Page 37 of Too Sweet

“Then lie down, and we’ll cuddle,” he says.

And here is where I snap. “I just need a minute alone, okay?”

My sweet Carter, who came out of his grumpy shell and set aside his armor only for me, has that look in his eye again.

The armor is back up. And it’s because of how I’m acting.

But maybe that’s for the best. I can’t have him here while I’m taking a pregnancy test. I just can’t.

Because if it’s positive, I don’t want him to see me fall apart.

If it’s negative—I hadn’t thought about that. I’ll be relieved, sure. But then I’ll have to sit down and talk about things going too far, too fast for him. This will surely chase him away.

And I don’t want that.

But it looks like I’m already doing a pretty good job of chasing him away

“Got it,” he says with a curt nod. “Well, I just came over to cut the grass. So if you need me, I’ll be outside doing the edging.”

His voice is hollow and sad. I’ve hurt his feelings, but he’s still going to edge the driveway like he’s already doing the dad thing out of obligation.

I care so deeply for this man that I could cry. I could fall into his arms here and now, but I have to fight the urge to do just that.

I go into the bathroom and shut the door.

I wait for the sound of him going outside and starting the weed eater before I do what I came here to do.

chapter

seventeen

Carter

She’s killing me.

I don’t know what the hell is going on with her, but I’m not leaving until I figure it out.

I’ve already finished cutting the grass and pulling the weeds out of the hedges. I’m making a list of everything I need from the garden center to tackle a new layer of mulch.

When I start the weed eater, the noise drowns out my thoughts—at least for a minute or two.

I’m worried about Summer.

She was already acting weird this morning, telling me we shouldn’t be spending every waking moment together. She worries that things are going too fast.

I don’t understand what’s happening.

Is she pulling away?

We’ll try again after she gets a nap.

She can snap at me all she wants, but I’m not going anywhere.

She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I think I knew that the moment I saw her. The first time she smiled at me, she pierced my heart straight through.

She can try to push me away, but it’s not happening.

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