But shit, there we were, two jerk offs doting on a baby girl who managed to have us under her little finger without even being able to speak yet.
“Thanks.” He took a gulp of beer as he moved around the kitchen to prepare dinner. “So yeah,” he threw over his shoulder, “he is good for you. I like him.”
I grinned. How could I not? As much as Davis and I had been dickwads over the years, his opinion mattered. Not that I’d be splitting with Carter if Davis thought he was a douche, but that he liked him made everything a whole lot easier.
“I like him too,” I admitted.
Davis paused in preparing dinner to look at me. “Well fuck me silly!”
I snorted. “What?”
“You.”
I lifted my brow, needing more to go on.
“In all these years not once have you admitted to liking a guy.” When I rolled my eyes, he squinted and pointed his finger at me. With a snort, he said, “Seriously, you fucker, I know you wanted me to meet him, and yeah, that told me this guy was important, but youlikehim like him.”
I shook my head. “You going to start trying to braid my fucking hair or something? Damn, Davis, what is this, middle school?”
“Screw you, asswipe.” He grinned at me before turning on the stove. “I’m happy for you. You balance each other out or some BS like that,” he said with a shrug. “I’m glad you’re happy.”
I really was. At one time, I would have thought admitting those sorts of feelings would have made me feel like an idiot, but there was no panic, no desire to reevaluate my feelings. Instead, I was sure that Carter was the fucking one. And wasn’t that a mindfuck? I grinned again, a response I was finding more commonplace over the past couple of months. “Thanks. I was thinking about asking him away for a weekend. Will you have Rex if I get it sorted?”
It was my brainwave earlier today. While we spent virtually all our free time together, we tended to spend too many extra hours working on his renovations. It meant little time to take a break. While he’d spent some nights at my place, it was often easier to be at his—because of the work on his property.
The progress was great. I’d achieved a lot, and while there was still a way to go, the house finally felt safe, as in I no longer feared for my life when working in the place, wondering if a wall would collapse or a floor would give way.
Also, Carter hadn’t said much at all about the bullying nonsense at work for a while. I’d asked him several times and he’d reassured me that apart from a few shitty glances thrown his way, nothing else had happened.
I believed him, based on the fact he didn’t seem to be stressed about heading into work as much, but still, it had been a rough few weeks for him, so what better way to relax than getting away from it all?
“’Course I will,” Davis answered. “You doing the whole romance thing… Christ, brother, I never thought I’d see the day.” He laughed far too loudly.
“Whatever.” Not the greatest comeback, but he did have a point. I’d been around the block a few times and wasn’t renowned for commitment or romance, so we both knew this was a big deal. But Carter was worth it.
“Where you heading to?”
I sat down next to Libby and picked up one of the toys off her tray. I walked the weird dinosaur, doll monstrosity in front of her. She giggled in delight before she swiped it out of my hands. I carried on playing with her as I spoke. “I’m not sure. There’s either the lakes or the city.” They were such different places, offering various ways to fill our time. “What do you think?” Davis was worse than I was when it came to relationships, but still, I trusted him in most things.
“Depends.” He stirred the pot as he continued, “You want idyllic romance before you fuck or drunken hard-core sex after partying?”
He was deadly serious. He was also right. I snorted at the both of us. “Should I want the first even though I’m really wanting the second?” Carter and I had never had drunken sex, so the idea had merits. Though a weekend of nothing but relaxing at the lakes did sound like something we could both do with. Plus, we wouldn’t have to socialize or anything. God, I was getting old when I wasn’t even bothering to debate the possibilities.
“Ha! If you take a couple of cases of beer with you, then you could make some of the second choice happen.” He threw me a wicked grin and took the food off the stove.
“Good point,” I admitted. Just the thought of a weekend away, free from disturbances from real life sounded amazing. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and opened Google.
* * *
I hadsome incredible stealth skills. Yeah, I was a badass and decided that if construction went sideways, I had the makings of a spy. I snorted at the thought as I placed the bags in the back of my truck.
Earlier in the day, I’d dropped Rex off at Davis’s and texted Lauren to ensure everything was set. When I’d first decided on this grand-gesture thing, it had seemed easy, but somehow it had spiraled into getting people I’d never even spoken to on board and me purchasing a couple of bottles of champagne.
I shook my head as I made sure the box of food, the bottles, and the crate of beer were all secure. Fucking champagne. When I’d stolen Carter’s phone to grab Lauren’s number—the only person who he’d really spoken about and was friendly with at work—she’d agreed to ensure he wasn’t on call and had then sent me on a mission with a list to make sure the weekend was apparently as romantic as fuck.
Hell, it wasn’t like I was proposing to the guy. Yet. The thought made me grin. I’d tagged on that word a few times over the past few weeks, recognizing that the thought didn’t make me freak out. We weren’t near that stage. Christ, it could be another year or two for all I knew, but I saw Carter in my future. With all that driving me forward, I’d relented and paid a crazy amount of money for a couple of bottles of champagne. I was now off to pick up Carter.
Since it was Friday, he finished at two. The plan was to pick him up and sweep him away. The drive to the lakes was just a couple of hours, giving us plenty of time to settle in for the weekend. It was the peak of summer, with the weather fine, if not a little hot at times. The cabin we were staying at had air-conditioning, a row boat, and sat on a lake.
