I leaned closer to the mirror, trailing my finger around the perimeter of my glossy lips, then blew a shaky breath. I spritzed my mango perfume on, and slid a hand over my stomach. Whatever happened, I couldn’t let my feelings rule my mind though. I had to be smart this time.
“We’ll be okay,” I whispered to the little baby in there, changing my world.
No matter what, I knew we would be.
Now, for the last to-do before my date with Carter. I had to call Mila. Yes, she was in Colorado now, and yes, she was probably busy prepping for her residency, but one thing I knew, if I went out with someone new without telling her, she’d literally board a plane and she might actually kill me this time.
Back at the row of pay phones, I lifted the receiver, dialed her number, and folded my arms across my chest, waiting for her to pick up.
“Hey, girl!” I said when she answered.
“Laur?”
“Yep, it’s me. I’m still at Bridgeport aaand I’m going on a date tonight.” There. I said it. She didn’t hang up and she wasn’t lecturing me yet. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign, or not.
“Lauren . . .”
“He’s a new hire in the boathouse and he was a marine. We’re totally vibing.”
“Lauren.”
“He knows about my . . . situation.” I’d called Mila with pregnancy updates every couple of days and she knew everything—except Carter.
“He knows already?” Her voice raised an octave.
“Yeah. And, he knows Tucker.”
“Wait. What’s his name?”
“Carter.”
Mila didn’t respond for a few seconds. “The car accident. His wife passed away last year.”
“Yeah. Anyway. We’ve been hanging out a lot over the past couple weeks and I think I’m starting to fall for him.”
“Look. I’m not judging—”
“Ha. You’re totally judging.”
“Okay. I’m totally judging. But, you just broke up with Ren and you’re having a baby. And Carter has to have his own, serious, baggage. Maybe you should, I don’t know, let Lauren be with Lauren for a while?”
“Maybe,” I said, studying the metallic-olive shade on my nails. “But maybe we’re a perfect fit and we just need to try.”
“Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you hurt again. You’re in a really delicate situation, and you have a habit of rushing into relationships way too fast.”
“Oh. Do I?” I rolled my eyes, turning to watch the lone paddle boarder out on the lake. “At least I don’t take ten thousand years to realize what I have right in front of me.”
She gasped. “Rude.”
“Totally accurate,” I said, lifting a shoulder. “Anyway. Just doing my part to keep you updated. I’ll call you with the next newsflash when I have it.”
-CARTER-
“Camo, huh?” I said, when Lauren stepped onto the porch of the women’s lodge. I liked the black converse high-tops. “Nice chucks.”
“I can do military when I want to.” She flexed her biceps and jutted her chin.
“Not bad.”
She was a hundred percent lethal, and I didn’t doubt she could do anything she wanted to. I grinned, ready to get this date going. I’d done the whole summer romance before, and it was awesome getting to know someone up in the mountains.
It wasn’t reality. I didn’t need reality right now. Real life was complex—but things were looking up. I was starting to get psyched about Lani’s offer. A steady job, my own place, maybe a new relationship?
Maybe I was finally getting back on my feet.
Or, foot.
Ha.
“Ready to catch some fish?” I asked.
Lauren joined me and her arm brushed mine, triggering a set of chills. Man. I had to hold her hand.
She drew a sharp breath and turned her hand in mine, small and soft. We wove our fingers together, and my chest swelled, full of the warm, intoxicating vibes that buzz when you start to fall for someone.
And dang, I was falling for her, wasn’t I? Hard.
Her perfume hit me next. Something tropical this time.
“I’ve always been a sucker for fruity scents—do you have an eternal supply stocked up?”
Lauren groaned. “I have two mammoth suitcases in my room, one for my wardrobe, the other cosmetics.”
I laughed.
“Yeah, I’m not really joking.”
That made me laugh harder.
She nudged me with her elbow and we were quiet for a while, our shoes sweeping through the grass as we made our way down to the dock.
Cory was waiting for us at the front of the fishing supply shed, two poles in one hand, a tackle box in the other.
“Take care of these,” he said, eyes flicking from me to Lauren and back.
“Thanks, man.”
He closed the door.
I nodded toward the rowboat. “After you.”
Seventeen
-LAUREN-
We rowed out on the lake to Cory’s “secret” fishing spot, the dinner bell chiming in the distance, water sloshing against the bow. The falling sunlight glimmered across the surface of the water, and I heard the splashing slap of a fish near the bank.
“Ready to go down, Mr.”— I stamped my heel on the boat’s hull—“I’m-Kind-of-the-Epitome-of-Outdoorsy.”
“Ouch,” Carter said. “Game on, Ms. I-Can’t-Walk-Past-a-Hot-Marine-without-Almost-Falling-Headfirst-into-the-Lake.”
I kept smelling traces of Carter’s cologne, all citric and beachy. If we were official, I’d bury my face in his chest and breathe it in for hours.
But we weren’t official. At least, not yet.
“Looks like he has us all set up,” Carter said, setting his oar across our benches.
I set my oar on top of his, accepting the pole he handed me.
“First to catch three fish wins?”
He barked a laugh. “So, it’s a competition?”
“I mean, if you’re afraid of losing we don’t have to.”
“What’re the stakes?”
I looked him over, heat swirling through my stomach at the way his biceps tested the give in his black t-shirt sleeves, and the way he’d smoothed his beard tonight, putting his majestic high cheekbones on display. Then there were his kind eyes, and his hair. . . that dang hair! “If I win, you have to let me see your hair down.”
He sucked a sharp
