Page 115 of Recipe for Rivals

“No, it won’t.”

“Yeah, it definitely won’t.” I brushed loose hair away from her forehead, looking into her eyes. “I really want to kiss you.”

Nova didn’t rush to respond. She blinked, looking at me, her brown eyes searching mine as if she could look through them and read my entire history. She drew in a shuddering breath. “Okay. Then do it.”

My lips broke into a wide grin. I brushed my thumb along her bottom lip, smooth and velvety. I was pretty sure it was the most beautiful thing in the world, and I didn’t think I was biased about that.

Sliding my hand along her jaw, I leaned forward, our lips just a breath apart.

“Nova,” a man said sharply, making us flinch and knock our foreheads together.

We turned in unison, though I didn’t release her. A man stood at the base of her apartment steps, shadowed and dark. He looked put together, his dark blond hair brushed to the side, his suit spotless, but his expression was pure rage.

“Carter?” she asked, peering closer like she couldn’t tell if he was real or a terrible hallucination. “What are you doing here?”

He slid one hand into his pocket, his eyes running over her and avoiding me. “I’m here for my kids.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

NOVA

Hello,worst nightmare.

No, scratch that. My worst nightmare was anything happening to my children. Having Carter show up in a fit of pique because Ben wasn’t worshiping him was a close second, though. There wasnolegal way he could do anything to change where Ben and Alice lived. He’d already signed the form saying they could move to Texas with me, so he had no trump cards here.

At least I didn’t think he could. The night was balmy and comfortable, but a chill swept over me when I stepped out of Dusty’s arms, and he let me go.

“I think you need to explain yourself,” I finally said, when Carter had nothing to add.

His gaze flicked to Dusty before settling back on me with an accusatory glare. His blue eyes were sharp, assessing. “Can we go inside? Alone.”

Dusty’s hand found mine, his fingers brushing along my palm. It was subtle, but I read the message. He was here. There was no reason he couldn’t stay.

On the flip side of the coin, Carter was my children’s dad, and I would be dealing with him on some level for the rest of their lives. Better to keep things as neutral as possible.

“It’s late, Carter,” I said. “Why don’t we meet up in the morning? I’ll bring the kids, and you can spend the day with them.”

He took a step forward, orange light washing over his face from the house’s porch lights across the street. “I’m not here for a visit, Noves. I’m here to take them back home.”

My stomach split, forming a chasm that threatened to take all my equilibrium away. He couldn’t just show up and change the settlement, could he? My teeth hurt from clenching them together while I thought through the situation. Of course, he could have written some clause into the agreement that would give him power I knew nothing about, but my lawyer had combed over it. He would have spotted a loophole.

No, this was classic Carter. He had to be bluffing. If not, then I was about to break the law, becauseno onewould take my kids from me.

“I’m not staying,” he said, as if I hadn’t heard him the first time.

My body went cold. At least he didn’t know where Gigi lived. In fact… “How did you get my address?”

“I had to send Alice’s birth certificate, remember?”

Then he really couldn’t know where Gigi lived. I was afraid I’d left it on a piece of mail somewhere and he’d brought it with him. “It’s late. We’ll meet you in the morning.”

Anger slashed over Carter’s face, and he took another step forward. Dusty did the same, coming to stand at my side. I hadn’t ever expected to be in this situation, so I hadn’t thought about how it would feel. I tended to be so independent that I wouldn’t want anyone stepping in to help me fight my battles. It was nice having Dusty’s support, knowing he was going to letme manage this on my own. But something about the way he had taken one small step to stand beside me infused me with confidence and security. He was still allowing me to handle it on my own, but now he wasn’t just reminding me he was here if I needed him—he was reminding Carter, too.

“Seriously?” Carter asked, glancing from Dusty to me. His frustration was mounting, and I’d been married to him long enough to know how this was going to go. He didn’t like not being the hero. He despised having to give even a quarter. This was not going to de-escalate easily. He was never violent, but he could become pretty angry.

“Okay, let’s compromise,” I said. “We can talk now, but you still won’t see the kids until tomorrow, after you’ve had time to cool off.”

“I don’t like this, Noves,” he said, ignoring Dusty again. There was a shift in his posture, his tone. His voice lowered in that conciliatory way he had, using it the same way he would before to charm me out of my point of view and edge me toward his. He’d done it so much during our marriage, but I had never really seen it for what it was before: manipulation, not true compromise. “You travel across the country, bring my kids to this backwater armpit town, and now they’re not speaking to me.”

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