Page 28 of Carly's Heart

Honestly, if she knew how much he adored her and how long he’d been in love with her, she’d forget about fretting over how she looked and relax.

“Thank you for telling Tanya that I was there. I don’t want her worrying on her honeymoon.”

“Yeah, I figured that. Though honestly, we were both really worried. I knew nothing would keep you from the wedding except disaster. I was going to call you, but I don’t have your number.”

She twisted and pulled a phone from the pocket of the borrowed shorts. “Give me your number and I’ll shoot you a text, so you have mine, in case you need it. I can’t believe we haven’t traded numbers before now.”

No way was he going to pass up on that offer. “Where did that phone come from? You didn’t have it when you arrived.”

She laughed. “Under my dress. The seamstress who altered my dress makes an amazing holster and garter combination that holds phones, and credit cards under dresses. It’s pretty cool.”

He gave her his number and in seconds, his phone vibrated. He pulled it from his pocket and after glancing to ensure it was her text, he set it on the table. “Perfect, now I know how to find you when I need you.” He tried not to put emphasis on need, but when her eyes widened, he knew he had failed. “Let’s not talk about the wedding. Tell me about you.”

“What do you want to know?” She sipped her wine and dabbed her lips with a tissue from the box on the floor at the end of the hearth.

He really needed furniture. “Tell me your hopes and dreams, plans for the future. Everything. There isn’t anything you can say that I won’t be interested in hearing.”

She looked puzzled for a second. After a sip of wine and a deep breath she said, “I’m not that complicated. I’m older than your sister, but we still hit it off. I’m thirty-five, to be precise. I work at the diner. Mike, my ex, makes a lot of money and I get really good child support payments. If I wanted, I could scrape by on that money alone. I work to feel useful, and to provide extras for my daughter. I love my job. It isn’t the quiet office job I’d envisioned when I went into accounting, but I love working with people almost as much as you love working with horses.”

“I do love horses.” He was tickled that she’d noticed. “Are you still liking Elk Valley?”

“That cracks me up every time I hear it. Such a grand name for a small town of four thousand people. There is no real valley and I’ve never seen elk.”

She giggled and his arms prickled with gooseflesh. How many times had he stayed in the house when she and Layla were visiting, just to hear her laugh? Dozens? Or more?

“Excuse me, that’s four thousand seven hundred and fifty at last census. And there was a mother elk and two calves outside Pearlman’s Grocery last week.” He was rewarded with another glorious laugh. Oops, maybe he opened the wine too soon. He nudged two crackers toward her. She ate a couple before she spoke.

“Really? I would have loved to see them. I think I told you once that Mike’s job brought us here. I couldn’t find an accounting job.” She shrugged. “I got bored and went to work at the diner. Then I got pregnant, and you know the rest. I’m not totally out of accounting. I do the books for the Scouts, the Girl Guides, the Kinsmen and the Kinettes, all for no fee.”

“Very generous. I remember your first day at the diner, you spilled water on Mr. Humphries.”

“Oh. Don’t remind me. I was mortified. Luckily it was cold water, not hot coffee. I haven’t spilled on anyone since then. Though I have dropped a couple plates on the floor. I’ve gotten better.”

“I wouldn’t know, you never wait on me anymore.” Of course, he’d stopped going to the diner so often. Watching her smile and joke with other men brought out a jealousy he didn’t like.

She set her wine on the hearth and twisted her hands together. She stared into her lap. “Because I usually work with Tanya, and she likes to pick on you.”

“Bullshit,” he said softly. “Tell me the truth.” Pink rushed up her cheeks and she exhaled heavily.

“You make me nervous. I get all tongue-tied and fumble fingered when you’re close. I don’t want to spill on you or say something stupid.”

He didn’t smile, though he wanted to. She was attracted to him too. She never totally ignored him, but she wasn’t as open and chatty with him as she was with everyone else. He’d been torn between thinking she disliked him and worrying that she was somehow afraid of him. Except neither of those fit when she flashed him the occasional shy smile. Was it any wonder she had him tied up in knots from all those mixed signals?

“We’ve known each other for six years. Isn’t it time you stopped being nervous around me?” He wasn’t going to mention that, sometimes, she made him a little tongue-tied as well.

“Maybe?” She wrinkled her nose and grimaced.

“You trust me with Layla when she comes over.”

“I trust your entire family. It isn’t a trust issue.”

The oven timer beeped. He leaped up to get the pizza. He pulled it out and slid it onto a cutting board for slicing. He paused to cement the memory of tonight in his mind. He’d waited so long for this. To be alone with her, talking, sharing things. There was a peace and excitement in him that he never wanted to lose.

He couldn’t imagine himself with anyone but Carly, but he knew he shouldn’t, couldn’t, wait for her forever, even if thinking of either of them being with anyone else broke his heart and spirit.

They ate the pizza without much conversation. He was content to be with her and listen to the crackling fire. The sound of the dried pine logs popping and hissing was comforting. Sitting so close to Carly was a miracle. Even after her terrible day, she smelled incredible, a perfume more feminine and flowery than her usual scent. He wanted to pull her close and never let her go.

After eating, they sipped wine and chatted. She got up and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch. She lay on her side on the rug and flipped the edge of the blanket over her legs, blocking his view.

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