Page 73 of Recipe for Rivals

“I’m at a bridal shower, so they’re hanging out with Gigi atthe diner.” Did I need to explain myself? No. Were they his children, so he had a right to know who was watching them? Yes.

“Is that a good idea?” he asked, taking me by surprise.

“Obviously, I didn’t think it was a bad one.”

There was silence while Carter digested this. It wasn’t like me to snap at him, and I needed to rein it in. Fighting over the phone helped no one.

I tried for a calmer tone. “You called a few times, which felt kind of urgent, Carter. Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” he said curtly. “We need to discuss which two weeks I can take the kids over the summer.”

My stomach clenched. “Can we get through the rest of the school year first? We just got here.”

He made a sound like he was going to argue with me. I was proud we’d made it this long on the phone without me mentioning the woman who had moved in with him. I was almost certain that was why he’d called anyway. He’d checked his stories, knew I’d seen the picture of her moving in, and wanted to really drive it home—pat himself on the back for being the first to move on.

The man’s a lawyer. Everything with him was a trophy to be won.

Carter sighed. “Listen, Nova. We need to ta?—”

“Well, isn’t that a sight for sore eyes,” a male voice boomed behind me.

I swiveled to see Dusty coming my way on the porch, holding a five-gallon bucket full of sunflowers. His honey-colored eyes sparkled in the mid-morning sun. A lock of his dark hair fell over his forehead, making me want to brush it back, my fingers dragging along his scalp. He lowered the bucket onto the deck before realizing I was on the phone.

“Who is that?” Carter asked, a tinny quality to his voice.

Dusty mouthed, “Sorry,” cringing.

I shook my head. Someone lived with Carter. He didn’t havea right to ask questions about my life, anyway. “I’m at a bridal shower, remember?”

“It’s the groom?”

“No.” I opened my mouth to tell him it was the groom’s best friend, but something stopped me. I didn’t want to share anything with him about this. He didn’t deserve to have a window into my life. I would tell him what was going on with the kids and we could talk every day about their schedules and homework and tummy aches or whatever else was going on, but he’d forfeited the right to know anything about me when he left me.

“Nova—”

“I need to get back inside,” I said.

Carter huffed. I could hear the pacing, visualize him running his hand through his dark gold hair like he did when he was missing something in a case and might possibly lose. He wasn’t used to this—the Nova he knew would relent, give in, tell him what he wanted to hear to keep the peace. “What’s going on with you? I don’t think I like what Texas is doing to you.”

I swallowed a scoff, suppressing it deep down. I wanted to snap back, to remind him I was here because he didn’t love me anymore. That I’d had to pick up and move halfway across the country because I had nowhere else to live. That he had inadvertently forced me into this. But instead, I tried for a pleasant smile so he wouldn’t be able to hear how angry I was. “You lost the right to ask me anything like that when you walked out, Carter. I need to get back inside. If you want to talk to the kids, I can have them call you later tonight.”

“I won’t be home,” he snapped, likely hoping to hurt me. The reason he’d go out on a Saturday night was to take out a woman, right? Or so he wanted me to assume.

“Okay, another time then. Let me know when you’re free and we’ll try to accommodate your schedule.”

“Fine.”

I hung up the phone without saying anything more, my one act of rebellion. But when silence hung around me, filling the cracks, an acute sense of loneliness swept over me. I could hear the muffled voices inside and tires crunching gravel in front of the house, probably more guests arriving. I dropped my face into my hands and breathed.

“You okay?” Dusty asked behind me.

I dropped my hands. “I thought you’d left.”

He was standing in the same place, the bucket of flowers still at his feet. His mouth bent into a lopsided smile. “I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Warmth spread slowly through me, and I found myself smiling. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“Just got off work this morning and came to help set up.” He shrugged. “I’m heading to Tucker’s place with him to practice roping once y’all get this party started.”

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