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I scrolled down and saw a naked picture on my phone of the one and only Felice. I hit delete and blocked her number. If she thought for one second that that was going to entice me or that there could be anything between us ever again, she would have other thoughts once she received Mike’s divorce papers with my name signed on the bottom.
I relaxed into my seat on the plane and closed my eyes. Once the plane was in the air my mind went back to the night that Hope walked back into my life.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Carter
Thirteen Years Earlier
The anniversary dinner had beentwo weeks ago—two weeks since I had seen Hope. She had left a couple messages on my phone, but I had been too hurt to return her calls. In those two weeks, I had fended off Felice more than I cared to count. I had also called in sick more than I had in the past three years, I hadn’t been to the gym, and I had barely left my apartment.
I was sitting on the couch, looking for something to watch, when someone pounded on the door. “It’s open,” I called from the couch.
I heard the door open and close and then Hunter’s voice behind me. “Man, what the hell has happened to you?” My brother walked in and looked around my destroyed apartment. “You do realize that Carson is going to be back soon. He’s going to flip,” Hunter said as he looked around at the mess of dirty clothes, pizza boxes, and old takeout food containers that were strewn all over my apartment.
“So what, I’ll clean it,” I grumbled.
“Good. Are you coming home to Mom and Dad’s with me? They are expecting us around six.”
I glanced at my watch; it was almost three. “What day is it?”
“Carter, man, it’s Friday. We’re going home this weekend...Mom’s birthday dinner...ring any bells?” Hunter cleared the dirty clothes off the chair and sat down.
I ran my hand over my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I had showered or done laundry, and I had run out of clean dishes at the beginning of the week.
“Fuck, man, you better get your act together. Mom will be hurt if you don’t come home.”
“Just tell her I’m working.”
“No damn way. I’m not going to lie to her. Pick yourself up, have a shower, and let’s go. What the fuck happened to you anyway? Where’s Hope?”
I took a deep breath. “She decided that marrying Trent King was a better idea than being with me.”
“I don’t want to say ‘I told you so,’ but I told you, man.”
“I don’t need to hear it, Hunter.”
Someone pounded on the front door. I closed my eyes and looked at Hunter, and then the voice that rang out gave it away. “Oh Carter, baby, open the door.”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose and looked to my brother. “Fucking Felice. She hasn’t given up. Last night she showed up at my door dressed in a trench coat with nothing underneath but red lace panties.”
“Sweet ass! You should totally get with her.”
“Here you go. Here is the show she put on for me the night before last.” I handed him my phone after opening the chat conversation she’d had with me. He scrolled through picture upon picture of nude photos of her.
“Let me get it. If you aren’t going to tap it, I will.” I watched as my brother jumped up off the chair and ran to the door. “Get your ass showered and ready. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
I chuckled to myself, got up, and headed to the bathroom.
We’d beenon the road for just over an hour and I had listened begrudgingly to Hunter drone on and on about his adventure with Felice. “Fuck, man, you should have done it. She would make you forget all about Hope.”
That was the last line I needed to hear, because I didn’t want to forget all about her. I wanted her, every ounce of her, right now and forever.
“Have you been to Joe’s?” I casually asked.
“Yep. We called you, but you must have been wallowing.”
“Was she there?”
