Meghan's eyebrows shot up, and she exchanged a look with Marco.“Carter, huh?”
I groaned inwardly.“Guys, it's not like that.He's just being nice.”
“Uh-huh,” Marco said.“And that's why you're blushing like a schoolgirl?”
I hid my face behind my hands.“Oh my God, am I really that obvious?”
Meghan laughed.“Only to people who know you well, honey.But seriously, what's going on there?”
I peeked out from between my fingers, sighing.“Nothing's going on.He's my boss, remember?And I'm...well, I'm me.With all my baggage and issues.”
“Hey,” Wick said, his tone serious now.“Don't sell yourself short, Liv.You're amazing, baggage and all.”
My throat tightened.“Thanks, but I'm sure the women Carter dates are more like Meghan.”
“Hey, I have baggage!”
“Yeah, a whole closet full,” Marco murmured.
“Shut it, you.”
I shook my head.“Seriously.No way am I Carter Cassidy's type.”The truth in that statement cut me more than I cared to admit.
Deep down, I wasn't sure I was any man's type anymore.Between the trauma and the chronic pain, who would want me?
CHAPTER TWELVE
CARTER
My phone buzzed insistentlyon the table as I sat across from Giselle, or was it Gabrielle?Her perfectly manicured nails tapped against the stem of her wine glass.I ignored the incoming call—the third of the night from my father—and studied the face of the woman across from me.She was objectively stunning.Tall, blonde, legs for days.The kind of woman who turned heads when she walked into a room.
And I couldn't have been less interested.
Her lips moved, forming words I should've been hanging onto.Something about her sister's destination wedding in Bali.Or it might’ve been her cousin.
“That sounds fascinating,” I lied, taking a sip of my bourbon.
My mind strayed to Olivia.It'd been my sincere hope that a date and a no strings fuck would take my mind off her.
I was wrong.
“Carter?Are you even listening to me?”
I snapped back to attention, guilt twisting in my gut.“Of course.You were saying...”
But as she launched into another story, I thought about Olivia's smile.How she'd looked today, bent over her desk, devouring a family-size bag of strawberry Twizzlers as she concentrated on some task I'd given her.
Christ.What's wrong with me?
I'd agreed to this date to prove to myself that I could still do casual.That I wasn't getting in too deep with my assistant, of all people.But sitting here now, all I wanted was to be back at the office, trading barbs with Olivia over late-night takeout while we pored over blueprints.
“You seem distracted,” my date said, frowning.“Is everything okay?”
I forced a smile.“Just work on my mind.You know how it is.”
She nodded, but I could see the disappointment in her eyes.I was being an ass.This woman deserved better than to be an unwitting pawn in my emotional crisis.
“Listen,” I said, setting down my glass.“I think I should call it a night.I'm not in the right headspace for this.”
