Page 41 of Rules of Engagement
"Oh. Well, I started out working for a hotel as a teenager. I was a front desk person, but one day the event manager needed help, and I jumped at the chance to get out from behind the counter. The pay sucked, but I loved it. Within a week, I was the new event assistant."
"That's great."
"It was," she said, "until I kept getting blamed for the coordinator's screwups. By then I was a senior in college, and I decided if I was going to take the hits, I wanted to actuallyberesponsible for them, so I started my own company."
"Your own company? You were what? Twenty-two as a senior?"
A small smile tilted her full lips up at the corners, and he found himself struggling to focus.
"Yeah. It was hard. I roomed with four other girls at the time, and space for stuff like this was at a minimum."
"And James? When did he come along?"
She rolled her eyes and yanked the strings of the bag.
"James and I met when I went to a hotel to scout it out for a couple. He worked in hotel management. We dated casually for about a year and…"
Carter waited. And then waited some more. "And?"
"I didn't trust my instincts. I was about to break it off with him when he asked me to be exclusive. I said yes, because it bothered me that we weren't, and convinced myself we were on track to becoming more. I found out later, the hotel he'd worked for sold to another and James had lost his job. In the meantime, I'd agreed to let him come in as a partner, to help me, because… well, because I thought we were going to be the power couple of event planning, I guess. So stupid."
Carter let her words hang in the air for a long moment, giving himself time to process them. She really did have reason to be wary of entanglements. "I'm sorry that happened to you."
"Me, too." She tied the strings of another bag.
"You know you're not the only person to ever do something stupid, right? Especially when it comes to relationships."
"I know. But with my past… I should've seen the red flags. Ididsee them, but I ignored them and told myself I was making mountains out of molehills. But I wasn't. And I have to own the fact I messed up so badly."
"Owning it is one thing, letting it keep you from living out the rest of your life another."
Her fingers stilled and he watched as her lashes lifted.
"Is that experience talking? I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you and Piper, but I heard you after I left the bathroom and…"
"Are you asking about Piper's mom?"
"Yeah. I mean, if you want to tell me."
He liked that Eliza wanted to know more about him and asked him personally, rather than Marsali. Or maybe Marsali had already told Eliza the story, but either way, he liked that she asked. "We met. Went on two dates. She got pregnant and we got married. Then Piper was born, and a week after we'd brought her home from the hospital, Piper's mom announced she didn't want to be a mom after all, and she split."
Eliza's sharp inhalation revealed the shock expressed by her beautiful gaze. So apparently Marsali hadn't filled her in.
"She just…left her? You? Does she see Piper? Come visit?"
"No. She signed over her parental rights with the divorce, and we haven't seen her since."
Eliza's lips parted and he saw the empathy and pain she couldn't hide.
"I can't imagine. I can't even…"
He nodded, because he couldn't imagine walking away, either. The pregnancy had been an accident, but from the moment he'd known he was going to be a father, everything had changed. It was like someone had grabbed him up and shaken some sense into him, and he'd tried to become a better man every day since. He'd thrown himself into being a good husband, a good provider. But it hadn't been enough. "I don't know what I would've done without Lincoln and Jill that first year. Piper was colicky. Man, that kid has somelungs," he said with a wry shake of his head. "But she's been the best thing to ever happen to me."
Eliza inhaled and tilted her head to one side as she met his gaze, a small smirk brightening her features.
"You probably get quite a bit of attention being a single dad of an absolute doll. Don't tell me that doesn't go a long way in scoring you dates."
He laughed, feeling more than a little sheepish. "It's had its moments."
