Tempting Mr. Wrong (Wrong Man) (13 page)

“Well, duh. Although, I don’t want everyone to be in love. Just my amazing, smart, talented bestie.” Piper’s brows drew together as a serious expression settled onto her face. “Quiggles, I want you to experience what I’m going through more than anything, but I also want you to be careful. You kinda have this habit of jumping first and thinking later.”

Carly sat back, allowing Piper’s words to sink in. Anna had said something similar when Lance first showed up in town. Rationally, she knew they were both right. Reason and logic told her that Lance was a man of his word. He claimed that completing his bucket list was important, which meant he was going to do it. And the home improvements he was making were almost complete. That meant their time together was dwindling.

“Car?” Piper squeezed her hand again, a worried look in her eyes.

Out of everything Piper said tonight, there was one thing that stuck out above all the others. She was in love with Lance. She was in love with someone who was leaving. She’d done it again.

“You know what I think?” Piper asked.

Suddenly sad, Carly leaned forward. She’d take any advice she could get.

“I think you need to be careful because you’re in danger of getting your heart broken.”

That was exactly the same conclusion she’d come to herself.

Chapter Twelve

Carly sat at the kitchen table and tried to fill out some paperwork her new boss had sent over. This task was difficult for two reasons. First of all, the only thing she could think of while sitting at this table was how two days ago Lance had done nothing short of ravage her on it.

“But, Aunt Carly, I don’t want to.”

Mya crossed her two little arms over each other and jutted her bottom lip out in a defiant look that Carly knew well. Because she’d invented it. And hence the second reason why her paperwork remained unfinished.

Mya had been in a mood all day, and Carly knew why. After the kid had partied at Caitlyn’s house the day before and got all hopped up on sugar and adrenaline, she was tired. Carly had told Lance that Mya needed a nap. Had he listened? No. He’d taken her out with him to the store, and now she had to deal with the exhaustion-fueled temper tantrum while Mr. Mom was off testing the new and improved garage door in peace and quiet.

She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. Mya was a good-natured child, and it wasn’t her fault that she was cranky.

“I know you don’t want to eat your carrots, but you have to.”

“Did you make them?” Mya asked.

Carly fought the urge to roll her eyes. Thanks to Lance’s elementary lessons, she was improving in the kitchen. But she still had a long way to go. “No, Lance made them, and you need to eat them.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re good for you,” Carly said as she tapped her pen against her cheek and studied the retirement plan in front of her.

“Why?”

“Because they have like vitamins and stuff in them.”

“Why?”

She slammed the pen down a little harder than she’d meant to. “You’ll eat the carrots because I said so, and that’s why,” she said in her firmest, no-nonsense tone.

Mya mirrored her by slamming her little fork down on the plate. “I hate you.”

Carly froze, shocked at her sweet niece’s words. But when she looked at Mya, she found the little girl to be equally surprised herself. Mya’s lip started trembling. Patience, she chanted silently to herself.

“Come here, Mya.” She pushed the papers into the center of the table and scooted her chair back. Mya was at her side in a flash. Carly lifted her up, and Mya snuggled into her chest.

“Did you mean what you just said, Mya?”

“No. I didn’t mean it. I swear.” The words were muffled against her. Carly ran a hand up and down Mya’s back and hoped it was soothing.

“What do we say to someone if we hurt their feelings?” Carly tried to keep her voice both calming and confident. Gretchen had been so good at this, but Carly felt completely inadequate. She was terrified that she would never be a great disciplinarian or a really good support system.

Mya pushed back and focused her pretty green eyes on Carly’s face. “I’m sorry.”

Carly waited a moment, studying her niece. The kid was tired. It had been a long day—hell, a long weekend. Adam had been over in the morning, and the two of them had raked leaves and then promptly jumped in them. At least Mya had jumped. Adam had laughed and taken pictures. Then Mya had gone to her ballet class and Lance had taken her to the store, even though she warned him that was going to be too much for Mya.

Still, she knew that Mya was sorry and felt horrible. The kid didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Carly placed a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you, Mya. I accept your apology.”

“I love you, Aunt Carly.”

Grinning, she said, “I love you, too.”

Mya looked back at her plate and then turned hopeful eyes to Carly. “Do I still have to eat the carrots?”

Stifling a smile, Carly laughed silently. “Tell you what? It’s been a long day. Just this one time, I’ll let you off the hook.”

“Yay!”

“But only if you go to bed early tonight. Deal?”

Mya tilted her head to the right, clearly weighing her options and deciding which was the lesser of two evils. Decision made, she said, “Okay, Aunt Carly. I’ll go to bed early.”

“Good. Now why don’t you go put your nightgown on, and then you can watch one of your movies in the living room?”

“Okay.”

A few minutes later, Carly heard the indelible sounds of
The Little Mermaid
. Adam had bought it for Mya, and Carly couldn’t be more thrilled that she loved it. Not only had it been one of Carly’s favorite movies, but it also meant a small break from the twenty-four-hour
Frozen
viewing party. She would take it.

After clearing Mya’s dishes and tidying up the kitchen, Carly peeked in on her niece. She was curled up in a little ball on the couch, sound asleep. With a smile, Carly turned off the movie and then gathered Mya up, walked up to her bedroom, and put her to bed.

Returning to the table, she eyed the paperwork again, but just didn’t feel like tackling it. So she went off in search of Lance instead. A little flirting and maybe even some making out would definitely be a welcomed distraction. She knew Mya was out for the count, so it was almost like they had the house to themselves. Even though Lance had shared her bed the night before, they hadn’t done anything besides sleep. She tried to tell herself that was okay even as a worried feeling settled in her stomach.

She remembered her conversation with Piper the night before. How could she not? Their talk had kept her awake almost the entire night. More specifically, the mention of love was what had her tossing and turning while Lance slept soundly beside her as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Carly, on the other hand, was smack-dab in the middle of an emotional shit storm. The worst part? She’d created it herself.

She wasn’t sure when it had happened specifically, or if it had been a culmination of the times they’d been together. But at some point her feelings had shifted from thinking Lance was hot, to hoping she’d get him in bed, to a deep affection, and now to love.

I love Lance.

She froze, placing a hand over her heart.

I am very, very stupid.

Lance had been up-front about leaving since day one. Carly stood in front of the door that led to the garage admonishing herself. What had she been thinking? That they would sleep together a handful of times and he would suddenly change his mind and not want to complete something he’d been dreaming about for years? Something that she very well understood meant so much to him. If nothing else, Lance was consistent and predictable. A man of his word. If he had his mind set on a task, he was damn well going to complete it. She loved that about him.

Still, the way he looked at her when she was in his arms made her want to melt. He had a habit of pushing her hair back and tucking it behind her ears. The simple gesture always sent a flutter through her. So, really, falling in love with him had been completely and utterly his fault.

If it was only about sex, she could walk away, but he’d infiltrated every aspect of her life. She loved watching him play with Mya because he always let his guard down during those times. She loved that he was beyond patient while he tried to teach her to cook. She loved the way his eyes narrowed as he concentrated on his renovations. She loved how he made her bed every morning with crisp hospital corners. She even loved that he got along with Adam.

The verdict was that she loved everything about him.

Both Anna and Piper had warned her to watch her heart, but it just wasn’t in her nature to be pessimistic. Carly believed in love and happy endings. Maybe while she was agonizing over her feelings for Lance he was doing the same thing. It was possible that he could be changing his mind about leaving.

Her grin came fast and wide at the thought. She walked through the door and found Lance squatting as he examined the new garage door as it closed. She cleared her throat and he spun around. He tried to hide it, but she hadn’t missed the way his eyes lit up at seeing her.

“Hey, mister, how’s it going in here?”

“I think I’m finished,” he said proudly. “No wonder you never parked in here. Not having an automatic door is a pain in the ass.” He stopped suddenly, stood, and looked behind Carly. “Where’s Mya?”

“In bed. Why?”

“I said a bad word.”

Carly laughed. “I’ll let it slide this time. But I might make you double-down next time.”

He grinned. “Appreciate it. Now, come over here.” He walked toward the door she’d just stepped through. “The new garage door is really sturdy and secure, but I installed a new lock on this door. Of course, it will all be hooked up to the alarm system. You remember how to use it, right? The one code works for the whole thing.”

“Aye aye, captain.” She saluted him.

“Cute,” he replied. “I also cleaned up the mess in here. See, I added these metallic strips. You can use them to hang equipment and other tools on them. But I think I organized the majority of it.”

“That’s good.” And it was. Once again, he’d really helped her out. She could park her car in the garage. It was safe and sound for Mya.

He took out a notebook and crossed off an item. Then he looked up at her with a smile. “I only have one more thing on my master to-do list. As soon as the alarm system guy gets here tomorrow and sets that up, my whole plan will be finished. I’m done.”

Done. The word hung in the air the way the rake was hanging on Lance’s metallic strips.

Only, she didn’t want him to be done. If he’d really gone through his entire list—and how in the hell was that even possible—there was no reason for him to stay. Unless…

“I’ve been thinking,” she began. “You’ve been working so hard since you got here. Maybe you should take a couple days to just chill and hang out.” She couldn’t get a read on him. Was he receptive to the idea, or was he ready to high-tail it out of here? Maybe the more important question was how was he feeling about her, about them? “I don’t start my new job for another week, so I have some time if you wanted to just, you know, hang out.”

Lance stared at her for a long time. His eyes swept the length of her body. Finally, he said, “I’d really like that.”

The breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in whooshed out in relief. “Yeah?”

“Oh yeah.” He pulled her to him and wound his arms around her.

As their lips met, Carly realized that she was the happiest she’d ever been in her whole life.

…

Lance loved kissing Carly. More than that, he loved spending time with her. He may be at the finish line of his master to-do list, but he was not at the end of his time in Pine Springs.

He’d like to hang out with Carly for a little bit. He still had his list of things he wanted to do and places he wanted to visit, and he would tackle it. But first, it wouldn’t hurt to devote a little more time to his goddaughter.

And her beautiful aunt, he added quickly.

Pete’s words were still in his head. Lance continued to be aware of the fact that he was going to leave. Yet, despite all of that, he couldn’t say no to her. It may be selfish, but he wanted more time with her. Just a little more time.

He ripped his lips from hers and she made a strangled sound that was a cross between a gasp and a laugh. “What are you doing?”

“Maybe we should take this upstairs.” He nodded toward the door. Hand-in-hand they exited the garage, walked through the house, and continued up the stairs to her bedroom.

When they got into the room, he sat on the bed and pulled Carly down to join him. Lance never considered himself much of a talker, so he surprised himself when words started pouring from his lips.

“You are so petite. You have these small, interesting hands.” He took them and kissed each in turn. “And your body is so compact, but I like the way it fits with mine. I wonder how so much energy could come out of such a tiny package.”

“Lance.” She said his name on a very breathy voice.

“I appreciate the way you are, Carly.”

She turned her head and offered him a coy smile. “I think you just like the way I look.”

With a light finger under her chin, he forced her to meet his gaze. “Hell, yeah, I love the way you look. But you know what else? I love the way you are.”

“What do you mean?”

“You take care of everyone else. You make sure everyone has what they need before yourself. And not only Mya. You leave those sticky notes on my dresser when I’m in the shower. As soon as I walk into my room, I see them.”

“That’s just little.” She waved a hand. “I write silly things.”

“Those silly things mean so much. It shows you care. You don’t wake me up, even though I know I snore.” She stifled a smile. “Hey, I used to sleep with twenty other men. Trust me, they told me I snore.”

He continued. “I see the way you are with Adam. I can tell that it’s hard for you when he starts talking about Gretchen. You choke up, but you never interrupt him. You let him talk because you know he needs to get it out.”

He placed her palm over his chest. “And it gets me right here that you are doing any of this at all. You’re twenty-six. You should be out playing bar trivia and taking girls’ weekends to Asheville or Myrtle Beach. Instead, you’re the most responsible woman I know. Caring for your niece, scoring a new, awesome job, and running an entire house. And you know what the really amazing part is? I haven’t heard you complain once.”

He pushed her hair back, allowing himself to tangle his fingers through soft curls. “I don’t like this situation, Carly. I hate that Chris and Gretchen died. My heart goes out to Mya. At the same time, she is so fucking lucky to have you. You are this incredible person who is acting as mother, father, and aunt. You take her to school and watch her dance routines.”

“Lance.” She sniffled. “I’m about two seconds away from losing it.”

“So lose it. You deserve to.” He took a moment to collect himself. As emotional as she appeared, he felt equally moved. He meant every damn word he was saying.

“Carly, your brother couldn’t have picked a better woman to raise his child.”

A tear finally spilled over onto her cheek. He caught it with a finger and kissed it away.

“Oh, Lance…” She paused, seeming too choked up to say more.

Enveloping her in a strong hug, he held on for dear life, because even though he meant this moment to be about her, for her, he realized it had been about him, too. In saying everything he’d just said, Lance discovered he’d fallen hard for Carly Quigley, and that thought scared the shit out of him.