Page 29 of From the Ashes
“Your eyes, sometimes I feel like you’re smiling with them, like a second ago.”
“Maybe.” His pupils dilate as he stares at me.
“Maybe?”
“I’m not always sure about how to display emotions, but perhaps my body chooses for me, so yeah, maybe I’m smiling with my eyes like you said.” I smile and bite my lip, kind of proud of myself for figuring out this man.
“Tell me about you,” he rasps, “I want to know more about you.”
“Oh,” I twirl my fork mindlessly on my plate, “like what?”
“I don’t know, anything you’re okay sharing with me,” he says, finishing his plate and putting down his fork, his attention fully focused on me while I stare at my glass of water.
“I like watching rom-coms,” I admit with a chuckle. “After putting Noah to bed, I fix myself a quick chocolate snack and then I snuggle on my sofa and watch 2000s rom-coms and it's just, I don’t know… I just like to do that.”
Carter raises an eyebrow, his usual stoic expression showing a hint of curiosity. He shifts in his seat, leaning slightly forward. “Nothing wrong with liking rom-coms.”
I let a small laugh escape me, my shoulders relaxing. “It’s silly, but they’re comforting. They’re easy, predictable, you know?”
He nods, attentive. “Yeah, I understand.” Carter’s gaze softens for a second before he clears his throat. “Haven’t seen one though. I mostly watch action movies and blockbusters. Sometimes I pump myself up to watch independent films, but most of the time, there isn’t a lot of romance in them.”
“I, um… If you want to watch one someday…” I let my words hang in the air.
“Definitely yeah,” he states without a second of hesitation. I smile and glance at him, wondering how two people so different can understand each other so well.
“And besides movies, what else do you do?” he asks again, as if he’s genuinely interested in my life.Maybe he is. Maybe I can learn to trust again. Totrusthim.
“I don’t know, I've got a simple life. I go to work, spend time with Noah, and I see my sister and my nieces pretty much once a week, but other than that, nothing much.” I shrug, talking about my life and knowing I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love it this way. Simple, cozy, predictable. Well, as predictable as it can be when Ben doesn’t barge back into it uninvited.
“Simple is good,” he says calmly, before rising from his stool. He brushes my arm with his as he takes our plates and puts them in the dishwasher. Then, he opens the fridge again and takes out an adorable pie with cream and strawberries.
“My housekeeper made it this morning. Do you want some?” My lips part as I wonder how the hell a huge Viking like him asked his housekeeper for such a lovely dessert, but I guess I need to see behind the surface with Carter. He’s softer than he looks, not in a “I’m going to fix him” kind of way, but in a richer way. He’s complex, but in a good way.Full of good surprises, my gut tells me.
“I’d love to,” I say with excitement. This lunch date is going even better than I thought. We finish our dessert in comfortablesilence, which is surprisingly hard to achieve with people I don’t know, but I guess it’s a good sign.
“Are you going back to work now?” I ask, glancing at my watch and reminding myself that I’ve only got fifteen minutes left before I'll need to head back to the hospital.
“Yeah, pretty calm today. My boss’s wife is going to her showroom, then she’ll go back home.”
“So you follow her all day and make sure she’s not attacked, isn’t it…dangerous?” I furrow my brows, the sudden idea of him being in harm's way unsettling me.
“Not really, it depends.” He tilts his head to the side. “We get pretty clear threats on her sometimes, especially from other clubs who want to overtake us and target families to hit where it hurts, but lately it’s been calmer. But you never know, there’s a lot at stake,” he declares with seriousness, his tone heavy and measured. “My boss would literally burn the world to the ground for her, and our enemies know that, so we keep her close, make sure she’s safe.”
“We?”
“Ash and I.”
“Is he a…coworker?” I’ve never heard of such a name.
“Kind of, brother, coworker, friend.” He shakes his head.
“What?” I frown with a half-smile.
“He’s a piece of work, that’s all.” His eyes are creasing a bit.
“You like him.” I smile. That Ash must be really nice to get Carter to talk about him as a friend. Even with the little knowledge I have about him, I can tell he doesn’t open up to everyone.
“He…” he clears his throat, “never mind.”
