Circle of Friends Part 4

  From playboy to daddy

  Women love Carter Brockett. Lots of them. But all his ideas of marriage involve running far and fast! Till his mind-blowing one-night stand with prim Rachel Harper results in a pregnancy. Now he doesn’t need his meddlesome family to convince him what to do. But the twice-engaged Rachel isn’t looking to walk down the aisle, just rock the cradle. Has the ladies’ man found the only woman on the planet who doesn’t want to get married?

  Revisit a Susan Mallery fan favorite in this special release of The Ladies’ Man!

  CIRCLE OF FRIENDS:

  Part 4 of 6

  Susan Mallery

  Contents

  CHAPTER EIGHT (Conclusion)

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Enough stalling. Cue the Jeopardy theme music. It’s decision time. Rachel’s best friends, Noelle and Crissy, only want what’s best for her, and that’s why she trusts them to ask her the tough questions. And boy, oh, boy, this one is a doozy!

  * * *

  RACHEL HARPER KNEW she was taking far too long to answer her best friend Noelle’s question about Carter. The words just wouldn’t form.

  “How can you keep from falling in love with him?”

  Finally, taking a deep breath, she replied, “I just can.”

  Rachel had been in love twice, or so she’d thought. She’d agreed to marry two terrific guys, only to have second thoughts a few weeks later. She’d hated hurting them by ending the relationships, but she hadn’t been willing to go forward with their plans when her feelings had changed.

  This was when she missed her mother the most. She wanted to ask questions about her parents’ courtship and hear how they’d known that each other was the one. She wanted to be told that there was nothing wrong with her, that when she met the right guy, she would just know.

  Apparently Carter wasn’t that guy. He was wonderful and she liked being with him and she still went weak remembering their one night together, but was that enough to hold a marriage together? Shouldn’t there be some defining moment when she just knew?

  “I’ll find Mr. Right,” Rachel said. “He’s out there.”

  “Waiting,” Crissy said with a grin. “Longing for you. Desperate and needy.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “Stop it or I’ll spike your bottled water with something from the tap and then you’ll get pregnant, too.”

  “Never,” Crissy said firmly.

  * * *

  THE MORNING OF the fall festival promised perfect Southern California weather. Blue skies and a cool start to the day with afternoon temperatures in the low eighties.

  Rachel had arrived before eight to supervise the setup. The booth had turned out great, with bright colors and plenty of room for the sale of greeting cards. Now she checked the inventory against the numbers on her master list and made a note that she had to count the change.

  “Coffee,” Brady’s mom said as she walked over with a tray filled with steaming paper cups. “I stopped on the way.”

  “Thanks,” Rachel said as she took one of the small cups and set it on the booth. She’d never been much of a coffee drinker and these days she was avoiding caffeine, but it seemed easier to take the drink and get rid of it discreetly at a later time than to explain why she was refusing.

  “I’m excited,” Brady’s mom continued. “He’s our oldest, so this is the first time we’re able to get involved in school activities. I can’t wait to get started.”

  Rachel knew there were two other younger children at home. “Okay, but hold on to that enthusiasm,” she teased. “We don’t want you burning out before the baby hits kindergarten.”

  “I won’t,” she promised.

  “Morning, ladies.”

  Rachel didn’t have to turn around and see the speaker to recognize the voice. “Carter,” she said. “You’re early.”

  “It’s the fall festival. How could I resist?”

  How could she? He looked good in his worn jeans and dark T-shirt. Why was it a man could step out of the shower, pull on any old thing and look fabulous while women had to sweat makeup and stylish clothes to achieve any kind of gorgeous?

  “You have a burning need for greeting cards?” she asked.

  “I might. You never know.”

  “Carter? Is that you?”

  Rachel stepped back to avoid being pushed aside as a woman flung herself at Carter, wrapping her arms around him as she pressed her body against his.

  “It is you. Ohmygosh! I can’t believe it. What are you doing here?”

  Rachel blinked. “Eden?”

  The woman glanced at Rachel and grinned. “Oh, hi, Rachel.”

  Eden Baker was one of the teachers at Rachel’s school and obviously another of Carter’s exes.

  Carter reached up and carefully loosened Eden’s grip from around his neck. “Good to see you, Eden. How’s John?”

  “He’s great.” Eden released Carter and stepped back. She smiled at Rachel. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I was just so shocked to see Carter here. I could never get him to come to any school events. It’s been what? Five years?”

  “About that,” he said.

  Eden’s smile widened. “I’m a happily married woman now and I wouldn’t change a thing, but we had some good times.” She patted Rachel’s arm. “Enjoy him, honey. Enjoy him for all of us.”

  Rachel watched Eden head back to her booth, then she turned to Carter. “I’m thinking maybe you could just give me a list. You know, names, occupations, addresses, so I can be prepared for the next round of women I’m going to meet.”

  Carter shuffled his feet and shoved his hands into his front pockets. “There aren’t that many.”

  “Really? I seem unable to leave the house with you without us running into someone you used to date. And I use the term ‘date’ very loosely.”

  All his exes weren’t excited to see him because he’d known how to pick a great movie.

  “Are you mad?” he asked.

  “No, not mad. Just out of my element. I’ve never known a guy like you.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” he asked.

  He was so obviously uncomfortable, she wanted to laugh. He could have strutted around and bragged about his conquests. The fact that he didn’t made her willing to deal with all the Edens and Jennys she was bound to meet.

  “I’m thinking you should give lessons to less fortunate males,” she teased. “It would be a great side job. Think of the money you’d make.”

  “You’re exaggerating,” he told her. “I—”

  “Carter? Carter Brockett? As I live and breathe, is that you, honey?”

  Rachel patted him on the arm. “I’ll go take care of my booth. You handle the fans.”

  * * *

  BY THAT AFTERNOON, the festival was officially a success. Rachel went over her inventory and was pleased to see they’d already sold about eighty percent of the greeting-card kits. Parents were showing up on time to man the booth, the kids were having a blast—running through the playground and getting in the way—and money was being made for the school.

  Carter had ducked out before lunch, although he’d promised to return later. Now Rachel found herself watching for him, which she didn’t like. Their deal of pretend dating didn’t have any room for the real thing.

  Still, she scanned the crowd, then smiled when she saw a f
amiliar older woman heading in her direction.

  Rachel walked into the main path to greet Nina Brockett.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked as Carter’s mom gave her a hug.

  “I always come to the fall festival. I have grandchildren, you know.”

  “I do know. I’ve met nearly all of them. Your entire family has stopped by to say hi.”

  Rachel hadn’t expected their appearance but had enjoyed it. The Brocketts were obviously willing to take her in and accept her as one of them. Unfortunately, their warmth left her feeling guilty about her secret plan with Carter.

  “So what are you selling?” Nina asked as she moved to the booth. “Oh, cards. Very nice.”

  “Um, you might want to buy something else,” Rachel told her. “All three of your daughters bought cards, so you’re all at risk of sending each other exactly the same one.”

  “Still, I want to support your class.” She leaned close. “Children are a blessing and I love every one of mine, but grandchildren are the reward. You wait. You’ll see what I mean. Have you seen Carter?”

  “He was here this morning to help me set up.”

  “Good. He talked about how important the festival was to you. How it’s the major fund-raiser for the school. He asked us all to come and stop by.”

  Had he? That was unexpected, but nice to hear.

  “Carter’s a good man,” his mother said. “He’s always thinking about the people he cares about. He’s responsible, too.”

  Rachel silently groaned at the obvious matchmaking. “Nina, you don’t have to sell him to me.”

  Nina smiled. “Of course I do. I want to make sure you both fall in love and get married. Not just for the baby, although he or she is going to need a name, but for yourself. There’s nothing better than a happy marriage. I know. I had ten wonderful years with Carter’s father.”

  Rachel held in the need to point out that her baby would have a name even if it wasn’t Carter’s and decided it was much safer to shift the topic of conversation.

  “You’ve been a widow for a long time. Didn’t you ever want to remarry?”

  “I thought about it,” Nina told her. “I wanted a man around for my children. I decided that when I fell in love again, I’d marry, but not for any other reason. Like you.”

  Rachel blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “Carter mentioned you’d been engaged before but had broken things off. I’m glad. That means you’re sensible and romantic. A good combination.”

  While she appreciated the praise, she wasn’t sure she deserved it. “I made a mistake with each of them,” Rachel admitted. “I thought I was in love, which is why I said yes. But I wasn’t.”

  “Exactly. Romantic enough to see the possibilities and sensible enough to know what was required to make things work. Now you have Carter. He’s my son so I’m biased, but where are you going to do better?”

  Nina patted her hand and walked toward the booth. Rachel stayed where she was as the other woman’s question echoed in her brain.

  Where was she going to do better? Carter was everything she’d ever wanted in a man and she practically became a puddle every time they were close. So why wasn’t she pushing for a real relationship? Why was she content to keep her distance?

  She didn’t have any answers, and it was a little unsettling. When she tried to dig deeper, emotionally, she found only that dark scary place that made her want to ignore the whole issue.

  Love meant loss. She’d learned the lesson early and well when her family had been killed and she’d been left totally alone. Since then she’d found the courage to let some people in to her life. Her friends, her kids. She could care about them and survive the fear. But anything more was out of the question. The potential for loss was too great—she wouldn’t risk it. Which was why Carter was perfect for her. He didn’t want any more than she could give.

  * * *

  “I CONFESS, I NEVER thought of the ‘after’ part,” Rachel said as Carter took the end of a hammer to the booth and started pulling out nails.

  “What did you think happened?” he asked. “That the festival would end and the booths would disappear?”

  “Sure. I thought they went back to their festival booth village and lived happily with others of their own kind.”

  He looked at her. “Sometimes you’re a little weird, you know that?”

  “I’ve been told.”

  She ached from the long day spent at the booth. She’d had a full contingent of parents to handle the sales, but she’d been in charge. Except for a quick lunch break, she’d been on her feet since seven that morning.

  “I need a long bath,” she said as she moved her feet to shoulder-width apart, then bent over. Her fingers curled against the asphalt of the playground. She put her palms on the rough surface and pressed down until she felt a stretch in the back of her legs.

  After grabbing her left ankle, she pulled herself to the side, then repeated the movement on her right side. When she straightened, she found Carter staring at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You’re really limber.”

  She grinned. “Yes, I am. I haven’t had much time for dance class lately, but I do my stretching.”

  He muttered something and went back to work on disassembling the booth.

  Had that been a flicker of hunger in his eyes, she wondered happily. Did he, too, feel the pull between them? She started to tease him about it, then stopped herself.

  She and Carter had a good working plan. Getting intimate again would only complicate the situation and neither of them wanted that. She was still feeling a little unsettled by his mother’s visits and her claims that Carter was the perfect man. Or if not perfect, then at least perfect for her.

  “Your family all stopped by,” she said to change the subject. “Your mom told me you’d mentioned the festival to them and they came by to be supportive.”

  He twisted the booth into three separate parts. “It’s a fund-raiser. I wanted to help.”

  “The booth building and destruction was more than enough. You didn’t have to do that, but thank you for saying something. It was nice.”

  “They like you.” He tossed the smaller pieces into the back of his truck.

  “I like them. You’re lucky, Carter.”

  “I know.”

  He straightened and suddenly they were standing way too close together. His dark eyes seem to draw her in, so that she took a step toward him without even meaning to.

  His broad shoulders offered the perfect resting place for her hands, so it wasn’t really her fault that she put them there. He was warm and strong and she couldn’t seem to stop looking at his mouth.

  Nearly everyone had already left and there was only the call of a few birds in the playground. To Rachel, it felt as if they were alone in the world.

  He rested his hands on her waist. “We have to stop doing this,” he told her.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Hell if I can remember.”

  And then he kissed her. He bent down and claimed her mouth with a possessive heat that branded her. Even as she wrapped her arms around his neck, she surged toward him, her body moving without permission. As if it had no choice but to be next to him. His thighs pressed against hers, his chest flattened her breasts and she knew she could stay in his embrace forever.

  She parted and he swept inside her mouth. His tongue touched hers with a slow, erotic stroke. The thrill stole her breath. She clung to him, letting him claim her, then following him back and claiming him.

  Need grew until she had to have him or die. She was already aroused and hungry. There were—

  The sound of a child’s laughter echoed in the late afternoon. She told herself it didn’t matter, that she was allowed to kiss Carter, but s
he didn’t quite believe it and even if she did, he’d already pulled back.

  “Great idea, bad timing,” he said.

  His eyes were dark with passion. Wanting tightened his expression until she knew for certain he was a man in need.

  She wanted to know that his desire was specifically for her. That she was different from all those who had come before. Except she wasn’t, and she couldn’t be. None of this was real, remember?

  “You all right?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I get a little confused. It’s the kissing. You do it better than anyone I’ve ever, well, kissed.”

  “You’re pretty good, yourself.”

  “So speaks the voice of experience.”

  He winced. “Ouch.”

  She smiled. “Come on, Carter, you can’t avoid the truth. You’ve dated more women than the average professional football team.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “Close enough. I’ve had two serious boyfriends in my life and I was engaged to each of them.”

  “Not at the same time, right?”

  Even hungry for his kiss and not sure how to reconcile what was happening, she liked that he could still make her laugh.

  “Not at the same time. There were a couple of years between them. My point is I’ve never done the casual thing before.”

  “Probably for the best, considering what happened that first night.”

  She touched her stomach. “Right. So we should stay with our plan. Pretend dating.” And that meant there should be a whole lot less kissing.

  “I can do that,” he said.

  “Me, too. So we don’t have a problem.”

  “Not even a little one.”

  “Good.”

  “Great.”

  They stared at each other and she fought against the need to throw herself at him. Just one more night, she thought. One long, slow, sexy night in his bed, his arms. She wanted his hands on her body, his tongue in her mouth and his...

  “Rachel?” His voice sounded strangled.

  “Yes?” Was that breathy whisper really her?

  “You gotta stop thinking like that. I can’t stand it. In fact, why don’t you head home? I’ll finish up here.”