Chapter Three

“Where have you been?”

Carter had just walked in the back door of Colburn and Sons Salvage the next morning when his mother came barreling down the hall. Ever since Pop had the stroke that put him in a wheelchair, he and Mom relinquished most of the responsibilities of running the place to their sons. But his mother still made sure her voice was heard loud and clear. As often as possible.

He glanced at his watch. “It’s only ten.”

“I expected you here first thing. I have to be able to count on you.”

“I got here as soon as I could.” He held back a sigh. He shouldn’t have to keep reminding her of his law practice. His folks had helped him with the outrageous tuition. “I had things I had to do at the office first thing.”

“I worry that someday you’re going to come through that door and tell us that you’re too busy being a lawyer and you can’t work here anymore, and I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

He gave his mom a hug. “I won’t do that. Promise.”

She stepped away and locked her gaze with his. “I wouldn’t blame you. You’ve worked hard and—”

“I’ll pull as much weight as I can at Colburn and Sons.” He cleared his throat. “Now what do you need me to do?”

“I need you to place some orders online. I put the list on your desk.” His mother liked to check out social media on her tablet, but she refused to have anything to do with the business computer.

“I thought Charlene was doing the ordering now.” Noah’s ex-wife had moved back to Lakeside to be close to their girls and had been hired to take over the accounting and payroll duties Noah used to handle.

“She has her hands full this morning. I don’t want to add anything more to her workload.”

“Okay, Mom.” He waved good morning to his cousin, Ginny, who aside from working in the showroom handled the advertising and website for Colburn and Sons. “I’ll take care of it right now.”

“I can’t help worrying about the business.” His mom followed him to the small desk tucked into a back corner behind the showroom counter. “Now that Noah can’t be here as often, I depend on you and Beckett to keep things going.”

She never used to sound so needy. And it kinda upset him that she didn’t think she could trust him and Beck to get things done. “Everything moves smoothly here. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“The business supports so many people. They depend on us. We can’t risk anything going wrong.”

“Nothing’s going wrong. Things are changing, sure. Noah’s finally getting on with his life. He deserves it, don’t you think?”

“Of course he does. But I worry that your law practice is taking more and more of your time away from us, too.”

“Mom.” He wasn’t going to apologize for building a successful career.

“Don’t get me wrong. Your pop and I are so proud of you, but we need you here. I’m afraid someday you’ll be too busy for us, and we’ll lose you altogether.”

It’s what he was afraid of, too. He was split between his law practice and the family business. Expected to be on standby for both, but not able to give his all to either. How long could he manage being stretched so thin before something had to give? He couldn’t burden his mother with his worries. “I won’t let that happen.”

She sniffed. “Who’s going to be reaching out to find new salvage jobs?”

“Mom, we’ve got that covered. Ginny keeps the word out online, and we’re not short of jobs. We’re scheduled out for months. Please don’t worry.”

“I just…” She dropped into the chair beside the desk. “I guess I feel like everything is out of my control. It used to be your pop and I were responsible for everything. Now I’m not responsible for anything.”

He placed his hand over hers. “You and Pop taught us well. We all know what we’re doing. You’re both responsible for that. You supervise the showroom, and you know how important all those sales are for the business.” What salvaged items Colburn and Sons didn’t sell as is were redesigned, repurposed, and reworked, and then put on the floor of their huge showroom for sale.

“I know. I guess it’s hard to hand over the reins.”

“Even though you’ve been working toward it for years?”

She smiled. “We have.”

“You and Pop worked hard to make Colburn and Sons a stable business. Beck, Noah, and I are going to keep it going. We’re going to grow it even more. Trust us.” If the dinner tonight went well, he’d be able to add another level of security to the family business.

“I do. We do.” She sighed. “Your pop gets lonely. And then I feel guilty for coming in. And then feel guilty when I don’t.”

He’d never tell his mom she didn’t need to come in every day, even though it was the truth. “Pop doesn’t have to stay home. He can shoot the breeze with customers in the showroom or with Jimmy and Pete in the shop.”

“He says it’s not the same. Coming around here is too much of a reminder of all the things he can’t do anymore.”

Coming into the shop might help Pop get his mind off his partial paralysis and slurred speech, instead of watching game shows all day with Carrie, his aide. He’d have to talk to his brothers about a solution.

“Okay, but don’t worry. We’ve got this.” He turned on the computer. His mom dropped a kiss to the top of his head and walked out back. It only took a couple of minutes to place the order his mom had been worried about.

“I hear you’re going out for a romantic dinner tonight.” Ginny came up behind him, a mile-wide grin on her face.

“It’s a business dinner. How did you hear about it anyway?”

Ginny’s eyes were bright. “Anita and I were out with Katie last night.”

What the hell? “Katie said it was going to be a romantic dinner?”

“Of course not. But it’s at a fancy restaurant, and she bought a new dress.”

Carter groaned. “I didn’t want her spending money on a new dress. Anything she wears will be fine.”

Ginny gawked at him like he’d lost his mind. “You don’t wear just anything to Castle on the Hill. Besides, a woman shouldn’t need an excuse to buy something for herself.” There was a sudden mischievous spark in her eyes. “You know, it could still be romantic. I always thought you and Katie—”

“Are friends. You know that.”

Ginny’s expression turned serious. “Couldn’t it ever turn to more?”

“No.”

His cousin studied him. “What are you afraid of, Carter?”

“Afraid? I’m not afraid of anything.” He and Katie weren’t just friends; they were the kind of friends who mattered. If he was afraid at all, it was that a shift in their friendship could ruin everything they already had. He couldn’t imagine his life without her. He didn’t want to lose his friend Kat. Or, even worse, have her turn into one of those women who wouldn’t return his calls or avoided him when they ran into each other. It wasn’t worth the risk.

“I worry about you. Even when you were dating, you never really put yourself out there. I remember Shelley telling me that you were all surface charm, but she never felt like she could get to know you.”

“Shelley? Shelley Green?”

“Morano now.” Ginny frowned. “You were kind of a shit to her, you know?”

Carter didn’t know how to respond. What could he say? He thought they’d just been having fun. You didn’t need to get to know someone to have fun.

“But you and Katie are so right for each other.”

He wanted to shout, so he took a breath and then lowered his voice instead. “Katie was married to my best friend. She loved my best friend.” He was tired of having this conversation. “She doesn’t love me. We’re just friends.”

Ginny looked like she was going to argue some more, but she just sighed. “You should find someone else then, or you’re going to end up one of those grumpy old bachelors who sits in the barber shop all day and talks about the good old days with other grumpy old bachelors.”

His cousin made him feel decidedly grumpy at the moment. And he didn’t like the reminder that he apparently deserved the reputation Katie intimated. “Why don’t you go out on the floor and dust something?”

Ginny lifted her phone. “I’m going to take a picture of you and post it to the business page under the caption future grumpy old bachelor.”

“You are not.”

She dropped her phone into her pocket. “Before you know it, you’ll be sitting in a rocking chair in the middle of the showroom, talking to anyone who’ll listen about the one who got away.”

He scrubbed his hand over his face. Ginny wasn’t close to getting married, and she was only a couple of years younger than he was. She had no business giving him a lecture on staying single. “Go help some customers.”

“Sure thing, boss.” But she smirked before she turned and sashayed away. Ginny was a good worker, talented with the website and advertising, but she’d been a brat when they were kids, and she was a brat now.

The one who got away.

He shut down the computer and shoved the chair away from the desk. Of course he wanted a family someday, wife and kids and the whole nine yards. And yeah, he’d probably thought it would have happened before he turned forty. But he’d been having fun playing the field. And then he just…got busy. Too busy to realize he was giving people around here, women especially, the wrong impression. He was more than the guy who gave some girl a good time when she was feeling down after a breakup.

He wasn’t going to end up a grumpy old bachelor.

Someone called his name from the back, and he lunged to his feet. He was more than a rebound guy. He was a lawyer with his own private practice. He was instrumental in Colburn and Sons, and he had a plan to bring more stability to the family business.

Tonight was the first step.

If he was also looking forward to seeing Katie in her brand-new dress, smelling her soft scent, and sitting beside her in a candlelit restaurant, no one could blame him. He couldn’t help being a guy. But as he reminded himself yet again, her friendship was too important to risk on a romantic relationship that could turn sour at any moment. As it had for him too many times in the past.

…

Gobsmacked was one of those words that Katie’s son, Sean, had heard on TV sometime in his midteens and for some reason grabbed ahold of. Sometimes he’d affect a British accent when he said it, but more often than not, he used it in his everyday conversations. His friends had laughed at him at first, but eventually they picked it up, too. Katie would miss hearing that word thrown around, along with the laughter of her son and his friends.

But right now, gobsmacked was the only word Katie could think of to describe Carter’s expression when she opened the door to him that evening. She was so glad she’d taken that trip to buy a new dress last night. She liked the way she looked in the mirror, and now she felt as if she were glowing from the inside out. More than that, she felt like a desirable woman for the first time in forever. Because of the way Carter was looking at her.

And the way he looked to her? He often wore a suit, and he’d always looked as devastatingly handsome in one of those as he did in worn jeans and a fitted T-shirt. But in this suit, black with the tiniest of white pinstripe? A crisp white shirt and a black tie with a gray swirl that stopped the outfit from being too stark?

Mouthwatering.

“Looking sharp, Mr. Colburn.”

He’d swept his gaze slowly over her, from her untamable hair pulled back in a blinged-up clip, along her over-the-knee-length lilac wrap dress, down her bare legs to the strappy sandals with not-too-crazy-tall heels. Her body warmed, her skin tingled, her pulse raced, her mouth grew dry.

“You’re beautiful, Kat.” Carter cleared his throat. “Are you ready?”

She was still standing in the doorway, her hand on the knob, blocking Carter’s entrance. What was her problem? She stepped back to let him in. “Come on in. Just let me grab my purse.”

She turned away but swore she could feel his eyes on her. She couldn’t resist glancing over her shoulder. His gaze heated her. A hint of that sexual confidence she’d been searching for was starting to tickle her skin, heighten her senses. Tease her with possibilities.

And it was because of Carter.

Could her best friend be the one to help her find her it again? Her first thought was a resounding no, of course not. He was her friend. You didn’t flirt with your friend. You didn’t have sex with your friend.

But as she reached for her small dress purse, she asked herself who better? She liked Carter. She trusted him. He was her friend. He didn’t want a long-term relationship, either. He was a rebound guy.

No way. She had to push that thought right out of her mind. He was Carter.

Katie’s fancy purse slipped out of her hand, and the contents spilled out over the floor. “Shit.” She dropped to her knees. She’d zipped her ID, credit card, and a small amount of cash in the pocket, but her tube of lipstick rolled under the sofa, and her cell phone and notebook slid across the hardwood floor. As she reached under the sofa for the lipstick, Carter joined her on the floor.

“Get up,” she cried. She grabbed the lipstick tube and jabbed his hip with her elbow. “You’re going to have dust all over those black pants.”

He sat back on his heels. “Katie Kat,” he said in mock-dismay, “are you telling me you didn’t clean this floor before you got ready for a dinner I invited you to at the last minute?”

“Ha. Ha.” She picked up her phone, protected by its plastic case. She frowned. Where was the notebook? Katie glanced over to Carter. “Hey!”

“Look what I found.” He fanned the pages with his thumb but kept his eyes focused on her as he grinned, instead of reading what was on the page, as she was sure he wanted to do.

“Give me that.” She grasped his arm, the muscles hard beneath the soft fabric.

Carter glanced down at the open notebook, then closed it and handed it back to her. “You’re taking it to dinner tonight?”

“I carry it everywhere.” She shoved it into the purse. They stood. “I’d feel naked without it.”

His eyes smoldered, and he didn’t say a word. She shivered from his expression. What just happened? What had she said? Oh. Naked. Was he thinking about her naked? Was she thinking about him naked? Of course not. Friends didn’t think about friends naked. She shivered again. She’d never thought there’d be a time when she’d have to watch her words around Carter.

She cleared her throat and straightened her skirt.

The knees of his trousers didn’t show any of the dust she’d been afraid of, but she brushed them down with her hand anyway. Her mind was whirling, full of her conversation last night with Ginny and Anita. She needed practice. She wasn’t going to be able to find that confidence without some help. She wouldn’t want sex with Carter, but could he help her get to the point where she felt comfortable flirting and indulging in that sexy banter she loved in her favorite romantic comedies? She’d never reach the fling stage if she couldn’t get to the flirting stage first.

“I’m crazy,” she murmured.

Carter heard her. “Crazy? I’ve known that for years.”

“Ha. Ha.” Maybe she needed to start a list of things she would never do for the rest of her life. Asking Carter to help her with sexy stuff would be right at the top of that list.

She glanced at the clock. “We have to go. We don’t want to be late.”

She locked the door behind them. Carter held the car door open for her and then joined her in the quiet of his cozy sedan. She shoved all the thoughts of the past few minutes out of her mind and tried to imagine what the inside of the restaurant would look like.

“Sean texted me last night to let me know he got there okay,” she said after a minute or two of silence. “Then he talked to me for all of two minutes this morning, but the important thing is that he sounds happy. Excited.” She looked over to Carter. “I wish Tim could have been here to see our little boy all grown up.”

Carter cleared his throat. “Tim would be so proud of Sean. He sent me a text, too, last night.” He glanced at her as he turned up the winding road that would take them to the exclusive restaurant that overlooked the lake. “He does sound happy. It’s tough to let him go, though, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. He’s been a part of our lives for so long.”

“He still is. Just from farther away. How’s your mom taking it?”

Katie shrugged. “She’s fine. Her only grandson leaving Lakeside really didn’t affect her day-to-day life, and that’s what matters to her.” She tried not to be bitter, but Lilah Bergstrom had always put herself ahead of everyone else. Even her daughter and grandson. Katie’s dad had died when she was a teenager. Her mother was on her fourth husband now.

“We’re here.” Carter pulled under the portico in front of the Castle on the Hill. At one time, the huge building had been the private home of a wealthy industrialist who obviously thought he was the king of all he could see and wanted to live in a medieval castle to prove it. He wasn’t a king after all, of course, and eventually sold his company and moved to a warmer climate. The building had sat empty for years before a new owner transformed it into a fancy restaurant.

A valet opened the door for Katie, and she stepped out of the car into the muggy evening. Carter was at her side a moment later, and she slipped her arm through his. The castle looked even bigger and more impressive from this vantage point. As they neared the heavy, carved doors, nerves danced a tango in her stomach. She pulled him to a stop.

“What’s the matter?”

“We should have gotten our stories straight.” Her heart began to race. Why did she think she could do this? She was a lousy liar. “How long have we been dating? Where did we meet? Stuff like that.”

Carter wrapped his arm around her waist and moved them over to the side so they wouldn’t block a group of diners approaching behind them. “We don’t have to make it complicated. We’ll tell them we’ve known each other for a long time, but we just recently started dating. It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“Right. Keep it simple.” Katie took a relieved sigh. “Don’t know why I got so nervous all of a sudden.”

“No reason to be worried. We’re having dinner with friends of Gloria Burns. That’s all there is to it.”

“Simple. Right.” She turned to him and placed a hand on his chest. It was firm. And warm. “Before I forget, thanks for helping me check the first couple of items off my list. It means a lot to me.”

His smile was enough to weaken her knees. Who knew that was a real thing? Knees weakening? “Before I forget,” he replied, “thank you for coming with me tonight. It means a lot to me, too.”

She leaned in and placed a soft kiss to his cheek before she thought twice about it. It must have been an effect of the weakened knees syndrome. Then she pulled away and tugged his arm. “We’d better get in there.”