Page 105 of The Charade

I looked up at the sky. It was actually a really nice day for this late in October. We wouldn't have too many more days like this, so I said, "The porch swing is perfect."

He slipped his hand in mine, intertwining our fingers together, and led me to the swing.

I looked at our hands for a second, loving that we could do this again without feeling like we were breaking some sort of law.

"So, I'm guessing you realized that since Dr. Aarden is my dad, it means we aren't brother and sister after all?" I asked, looking up at his handsome face and liking how petite I felt beside his tall frame.

"Yes. You might say I'm pretty good at putting two and two together." He gave me a soft smile and squeezed my hand.

"Well, that's good," I said. "Hopefully, it was good news."

He chuckled as we sat on the swing together. "Yes, let’s just say it wasverygood news."

"You didn't want two extra sisters?" I made a show of looking offended as I angled my body toward him. "You worried we'd become your dad's new favorite kids?"

Carter laughed again, and I liked the way it sounded—a happy, free-spirited sound that made me feel light inside. "I already know Cambrielle is his favorite, so that's not exactly what I was worried about."

I smiled. "Well, I'm glad I'm not your sister, either. Cambrielle and Nash—and probably Ian—all sound like a blast to be related to, but I'm pretty sure I would hate to be related to you."

"That's good. Because the feeling is mutual."

We just looked at each other for a moment with smiles on our faces as the world seemed to right itself around us.

Carter's gaze went to the manilla envelope in my hand. "What do you have in there? Another contract for us to sign?"

I shook my head. "I think we already discovered that we're too good at ignoring those." I held the envelope out to him. "But this is for you."

"My October seventeenth gift?" He arched an eyebrow as he took it from me.

"Yes," I said. "Kind of, at least. I know you aren't big on celebrating this day, but I hope you’ll be okay with this."

He slid his finger under the seal, opening the envelope, and then pulled out a certificate from the International Star Registry.

"You named a star after me?" Carter guessed, looking at the piece of paper with the company's logo printed on it.

"Just read it," I said, my palms feeling sweaty as I waited for him to take a closer look at what I'd done.

I knew he was into astronomy and so it seemed like something he would be into, but I'd also taken a slight risk that I wasn't sure he'd like.

He narrowed his gaze as he read the old-fashioned calligraphy, and when his eyes stopped on the name of the star, he looked up at me with surprise in his blue eyes. "You named the star after my mom?" He swallowed, a sudden range of emotions showing on his face. "You named it Astrid?"

I nodded, my heart racing as I hoped it was a good surprise and not a bad one. "I just know how much she means to you and how this time of year is difficult for you because of what happened, and I don't know…" I shrugged, still unable to discern from the look in his eyes if he liked it or hated what I'd done. "I guess I thought it might be nice to name a star after her, so that you could think of her every time you looked at the stars and know that she’s looking down on you and watching out for you."

He was quiet as he studied the certificate again. As he ran his fingers across his mother's name and the coordinates of her star, tears started pooling in his eyes.

"Is this okay?" I asked him, suddenly nervous that I might have just brought up more pain for him instead of comfort. "Because I also thought about getting you a T-shirt with the words 'Haughty Mc-Hot Hot' on it, if you think that would be better. Or even just take you out for dinner, if you prefer that. Or—"

Carter touched my arm to stop my nervous rambling. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "I love it." He ran his hand up my arm and squeezed it. "This is perfect, Ava."

"Really?" I looked up at him carefully, still needing reassurance.

"Yes." He nodded, and the sincerity in his gaze told me that he was speaking the truth. He pulled me against him. "This is the best gift you could have given me," he whispered into my hair.

I wrapped my arms around his torso. "Well, I'm glad you like it."

Carterand I went inside to eat dinner with his family a little later. I didn't know if any of them knew about why Carter and I had cooled things off last week—if they knew why we hadn't danced a single dance at Cambrielle's amazing party. But if they did know anything about the angst we'd created for ourselves based on several assumptions, they didn't say anything about it.

We sat around the large wooden table in their formal dining room, eating a delicious pot roast and mashed potatoes that Mr. and Mrs. Hastings had made themselves since it was their chef's day off. Cambrielle and Nash asked their dad all about his latest trip to South America, and then everyone else caught Mr. Hastings up on what they'd been up to in his absence.

---