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Birch put some cheese and crackers on a plate and handed it to Carly. He shouldn’t be surprised she was upset by some mussed makeup, she was always so perfectly put together. She didn’t wear expensive clothing like his sister, but she was always clean and well dressed.
He had noticed the smudged makeup but didn’t care. He certainly wasn’t going to mention it and make her feel bad. In hindsight, it might have been kinder to tell her. Too late now, but definitely a point to remember in the future.
He grabbed a bottle of wine, a couple glasses, and an opener. “Let’s go sit in the living room while the pizza cooks.”
“Sure,” she mumbled around a mouthful of crackers.
He didn’t say anything. He’d seen her at the church at 9 a.m. for the 1 p.m. wedding. It had to be nearing ten-thirty now. She was surely starving after missing dinner. He banked the fury rising in him. Was it bad to hope his sister’s marriage to the king of jerks didn’t last?
No, that wasn’t right. He wanted Tanya to be happy. If Jerkface George made her happy, that made Birch happy.
He tried not to leer at Carly’s legs as she headed to the living room. He’d expected her to choose sweatpants, not athletic shorts. Sure, they came down to her knees, but he’d spent more than one afternoon ogling her as she swam in the family pool with Tanya. He knew and loved the way her body looked, right down to the tiny mole behind her left knee. He’d paid the price for that ogling with endless erotic dreams too. Having her here was a dream of another sort, and he intended to enjoy every second.
He expected her to sit on the couch. Instead, she sat on the throw rug by the fireplace, placing the plate on the hearth. He sat beside her, close, but not uncomfortably close. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their unfurling relationship now that he had her in his house, and she was finally openly talking to him,
“Thanks for the crackers, I’m starved. I know I ate half the salad you brought me, but that’s the first thing I’ve had all day. Between going with Tanya for hair and makeup, I missed breakfast and lunch. I was running on coffee.”
She daintily nibbled a cracker with cheese on top like she was afraid she might drop a crumb. It was good to see her eat and amusing that she was trying so hard to seem dainty and polite. It wasn’t like he hadn’t watched her and Tanya scarf down chips like a couple of linebackers. He put a slice of cheese on a cracker and topped it with a second cracker and crammed the whole thing in his mouth. He pretended not to watch her as he chewed and poured the wine, but he was gratified to see that after seeing him devour his cracker she started eating normally, without worrying about what he thought.
Honestly, if she knew how much he adored her and how long he’d been in love with her, she’d forget about fretting over how she looked and relax.
“Thank you for telling Tanya that I was there. I don’t want her worrying on her honeymoon.”
“Yeah, I figured that. Though honestly, we were both really worried. I knew nothing would keep you from the wedding except disaster. I was going to call you, but I don’t have your number.”
She twisted and pulled a phone from the pocket of the borrowed shorts. “Give me your number and I’ll shoot you a text, so you have mine, in case you need it. I can’t believe we haven’t traded numbers before now.”
No way was he going to pass up on that offer. “Where did that phone come from? You didn’t have it when you arrived.”
She laughed. “Under my dress. The seamstress who altered my dress makes an amazing holster and garter combination that holds phones, and credit cards under dresses. It’s pretty cool.”
He gave her his number and in seconds, his phone vibrated. He pulled it from his pocket and after glancing to ensure it was her text, he set it on the table. “Perfect, now I know how to find you when I need you.” He tried not to put emphasis on need, but when her eyes widened, he knew he had failed. “Let’s not talk about the wedding. Tell me about you.”
“What do you want to know?” She sipped her wine and dabbed her lips with a tissue from the box on the floor at the end of the hearth.
He really needed furniture. “Tell me your hopes and dreams, plans for the future. Everything. There isn’t anything you can say that I won’t be interested in hearing.”
She looked puzzled for a second. After a sip of wine and a deep breath she said, “I’m not that complicated. I’m older than your sister, but we still hit it off. I’m thirty-five, to be precise. I work at the diner. Mike, my ex, makes a lot of money and I get really good child support payments. If I wanted, I could scrape by on that money alone. I work to feel useful, and to provide extras for my daughter. I love my job. It isn’t the quiet office job I’d envisioned when I went into accounting, but I love working with people almost as much as you love working with horses.”
“I do love horses.” He was tickled that she’d noticed. “Are you still liking Elk Valley?”
“That cracks me up every time I hear it. Such a grand name for a small town of four thousand people. There is no real valley and I’ve never seen elk.”
She giggled and his arms prickled with gooseflesh. How many times had he stayed in the house when she and Layla were visiting, just to hear her laugh? Dozens? Or more?
“Excuse me, that’s four thousand seven hundred and fifty at last census. And there was a mother elk and two calves outside Pearlman’s Grocery last week.” He was rewarded with another glorious laugh. Oops, maybe he opened the wine too soon. He nudged two crackers toward her. She ate a couple before she spoke.
“Really? I would have loved to see them. I think I told you once that Mike’s job brought us here. I couldn’t find an accounting job.” She shrugged. “I got bored and went to work at the diner. Then I got pregnant, and you know the rest. I’m not totally out of accounting. I do the books for the Scouts, the Girl Guides, the Kinsmen and the Kinettes, all for no fee.”
“Very generous. I remember your first day at the diner, you spilled water on Mr. Humphries.”
“Oh. Don’t remind me. I was mortified. Luckily it was cold water, not hot coffee. I haven’t spilled on anyone since then. Though I have dropped a couple plates on the floor. I’ve gotten better.”
“I wouldn’t know, you never wait on me anymore.” Of course, he’d stopped going to the diner so often. Watching her smile and joke with other men brought out a jealousy he didn’t like.
She set her wine on the hearth and twisted her hands together. She stared into her lap. “Because I usually work with Tanya, and she likes to pick on you.”
“Bullshit,” he said softly. “Tell me the truth.” Pink rushed up her cheeks and she exhaled heavily.
“You make me nervous. I get all tongue-tied and fumble fingered when you’re close. I don’t want to spill on you or say something stupid.”
He didn’t smile, though he wanted to. She was attracted to him too. She never totally ignored him, but she wasn’t as open and chatty with him as she was with everyone else. He’d been torn between thinking she disliked him and worrying that she was somehow afraid of him. Except neither of those fit when she flashed him the occasional shy smile. Was it any wonder she had him tied up in knots from all those mixed signals?
“We’ve known each other for six years. Isn’t it time you stopped being nervous around me?” He wasn’t going to mention that, sometimes, she made him a little tongue-tied as well.
“Maybe?” She wrinkled her nose and grimaced.
“You trust me with Layla when she comes over.”
“I trust your entire family. It isn’t a trust issue.”
The oven timer beeped. He leaped up to get the pizza. He pulled it out and slid it onto a cutting board for slicing. He paused to cement the memory of tonight in his mind. He’d waited so long for this. To be alone with her, talking, sharing things. There was a peace and excitement in him that he never wanted to lose.
He couldn’t imagine himself with anyone but Carly, but he knew he shouldn’t, couldn’t, wait for her forever, even if thinking of either of them being with anyone else broke his heart and spirit.
They ate the pizza without much conversation. He was content to be with her and listen to the crackling fire. The sound of the dried pine logs popping and hissing was comforting. Sitting so close to Carly was a miracle. Even after her terrible day, she smelled incredible, a perfume more feminine and flowery than her usual scent. He wanted to pull her close and never let her go.
After eating, they sipped wine and chatted. She got up and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch. She lay on her side on the rug and flipped the edge of the blanket over her legs, blocking his view.
“Are you cold?”
“No. I’m good.” She fell quiet and when he was certain she’d drifted off, she said, “Do you ever think about marriage?” Her tone was sleepy and melancholy.
The question went straight to his heart, and his groin. “I do. I want a wife and children. My own kids, her kids, adopted kids. It doesn’t matter. I love kids.”
“So, you’d marry someone who’d been married before?” she asked sleepily.
“Yes, I would. I even know a woman with a child who I’d date and marry.” He dropped the broad hint hoping she wasn’t too far gone in sleep or under the influence of wine to catch his meaning.
“Too bad, because I kind of like you and I love your house.” She hiccupped and let out a soft sighing snore.
Elation washed over him. Finally, after years of hoping she’d notice him, she was in his house, open to a relationship, and close enough to touch. Too bad she was drinking; he’d never take advantage of that. Nor would he wake her after the brutal day she’d had.
He went to the bedroom to change out of his tux, and came back with a couple of pillows and the fluffy quilt his sister had made him. He lifted her head and slid a pillow under it. After stoking the fire, he lay behind her without touching her, and covered them both up. He’d stay with her in case she woke up and needed to go home.
He told himself he wasn’t staying because he’d fantasized about her in this spot a hundred times while building their house. Yes, their house. He’d heard her talk about what she wanted in a home and had incorporated her ideas into his plans. The entire time he designed and built the house, with every nail and screw, he’d envisioned her here, in his arms. She wasn’t in his arms, but close enough. For now.
