He slid an arm around her shoulders and gave her a half hug. “I’m glad you did. I never would have guessed that about you. You always seem so...”
“So what?”
“So settled in your own skin. Like a man is the last thing in the world you need. Does that make sense?”
“Maybe.” She leaned her head against him. It was supposed to be an act, but it felt nice. Supportive. “My mom used to tell me the same thing, but I could never figure out what to do about it. And when I’m genuinely needy, they all just run away. I don’t know. I think I’m just hopeless.”
“Unfortunately I can’t help you with relationships since I’ve had no luck either.”
“I know for sure it’s not because girls aren’t interested in you. So at least you’ve got that going for you.”
“I suppose. But if they’re just going for that Prince Charming fantasy you talked about, I’m not sure how much that helps me. Who wants a relationship with someone who’s just looking for a fantasy?” He sounded tired. Stretched. Like it really bothered him.
“Yeah. That doesn’t sound great. But when girls get to know the real you, they’re going to like you. I guarantee it.”
He huffed with dry amusement. “If you say so.”
She pulled away so she could glare up at him. “I do say so. I know better than you.”
He laughed again, warmer this time. “Okay. I’m learning not to argue with you when you have that particular look.”
The comment completely distracted her from the righteousness of her indignation. “What look?”
“Your jaw goes out and your eyes narrow. It’s a fierce look. Very intimidating. It means you mean business.”
“It can’t be that intimidating if you’re sitting there laughing at it.”
“Hey, I’m not arguing with you anymore, am I?”
“I guess not.”
“So the look worked.”
She wanted to keep glaring at him, but for some reason she laughed instead. A quick glance around the coffee shop proved that a lot of people were covertly observing them. A few weren’t being covert about it at all. “People are watching us.”
“I know. Hopefully, we’re being convincing enough.”
“Maybe we should kiss a little.”
His eyebrows went up.
“I mean, we don’t have to,” she hurried on, wondering if she’d just embarrassed herself again in the way she’d resolved not to do anymore. “If it’s too weird, we can probably make do without it. I was just thinking if this was a real date... we might... I mean...”
She was saved from trying to finish her stilted explanation by Carter taking her face in both his hands and kissing her.
It was a good kiss. A really good kiss. So good that it knocked the breath out of her.
His lips were gentle at first, like he was testing her responses, giving her the chance to pull away. When she didn’t, he grew more insistent. One of his hands slid back to tangle his fingers in her loose hair, holding her head steady so he could move his mouth more urgently.
Ruth responded. She couldn’t help it. Waves of pure pleasure washed over her as she raised a hand to hold on to his neck and pushed back against his kiss. When his tongue slid over her lips, she made a silly sound. Embarrassingly close to a moan into his mouth.
When his tongue darted between her lips—for just a couple of seconds—her whole body throbbed. She wanted more. A lot more. She was just about to open her mouth to him when Carter pulled back with a rough inhalation.
They stared at each other. Motionless except their urgent breathing.
Then Carter blinked. “Uh.”
At least she wasn’t the only one taken aback by that kiss. Reminding herself that she wasn’t going to go down that same road she always took—the one that led to her humiliating herself by chasing a man who didn’t want her—she smiled at him. “Wow. You’re a good kisser.”
Her casual, friendly tone broke through the lingering tension from the kiss. Carter chuckled and leaned back against the cushion of the love seat, visibly relaxing. “You’re not bad yourself. I didn’t expect that.”
“You didn’t expect me to be a good kisser?”
“No! That’s not what I meant. I meant I didn’t expect it to be good under these circumstances. I didn’t intend to—”
“I know. I get it.” She laughed to smooth over his obvious concern at hurting her feelings. He really was very sweet. She’d never known a guy like him before. “I know exactly what you