nods once, grabbing two menus and telling us to follow her. Carter’s hand goes to the small of my back, gesturing for me to go first. I look over my shoulder at him and smile. “You must have great intuition to reserve a table for the possibility of somebody showing up at the same time as you.”
“Maybe I just hoped,” is his smooth reply. It makes me bite my lip and overanalyze each of the four words. He hoped to see me. I’m not sure what to do with that.
When we arrive at our table in the corner, Carter pulls out a chair for me. Surprised, I take a seat and smile gratefully at him and watch him sit across from me as the hostess gives us our menus and says the waitress will be over shortly.
For some reason, I decide to blurt, “I’ve never had anybody pull out a chair for me. That was … nice.”
One side of his lips quirk up as he takes the menu and examines the beverage section on the back panel. “Sounds like the people you’ve been out with are lacking on their manners.”
A smile tugs on my lips. “Is that your way of trying to figure out what kind of people I dated?”
He chuckles, setting the menu down. “If this were a date, which it’s not, I’d say no. It’s rude to talk about exes on the first date. But since it’s not a date, then yes.”
My brows go up. “You want to know about my exes?”
His chin dips.
“I don’t have any.”
Now his brows arch, surprise clearly coating his face. “You’ve never dated anybody? Not once?”
Clicking my tongue over how pathetic that sounds coming from him, I simply shake my head and stare at the fountain drinks they offer. It seems wrong to go for the alcohol, though this conversation is making me want some.
He makes a noise with the back of his throat and leans back in his chair. “Why not?”
Groaning, I dare to meet his eyes. “There are a lot of reasons. The most recent would be the six-year-old I take care of. Guys don’t really pick single mothers as their first go-to. We’re like the tapioca when all the other pudding flavors are sold out, you know?”
“I don’t know.” His eyes dance, the dark brown now full of mischievous. “I happen to love tapioca.”
My heartrate picks up a little.
“That’s the most recent reason,” he redirects. “What about the other reasons? You can’t tell me Ainsley is why you don’t see people. There’s not a doubt in my mind you’re the type to be noticed by men.”
Wow. This is not how I expected dinner to go. Body heating over the question, I try focusing on the menu to choose something to eat that won’t go over the gift card balance. “You already know the reason, Carter.”
He’s quiet for a moment, his eyes on me based on the way the top of my head burns. I choose a salad, memorizing it for when the waitress comes. “Because of Danny?”
I remain silent.
“Because of Danny,” he confirms to himself quietly.
Finally, I say, “Because of an unrequited love I held onto. Maybe there were guys who were interested in me, but I never noticed them. If I wasn’t swept up in Danny, I busied myself with school. Then the accident happened, and my life changed forever. Danny was gone and I got Ainsley, and people started looking at me for an entirely different reason. So, no. I’ve never really dated.”
His lips press together, but before he can reply, the waitress comes over and asks for our order. Once both drinks and food have been placed, she takes our menus and leaves us be again. The air is tense. His eyes are dark. And my mind is screaming to run.
But I don’t.
I’m sick of running.
“What about you?” I ask, changing the subject in hopes he’ll roll with it. “Any exes that plague your mind and dreams?”
He manages to grin, letting the focus on me go. That’s why I like Carter. Not once has he pushed with me. “An ex fiancée actually. Elizabeth. We dated for about three years before I popped the question.”
I blink. He was engaged to the woman I heard my mother talk about. “Wow. I’m sorry that didn’t work out.”
His shoulders lift. “It was mutual to end things. Nobody cheated. Nobody lied. We realized that we weren’t made for each other before it was too late.”