Page 102 of From London, With Love

“That’s why you threw a wall up that night at my house.”

“What?”

“The first night you came over, when I invited you for dinner. I’d taken one step toward my bedroom, you pulled back, and I saw the shutters go down behind your eyes. If it weren’t for the fact you were on your knees and begging not a moment later, I would’ve brought it up then.”

“I’ve done a lot of work in therapy over the years to buildfewer walls, but you caught me off guard that day. The look in your eyes seemed so loaded, and it scared me.”

Carter wraps his arms around me, pulling my body against his, and as he rubs small circles on my back, warmth and comfort settle over me, somehow almost bone deep.?

Tears prick my eyes, but they’re different this time; tears of contentment. I’ve never really understood the saying about how a person could feel like home, but I think I’m beginning to.?

“I promise you there’s nothing to be afraid of, love. If anything, I should be the one who’s scared. Something tells me I wouldn’t survive heartbreak at your hand.”

“And what makes you think I have the power to cause you heartbreak?”

“There’s yet to be a day since we first met where I haven’t thought about you. I don’t recall a time where I’ve felt this comfortable, to the point I can’t imagine not knowing you, now that I do.”

The sincerity in his voice is startling.?

God, some of the things this man says make him seem as though he were written by a woman. Surely no one is this smooth without being cringeworthy?

Oh, but of course, someone with a lot of practice could be. Someone like the Oxford Street Playboy.

The little voice in the back of my mind rears its ugly head, determined to throw me off kilter just as my guard is coming down. Unfortunately for Carter, it succeeds.?

“As wonderful as everything you’re saying is, it’s also incredibly at odds with the image you seem to portray in the media. So tell me, which one is the real Carter?”

Chapter 44

Carter / Lara

Carter

From the moment I curated the Oxford Street Playboy persona, I knew one day it would bite me on the arse. I just never expected it to be a bite from the most incredible woman I’ve ever known.

“At the risk of sounding incredibly cliche, it’s not what you think. Please let me explain?”

“I’d love to hear you explain how never being seen with a woman more than once ‘isn’t what I think’.” Lara scoots back slightly, pursing her lips with her arms crossed against her chest.?

When I don’t immediately respond, she gives me an incredulous smile. Fuck, I’ve really got my work cut out for me, and I’ve no one to blame but myself. Given my time again though, I wouldn’t change a thing.

“It was a ruse I formulated to protect my family. I created this playboy persona and fed it to the media outlets, knowing they’d swarm on it like vultures to a carcass. Only my familyand those closest to me know the truth, because they were the only ones who mattered.”

With each word out of my mouth, I watch Lara become more and more perplexed. She sits and stares for a moment, her mouth silently opening and closing.

“You—it . . . wh-what?” The words tumble out incomplete, her utter confusion apparent. “What? Why?”

“For Winnie.”

“Your niece?”

“Yes, for my niece. She was an unexpected surprise for our family, and more specifically for Teddy. For the first year of her life, we had no idea she existed.”

As expected, this causes Lara’s jaw to drop.?

“How is that even possible?”

“It’s a long story for another night, but for now, let’s say her mother was never going to be in the running for the Model Citizen Award.” Lara nods absentmindedly, pressing her lips together and pulling them between her teeth with an understanding hum.

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