The following afternoon, Carter hefted his almost five-year-old daughter, Piper, higher against his chest and shoulder and buried his head in her stomach with a ferocious growl. Her little-girl giggles filled his ears and brought a squeeze to his heart as they always did.
Sometimes he wondered if Piper's mother ever had any regrets walking out on them the way she had, but then… he didn't want to find out. The last thing Piper needed was for her mom to appear and possibly reconnect, only to leave again.
"There you are," Amelia said, smiling from a chair on the deck surrounding Lincoln's pool. "Hi, Piper."
"Hiii. Daddy, stop tickling me," Piper said, still laughing.
"I only do it because redheads are my favorite snack," he told Piper, letting her slide to the ground now that they'd arrived.
"No shoes?" Amelia asked.
"The monster ate them," Piper said quickly, glancing up at Carter with sweet yet conniving innocence.
"Happens a lot in our house," Carter said, making a fierce Dad face at his daughter. "But only to little girls who don't pick up after themselves and put their shoes in the bin where they go."
"I found one of 'em."
Carter chuckled and tousled his daughter's ponytailed head before he handed over the unicorn pool ring he'd also carried from his house.
Piper asked permission to get in and he nodded. She quickly yanked the unicorn float over her head and ran for the edge, jumping in like the little mermaid she was.
"You ladies are looking lovely. Where's Linc?" Carter asked.
"He had to take a real estate call, but he'll be back out in a minute," Amelia said. "And Mac is on his way over."
"So, Carter…" Marsali said from her chair.
Carter turned his head. "So, Marsali?"
The women both wore sunglasses but he saw the quick glance they exchanged. His gut tightened in warning because he knew what they were about to ask.
Maybe he should go check on Lincoln? Give Mac a hand with whatever he was doing?
Because despite the hours between Friday night and now, he still wasn't sure what he was going to do with that card he'd pulled from Eliza's purse.
"You and Eliza looked awfully good together," Marsali said. "I think my brother was a bit jealous."
Carter grinned unabashedly. "Yeah, well, Mac will get over it."
"Mac heard that."
Carter turned to find his neighbor closing the distance between Mac's house and Lincoln's, a beach towel thrown over his shoulder and a cooler in hand.
"And you'd better not do anything you'll regret," Mac continued as he made it to where Carter still stood.
"Why would I regret it?" Carter asked his friend.
Mac lifted his sunglasses from his face for a moment to shoot Carter a glare before lowering them again.
"Because I'd make you," Mac said, matter-of-fact. "Eliza's family."
"Ah, yeah, she mentioned you'd kissed her and it was like kissing her brother."
Mac shoved the cooler into Carter's belly for that low blow, and he grunted from it even as he grinned. Yeah… apparently Mac didn't feel entirely brotherly about Eliza.
"You kissed her?" Marsali asked, gasping. "When? Why didn't either of you tell me this? Oh, you wait until I talk to her again!"
Mac leaned his head back as though calling on every ounce of patience he could muster.
"It was a long time ago and because it was awkward and never happened again. Let's move on," Mac said, moving to toss his towel onto a lounger by the ladies before using two fingers to point to his eyes and then at Piper in that age-old I'm eyeing you, kid motion.
"Don't jump on me!" Piper screamed, kicking and splashing and laughing in an effort to get away from Mac to the opposite side of the pool.
"Yes, let's move on. So, Carter," Marsali said again. "I sensed some major chemistry between you and Eliza."
"Chemistry is important," Amelia said. "That's one of the questions on Marsali's dating list. Oh, I can't wait until your book releases in a few weeks! I'm going to buy copies for all my friends and have you sign them."
Carter set the cooler aside, kicked off his slides, and tossed the towels wrapped around his neck for carrying. "I have to swim with my kid."
"Nah, buddy. I've got her," Mac called from the pool, laughing. "You just enjoy the interrogation."
"Have you talked to Eliza since?" Marsali asked.
While Mac spouted his nonsense, Amelia ran over and grasped Carter's arm, dragging him toward the loungers and away from the water.
"Sit. I'll get you a drink," Amelia said, pushing him down.
"Ladies—"
"Uh-uh. We need answers," Marsali said.
Carter stared at the beautiful faces looking back at him and barely suppressed the groan struggling to emerge. Mac's mocking laughter from the pool didn't help. Carter glanced toward his neighbor, spotting Mac's smug grin.
Brother, Carter mouthed, throwing Eliza's description of the kiss back at his friend.
Mac drew his arm back and sent it flying, and water sprayed from the pool, dousing the three of them. The ladies shrieked but this time Carter was the one smirking. Given the chemistry between him and Eliza, he could guarantee a kiss would feel anything but brotherly.
Amelia returned and pressed a cold drink into his hand. He popped the tab and tilted his head for a drink, gaze landing on both females as they turned sideways on the loungers to give him their full attention.
He lowered the can and sighed. "Have at it, ladies."
Several hours and coats of sunscreen on Piper's pale skin later, Carter peeked over to the umbrella-shaded chair where his baby girl sat eating watermelon. Pink marked both cheeks in a wide crescent while pink streams ran down her chin.
"I can't get over how beautiful she is," Amelia said. "If one of the casting reps were to ever see her—"
"No," he said instantly. "She is not going to be a show-business brat," he said, referring to Amelia's connections with Wilmington's Hollywood elite.
"Modeling?" she asked next.
"Forget it."
"Stop grumbling at my fiancée," Lincoln said from his position by the grill.
"I'll stop when your fiancée quits trying to corrupt my baby girl."
Amelia held up her hands in surrender. "I'm just saying she'd be perfect."
"Good news," Marsali said, leaving the house where she'd excused herself a bit ago. "She's coming."
Every adult head turned in Carter's direction. Seriously? "Who's coming?" he asked, playing dumb though his gut identified the mysterious visitor.
"Eliza," Marsali said with a shake of her damp curls. "I called to check on her and she said she's made some progress with the wedding prep for you guys," Marsali said to Amelia. "She, uh, mentioned not being able to read some of her notes from last night, so I told her we were just hanging out by the pool so… she's stopping by to get some details straightened out and get the signed contract from you."
"Wonderful," Amelia said, moving to Lincoln's side to give him a quick kiss in her excitement. "Won't be long now."
"Long enough," Lincoln said.
Carter watched the two lovebirds and tried to rid himself of the tug of envy. Maybe he was a softie, but he really did want that kind of connection with a woman someday. The lasting kind that might not be perfect but gave him the life he wanted for Piper and himself.
His problem was finding the right woman.
Especially when certain women declared themselves uninterested….