Page 37 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
Why the hell was he thinking so much about Black Wolf’s Bluff? New York was his home, not Tennessee. And not a certain blonde with curls that begged him to tangle his fingers in them.
When he saw the shiny black SUV his friend drove coming around the corner, he muttered an, “About time,” and made a mad dash through the maze of cars to get to his ride.
Carter glanced over to be certain he was in before turning his attention back to traffic. “Flight okay?”
“Turbulence.” His flight had been delayed as storms pushed through Nashville. “Thanks for picking me up.”
“No problem. Saves me having to come up with an excuse to get out of another blind date.”
“Your sister’s not giving up yet?” Carter had been divorced for over a year now, and his sister, Emma, was determined to find him a new wife and mother to his ten-year-old son, Thad.
“Of course not. She’s got my mother egging her on. Doesn’t matter how often I tell her I’m not interested right now. They just keep nagging me about Thad needing a woman to take care of him.Itake care of him,” he growled. “It’s getting unbearable.”
“And I thought Linc was a pushy matchmaker.”
“He still nagging you about Alicia?”
JD just turned to look at his friend, not saying anything.
Carter laughed. “Yeah, I told Linc if he mentioned one more woman’s assets to me, I would deck him.” The laughter died, and Carter grimaced, eyes on the road. “At least they’ve all respected my rule not to bring up dating in front of Thad. He’s struggling enough getting used to going back and forth between his mother and me.”
JD couldn’t imagine how difficult that would be, to have a secure family and then lose it. Of course, JD had never had a secure family in the first place. And Carter wasn’t to blame—Rachel was the one who had made that decision. Carter had been adamant from the get-go that there would be no fighting or tug-of-war surrounding his son. He worked hard to help Thad adjust, to make certain the boy knew he was still loved and wanted. JD admired that tremendously.
“Does Rachel have him this weekend?”
Carter nodded. “I’ll pick him up Sunday morning.”
“Well if there gets to be too much harassment of the female variety, you can always pack Thad up and bring him down to the mansion to visit for a few days. Plenty of space for him to get outside and explore, enjoy the quiet.”
Even when construction started, it would be difficult not to find a spot on the mountain to enjoy some solitude. Though Carter was backing the resort financially and was involved in planning, technically there was no need for him to be on site, but JD wanted to be certain his friend knew he was welcome. Especially after the past year, Carter and his son deserved something good, someplace to retreat to.
“I may take you up on that once summer vacation starts.”
Carter exited Grand Central Parkway, headed for the city. Linc’s restaurant, The Prime at Manhattan, wasn’t far from Union Square, which meant traffic was a bitch and it was late when they arrived, but there was still a line out the front door.
“Is Linc waiting?”
“He may have to come and go, but yeah. Said not to even think about ordering because we’d get what we get.”
“And why are we coming here again?”
Carter gave him a wry smile as the valet rounded the front of the SUV. “Because it’s free.”
“Oh, right.”
The valet took Carter’s keys, and they made their way past the line and inside, where the hostess led them straight to the back. A wide, round table waited on an elegant dais overlooking the dining room. “Lincoln always did like to draw attention,” Carter said.
JD didn’t need to agree; they both knew it was true. Linc didn’t have a shy or humble bone in his body.
Their server brought a cabernet sauvignon, and by the time Lincoln appeared with food, they had almost finished the bottle. Or JD had; Carter sipped a single glass. His friend was a Type 1 diabetic, so even if he wasn’t driving and didn’t have a child waiting at home, he always went easy on the alcohol.
JD lifted his glass to Linc. “About time, bro.”
Lincoln frowned at the bottle. “You know you’re supposed to savor $500 bottles of wine, right?”
“He didn’t even bother reading the label,” Carter said.
JD smirked. “Never put fancy wine in front of tired travelers.”
