26. Carter

26

CARTER

I wait one hour before deciding it’s not an unreasonable time to text Valerie. She’s an early riser, usually choosing to get her daily run in before the sun is too high in the sky. I hope those habits carry over to out-of-town trips.

I chew the inside of my cheek as my thumbs hover over the screen.

I don’t know what to say.

“Hey, Valerie, remember how you wanted to keep our relationship private? Well, that’s over.”

“Hey, Val. No big deal, but there’s a picture of us kissing on the internet.”

I don’t know how to spin the news in a way that won’t be upsetting.

Coffee?

I hit send. It’s better to tell her what’s happened in person. I’m relieved when she quickly replies.

Sure. Your room or mine?

My brain automatically adds an innuendo to the innocuous words, but I resist the urge to respond with one of my own. As much as I enjoy our teasing banter, now’s not the time. Not with what I have to tell her.

Yours.

I tuck my phone in my pocket and put on a baseball cap, tugging it low over my eyes before I pick up my hotel key and step into the hallway.

Head down, I walk down the hall, passing five rooms on my left before arriving at Valerie’s. I raise my fist to knock when the door swings open.

Valerie stands there, looking beautiful in a pair of plaid pajama shorts and a white V-neck. Her long dark hair hangs over her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkle with affection when she looks at me.

“Good morning!” She reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me inside the room before I can speak.

She waits until the door closes before she steps forward, rises on tiptoes, and kisses me softly.

She doesn’t know…

I fight the urge to wrap my arms around her to deepen the kiss—to enjoy the peace between us while we still can—while she doesn’t know our secret is out in the open.

But that would be selfish.

I keep my arms at my side as Valerie kisses me. When she falls back onto her heels, I open my eyes and see her furrowed brow. “Carter?” She cocks her head to the side. “Is everything okay?”

“For now.” It’s hard to say how long that will be the case. It all depends on how much traction the picture gets.

She frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Have you checked social media today?” I see no point in beating around the bush. Best to rip off the band-aid.

“Um… no. Why? Should I?”

I nod. “Yeah. I’ll make coffee while you do.” I walk over to the counter with the coffee maker. I busy myself with opening the single-serve tray of coffee and filling a paper cup with water to pour into the machine. I’m sliding a tray into the slot when I hear a sharp gasp behind me.

I hang my head and close my eyes, bracing for what comes next.

“What… what does this mean?” Hearing her distress makes my stomach churn.

I straighten my neck and open my eyes. When I turn around, I make sure my expression is calm and confident. “I don’t know yet,” I answer honestly. “The story may not get much traction. But if it does, Avery and her team are already coming up with a strategy for how to handle it.”

Her cheeks are pale, and her eyes are wide. She nods slowly, but I’m not sure she truly registers what I’ve said. She looks like she’s on the brink of a panic attack. “I… I have to tell my dad.”

Coach Palmer is an even-keeled guy. He might be upset when he learns I’ve been secretly dating his daughter. He might even be angry considering Valerie works for me. I can’t say I’d blame him. Fast forward twenty years, if I found Abby in this type of situation, I wouldn’t be happy about it, either.

“Are you sure? We don’t know if he’ll hear about it yet.”

“Of course, he’ll hear about, Carter. He’s your freaking defensive coordinator!” She dismisses my foolish optimism. “There’s no way everyone in the Rough Riders organization isn’t going to see that photo, and I bet most of them will recognize me.” Her hands shake as she buries her face in her palms. “This is a disaster.”

“Hey,” I say softly, stepping forward. “It’s going to be okay.”

“This is a mess.” She shakes her head. “A dumpster-sized mess.”

“That’s a big mess.”

She looks up and levels a pointed glare at me. At least, she tries to. But amusement shines in her beautiful gaze even as she clips, “This isn’t funny.”

“It’s not,” I agree. “But I don’t think it’s going to be that bad, either.”

“You don’t?”

“No.” In the hour I waited to text her, I decided that having a girlfriend wouldn’t interfere with my custody case in any significant way. Neither will the fact we kissed in public. I won’t allow it.

Davis is a fantastic lawyer. He and his team will argue why I’m the best parent to have custody even if Laura’s lawyer tries to bring up the PDA to attack my character.

I’m sure of it.

And with that worry put aside, I have to admit, the possibility of no longer needing to hide my relationship from the world is appealing.

I just hope Valerie feels the same way.

She pinches her lips together as her eyes search mine, trying to figure out where my head is at. “What about taking things slow? This kind of ruins that.”

“We can still take things slow. People knowing about us won’t change that.”

“But I’m your nanny.”

“So?”

“So?” She scoffs. “People aren’t going to say nice things about either of us when that information gets out. They’ll say you took advantage of someone who works for you, or they’ll say that I’m a gold-digger who intentionally seduced you.”

My lips twitch. “I wish you would’ve tried to seduce me. That would’ve been fun.”

“Stop it.” She shoves me in the chest playfully even as she says, “This isn’t a joke.”

I capture her hand in mine before she can pull away. “I know it’s not, but… it is kind of funny. The reason I fired so many nannies wasn’t just because they weren’t right for the twins, but because nearly all of them tried to sleep with me. I didn’t want anything to do with any of them.” I chuckle softly. “But then you came into the picture, and I can’t even count the number of nights I’ve spent lying awake, thinking about what I would give for you to make a pass at me like those women did.”

Her lips part in surprise. “Really?”

“Really.” I lift her hand to my lips and gently kiss her fingers. “It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about us or how our relationship started, Valerie. All that matters is us and the people we care about.”

The twins will learn about our relationship. I don’t know what I’ll do if they disapprove. I don’t even want to think about it. Just like how Valerie likely doesn’t want to think about her parents’ reactions.

She takes a deep breath and releases it on a heavy exhale. “Are you sure? Like… really, really sure?”

I draw Valerie into my chest, cupping the side of her face and gazing down into the deep green eyes of the woman who is very possibly on her way to becoming the third most important person in my life.

“Valerie, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life.”