You know I’m one of the best fixers in the world. Just one other person might be better.”
I laugh. “I’m not a fixer. I can’t even fix my own problems.”
“I don’t know about that. I think you’ve been doing a fine job so far, but only because you keep putting yourself last instead of first.”
I exhale deeply, trying to stay calm. Trying not to get my hopes up that something magical is about to happen. Because that’s not my life. My life is one problem after the other. My life isn’t easily fixed. My life is a broken mess.
I pull the car over to the curb outside the school to wait for Sailor to come out. Once she gets into the car, then I’ll be safe. Carter won’t do anything with Sailor in the car.
“Victoria.”
One word, and my heart already betrays me. It starts beating for him. Begging me to let him in.
I look at him. His eyes look deep into mine.
“I love you, Victoria. I’ve always loved you. Since the moment I saw you singing Spice Girls in your bedroom and made me join you. To years later when I realized how many times I’d hurt you. To the moment I saw you again after way too long. There has never been another woman. Only you. I love you.”
Everything in my world stops when he says that he loves me. It’s something I’ve secretly wanted since we were kids. Even when he was torturing me, I still wanted him. There was a connection I didn’t understand.
I feel a tear slipping down my cheek. I’m literally crying because this man just told me that he loves me. I’m ridiculous.
“Aren’t you going to say I love you back?” I hear Sailor’s voice from behind me.
I didn’t even hear her get into the car.
I quickly wipe my tear and turn to Sailor. “How was your day, sweetheart?”
She folds her tough arms across her chest. “I want to hear if you love him first. My day sucked. I could use some good news. I could use another uncle.”
I laugh and turn back to Carter. “I love you, too.”
He grins as he leans forward and softly kisses me on the lips.
I compose myself before I start driving back home.
“I’m Carter,” he says, holding out his hand to Sailor.
“Uncle Carter, you mean,” Sailor says, shaking his hand.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing at her sassiness today.
Carter catches my eye. “Definitely Uncle Carter,” he says, giving me a wink.
I roll my eyes at him. She can call him whatever she wants, but we are nowhere near ready to make him a real uncle to Sailor.
“So, I have a proposition for you, Sailor,” Carter says as he turns around in his seat so that he is looking straight at Sailor.
I raise my eyebrow at him, but I’m not sure that he sees me.
“I’m listening,” Sailor says in her sweet voice.
“Your aunt Victoria here has a job in North Carolina. Do you know where that is?”
“Yep! That’s where Uncle Logan lives.”
“That’s right. She has a job that she needs to go back to North Carolina to finish for a couple of weeks.”
I furrow my brows, confused as to what Carter is talking about. I quit my job.
“How would you like to go to North Carolina and live with your uncle Logan, Victoria, and me for a couple of weeks?”
“Carter,” I say sternly, trying to end this conversation without saying too much in front of Sailor.
“What do you think?” Carter asks, ignoring me.
“I think that would be awesome!”
I look in my rearview mirror at Sailor. “Sailor, you don’t need to say yes. It’s not fair to you. You would miss school here and go to a different school there for a couple of weeks until I finished working.”
“I want to go to a different school.”
I frown. “Why do you want to go to a different school?”
“Because there’s this boy—his name is Jack—who picks on me all the time. I hate him.”
I glare over at Carter.
“What? It wasn’t me,” he says.
I give him another evil glare, letting him know that, till the end of time, I will blame him for other boys who treat Sailor badly.
“We can talk to your teacher and make sure that doesn’t happen anymore.”
“No, I need a vacation. I want to go to North Carolina.”
I sigh. “Sailor, you need to understand, this wouldn’t be a vacation. You would still need to go to school.”