Chapter 13
“I warn you,” Carter began as he put his key in the lock to open his apartment door. “You’ve already won the apartment bet. There’s not much to see here.”
This was ridiculous. He’d never before had any type of feelings of trepidation about bringing a woman back to his apartment. Hell, his place was female catnip. Simply but graciously decorated, it spoke to his style and love of the minimalistic and his appreciation of order. The spare but well-appointed rooms, which featured furniture and artwork handpicked by Everett’s own decorator, showed his impeccable taste and appreciation for the finer things.
So what was he worried about? It wasn’t like he was bringing Leila here for a booty call. No, with their arrangement, there’d be no real chance of that. She’d made it clear, and rightly so, that all their amorous interaction would be strictly PDA. Though, they both still needed to get the ground rules right on that. For his part, he was having a damn hard time getting his hormones to separate from his head on that matter. Case in point, the sight of her now, looking delicious and delectable, as he stuck his key in the lock on his front door was setting off all sorts of signals and alarms, which under normal circumstances would be welcome, but he knew had to be squelched entirely.
Leila looked up at him and let out a frustrated sigh. “Is there a reason we’re still on this side of the door and not the other? One would think you have something in there you want to hide.”
Carter gave her a look. “Hardly. Nothing to hide on my part.”
And with that, they walked inside. Carter gave a little flourish with his hand as he let Leila enter first into his tiny foyer. She smiled as she looked around and then walked farther into the hallway of his convertible one-bedroom on the West Side. Her smile gave him pause but still caused a small swell of pride. He wondered briefly how she saw his place. Did she see it as he’d wanted her to see it and, therefore, see him? As someone on her level, or at least as someone on a level she’d want to deal with for not just the next six months but beyond that. Someone she could trust to take her to the next level in her career. And who knew? Maybe even further? Carter felt a twinge of hope.
But just then she stopped mid-step and frowned as she looked down, having noticed the red high heels perched under his entryway table. She turned to him with fire and, surprisingly, hurt in her eyes. Leila poked a hard fingernail into his chest. “Good to know my track record still stands, even if this deal was nothing but business. I thought at least someone like you would stand by your word.”
Carter stepped back. “First of all, ouch! Again. What’s with you and the hands?” Then he said, “I don’t know what’s with the shoes. I haven’t lied to you. Those weren’t there when I dropped my bags off this morning. What are you getting all upset about? You could give me a chance to get to the bottom of this.”
Leila shook her head and tried to sidestep him in the narrow hallway, the tight quarters bringing her body close to his. So close he could smell the scent of the lavender she used in her hair. Even as he put up his arms to get out of the angry woman’s way, Carter inhaled.
“I’m not staying around to listen to whatever lies you quickly try to come up with,” Leila said. “My time is too valuable to play games. We can chalk this up in the press to another one of my stunts and move on. There are other shows, other networks.”
Carter’s temper flared. “Now, wait a minute. Don’t be such a hothead. It’s just a pair of damned shoes.” He paused. “Shoes that shouldn’t be in my house.” It was then that recognition came to him, and Carter knew whose shoes they probably were. “Oh hell! Maybe you’re right. We both should go.” Carter put a gentle hand on Leila’s upper arm to lead her toward the door.
“Oh, no you don’t. Carter Reginald Bain, you may be able to dodge me over the phone, but you can’t face-to-face. Get in here and hug your mama before I come over there and whack you!”
Carter let out a low moan as Leila froze and looked wide-eyed at him before they both turned towards the voice in unison. There she was, all 115 petite pounds of her, soaking wet but feisty enough to take on any heavyweight she came up against. Faye Bain was standing in her bare feet, wearing pedal pusher jeans and a black, off-the-shoulder tee that had nothing on it but a bejeweled black power fist. Her wild riot of salt-and-pepper curls bounced around her head as she gave her only son a stern but loving look and a shake of the head. Carter walked forward and took his mother in a warm embrace.
“What are you doing here, Mama? I thought we’d agreed you would call before coming by.”
Faye raised a brow. “And I thought we didn’t have to agree to something like you not getting married without discussing it with me and your father. So, you know what you can do with that agreement.” She looked past Carter and over at Leila and raised a brow. “So,” she said, letting the word just sit there.
Leila said nothing. Just stared at Faye, trying, Carter was sure, to square in her mind this woman with the image that Carter had presented. Finally, Leila smiled and started to walk forward, shooting Carter a look as she passed him.
“It would seem your son is at a loss for words. It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Bain. I can see where Carter gets his good looks and his determination.” Leila put out a hand, and to Carter’s relief, his mother took it. She was the toughest of critics, so Leila couldn’t expect more than that.
“And judging by that fight I heard starting, I can see you’ve got a little gumption yourself. What is this I heard about a business deal? What kind of unholy mess did you two kids get yourselves into?”
Leila looked at Carter, wide-eyed and silent, as he let out yet another low growl.
Faye Bain gave him a quick slap on his arm. “Boy, if this has anything to do with that dammed Everett Walker and his company, I’m going to have your hide.”
Carter let out a low breath as he looked at his mother. “Now, Mama, don’t start. You’ve got to let me explain.”
Faye gave him a sharp look and put up a hand, shaking her head. “Let me sit down, because I already know I’m not going to like how this turns out. Talk of deals and shows.” She turned to Leila and looked her up and down. “I wanted you to fall in love, settle down with a wife, be happy, have babies, not broker some deal with a girl who is only with you for the come up.” At Carter’s skeptical expression, Faye waved her hand. “Oh, I know the lingo you kids use. Yes, the come up. And, hell, this one here looks like she’s never even cooked a proper meal in her life. Like the world’s been rolled out for her because of her good looks or whatever.”
Leila sucked in a breath, and Carter swallowed. Damn. That was low, even for his mother, who he knew wanted only the best for him.
“Now, Ma, I know you’re angry, but that’s uncalled for.” Faye looked at her son with shocked eyes. Never one to talk back, Carter knew she would be upset. “Now, you’re right. This isn’t a love match, and I’d appreciate it if you kept that between us, but Leila is extremely talented, and most importantly, as of today, right now, she’s my wife, so you need to respect that. She’s a Bain, which means we all had better act like it.”
Carter stared at his mother, knowing if he didn’t win this battle here and now, the next six months would be pure hell. His mother had never been one to shy away from giving her opinion, so he needed his mother on their side. Who knew who she would talk to in her anger and let the wrong information slip out? Plus Leila was too high profile to lose, and honestly, he didn’t want to see her hurt, especially not by another person he cared for.
Finally, his mother let out a breath. She glanced up at her new in name only daughter-in-law and looked her in the eye before speaking. “I’m sorry. What I said was over the line, and whatever this is doesn’t matter. You’re connected to my son, which means you’re connected to me. We take care of our own, honey. You’ll never hear me say a word otherwise.”
“Thank you,” was Leila’s only reply, and it left Carter feeling oddly uneasy.
Faye turned to Carter with a nod, as if to say, “Is that good enough?” And he gave her a nod in return. “Besides, now it’s just another person for me to take care of. With that figure of yours, you’ll never convince me you’re some great cook,” Faye declared.
Leila gave his mother a quick up and down and Carter could tell she was weighing her words over in her mind. “No, I’m no great cook, but I am a champion at eating.” She paused and stared at Faye, taking her in then from head to toe. “I have to say though, for all your talk about my figure, yours would suggest you’re no great cook either. Going by your own standards of course.”
Faye looked a Leila carefully then and Carter almost held his breath during the momentary standoff between his wife and his mother. “Well, I guess appearances can be deceiving,” his mother finally said before smiling. “Now, good to know there is a bright side to this. I won’t just have one child to cook for now. Instead, I’ll be cooking for two!” She reached out and took Leila’s hand a lot more warmly this time and pulled her into an embrace. When they pulled back, she looked into Leila’s eyes. “Now that that is over, tell me, how did it go when you introduced Carter to your family?”
With that, Leila let out a groan similar to the one Carter had given when he realized it was his mother’s shoes by his front door.