Page 1 of Loving Carter

Chapter One

Skylar

My best friend, CarterWarren, can be annoying at times.Really annoying. Now, don’t get me wrong. He’s a great guy, and he can be charming when he wants to be, but there are other times when he simply makes me crazy.

But aren’t we all like that? Sometimes we’re charming. Other times, we’re so annoying that our family and friends want to yellarrgh!

Me? I hope I’m not too annoying or at least not too often. Honestly, I have nothing to complain about in my life. I’ve been very fortunate, growing up in the small East Texas town of Endearing. It’s a nice place that I love. What else would you expect in a town named Endearing?

I count Carter’s friendship as one of the things that makes me fortunate, even when he’s being annoying. We, along with his brothers and my sisters, hung out almost every day as kids. We biked in the summer, rode horses, went fishing, played video games, and generally annoyed the crap out of each other.

The others drifted in and out of the group, but Carter and I remained close. We’ve always been friends. Even when we went to different colleges and worked jobs in different cities, we stayed in touch. He’s the keeper of my secrets and a heck of a nice guy.

Most of the time.

But maybe not today. Something’s up. I know this because he’s late, and Carter is never late unless something is up. I watch through the front window of my bakery as he crosses the parking lot and heads for the door to my store, The Endearing Bakery. Tall, with black hair and brown eyes, he is one good-looking cowboy—make that pseudo-cowboy. He may have come back to run his family’s ranch for a limited amount of time, but ever since college, he’s more financial advisor than horse wrangler.

Still, he put his life on hold and came back to help his aunts, at least for a while. See what I mean about him being nice? And most of the ladies in town find him irresistible. He’s got good looks with a side of charm and a dollop of nice. Who doesn’t love a cowboy with a heart?

Besides me, of course. Don’t get me wrong. I love Carter, but only as a friend, and not in the “you rock my world” way. Normally, a gorgeous guy with charm and a great sense of humor would snag my attention, but Carter doesn’t. All I can deduce is a little mystery is necessary to make your heart go pitter-patter. I simply know Carter too well. There is no mystery.

And to be honest, I need more than pitter-patter. I have life goals—I want to build my business and a life here in Endearing. I’m not looking for a guy, and if I do happen to fall for someone, he must have a similar focus. See, my last boyfriend, Roy, was great, and I really thought we’d end up together. But as the months passed, he admitted he wanted a completely different life than I do. He wanted skyscrapers and luxury apartments. I want my small bakery and a sensible house. I know what I want, and I’m not falling for a guy unless he shares my vision for the future.

Oh, okay,andmakes me shiver with desire. Definitely add that requirement to the mix too. I’m not settling for anything less than what I want.

“You’re running late this morning,” I say the second Carter walks in the bakery. “You’re normally right on time. Is the world ending?”

Carter glances at the smart watch on his wrist, then flashes a sexy grin, the kind that make most women turn into stammering fools. I’m not sure when he perfected that grin. Sometime after high school. College, maybe?

“Funny,” he says. “And I’m not late. Just arriving at a different time.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure that means you’re late.”

He tips his head and meets my gaze. “Guess it depends on how you look at it. Maybe I’m not late. Maybe I’m early for tomorrow’s breakfast.” When I frown at him, he laughs. “Ah, Skylar, you have to remember that the early bird may get the worm, but it’s thesecondmouse that gets the cheese.”

“You are too funny for words.”

Carter wanders over to the counter near the register. “You look nice today.”

With anyone else, I might consider the words sincere even though I’ve got my long red hair swept up into a bun and covered with a net. Plus, my yellow uniform smock is wrinkled and has a large brown coffee stain on the lower left corner thanks to me being a klutz and bumping into the counter earlier. But I know Carter the same way a marine biologist knows a shark, so I know what his compliment means—he’s about to ask for a favor.

Whenever he tries to charm me, I know something’s up.

“Thank you. I always look nice,” I say. “Compliments, even insincere ones, are appreciated. What do you want?”

Rather than being offended, Carter laughs again. “Nothing. I meant it. You do look nice.”

I frown at him. “Andyou want something.”

Before he can respond, my last remaining morning customer, Miriam Dupree, stands and heads toward the cash register. Miriam is in her eighties but still spry. She comes in every morning, buys a coffee and a muffin, then sits at a table by the front window and observes. I figure most of the years she’s lived weren’t happy ones, and now it’s her goal to make the people around her not so happy. She likes to point out your flaws, as if doing so in some way helps you.

She also loves to complain about everything. Every single day. The coffee is too cold or too hot or too foamy. Yesterday, the decorated to-go coffee cup she bought was too solid.

Too solid? I had absolutely no idea what to do about that, so I just shrugged. No telling what this morning’s complaint will be.

“All set?” I ask Miriam.

She hands me her bill and her credit card. While I ring up her order, she’s looking at Carter, no doubt checking him out. She’s got that slack-mouth, goofy look on her face women get around Carter.

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