AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But only then?” She’d always thought Carson had the perfect family—brothers that were popular and handsome, and a little sister made from the same mold. His parents always came to school events, looking happy and in love. The type of family she’d always wanted to be a part of.
“All my siblings got good grades. It bothered my parents that I didn’t. But my father would brag about my sports achievements. It was the only thing I was good at. And now…” He swept a hand at his boot.
“You’re good at a lot of things,” she said, instantly dumbfounded that he would think otherwise. “You’re motivated, unafraid to try new things, and smart enough to figure out how to do them. You’ve always been a natural leader. In school, you could talk anyone into anything—”
“Maybe that’s not a good thing,” he cut her off and looked down at the floor as though debating whether to say more.
She waited.
He finally lifted his gaze. “I not only invested all of my savings into this house, I talked my father into investing his savings too. I told him it was a sure thing that Mr. Gordon was going to buy the place.”
“And it’s not?” Olivia’s stomach sunk on his behalf.
“I thought it was. When Mrs. Gordon started making design requests, Coach told me that if I implemented them, he would buy the place. Now his wife wants to look at other places too. If mine isn’t done by the time they come, it will suffer by comparison. And if they don’t buy it, I could end up losing money on the project.” He gestured to his boot again. “This wouldn’t even worry me if I knew I was going to have a future with the NFL. If I was sure of that, I could pay off the place next season and return my father’s investment.”
She could tell how much he wished he could do just that. “You’ll recover. You’ll get your career back.”
“That’s what everybody says.” He didn’t sound like he believed it.
“You will,” she insisted. “But you should probably tell your father your worries.”
He was already shaking his head so she added, “Just so he can reassure you that whatever happens, he’ll still love you. That’s what a good dad would do, isn’t it? And you’ve got a good dad. Your father is here helping you. That’s more than I’ve been able to get my father to do.”
At the mention of her father, Carson’s expression turned sympathetic. She didn’t want this to turn into a conversation about the shortcomings of her family, so she said, “I’ll do anything I can to help. Tell me what needs to be done.”
He didn’t say anything for several seconds, just considered her. “Were you always this nice?”
Like spending time with him was a burden. “Yes. Except for the times I made stupid mistakes.” She glanced at the door. The best help she could give him was to get back to work. “We’ll get the place done in time. They’ll be wowed by it.” She moved toward the door.
“Wait. I have something to give you.” He fished her car keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. “Now that we’re on maybe-going-to-have-a-fling terms, it seems wrong for me to keep you trapped here. Consider this the moment inBeauty and the Beastwhere the Beast gives Belle her freedom. Only I don’t want you to actually leave, and I especially don’t want you to come back with a pitchfork-wielding mob.”
“Thanks.” A sweet gesture but mostly pointless. She didn’t want to leave now. “And we’re not going to have a fling,” she clarified. “We’re maybe going to have a real relationship. That’s what we need to decide.”
He put his hands in his pockets, his dark mood evaporating. “Is kissing involved in a real relationship?”
“Um, yes.”
“Then I vote for that. Same place, same time tomorrow?”
Somehow the discussion hadn’t gone the way she’d planned. She’d said she wanted a real relationship, and he’d agreed to one, but meeting up with him secretly in a closet to kiss seemed very much a fling sort of thing to do. “Are we going to tell people we’re a couple?”
“If you want. However, if my parents know that we’re together, my dad will assume I’m goofing off, and my mother will move up here for the rest of the project to chaperone us. Your choice.”
Olivia shook her head. “See, this is an example of what I said earlier. You can talk anyone into anything. Now we’re having a secret relationship?”
He smiled, the grin she remembered so well from high school. Playful and a little wicked. “I shouldn’t have to talk you into anything. You already agreed to do my bidding within reason. Kissing is reasonable. We’re in a real relationship.” To prove his point, he dropped a kiss on her lips.
Making a habit of this would definitely have its benefits. But still, the principle of the thing bothered her. She didn’t like the idea of being anyone’s secret. He didn’t even want to tell his parents about the two of them? “I might like your mom, you know.”
He kissed her again. Warm. Soft. Distracting. “I hope you do. By the way, she’s not shy about sharing her opinion on the way you cook, clean, or dress. And she’ll happily tell you all her child-rearing philosophies.”
Maybe it was best to keep their status under wraps for a little while longer. No point rushing things. Especially not when chances were high that Carson’s parents wouldn’t approve of her. “Okay. We won’t tell anyone yet.”
She left before he could talk her into doing anything else she regretted.
* * *
That night,while Olivia was lounging on her bed reading, Annie video-called. She wanted to know if she could borrow Olivia’s white skirt for a date she was going on the next night. “It’s a blind dinner date so I don’t want to be too casual, but I don’t want to be too dressed up either.” Annie stood in front of Olivia’s closet already wearing the skirt. “It fits me perfectly.” Annie had the sort of body that made everything look good.
