Summer said to you that evening we had dinner at their place. That I always take the road laid out for me even if it’s not the road I want. That’s exactly what I was doing then. I seemed to be on the road laid out for me. The company was on that road. And Summer was on that road. So I just... took it. Then Dad died and left the company to Lincoln instead of me, so...”
“So she married him instead.”
“She didn’t want to. He didn’t want to. He was already into her. I knew that much although he’d never admitted it. But he knew she couldn’t stand him, and he didn’t want to put her in that position. But I did. I did. She was my best friend in the world, and I...” He swallowed so hard she could see it in his throat. “I’m supposed to be a good guy, but I’m really not.”
Ruth reached over to put a hand on his thigh. “Carter, stop beating yourself up. You made a mistake. You were sad and hurt and desperate, and you made a mistake. She’s forgiven you. Obviously she has. And so has Lincoln. You can’t keep feeling guilty about all that, Carter.”
“Why not? I should feel guilty. I was wrong.”
“Maybe. But you’ve made up for it now. You’re doing the right thing now. You’re in their life now and you’re loving them now, and the last thing in the world they’d want is for you to be miserable because you made a few mistakes just like all the rest of us.”
“Yeah,” Carter said, the word no more than a hoarse exhale.
Ruth moved her hand so she could knead the back of his neck. He responded to the touch deliciously. He exhaled again and closed his eyes. She kept up the massage, loving how viscerally his body softened in response.
When she started to get tingles in spots that were quite inappropriate, she lowered her hand. “They want you to be happy, Carter.”
“I know they do.” He straightened up on the couch. “And to tell you the truth, I’d kind of like to be happy too. I’ve been really enjoying it for the past several weeks.”
“Me too.”
“I don’t think I’m used to it.”
“Me either.”
They smiled at each other. When the fond feelings started to overwhelm her, Ruth knew she needed to distract herself. She reached over to gather up some of the trash and put it in the take-out bag.
“Thanks so much for bringing lunch,” Carter said, obviously understanding that the interlude was over. “I needed it. And the break. And the talk.”
“You’re welcome.” When they both stood facing each other, she couldn’t resist the urge to pull him into a hug. “Don’t work too late today.”
“I won’t. And you’re coming over tomorrow, right?” His eyes glinted, as if remembering that tomorrow was Friday, and Friday meant Ruth would stay over at the Wilsons’.
Which meant they’d get to have sex again.
“Yep. I wouldn’t miss it.” Her cheeks were reddening again, so she made a quick escape.
As she was leaving the building, she decided that overall her spontaneous lunch mission had been a great success.
RUTH WOKE UP A WEEK later and was momentarily disoriented. She blinked in the dark room until she realized she was in the bedroom next to Carter’s in the Wilson house. She’d stayed over last night, just like she had the previous weekend. While obviously Ruth wasn’t about to move into the Wilson house from now until Christmas, Mrs. Wilson was so insistent about her staying on the weekends that she didn’t have the heart to refuse.
She didn’t really want to refuse since staying over meant having a lot of sex with Carter on the weekends. Who would complain about that?
A quick check of the time told her it wasn’t even seven. Way too early to get up on a Saturday morning. Carter had come to bed with her yesterday evening. They’d had two very satisfying rounds of sex during the night, and Carter must have worn himself out. He was still sound asleep beside her, the covers pushed down toward his waist and one arm bent above his head. He was breathing heavily. Not quite snoring.
She smiled at the sight of him, but before she got too soft and sappy, she carefully rolled out of bed and hurried into the bathroom to pee, wash her hands and face, and brush her teeth. Then she returned to the bed, stretching out beneath the covers and