Carter was more annoyed with himself than he’d ever been in his life. Not only had he turned into some kind of jealous, possessive monster over Hannah having a live-in boyfriend, but he’d done exactly what his mom had expected—gone completely off the deep end for Hannah. She was everything he liked in a woman and there was no point in denying that. Beyond her beauty and impish personality, she was like a brilliant sun that chased away shadows. The more he was around her, the more he wanted to bathe in her light.
Well, he could be patient. She wouldn’t be his nanny forever. He just needed to make it through the summer without making a fool of himself. Surely by that time, she would tire of her preening umbrella-guy boyfriend. So, for now, he would play it cool.
That lasted right up till Hannah arrived at six-thirty sharp.
Unlike when she came to work in the morning, tonight she knocked on the door. Striding forward, he opened it and froze when he saw her. She wore a flowing dress that fell above her knees, showing off her slim, tanned legs. Her hair was down and curled into smooth waves, and she wore makeup. He’d never seen her with makeup on before, so he could be forgiven for gaping at her. It wasn’t that she wore a lot, but it emphasized her flashing eyes and tempting mouth. As if he needed to notice them more than he already did.
“Come in,” he said automatically. At least his brain was still semi-functioning. “You…um…sure dressed up for hanging out with a six-year-old and watching cartoons all night.”
She shrugged and passed by him. As she did so, her scent drifted over him, torturing him with its allure. What was it? Coconut? Roses? It was intoxicating whatever it was. And was she blushing?
“Well, if you get back in time, I might still be able to go out, so I got ready just in case. If not, it’s no big deal.”
Carter took one long look at her and resolved to stay out as late as possible. “Ah. Well, no promises. I am not entirely sure where we’ll go after dinner.” He saw her shoulders stiffen for a moment, but then she smiled and he wondered if he had imagined it.
“Where’s Addi?”
Resisting the urge to run his hands through his hair, Carter waved toward his bedroom door. “She’s watching television in my room. She was upset that I was going out, so when she asked if she could at least hang out in there, I didn’t have the heart to tell her no.”
“I’m sure she feels closer to you there.”
“Yeah. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m sure I’ll be quite comfortable.” She walked to his room, saying over her shoulder, “See you later.”
As the realization that Hannah would be spending the evening in his bed hit him, Carter very nearly decided to call his whole evening off right then and there. But if he did, she would no doubt leave and join her beach bum boyfriend. And the way she looked… “Yes. Much, much later.” He picked up his phone and wallet from the counter top, then left before he could talk himself out of it.
He went downstairs and met up with the Haverton family, his…um… date for the evening. “Ready to go?” he asked.
Nate smiled. “Yes, we’re looking forward to seeing if the Nautilus is as good as you think it is.”
“Better. Shall we go?”
Nate took Charlotte’s hand as they left, and Taylor skipped ahead of them.
“It’s a shame Hannah is your nanny so she couldn’t go with us,” Charlotte said. “I really like her.”
Carter smiled wryly but kept his reflections that he more than liked her to himself.
***
An hour and a half later, Carter relaxed in the booth at the restaurant, enjoying his conversation with Nate and Charlotte. Taylor had eaten his fill, then fallen asleep. Nate let him rest on the bench, which forced him and Charlotte to squeeze together. As Carter watched the two, the way Nate’s arm was around her and Charlotte smiling up at him, he didn’t know how much he could stand to be around two people so flagrantly in love.
“Well,” Nate said, “I guess we’d better call it a night. We need to get Taylor into bed.”
“Yes, of course.” But Carter wasn’t sure what to do now. It wasn’t even nine o’clock. There was no way he was going back yet. “Thanks for joining me,” Carter said. “I think I’ll stay here a bit longer if you don’t mind.”
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “Why? We already had dessert.”
“Yes. It’s just…Never mind. I’ll come along.”
But when he looked across the table, he saw that Nate had a curious expression. No, more than curious. Suspicious.
“Maybe you’d like to hang out with me. Have some coffee or something?” Nate’s offer was lined with a curious tone, but Nate jumped at the excuse.
As they walked into the lobby, Carter turned to Nate. “Come to my office when you’re ready.”
Carter rode the elevator with them but got out at the second floor. He unlocked the door to the office suite and left it cracked for Nate to come in. He made himself a cup of black coffee, then strolled back to his office. He kept the lights off for a minute so he could see outside.
A wide column of silver moonlight shone down, spreading across the black water. Small white lines showed where the waves hit the sand, and all along the beach, flashlights glimmered from tourists taking walks or hunting for snow crabs. The low lights around the landscaping and the glowing green water of the pool turned his courtyard into a fairyland. No matter when he looked at the view here, it was stunning.
Trying to keep his thoughts firmly away from Hannah, he thought about business matters—how many more condos he had to sell. How many of those units he’d reserved as hotel rentals were booked for opening week. Profit projections looked good, but not where he had wanted them to be. Looking to his left, he could just make out the porch light of his beach house nemesis.
Thinking about his conversation with Hannah, he wondered if he should approach this in a more personal way… go over and introduce himself to the owner. If he could find out what made Leah Parker tick, maybe he could find the leverage he needed to convince her to sell.
A knock on the door behind him broke his concentration. Turning, he could dimly make out Nate in the doorway. Stepping quickly over to his desk, he turned on the lamp. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“I’m good, but thanks.” Nate sat down in the chair in front of Carter’s desk. “But how are you doing? Besides going crazy I mean.”
“Fine. Just dealing with the stress of opening this place next week.”
Nate nodded and put his hands behind his head as he leaned back. “Now cut the crap and tell me why you’re avoiding going home.”
Carter tried to think of a good, plausible excuse, but couldn’t. “If I go home early, Hannah will still have time to go out with her boyfriend.” That last word left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Nate sat forward. “Are you saying you orchestrated this whole evening because of that? I wondered why you didn’t bring Addi.”
“Yeah. I let Hannah think I had a date. It was a brilliant move, really, until she showed up dressed for a night on the town.” But then a sick, nauseated sensation clenched his stomach. “Not that it matters anyway.” Carter stood abruptly, sending his wheeled chair sliding behind him. “She’s just going to go home to him.”
“They live together?”
“He moved in with her today. At least, that’s what I understand from something Addi said.”
“That’s tough, man. I’m sorry.”
Carter shrugged, not wanting to completely reveal himself to Nate. “That’s life, right?”
“No, it’s bad timing. Who knows what will happen down the road.”
“Yeah. I guess not.”
“I hope it works out for you.”
“I appreciate that,” Carter said, “But I admit, I don’t see how.”
“Well, there’s one thing I can help you with. Let’s talk about this resort of yours before I go since we’re leaving in the morning.”
Carter nodded, and they spent the next hour talking earning projections, budgets, and advertising. When Nate had gone, Carter checked his watch and saw that it was almost ten o’clock. He couldn’t stall any longer. He turned off his lamp and locked his office behind him.
When he walked into his condo a few minutes later, it was dark and quiet except for the faint sound of a movie playing on the television. In his room, he found Hannah and Addi curled up in his bed, their heads close together on a pillow with Hannah holding Addi close. They were both asleep, their lashes casting shadows on their cheeks as the light from the television flickered over their skin in the dark room.
Moving closer, as quietly as he could, he sat on the edge of the wide king-sized bed and gazed down at them. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a more beautiful sight. The last bit of resistance he had left escaped him. He didn’t know how or when, or if it would ever be possible, but he wanted this woman.
Reaching out, he gently shook Hannah’s shoulder. Her eyes opened at once, and she looked at him, clearly startled. But then she looked over at Addi and relaxed. “Let me get up,” she whispered.
Hannah carefully moved Addi’s arm from its resting place at Hannah’s waist then slowly pulled her arm from beneath Addi’s sleepy head, shifting as she moved away. Carter offered her a hand to help her up and looked away while Hannah adjusted the skirt of her dress that had risen up her legs as she slept. Quietly, they slipped out of the room.
Carter wanted to ask her to stay, wanted to keep her close for a minute so the intimacy hovering in the atmosphere didn’t break. But he couldn’t.
Hannah picked up her bag. “Do you need me as usual tomorrow?”
Yes, and every day after that. “If you don’t mind. But you had to stay late today, so let me know if you’d rather sleep in.”
Hannah smiled. “I’ll be fine. I think I’ve been asleep awhile. Your bed is way more comfortable than mine. Good night, dream boat.”
As she left, Carter turned back to his room. Her bed. Did she share it with him?
No, he wouldn’t think about that. He changed for bed then picked Addi up and carried her to her room. Tucking her in, he smoothed back the curls from her face and kissed her cheek. He might have relaxed then except that when he got into his own bed to go to sleep, it smelled like roses and coconut.