Page 26 of Loving Carter

I keep going over the idea of being honest with her about what I’m feeling, but what if she’s not interested and things are ruined between us?

On the other hand, what if she says she feels the same way and we get involved? I’m going to leave Endearing. I have to if I want to have any self-respect. I learned at a young age how vital it is to take care of yourself, and I can’t stay here working the ranch for my aunts. But I would be a major jerk if I started something with her knowing I’m going to cut out soon.

I’ve thought about this a lot, and what I need to do, and quickly, is to figure out a way to get over what I’m feeling for Skylar. I’m not sure how to do that, but I need to try.

Of course, there is one option. I could introduce Skylar to someone she might like, someone she might start to date. If that happened, then two things would occur. Skylar would be happy, and I’d get over this attraction.

See, when I was in college, my roommate, Gabe Silva, had it bad for one of our instructors. He was seriously crazy about her, so to help him out, I went to see her during office hours. I pretended I had questions about one of her lectures, but my main goal was to learn more about her life. Turned out, she was married with two children. I found this out by commenting on the photos in her office. When I told Gabe, he quickly got over the attraction. She was unavailable, and he wasn’t a snake.

So I figure I can do the same thing. I’ll find someone perfect for Skylar. If she likes him and they date, then she’ll be happy, and I won’t feel attracted to her. I don’t go after women who are involved with some other guy.

The two main problems are that Skylar hates blind dates, and there’s not a single person in town Skylar wants to date. She knows everyone, and if she were interested in dating any of them, she’d already be doing it.

What she needs is someone new, someone she doesn’t already know. Someone she hasn’t already vetoed.

I smile. What she needs is to meet Gabe Silva.

Gabe and I are still friends. He lives in Tyler, which is pretty close to Endearing. He’s a good guy and single at the moment. Better yet, he’d be perfect for Skylar.

Not that either of them would let me fix them up. If I even mentioned it, they’d both disappear in a puff of smoke. That’s a shame because I really think the two of them will hit it off. But getting these two together is going to take tact. It will take skill. It will take finesse.

I know what to do. I’ll ask Gabe for advice on local bands. He’s a big music nut, and on his blog, he writes about bands, both the small local ones and the huge international ones. He’s the perfect person to help us make a list of potential bands.

Proud of myself, I grab my phone and text Gabe about seeing local bands. When he says he’ll help, I text Skylar and tell her my friend will join us on the hunt for bands.

Then I sit back and finally relax about this whole mess. The last thing I want to do is hurt Skylar, and this plan is perfect. She won’t get hurt, and I’ll stop acting like a fool.

***

Skylar

ICLOSE AND LOCK THEdoor to the bakery, then head to the back room to make sure everything is set for tomorrow. Carter and the friend he’s bringing tonight want to discuss bands, which might take some time. In case anyone gets hungry, I make up a small tray of cookies for folks to nibble on.

It’s great that Carter knows someone who can help us locate bands. I’m not sure how many bands we need, but we need to cover the four hours the expo will be open. The bands will have a chance to show off in front of a fairly big crowd, and the committee voted to pay them a little something as well. We don’t have a huge amount of money, but hopefully, it’s enough.

A light rapping on the back door lets me know Carter and his friend have arrived. I want them to come in this way so people don’t think the store’s still open. I unlock the back door and let them inside.

“Skylar, this is Gabe Silva. Gabe, this is Skylar Ingles,” Carter says, leading the man into my store.

Gabe is almost as tall as Carter and has sandy-brown hair and green eyes. He’s very good-looking, and he’s got a great smile.

“Nice to meet you. Carter talked about you a lot when we were in college,” he says.

Now I remember who this is. “You were his roommate, right?”

“Yep, all four years,” Gabe says, glancing at Carter. “We went through a lot together.”

He says this last part slowly, and I look from one man to the other. They seem to be silently communicating with each other in that way that old friends do. I know Carter and I do the same thing.

When Gabe finally looks back at me, he says, “I hear you want the names of a few local bands. I would have been happy to text them to Carter, but he wanted to meet in person.”

Carter frowns at that, which is odd. It’s true. This meeting was his idea.

“It will be easier this way,” Carter says.

I’m not sure that’s true, but whatever. “Come on in,” I say and lead them through to the tables in the front. Since the blinds are shut, people walking down the street won’t see us. After they’re both settled at a table, I point to the plate of cookies and the glasses of iced tea. “Help yourselves.”

I glance at Carter while the two men grab a cookie. What’s with him these days? I can’t figure out why he insisted on this meeting. He’s busy, I’m busy, no doubt Gabe is busy. So why meet in person? We could have texted each other or done this with a video call.

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