Chapter 13

chapter

thirteen

Carter

I do my best to tread carefully.

Not because I'm not mad about Summer. I'd move into her tiny bungalow in Fate immediately if she lived alone. That would make life a heck of a lot easier in the months leading up to the grand opening of Little Spoon.

But Summer shares her home with her sister, Harmony, and I don't want to be annoying.

I don't know if she'll ever give Cooper a chance. Cooper is keeping his distance, from what I can tell.

So, the two of us simply commute every day. We bring coffee and donuts to the job site daily and carry out instructions. Whatever Summer and Harmony need help with, we do it.

We help them secure the lease on the space they want on the courthouse square. We hire contractors, help them apply for permits, hang light fixtures, sand floors, and find them the best kitchen equipment on the market.

On the night before the grand opening of Little Spoon, Harmony and Cooper go out for a dinner at the brewery while Summer and I decide to cook together at the house.

I work at the stove preparing a stir fry while Summer bakes egg rolls in the toaster oven.

Life is effortless with us, now that I understand how to communicate with her.

We take our plates into the living room and watch one of my favorite horror movies, and she doesn't hate it.

The jump scares give her a good excuse to jump into my lap, and I don't hate that at all.

Eventually, the movie becomes too gory for Summer, and she can no longer look at the screen.

"I don't think I can watch this anymore," she says.

"You don't have to watch it," I say. "I can turn it off."

"No, no. I'll close my eyes and sit on the floor."

Before I can respond to that, Summer slides to the floor and positions herself in front of me, between my legs. She looks up and gives me a slow blink.

"Baby, what are you doing?"

"Saying thank you."

"Oh, that's not why…why…"

I trail off when she unzips my jeans and pulls out my cock. It's already stiff and throbbing, and all she has to do is tug down my boxer briefs a little until it springs free.

She takes it in her hands, and I suck in a breath.

A low groan escapes me as I watch my Summer lick her hand, then stroke my length with her wet palm.

"Damn, sweetheart, do you have any idea how sexy you are right now?"

"All for you," she says.

She wraps her lips around the damp head and sucks off the precum. "Shit," I rasp.

I'm out of my mind with lust as she wets both palms and uses them to stroke me at the base, taking the rest of me in her pretty mouth. She takes me so far back that she gags on me, and I nearly explode.

Summer swirls her tongue around the head, and I can hardly fathom how good she feels and how good she makes me feel.

I reach down, threading my fingers through her soft hair, stroking her. Guiding her.

Together, we find a slow but steady rhythm as she sucks, licks, kisses, and devours me until I come down her throat.

And she swallows it all down.

She's so sweet to me. Too sweet and perfect. More than I deserve.

Is this love?

When she's finished, I pull Summer onto my lap.

"I love it when you do that. It makes me feel safe and secure," Summer says, making my heart pound for an entirely different reason.

She has rocked me to my soul. I trust her with my heart.

"Good. I always want you to feel that way around me."

"I want you to know, you're an easy man for a girl to get attached to," she says.

"For a girl, or for you?" I ask, brushing her hair out of my face.

I swallow. "For me."

I press a sweet kiss to her mouth. "And is that a bad thing? That you feel attached?"

"It feels dangerous," she says.

I lean away from her to focus more fully on her eyes. "Why dangerous?"

"Because I've never been…"

"Never been what, sweetheart?"

In love? Do I dare let her say it first?

"I've never liked someone this much before. I worry that I'll scare you away," she says.

"Nothing you do could scare me away."

"Mills might scare you," she laughs.

"That your brother?"

"No, our older sister. She's the scariest of the four of us. In fact, I'm surprised our mother hasn't blabbed everything about our situation to both Mills and Owen yet."

When we parted ways, Summer and Harmony's mom agreed to keep our relationship under wraps for a while since people might question how it would look for Summer to be dating one of her investors.

I do care about her family and her reputation.

Personally, I don't care what anyone thinks of me. But I'll do whatever I have to do to make Summer and her sister happy.