Gentlemen Prefer Curves: A Perfect Fit Novel (24 page)

Carter glanced at the easel to his right. There was an oddly shaped red flower that he assumed was a rose. Ruby had always liked to draw. She loved art. That was something she had gotten from her mother, who had majored in art history in college. “What a beautiful rose, baby. We’ll have to frame it.”

“Um.” Belinda cleared her throat. “That one is mine. Ruby’s is the sunflower.”

He looked over to the next easel to see a vibrant yellow sunflower, complete with seeds. He had assumed that an older child had done it when he first saw it. “Wow, Rube. This is so beautiful! I can’t believe how talented you are.”

She blushed, her cheeks turning pink. “Belinda tried really hard, Daddy, but she can’t paint like me yet. Mrs. O’Connell said that she was going to have to practice some more.”

“Yeah,” Belinda said, standing up. “I can’t paint as well as a kindergartner.”

“You’re good at other things, honey.” Cherri patted her back. “Mr. Lancaster—”

“Carter, please.”

“Carter.” Cherri nodded. “I think Ruby should paint more than just in my classroom. She has a great eye for color already, and if she practices I think she could do outstanding work.”

“You want to paint more, Rube? We can go to the art supply place this weekend and get you some things.”

“Yes, I like painting. I think I should help Belinda learn.”

“That’s a very sweet offer.” Cherri grinned at Belinda before she looked back to him. “You don’t have to go to the store, I have some supplies in my car that I can give her today. Would it be all right if I take her to get them now?”

“It’s fine.” He set Ruby on her feet and watched her walk out hand in hand with Cherri.

He was left alone with Belinda again. He finally fully looked at her. She was wearing a black smock over her little grass-green dress and a mulish expression on her face.

“I didn’t know she was going to be in this class, Carter. But I’m not going to drop out of it. And you can’t ask me to stay away from her while I’m here,” she said with so much conviction his damn heart squeezed painfully. “I won’t hurt her like that. I refuse to.”

He leaned forward and settled his lips against hers. It was the only rational thing he could do in that moment. The sizzle was there immediately, but he didn’t react to it. He kept his kiss light, trying to thank her for her sweetness without words. “I’m not asking you to give this class up,” he said against her mouth. “You clearly need it.”

“Rub it in,” she said, grinning against his mouth. “I know my painting sucks.”

He slid his hands along her jawline and gently pulled her face toward his. “Come here. I want to feel you against me.”

She did as he asked, her expression wary but her body willing. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, tangling his fingers in her thick red hair. “I’m sorry for what I said to you the other day. I didn’t mean it that way. Thank you for being so sweet to her.”

“I couldn’t be mean to her if I tried. She’s a great kid, Carter. You’ve done an amazing job with her.” She looked up into his eyes. “And that’s why I get so pissed at you every time I’m with her.”

“What?” He blinked at her. “Why?”

“Ruby was supposed to be my baby. Our baby. I feel like I was cheated.”

Her words brought him up short. “You could have stayed,” he said without anger for the first time. “We could have raised her together. She would have been ours.”

She shook her head. “No. Not with Bethany there. Bethany was her mother. Ruby was her baby. She was the baby the two of you made. If Bethany had lived, I would always be the stepmother. Not her mother. Not like I would have wanted to be. It may have been selfish but I wanted to be the one who had your first child.”

“So what are you saying? That you couldn’t love a man who has children already?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Of course not. If you had told me about Bethany before, things might have been different. But things aren’t different. You had a life before me that I didn’t know about. We didn’t know each other before we got married. And if we did I wouldn’t feel like I lost out on something good.”

“But, Belinda, I—”

“Bill Junior?”

Belinda’s father was standing just inside the door. Belinda tried to pull away from him, but at first he didn’t let her go. He couldn’t. This conversation wasn’t over yet. She wanted children, a family. She had wanted those things with him. It was something they hadn’t talked about in their short time together. But it was something they could talk about now. He could give her those things. She was right, they didn’t know each other then, but they were learning about each other now. He could get to know her now. They could make things work.

“I’ve got to go, Carter.”

“Okay.” He cupped her face in his hands, pressing a soft kiss to her mouth before he let her go.

Her eyes widened in shock and she darted a glance to her father but he didn’t care if Bill saw. He would be seeing a lot more of them together. Belinda was his wife. He was going to get her back.

CHAPTER 16

A night to remember …

Belinda’s doorbell rang just as she was putting on her mascara. She frowned at the clock, knowing it couldn’t be Cherri or Ellis at her door. They were all going to meet at the restaurant separately to have a girls’ night out. Full of fruity drinks and lots of blabbing. They were going to have a night like they did before the girls got married, before Cherri became a mother. Before Ellis got pregnant. Before life had changed so much for them. She was looking forward to it. She missed her friends and the way they used to be together. Not that she wished she could go back to that time. Ellis and Cherri were so happy. But it would be nice, for one night, to go back to a simpler time.

The doorbell rang again. Sighing, she tossed her mascara on the vanity and trudged downstairs to see who was there.

Please let it be anyone but Carter.

She’d had about enough of him. Unfortunately her body was buzzing for his touch. It missed him. Her brain, however, wanted him as far away as possible. She still couldn’t believe that he had kissed her in front of her father. It was no rushed kiss, either. No caught-in-the-moment embrace. It was deliberate. Like he was trying to tell her something.

Whatever it was, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear it.

She made it to her door just as the ringer rang for the third time. “Oh, Pudge! I was standing outside forever. Ringing and ringing and ringing. I never thought you would answer. It’s still quite chilly at night and I didn’t bring a heavier coat.”

“What can I do for you,
Mamá?
” Belinda asked when her mother took a breath. She stepped aside to let her mother in, noting how great she looked in jeans and a button-up blouse.

“I just came to see how you were. Your father sees you more than I do these days.” She frowned as she studied Belinda from head to toe. “Are you going out tonight?”

“Yes?”

“And you are wearing that?”

“Yes.” Belinda put her hands on her hips. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing. I like you in purple, but that print is a little bold? No? Maybe you should wear black?”

“Why,
Mamá
?” She raised a brow. “Because black is slimming?”

It took a long time before her mother answered. “What’s wrong with wanting to look slimmer?” She briefly touched Belinda’s cheek. “Are you going out with Carter tonight?”

“No. Why?”

“I just was wondering. Your father told me that he saw him kiss you.”

“Yes. He did.” She waited for her mother to continue, curious to know why she was really there. After years of silence about Carter, was her curiosity finally getting the better of her?

“It wasn’t the first time, was it?”

“No,
Mamá
. It wasn’t.”

“Are you getting back together?

She shook her head. “I don’t know,
Mamá
, I really don’t.”

Her mother searched her face for a long moment as if she was trying to search out some truth. She wished her mother would just ask or say what she wanted.

“Oh. Okay. I have to go now.” She turned to leave.

“What? I thought you came here to talk.”

“Talk? I talk all the time. Your father says I never run out of words. I think that’s why he is taking the classes at the center, so he can have two more hours a day with me not talking.”

“But,
Mamá
…”

“What, darling? I just wanted to see you. That’s all.” She kissed Belinda’s forehead. “Come by for dinner next week. You can bring him if you want. And the little girl, too. I want to know him.”

“But we’re…” She stopped herself from denying they were a couple.

He was weakening her. Before he came back she’d been determined to find a new path in life, not travel down an old one.

“Do you think I would get back together with him without telling you?”

“I don’t know what to think, Pudge.” She shook her head. “You didn’t tell me when you got married. You didn’t tell me you weren’t divorced. You don’t tell me anything.”

She walked out after that, and for the first time in her life Belinda wished her mother had more to say.

*   *   *

“Are you sure you are going to be okay here tonight?” Carter asked his daughter for the third time. He was leaving her at Steven’s sister’s house for the night, for a sleepover with Steven’s nieces, with three other little girls, one of them Ruby’s age.

“Yes, Daddy. We’re gonna watch a movie, and then we are gonna play with dolls, and Mrs. Cameron said we could make ice cream sundaes, too.”

“It sounds like fun. But if you feel sick or scared or you just want to come home, you call me and I’ll come get you.”

“I know, Daddy. You told me,” she said, sounding a bit annoyed with him.

“Yes, Daddy,” Steven said from behind him. “The kid is telling you she’s going to be fine. Let’s go. The band starts playing at eight.”

He held in a sigh, kissed his daughter’s hair, and followed Steven out. He had never left her overnight before. He was almost feeling a bit of panic, not that he would ever admit it to anyone. It was irrational. Steven’s sister was a preschool teacher. She had three daughters. Her husband was a police officer, and he had known the woman for over fifteen years. Ruby was in good hands. He just felt uneasy about leaving her overnight.

“What the hell happened to you, man?” Steven asked, smacking him on the back as they made their way to Steven’s car. “You’re worse than a woman.”

“Wait until you have a daughter.”

Fifteen minutes later they walked into Rubio’s. It was a modern lounge type of place. Restaurant during the day, nightclub in the evenings, catering to Durant’s after-college crowd. Not a two-for-one beer special or beat-up pool table in sight. The band, complete with a brass section, was setting up onstage.

“You look like a man who needs a drink,” Steven said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been out drinking together. You still a scotch-and-soda man? First round is on me.”

“I think I’ll just have a beer,” he said as he turned to survey the crowd. “It’s been so long since I’ve been out.”

He looked around him, trying to remember the last time he had been single. It was right before he met Belinda. Steven had flown in for a few days and they had gone out to a place similar to this. Filled with mostly late-twenty- and thirty-somethings, looking to have a relaxing time. He hadn’t found anybody who sparked his interest that night and he knew tonight would be the same. The only girl he wanted was probably at home tonight.

“Trying to decide who we should sit with?”

“No—” he started, but then he saw her. The only girl he ever wanted was coming his way.

*   *   *

“Ick.” Ellis rubbed her tummy. “I don’t think I should have eaten all that food. My stomach is pissed at me.”

“That blue cheese garlic bread was good, though,” Cherri said. “I could have eaten a whole loaf by myself.”

“It was good. I think it was the buffalo chicken quesadillas that did it. I don’t think the baby likes spicy food.”

“No?” Belinda asked. “I thought jalapeños, extra hot sauce, and the pepper you added to it were going to sit well with you.”

“Mike warned me before I left not to overdo it. I told him that I knew my body better than he did, but he was right. I hate it when he’s right.” She frowned.

“I’m assuming you told Mike you were pregnant. The man hasn’t stopped smiling for the past two days.”

“Yes.” She rubbed her belly again. “I was going to tell him on our anniversary but the dumb man ruined the surprise by telling me he wanted to talk about having kids. I had no choice but to tell him.”

“I hope you have a girl, Ellis,” Cherri said. “That way your baby can marry my baby and we can control their lives forever.” Cherri leaned over and squeezed Ellis’s arm. “Next time we’ll plan on getting pregnant together. It would be so much fun.”

“Next time? Fun?” Belinda shook her head. “She hasn’t even popped this kid out yet and you’re planning another?”

“Duh.” Cherri rolled her eyes. “We can buy baby clothes together and plan our nurseries together and get extra fat together. Fun.”

“For whom exactly would that be fun?” Belinda asked, looking at her two best friends. “Then I would be forced to deal with two always hungry, crazy, emotional pregnant ladies. And frankly, I don’t think my nerves are good enough for that.”

“You could get knocked up with us,” Ellis stated with a shrug. “Then we can be three hungry pregnant moody bitches.” She groaned. “Just don’t eat jalapeños.”

Pregnant. Her last conversation with Carter came to mind. She had never voiced it before, not even to herself, but she wanted a baby and her own family. For some reason she had stopped thinking that was possible.

“I’ll go to the bar to get you some seltzer,” she said, standing up. “Try not to toss your cookies on the table.” She then studied Ellis, who was rubbing her small belly. “Would you rather go home?”

“No. I don’t want to go home! We are going to dance and laugh and stagger into the house after ten
PM
. You know I can’t stay up that late anymore. And this baby is taking it out of me even more. I haven’t seen
The Daily Show
in months.”