Page 51 of Loving Carter

We pull up a little before six and get out of my car. Janie has been quiet on the ride over, which is unusual for her. Usually, she’s a chatterbox. I guess she’s nervous.

I’m nervous too. After our talk three days ago in the auditorium, I haven’t seen Carter, and I’m worried about where things stand. He said he hasn’t made any decisions yet, but I know he’s going to, and probably soon. It’s like my life GPS is on the fritz—I have no idea where I’ll end up. Who knows? Maybe I need a Ouija board.

“Am I dressed okay?” Janie asks as we approach the front door to the ranch house and ring the bell.

“You’re fine.” Okay, I’ll admit, she might be overdressed. She’s got on a fancy, shiny, fluttery type of dress and her hair is curled and scooped up into a kind of bun. I didn’t look that good at my high school prom, but I’m not about to tell her that. There’s nothing wrong with how she’s dressed. Sure, it’s more of a jeans and T-shirt kind of party, but she had no way of knowing that. I know, I should have told her, but it never occurred to me to say anything. Since I haven’t, I’ll own this one. Her being overdressed is my fault.

Of course, she looks beautiful, so I’m sure Kellan won’t complain.

Edna opens the door with a flourish.

“Welcome, welcome.” She half waves, then pulls us in. “We’re so thrilled you could come.”

“Thanks for having us,” I say. I take a quick look at Janie. She’s never met Edna, who’s doing the whole “grande dame” routine, which makes me worry that Janie’s about to curtsy. To prevent that, I take Edna’s arm, and we start walking toward the back of the house where the kitchen and dining room are.

“Will you get the door, Janie?” I say.

Janie shuts it, then we pause and wait for her to catch up with us.

“Edna, do you know Janie Brewer?”

Edna stops and studies Janie. “Are you the girl Kellan keeps talking about? He thinks you have a magical smile.”

I know what’s coming next, and sure enough, Janie turns tomato-red.

“Oh, pooh. Don’t let me embarrass you,” Edna says. She comes over and hugs Janie, who looks partially delighted and partially scared. “You need to know your worth in the world. The proper response when someone gives you a compliment is to stand up tall, look them in the eye, and say I know.”

We start walking toward the kitchen again, and I make a mental note to edit Edna’s advice once Janie and I are in the car and headed home. Although I’m all for owning your power, a few manners also wouldn’t hurt. Maybe rather than saying I know, a sincere thank you would work better.

When we reach the kitchen, I immediately look for Carter. He sees me at the same time I notice him and gives me a sweet smile. I’ll admit, I never thought I was the swoony type, but one look from Carter these days makes my skin tingle.

As always, he’s gorgeous, and it’s everything I can do not to stare. He’s wearing a T-shirt and jeans like most everyone here, but on him, they look especially amazing. I don’t know why I didn’t notice earlier the impact he has on me, but now that I have, I can hardly wait until we’re alone. I want to kiss him and be with him, but I also want to find out if he’s made any decisions yet.

But right now, we’re as far away from alone as we can get. Both of his aunts and Kellan are here. Then there are some old friends of the aunts, including Miriam Dupree, who is currently regaling no one in particular with her thoughts about barbecues.

I say hi to Tillie and Edna, who are heading to the back patio, followed by everyone else. Once I’m alone with Carter, I slide up next to him.

“May I kiss you?”

He flashes his lady-killer grin at me. “You bet.”

The kiss is long and lush, and I’d be happy standing here for an hour. But a loud throat clearing sound from the other side of the counter makes us break it up.

Kellan is watching us, a smug little smile on his face. “I thought we were having a barbecue.”

“Funny,” Carter says, then once Kellan walks away, he adds, “We need to talk.”

I nod slowly, wishing I could hold on to the joy I felt when he kissed me. “Okay. Has something happened?”

Before he can answer, Tillie starts calling him from outside, so he picks up a platter filled with burgers, and I grab the potato salad I brought.

“We’ll talk as soon as this is over,” he says.

When we get outside to the patio, everyone is chattering. Carter heads to the grill, fielding requests from the various attendees. I place the bowl of potato salad on the long buffet table, snag a canned soda, and sit in the perfect spot to watch him.

“Just like a donkey and apples,” Edna says, sitting across from me.

I blink. “I’m sorry. What?”

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