34. Lara / Carter

Chapter 34

Lara / Carter

Lara

A vibration on the coffee tables rudely steals my attention away from the television, where John Krasinski and Colin Egglesfield are playing their little hearts out in a game of beach badminton. I fumble with my phone as the text notification lights up the screen.

Carter

If you don’t have prior arrangements, you should come over tomorrow night. I’ll cook you dinner.

A sharp laugh erupts from my throat. Harper is closing the front door on the retreating pizza delivery driver, the unexpected sound causing her to startle; the pizza box in her hand almost falling to the floor.

“What was that demonic sound for?” Harper takes a seat on the lounge next to me, placing our dinner on the table in front of us.

“You’ll never guess who’s asked to cook me dinner tomorrow night.”

“Oh, I think I have an idea.” Harper holds out her hand. “Let’s see.”

I place my phone into her outstretched palm. Harper scans over the message, not an ounce of surprise registering on her face as she hands it to me.

“I’m offended you thought I wouldn’t guess this, Lars, as if it could possibly be anyone else. What’s so funny about this though?”

“What’s funny? What’s funny is his joke because he certainly can’t be serious.”

“Because he’s your boss?”

“No. Well yes, but that wasn’t what I meant. We don’t do dinner, Harps. We might do other things, but we don’t do dinner.”

Harper raises her eyebrows at me before turning away and bursting into laughter. “It’s a good thing Mia isn’t here right now; can’t imagine she’d want the details on that one.”

“Speaking of, aren’t they both at their family dinner right now? That doesn’t seem the best time to be asking to have dinner with me.”

Harper pins me with a stern look. “You think he’d be discussing his text messages with his sister? I don’t think so. And stop trying to change the subject. We’re talking about your dinner with him.”

“Harper, we don’t do dinner.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“There doesn’t need to be a first time for this though.” Even to my own ears, I sound ridiculous. I’m trying to argue my way out of having dinner with a guy who I quite happily let feel me up on a semi-regular basis.

“You can’t sit there and honestly tell me you don’t want to have dinner with him, can you?”

I’m shocked the word ‘yes’ doesn’t immediately fall from my lips and even more shocked that the mere thought of outright denying it is almost painful. Noticing my hesitation, Harper beams.

“Ha, I knew it!”

“I think like you’re forgetting two key facts here, Harps; one being this little game we’re playing has an expiration date of just a few months, and the second being I don’t want anything serious. Believe it or not, I kind of like things the way they are.”

“Oh, darling Lara, you can be so naive sometimes.” Harper takes a seat on the couch again, crossing her legs beneath her and turning to face me. “Every time you come home after seeing Carter, you’re in a wonderful mood, regardless of whether it’s after work, after sex, or both. Perhaps it’s the post-orgasm bliss lingering, or perhaps there’s something there to unpack.” She taps me on the knee, raising a brow in question.

I swat playfully at her hand. “I think you’re being a bit ridiculous, Harps. Did you ever think maybe I’m in a wonderful mood all the time since being in London?” At the same time the words leave my mouth, a part of me wonders if maybe Harper isn’t being entirely ridiculous. But I shut that down right away because, of course she is. This is a bit of temporary fun and stress relief with someone who’s become my friend. Nothing more.?

“There’s no doubt you seem much happier here than you did when you were in Aus, but there’s something extra after you’ve seen him. And while we’re talking about it, let’s not forget you don’t even have a return date, which makes your stay kind of indefinite right now.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You’re looking too far into this; it’s really not that deep.” I pointedly ignore the part about not having a return date. I have no argument there, and Harper knows it.

“So you’re going to turn him down then?”

Without thinking, I blurt out, “No.” Her lips pull into a smug smile, and I want to slap myself. “W-what I meant is I’m not going to straight up turn him down,” I say, failing miserably at backtracking. “I’ll, uh, let him down easy.”

“Is that what you want to do?”

“Well, it would be rude to just shut him down.”

Harper pins me with a look that says get a grip. “That’s not what I was referring to, and you know it. Do you really want to say no?”

I sit silently for a moment, playing it out in my head. What happens if I say no? Carter either continues to see me in a casual sense or moves on to other prospects, there are no hard feelings, and everything is as it was before we started sleeping together. Except now, the thought of Carter moving on to other women, as I’ve seen him do before me, puts my stomach in knots.

What happens if I say yes? I get a lovely home-cooked meal, get to spend time with Carter in his comfort place, and I’ll probably have some of the best sex of my life—it’s been like that with Carter since the night in Norcaster. Don’t get me wrong, this all sounds wonderful because it is wonderful, but it’s not tomorrow I’m worried about. If I say yes, it’s what comes after that concerns me. Will he want more than one dinner? Will he make love to me and lie with me until the early hours? Will he do all the things I’ve always wanted from a man and make me fall in love with him, only to turn around and break my heart further down the track??

It’s what comes after that has me overthinking his simple text, because it’s really not simple at all.?

“What are you thinking? I can see the wheels turning behind your eyes.” Harper taps a finger to my forehead.

“If I say yes to dinner, he’s going to think I’m saying yes to more.”

“I think you’re overestimating him; he’s a male, after all. They don’t tend to think too deeply into things.”

“Good point; gave him too much credit for a second there.”

We both giggle.

“Say yes, Lara. Let the pretty man cook you dinner and then have you for dessert; lord knows you deserve it.”

I sputter out a cough as I almost choke on my mouthful of pizza.

“Has anyone ever told you you have a way with words?”

“Every day.” Harper hands my phone back. The cursor flashes on the screen, taunting me. “Now, say yes before you overthink yourself out of it.”

For the second time in a matter of weeks, I find myself muttering two words: fuck it.

Me

Does 7:00pm work?

Carter

Well I’ll be fucking damned.

“I owe you a beer, brother. We’re on.”

After Teddy reads Lara’s response, he claps me on the back, a smile breaking through his unusually overgrown facial hair. “I can’t believe you worded it like that. Why the fuck is it so formal? It’s like you forgot how to write a text message.”

“Respectfully, shut the fuck up.”

“You owe me more than a beer, bud. I’ll accept your thanks in the form of Winnie duties next weekend.”

“Ooh, has Daddy secured a hot date or something?”

My brother groans. “Stop. You know it’s so fucking weird when you call me that. Also, mind your business.”

“I hope you realise how hypocritical you’re being; you’ve genuinely taken over my business these past ten minutes.”

Teddy roughs a hand through my hair, the way he did when we were younger, removing it before I can smack him away. “I’m the big brother, I’m allowed to. Now hurry up and respond before she changes her mind.”

I want to tell him he’s being a little dramatic, but this is Lara we’re talking about. I’m pleasantly surprised she’s even agreed in the first place; there’s every chance she’ll revoke her agreement. I tap out an immediate, bold response.

Me

It’s a date

The three little dots appear quickly, and I can’t tear my eyes away from the screen, instead watching intently for her response.

Lara

I assure you it most certainly is not.

A cheesy as fuck grin pulls at my lips as I stare at Lara’s message. Oh, it’s so on.

Teddy knocks a knee against mine. “Right, little brother, what’s your plan?”?

“My plan?”?

“Oh you, you’ve got to be prepared, Carter. You cannot go into this without a plan. How else do you expect to convince Lara this is a good idea?”

“Are you trying to say my incredibly good looks and irresistible charm aren’t enough?”

“Don’t forget your modesty.” The whites of my brother’s eyes are on full display as he rolls them. “You’re spending too much time around Dex, his arrogance is rubbing off on you.”

“Come on, don’t pretend you don’t love that arsehole.”

“Oh I do, sometimes more than I love you, little brother.”

Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “Could we get back on track with this plan of yours, please?”

“No, no, not my plan—yours. I’m merely here to provide brotherly guidance.”

“Such as?”

“Just making sure you don’t make a complete arse of yourself, really.”?

I glare at my brother, but we both know there’s no malice behind it. I wouldn’t say I have a track record of making an arse of myself, but without Teddy’s advice over the years, I very well could have.

More so than persuading her, I need to get her to come to her senses and realise there’s more between us than we make out. I’ve known it since that first moment; I need to find out if she has too.

“Right then,” Teddy says, breaking the silence and my train of thought. “If you’ve got nothing, let’s start with hopefully an easy one.” Teddy pulls a pen and paper from lord knows where and begins writing.

Rule 1. Keep it in your pants at the dinner table.

“I’m sorry, have you ever known me not to do that?”

“Mate, I don’t know, or want to know, what sort of shit you get up to in your own home, but I do know the way you talk about Lara. And let me tell you, it makes that rule necessary.”

We stare at each other for a moment before cracking smiles. Teddy starts to chuckle, and I can’t help but join in.

“What on earth are the two of you giggling like girls about?” Our sister’s voice has our heads snapping up to find her casually leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed with a smirk playing on her lips.

“None of your business.”

Emilia looks at me with raised brows as Teddy’s glare bores into the side of my face, but I refuse to look at him, gaze remaining locked on our sister instead. Her eyes slide to Teddy, then narrow as if waiting for him to spill.

“Lara.”

If this surprises Emmy, she doesn't let it show as she lets out a sigh.?

I turn my head to my brother, who’s looking far too smug for his own good. “You’re an arse.”?

“I merely answered our dear sister’s question.” Reclining in his chair, Teddy leisurely crosses his arms over his chest.

Our sister drops her arms and pushes off the doorframe with her shoulder.

“Teddy, would you give Carter and me a minute please?”

“For you, Emilia, certainly.” Teddy stands, sending a wink my way, before striding out of the library.?

“Wanker,” I mutter under my breath. He can’t hear me, of course, but it brings me a small satisfaction knowing I had the last word.

Emmy strolls into the library, taking the seat Teddy vacated. Her eyes narrow in on me, scrutinising.

“Please spare me whatever details you provided Teddy, given she’s my best friend, and it’s already weird enough, but I do want to know what you’re playing at here.”

“Playing at?” I parrot back, wondering what’s made her think any of this is a game.

Emmy nods, remaining silent.

“I’m not playing at anything. This isn’t a game, Emmy. None of this is a game to me.”?

“Okay, okay, so you’re not messing her around. What are your intentions then?”

I can’t help but let out a chuckle. I wonder if she even hears herself. “Well, sir, my intentions with your daughter are completely and utterly honourable. And innocent, very innocent.”

With lightning speed, my baby sister slaps my bicep. Hard .

“Ow!”?

Emmy furrows her brows in my direction, arms crossing over her chest once more as she leans back in her chair. “Serves you right. Are you ever not a sarcastic shit?”

That question sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before? Of course, I’ve heard it from my own mouth, only it’s been directed at Lara. I’m amazed it’s taken me so long to realise we have that in common. Perhaps we’re more alike than I originally thought.

Uncertain whether it’s a rhetorical question or not and unwilling to give Emmy another reason to slap me, I just shrug and flash her a cheesy grin only she can pull from me. Whenever I’d piss her off when we were younger, I’d grin at her so intensely that my nose would scrunch, and my dimple would pop. For whatever reason, she thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Any ill feelings towards me would vanish, replaced instead by her contagious giggle—the same one she’s eliciting now. My cheeks are aching from laughing with her, but I know my sister well enough to know she’s still waiting for a real answer.

“Honestly, I just want to spend as much time with her as I possibly can before her visa expires and she’s half a world away.”

My sister has the audacity to laugh again.

“Here I am spilling my heart, and you’re laughing?”

“I’m not laughing at you, Cart.” I pin her with a look. “I mean I am, but not in the way you think. Who told you she has a visa?”

“Well, I-I assumed.”

“You assumed wrong.”

I may be many things, but wrong isn’t typically one of them.?

I’m restless, unable to decide if I’m more comfortable learning against the chairback or bracing my elbows on my knees with my chin in my hands.?

“Before I begin jumping to my own conclusions, explain please.”

“Lara has British citizenship by descent; her father is originally from Leeds but moved to Australia as a child. Initially she’d planned to stay for nine months, but she currently doesn’t have a return date picked or flight booked.”

“So you’re telling me she has no real set date to leave?”

“Yes.”

The feeling surging through me is one of pure elation. Lara has no set return date, by law or by her own volition. It’s as though a small ember in my stomach has been set ablaze with this information. I’m not even sure I know what to say, except this change’s things—for me, for her, for us. And boy, do I plan for there to be an us.

“You do realise this changes everything, right?”

“I feared it may.” Emmy’s words are in stark contrast to the bright smile she gives me. “Just do me a favour; don’t fuck this up, yeah?”

I pull my sister into my arms, squeezing her tight. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Now more than ever, I’m determined to prove to Lara that this, what we have, isn’t just casual sex—it never was. It was always going to be more, and it’s about time she let go of any preconceived notions saying otherwise.