Page 58 of Loving Carter

Upset. Obviously. I love Skylar. I told her that, and I mean it.

But is that enough?

“Are you going to the meeting?” my assistant, Daria, asks from the doorway.

“Be right there,” I say. Then I look out the window again and force myself to face facts.

The job I thought I wanted and the life I thought I wanted to live are perfect, yet they don’t make me happy. Being with the woman I love will make me happy.

I gather my notebook and head to the meeting. As soon as it ends, I’m going to waylay Burt and break the bad news to him.

I appreciate all he’s done, but this isn’t going to work. I need to head home.

***

Skylar

“YOU SURE YOU DON’Tneed me to stay?” Janie asks, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She’s standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the front dining room, and she looks like she’s going to zip off at any moment.

I shake my head. “No, you can leave. I’ll lock up.”

Janie heads off the way my dogs eat a piece of steak. She’s here, and then she’s gone. Janie has a date with Kellan that she doesn’t want to miss. At the same time, she doesn’t want to upset me. Like most people, she’s tiptoeing around me like I’m going to dissolve into a pile of crying, hysterical goo.

I’m not. At least, not around her, and not at work. I’ll admit that I have cried a few times to my dogs. Make that more than a few. But that’s okay. The dogs are happy to listen to me, or at least, if they aren’t, they’ve never complained.

They are also happy to listen to my great idea. I’ve done a lot of soul-searching since Carter left, and I’ve come to realize that being a success at work isn’t enough for me. I want to be a success in what matters most in my life—being with Carter.

I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I’m pretty sure I can find a manager for the bakery. That will free me up to go be with Carter. Once in Dallas, I’ll make my pet cakes and keep tabs on the bakery.

The bakery means a lot to me, but Carter means more. I just need to find a suitable manager, then I’ll let Carter know about my plan. Just thinking about it makes me excited.

I finish loading the dishwasher and wipe down the counters. I’m about to head out when I hear the ding-dong noise my front door makes when someone comes in. I guess I should have followed Janie out and locked that when she left. We’ve been closed for over a half hour.

“I’m sorry, but we’re closed,” I say, heading out to the front. “I hope you under—”

I skitter to a stop. Carter is standing by the counter. I blink. Why is he here? I feel a knot of excitement form in my stomach.

“Hi, Carter,” I say, glad my voice sounds at least somewhat normal.

He smiles and walks forward. “Hi, Skylar.”

The stress is eating me alive. “Why are you here?”

He walks around the counter and stops when he’s a couple of feet in front of me. I’m drinking in the sight of him. I’ve missed him so much.

“I don’t want you marrying someone else,” he says.

Is he crazy? “I’m not getting married.”

He takes another step forward. “But you probably will someday, and when you do, I’ll have regrets the rest of my life.”

I study him for a moment. He seems sincere, but I’m not sure where this conversation is going. “You came back to town to tell me not to marry someone else?”

He smiles and shakes his head. “No. Well, sort of. I came back to tell you I love you, and I don’t want to lose you, so I plan to move back here.”

I think my heart has stopped. I can’t seem to move, can’t seem to breathe.

“Skylar Ingles, I love you. I think I’ve always loved you.”

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