Page 108 of No More Secrets
“Bullshit.”
“Do you kiss your sons with that mouth?” he teased.
“That girl loves you so much it was exploding out of her.”
“She got scared, Mom.”
“That’s what worries me. You have us,” she said waving her hand in the direction of his snoring brothers. “You have the farm, the animals, all of Blue Moon. Who does she have to walk her through scared?”
“Nikolai went back yesterday. I think he was planning to talk some sense into her.”
“He’s a good boy, but she won’t listen to him.”
Carter nodded. “No. She won’t,” he agreed. He took another hit of coconut water and chased it with a gulp of coffee.
“So what do we do?” Phoebe asked. It was the follow up question to “Where are you today?”
“We wait.”
“We hope?”
“We wait and we hope,” Carter sighed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Summer logged another marathon day in the office dealing with a thousand mini crises. None of which really mattered in the grand scheme of things, but at least they gave her something else to think about.
Something besides Blue Moon Bend and Carter Pierce.
She pushed back from her desk and moved to the window. It wasn’t the view from Pierce Acres kitchen, that’s for sure. As a sunset bloomed above, Manhattan bustled below. Traffic snarling and weaving. Nameless pedestrians hurrying from building to building.
She loved it. Didn’t she? The energy. The frantic pace. The sense of urgency that never ceased. It was where she chose to be.
Sure. There were no flop-eared pigs or bad-tempered goats here, but the city held its own appeal. A nightlife that never slept. A few million strangers, all with their own stories.
It was for the best, of course. This is where she belonged. It never would have worked with Carter. She did the right thing by ending it when she did.
Why was it that her heart wasn’t buying it?
“Missing those rolling pastures?”
Nikolai’s voice pulled her from her reverie. Her friend dropped into her unoccupied desk chair.
“Don’t, Niko.”
He held up his hands. “I’m not trying to rub it in.”
“You of all people think I made a mistake?”
“Stop putting words in my mouth. And what do you mean by me ‘of all people?’”
“You love this city as much, if not more, than I do. A never-ending parade of beautiful women. World-class artists, musicians, designers, all cohabitating on one tiny island. Food from every country available for delivery. And you think I miss Blue Moon.”
“Manhattan doesn’t have Carter.”
She glared at him. Somewhere along the line, Niko had fallen onto the Team Carter roster. “Why are you pushing this?”
Niko stretched his long legs out, touching the far wall of the cubicle and blocking her exit. “How long have we known each other?”
