Page 67 of Betting on the Bad Boy
As Cheryl’s car reached the end of the drive and made a right onto the main road toward town, I turned back toward the house. Meemaw stood at the front window, spying on me through the curtain. She should be taking it easy. I squashed all thoughts of Cheryl and Faith down for now and made my way into the house to do battle with my grandmother.
CHAPTER 34
Faith
“I’d gowith the light pink,” Claire suggested.
We sat side-by-side in massage chairs, wrapping up our spa day with mani-pedis. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so totally and completely relaxed. A ninety-minute hot stone massage and hour-long facial had that effect on me.
“I don’t know, Mom. Pink isn’t really my color.” So many choices. Maybe a different color for each toe? I considered a bottle of bright red. Little Red Riding Hood. Yep, this must be the one. I smiled to myself when I thought of dressing up as Red on Halloween.
Only two more days before I made it back to Newbridge and continued my “research” for my new book. I was looking forward to seeing Dante. Although, it wasn’t really the seeing I was excited about... more like getting to feel his mouth on mine and the perfect way he felt inside me.
“What are you smiling about?” My mother’s voice cut through the steamy recollection playing out in my mind.
I sat up in my chair. “Nothing.”
“Oh, I thought maybe you were thinking about Carter.” Claire lifted her eyebrows in an unspoken question.
“Mom, I told you already. Carter’s a nice guy, but I’m not interested.”
“He’s quite a catch, Faith. Why, Clem says he can pretty much dictate his own future.”
“That’s great, Mom. But the thing is, I’m not looking for a catch right now. I don’t have time.”
Claire put her hand on my arm. “Don’t get all upset. I’m just asking you to give him a chance.”
She had been talking up Carter all week. It’s not that I didn’t like him. He was nice. Cute too. Once I earned tenure, I’d be giving up my career writing erotic romance, so long-term that wouldn’t be an issue. On paper, we’d probably make a good match. But something was missing. I hadn’t quite figured out what yet. But why lead the poor guy on?
“I’m leaving in two days. Even if I wanted to give him a chance, I’m running out of time.”
“Nonsense.” Claire stood up, waving her hands to dry her nails. “We’d better get going. I told Clem we’d be back in time for an early dinner.”
I wiggled my feet into my flip-flops and followed her out of the salon. It had been a nice day. All week, all I’d wanted to do was spend some time with my mother. Finally, I’d had the chance.
We’d had lunch at a café we used to go to when I was little, then Mom had booked us for spa packages in the afternoon. She’d even splurged and arranged for a haircut, style, and makeup application for me. Having my mom to myself had been a real treat.
As we pulled up the hill and into the driveway, I noticed a black BMW parked in front of the third stall. Great, another one of Clem’s disciples was probably hanging out inside. I didn’t mind making small talk with Clem’s followers, but I was ready to get back to my small apartment where I could inhabit myown space and not have to worry about slipping up and saying something that would expose me.
We walked through the door into the house, and I heard Clem’s voice and then a man’s laughter. As I rounded the corner, I saw Carter sitting on one of the barstools at the kitchen island. He stood up when he saw us come in.
“Well, Carter. What a surprise.” Mom smiled and walked toward him, giving him a kiss on each cheek.
Carter turned to me. “Hi. Did you have a nice time today?”
I busied myself at the counter, reaching for a glass and filling it with water from the fridge. “Yeah, we had a great day. I didn’t know you were coming over.” I glanced at my mother, who stood next to Clem on the other side of the kitchen.
Carter smiled, then crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the counter. He looked pretty damn comfortable in my mother’s kitchen. “I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and see if you wanted to grab some dinner.”
I shot a glance over at my mother. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“Oh, I don’t know. I think Mom mentioned something about having an early dinner here with Clem.”
“Oh, you kids go on and have fun.” Claire grabbed Clem by the arm and led him from the kitchen. “I think Clem and I are going to go out. Just the two of us.”
Carter caught me rolling my eyes and laughed. “Looks like your mom just made other plans.”
“Yeah, how about that? It appears I’m suddenly free for the evening.” I didn’t appreciate being blindsided with a dinner date, but I’d be gone in just a few days. What was the harm in having dinner together? “Let me just go freshen up a bit. I’ll be back in a minute.”
