Chapter 5
Zahara hesitated at the double glass doors leading to the side entrance of the university. She was using a different exit, as for the past couple of days, she had been hounded by the majority of Carter’s family and even a friend of the twins, all trying to get her to sit down and hear Carter out again.
She blew away an irritating strand of her curly hair that was grazing her lip, tickling it, and eyed the bush that hid some of the sidewalk. Her stomach rumbled, signalling that she needed to go and get something to eat or make something. It was now high time to feed her belly and baby. She sighed, hoping this time she would be given a reprieve. She was going to talk to Carter but just wanted him to stew for a couple of days. The man needed to be brought down a peg or two. Too many people jumped when he snapped his fingers.
Zahara couldn’t believe how many people had shown up on his behalf. She had met his twin brothers: Michael first, who was handsome, funny, and engaging as he tried to flirt and charm his way into convincing her to talk to his older brother. Then Michael’s fraternal twin Ben had had a go. He was serious, the complete opposite of his twin in every way, even in looks. Both were handsome men, but even though he had the same eyes as Carter and Michael, she found them to be a little on the creepy side.
Ben looked to be dissecting her when they first meet, and not in a good way. She’d sensed that he had some dark tendencies to him, and she shivered when he took her arm to help her down the stairs leading down from the university doors. Her intuition on high alert with him and her instincts proving right when even though his face looked innocent, he had let her know in a polite way—that sounded like a warning to her—that she needed to talk to his brother.
Then she had been surprised when a dark black woman, slightly taller than her and with a thick, muscular physique approached her. At first, Zahara thought she was looking for directions, until she mentioned Carter too. But she had to contain her mirth when Ambra started talking about Michael and Ben being great uncles—specifically Michael—and she had known that Ambra was in love with Michael. Zahara was not surprised. He was a charmer, but he was also a heartbreaker. Just like his older brother, she thought bitterly as she stepped down to the cement sidewalk. As she approached the bush, she heard a sneeze. She squeezed her eyes shut and wondered who was there now. It sounded like a feminine sneeze, and she had a feeling that this time she was going to meet Elizabeth Carter, mother to Carter, Leaf, Michael, and Ben.
Zahara turned the corner and smiled at the lady patiently waiting there for her. The woman returned her smile, her blue eyes crinkling at the corners, reminding Zahara of Michael. He took after his mother a little in his features, even though he had dark hair and silver eyes like his brothers, while both Carter and Ben must take after the father she assumed.
The older woman gave Zahara a sheepish look, then moved forward and simply wrapped Zahara in her arms. She was surprised at first and then sniffled, tears pooling in her eyes. She returned the shorter woman’s embrace, resting her head against hers. She hadn’t realized she needed a hug until Elizabeth did that.
They remained like that for a moment until Elizabeth pulled away.
“Let me take a look at you.” Her gaze moved over Zahara’s form in her dark-blue coat with jeans and the matching hat and scarf that framed her neck and head.
“Beauty and brains.” Her eyes took in Zahara’s school behind her. Then she shivered, and Zahara wondered how long she had been waiting there for her, feeling slightly guilty.
As if reading her face, Elizabeth smiled and patted her gloved hand. “Not to worry dear, I wasn’t out here very long. My driver just dropped me off. I borrowed Carter’s phone, as he has paid someone handsomely to put a tracker on your phone.” She beamed with pride.
She then frowned. “He probably won’t be too happy with me stealing his phone while he was in the shower, but he can wait to get it back.”
Zahara’s mouth gaped open in surprise and her cheeks heated with anger that he had done that, but then a burst of laughter escaped her. His mother had been able to get his most precious device away from him without him knowing. She loved his mother already and knew that Carter was a very lucky man to have such a loving soul for a mother.
His mom gave Zahara an impish smile—she liked Zahara.
Zahara’s mom loved her too, but right now she was angry with her, and the feeling was justified. Zahara knew eventually her mom and dad would come around, but it was hard not having their support and love.
The hug had been just what she needed. She had been keeping up the appearance of having everything together and that she was doing fine on her own, but she was scared and worried about her baby and wanted someone to talk to about what she was going through. She wanted to make sure she was doing the right things and getting the correct check-ups, and that what she was feeling was normal. She knew she could talk to Selena, but her sister was a little bit busy with her own baby, and she didn’t want to intrude on her and Calum’s time by having them worrying about her.
“How are you doing dear?” Elizabeth’s gaze searched hers, and then she nodded. “Is there a place where we can sit and get out of the cold? I think you have many questions, and I would like to know more about the woman carrying my grandchild.”
Zahara nodded. “There is a quaint coffee house not far from campus. Students and people living in the area frequent the family-owned business.”
“Okay, give me one second,” Elizabeth said and pulled out her phone to send a quick text to her driver, Zahara assumed. Elizabeth phone began to vibrate, and she looked down at the number with a grin before answering.
“Don’t worry Carter, I will take good care of Zahara. No, no need for you to come by yet. We don’t need you breathing down our necks and ruining our bonding time.” She listened for a second and then said, “Bye Carter, love you. Now where is that coffee shop you mentioned?”
Elizabeth put her hand on Zahara’s inner arm, and they strolled to the coffee house with Elizabeth peppering her with questions about what she was studying.
Once inside, they settled at a table, and Elizabeth ordered her coffee while Zahara had an iced tea.
She took off her coat, hat, and scarf and laid them on the back of the empty chair next to them. When she faced forward again, she saw tears of joy in Elizabeth’s eyes. Zahara smiled.
She stood up and moved closer to the other woman. “Would you like to touch my stomach?”
Elizabeth looked up at her and nodded. Her hand shook as she touched the hard surface, feeling it. “You seem much bigger than your almost five months. Could you be carrying twins?” Elizabeth asked curiously.
“No, I do not think so. My first ultrasound only showed one heartbeat. This will probably be a big, tall baby like its father.”
Elizabeth gave her a doubtful look but didn’t say anything as she swept her hand across Zahara’s width, her smile never leaving her face. She leaned forward and spoke quietly to Zahara’s stomach, telling the child how loved and cherished they were and that she couldn’t wait to meet her first grandchild.
She pulled away and Zahara sat back down. They sipped their beverages, and then Elizabeth sat back with a sigh, rubbing her forehead.
Zahara stiffened, waiting for the lecture that she should accept Carter’s proposal and make her life easier. But that was not what she wanted. She wanted his love.
“Let me apologize for the bulldozer of a son of mine. Tact is not his forte. As a young boy, he was always in control of his emotions and his environment, liking everything in its place and working according to his plans. He was a bossy little thing.” His mother smiled as she reminisced, and then a sad expression graced her delicate features.
“I made it worse when I stepped out of my marriage and had a child with another man. I hurt my family when I did that, and it made Carter harder as he witnessed the impact of my betrayal on his father. Carter was now faced with a brother that did not belong to his father; a child I had with a man I betrayed Carter Sr. with. Carter became a solemn, reclusive child when Carter Sr. and I began working through the difficult time in our marriage. That was a dark time for our family. Carter focussed on his studies and tuning out what was going on around him. When the twins were born, he loved them, but I could also see that he was trying to keep them at a distance, as well as his half-brother Leaf. Then me and my husband stepped away from running the business and let Carter handle it because it seemed that was what he wanted. It was our way of giving back after impacting his childhood.”
Zahara sipped her tea, listening but wondering where this was going.
“My son is closed off emotionally, especially after he lost his fiancée Delilah. But with you...I haven’t seen my son so alive in a long time.” Tears began to run down her face, and Zahara reached over to clasp her hand.
“Keep giving him hell, and I look forward to the day that I can call you my daughter-in-law. Carter needs to learn he cannot always get what he wants and that he has to open himself up to love. Because looking at you and talking to you, I think you are the one to do it; the one to make my son believe in love and bring joy into his life.”
“Delilah, God rest her soul, would have made him the perfect wife.”
Zahara stiffened, hurt by what she was hearing.
Elizabeth leaned forward. “Perfect in the sense that she would not push him emotionally. She agreed to everything he said or wanted. It was a bit annoying, to tell you the truth.” She clicked her tongue.
“Delilah did not push him or drive him to distraction. He cared for her and loved her, but not in a way that a man should be in love with a woman. He was settling and wanted someone easy and comfortable. You are anything but that, and I cannot wait to see the fireworks.” She smiled happily, but then she suddenly glanced over her shoulder and scowled.
Zahara stiffened, knowing even before Elizabeth’s expression had given him away that Carter had just walked into the coffee shop. Whenever he was in the room with her, the atmosphere felt different. She could not explain her hypersensitivity to his presence, except that her body was in tune with his.
“Mother.” Zahara heard Carter’s deep baritone behind her and felt his heat as he moved at the back of her chair.
Elizabeth smiled, and Zahara felt him step away from her and over to his mother as she stood up to receive her son’s kiss on her cheek.
He straightened up, and his gaze ran over Zahara as hers soaked him in. She was surprised because Carter was dressed in jeans and a grey peacoat that complemented his dark hair and silver eyes. He wore leather gloves on his hands and a matching black wool scarf. He looked tired, and she wondered if that was because of her or the effort of trying to find a new location for his hotel.
Not taking his eyes off her, he pulled out the remaining empty chair and unbuttoned his coat, shrugging out of it to reveal a sweater that matched the colour of his coat. The sweater was lovingly molded to every muscle and contour of his upper body. Zahara’s eyes had a feast.
“May I join you ladies?” Her eyebrows lifted and she let out a snort.
“Yes, why don’t you join us and pull up a chair?” she quipped. His mother giggled as he scowled and took a seat, waving over a staff member as he did so. Carter could not help being in command and ordered beverages and sandwiches for the table.
Zahara did not say anything because it wasn’t till that moment that she realized she was getting hungry. She looked down at the time to see it was late afternoon. Her class had ended early to allow students to go home and start studying for the upcoming exams before the Christmas holidays.
As soon as everything was delivered to the table, Zahara took a bite out of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich as she listened to the conversation between Carter and his mother. She could see the deep affection he had for her as he brought her up to speed with the business and the hotel. Carter had narrowed the potential location down to three spots, but he would make his final decision when he was able to get his personal life in order.
Zahara continued to eat away at her sandwich, ignoring the last part. Not liking that she was not engaging in conversation, Carter let out a frustrated sound. Then Zahara heard him ask his mother, “What are you doing here Mother, and can I have back my phone now?”
Elizabeth reached into her purse to get it but then raised her head and frowned at her son. “How did you find out where we were Carter?”
He shrugged. “I had a feeling that eventually you would make your way here, just like Michael, Ben, and even Ambra,” he said in exasperation. “So I got my friend to hack your phone after you took off with mine.”
She scowled and opened her mouth to speak when her watch suddenly beeped. She looked down and read the message there. “Carter, we will discuss this later. Zahara, I have to go. I have to meet up with Carter Sr., who was out meeting with an old friend. We did not want to ambush you both, so it was decided I would be the one to come.”
This time it was Carter who let out a snort. Elizabeth continued ignoring her son. “Do you have any plans for Christmas? I would like to invite you to our family winter chalet in the Swiss Alps. We go there every year to ski and enjoy our Christmas. I would love for you to join us and for all of us to continue to get to know each other.”
Zahara made a noncommittal sound around her sandwich. Elizabeth gave her an understanding smile. “Please consider, you will be around our family and friends and will barely have to see Carter if you don’t want to.”
“Mother!” Carter barked.
Zahara grinned as Elizabeth donned her coat and kissed her son’s cheek before making her way over to her. She gave Zahara another one of her warm hugs and a kiss on the cheek. “Remember, give him hell, and do not let him stop you from coming if you don’t have any plans for the winter. I do not want you or my grandbaby to be alone,” she whispered before pulling away and giving her son a warning look, to which he responded with a raised eyebrow. Elizabeth then sauntered away, leaving them both at the table surrounded by sudden silence.
“You know she is right; you should join us at our cabin for the winter. When is your last day of exams? We can fly out together afterwards.” He whipped his phone out and looked at her expectantly.
“Carter, I don—”
“Zahara, I gave you the space you asked of me. Can you not—”
Zahara leaned forward, anger sweeping through her. “You moved in down the hall from me and sicced your family on me at every turn Carter. That is not giving me some space.”
He leaned forward, grabbing her hands before she could move back. “You are carrying my child, Zahara, I have every right to be close in case you need me, and as for my siblings, well, they thought they were trying to help. I did not know they were going to come down here after I told them the news of your pregnancy.”
She let out a sigh because he was right about having the right to be close. She did not want to keep him from getting to experience the pregnancy and his child, she just needed space to think. She tried pulling her hands away, but he intertwined his fingers through hers, and they both sat there looking at the colour difference between their hands. She suddenly envisioned a child that had a beautiful blend of both their colours, and maybe her eyes or Carter’s silver orbs.
She felt him lift her left hand, and his gaze became calculating.
“Carter, are you seriously sizing up my ring finger?” she sputtered, not knowing whether to laugh, be angrier, or cry. She was coming to learn this past week that the man never missed an opportunity, and that was why he was so successful at running his family’s business empire.
“Yes, how else am I supposed to know what size to get you? Also, do you prefer diamonds, rubies, saph—”
She growled, and for the first time since meeting him, she caught a fleeting smile grace his features before it disappeared, and his gaze captured hers. Seeing that cooled her frustration and anger. In that moment, he had looked less rigid, cold, and calculating, and she wanted to make him smile more. Carter’s life was work, and he did not leave room to enjoy life. She hoped to bring that into his life and decided that she would go to the family cabin as a start. He needed time to get to know her better and for them to work on building a relationship. Love would come after for him when he saw how well-suited they were and the love and joy she would bring him.
“Please come and spend Christmas with us. I want you and the baby to be with my family during the holidays. Maybe we can use this time to get to know each other better. The time at the ranch was short and surrounded by chaos and what happened at the cabin. I know everything happened fast between us, and now we are going to be parents.” He gave her another half-smile. “I still need time to process this, and we have to talk about what we are going to do, but for now, it would be a great idea for us to spend the holidays together while you are out of school and I’m taking a break from work to sort this all out.” He paused and added, “I promise not to push while we are together with family.”
Her eyes searched his, and she saw sincerity there. She nodded. “Okay, I would love to come and stay with your family in the Swiss Alps. When do you all head down?”
“A couple of days before Christmas Eve. We like to get the cabin decorated together; family tradition.” He shrugged his broad shoulders.
“And then, after just relaxing, playing board games, and skiing, Ambra, one of Ben and Michael’s friends, usually joins us the day after Christmas and stays till New Years. So you will have another young female there to chat with, and my mom will be pleased to have another woman there. Every Christmas she is surrounded by boys until Ambra shows up.”
“Sounds good. My last exam is on the eighteenth, but I have an assignment that my professor has given me an extension to submit. It’s due on the twenty-first, so I will meet you all down there.”
He frowned. “I will wait for you, and we can both go together.”
Zahara opened her mouth to protest, but Carter stared at her until she closed her mouth. She was secretly glad that they would go together. She would need help with her luggage, especially with all the gear she would have to bring.
“Oh no, you are leaving your laboratory set here. No tests, no experimenting, nothing.”
She scowled.