from Amelia. The small group of friends gathered by the Carolina Cove Pier on a bright February afternoon, called at the last minute so no one could make a fuss, though she would admit to picking the date after hearing Amelia's shooting schedule would allow her to attend.
Marsali and Amelia stood beside her, Mac and Lincoln beside Carter. They'd even taken Piper out of school for the afternoon so she wouldn't miss the special event, and given her seashells to toss in lieu of flowers as they made their way to the pilings beneath the pier for the service.
Now Eliza repeated the vows said by the minister and slid the ring on Carter's finger, barely able to breathe. Not from fear but love. She loved this man. This gorgeous, make-her-toes-curl, kiss-her-until-her-head-spun man and his beautiful little girl.
And best thing of all?
They loved her just as much. All her crazy. All her insecurities. All her neediness.
Carter loved her just the way she was, and ever since that day in the elevator he'd gone above and beyond to show her he wasn't the man of his past but a man who had grown up and changed and lived every day striving to be better. For her. For Piper. For the future he wanted with them and the life they'd have together.
The minister pronounced them husband and wife, and Carter used his hold on her hands to tug her closer, lowering his head to seal the pledge with a kiss that promised everything and gave her more than she could've ever asked for. A husband, a daughter. A life she couldn't wait to live with her family at her side.
Carter lifted his head and she blinked up at him, dazed and happy and so very glad she'd broken her own rules and allowed Carter into her walls, her heart. Because in the process, he'd shown her that true love healed.
And in this case? His case? The third time was definitely the charm.
MAKE ME A MATCH SERIES:
MONTANA SECRETS SERIES:
- HEALING HER COWBOY
- IT HAD TO BE YOU
- HERS TO KEEP
- MILLION DOLLAR STANDOFF
- HIS CHRISTMAS WISH
- THEIR SECRET SON
THE SEASIDE SISTERS SERIES:
TAMING THE TULANES SERIES:
THE STONE RIVER SERIES:
- WORTH THE WAIT
- NOT BY SIGHT
- THROUGH THE VALLEY
- LEAD ME NOT
- CHRISTMAS AT HOLLY WOOD
- THEIR CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
- SECOND CHANCES
SMALL TOWN SCANDALS SERIES:
SECRET SANTA SERIES: