22. Chapter 21
Siobhan
A s the poison storyline continued, it seemed like the filming days got longer and longer.
I had about double the dialogue than I normally did, and the scenes were so emotional that it took some time to get everything just right.
After another long day of filming, Duke dropped me off at Carter’s place.
Although it was great that Carter had been added to Stephanie’s school pick-up list, as he picked her up today. It was the second time this week he had picked her up. Judging by the mess I saw when I walked inside, it was clear they were home.
Damn it. We’re guests here.
Stephanie left a trail of her belongings from the kitchen to the den. First, I saw a sneaker, and the matching shoe was about five feet away. There was a coat left on the floor and a sock near the doorway.
I taught her better manners than this, and I hated the mess.
Also, why would she take off only one sock when she took off both her shoes?
As I picked up the discarded items, Carter came from the den with a wide smile on his face. “You’re home.”
Thankfully, he didn’t seem perturbed about babysitting or the mess Stephanie made. Instead, he rushed over to give me one of his special bear hugs that melted the stress away and then topped it with a sweet kiss. All I could say was, “Now, this is the way to be welcomed home.”
Then I realized what I said and reddened. I was thinking of his place as a home. Hell, even my house wasn’t really home. It was a place I lived in, but being in the arms of someone I loved was special and what I wanted when I came home.
But I didn’t scare Carter away with that comment. If anything, his shoulders straightened, and his smile just beamed brighter.
Trying not to act like a total twat, I said, “Sorry that Steph made such a mess. I hope she wasn’t a handful for you."
He pulled back and gave me one of those looks, like I was being stupid. I’d done the one thing I promised him I wouldn’t do at the beginning of our relationship. He was caring for my kid, and I felt bad.
“Quit worrying. She’s awesome," he said.
He gave me one more kiss, and I got lost in it. His lips pulled me to another dimension. They were so damn sensual. Or was it his hands that came up my back and pulled me closer to his furnace of a body?
We were just in sync with each other.
But we could only maintain that bliss for so long. Then the real world came back to life as books crashed down to the ground with a very loud, “What’s taking… bleech.”
I wanted to laugh since Stephanie’s acting skills were utterly atrocious, which was kind of a self-esteem blow, seeing as both of her parents are actually good actors. Steph was a complete ham and was always trying to get a rise out of people.
“Really? Aren’t you a little too old to disapprove of your mom getting kissed?” Carter said with a laugh.
Carter was always super sexy. He had that perfect Captain America personality, but seeing him joke around and getting along with Stephanie took it to a whole new level. My panties were completely soaked.
“No… I never said I disapproved of you kissing her. It’s just that you’re a step away from making a baby, and I don’t want a little brother or sister.”
That got me to break apart from Carter, and I looked at my daughter in complete disbelief. Not wanting to jump to any conclusions, but if she learned about sex from her father, I would kill him. “Babies? How do you think babies get made?”
Relations with Russell were already bad enough. I didn’t need to make it worse by reaming him out, but she was way too young to know about sex.
Carter left his hand on my shoulder. It calmed me and let me really listen to her words.
Stephanie rolled her eyes, and her hands flew around as she spoke. “First, you kiss like that. Then you go to the bedroom, and about nine months later, there’s a baby."
That wasn’t the worst description of sex. That was a description I could live with. At least she didn’t know anything that happened behind the closed doors. She could learn about that when she was much older. But I should probably double-check to be sure that’s all she knew.
Carter must have been on the same page since he piped in, “What happens in the bedroom?”
Stephanie’s brows furrowed as she tried to figure out what those actions could be. She then said, “I don’t know. Grown-up stuff. I guess you’re not a grown-up since you don’t know.”
Stephanie was so sassy with the last part that it got a rise from Carter. He ran over and started to tickle her, which caused lots of squealing and a very loud and breathless, “Stop!”
Carter chuckled and tickled her hard as he lifted her up into the air. “Never. Not until you say I’m an adult.”
Steph looked at me with hope that I might put an end to the tickling antics, but she had gotten herself into this little battle and needed to learn that sassiness had consequences.
Stephanie huffed out, “Fine. You’re a grown-up.”
Carter immediately stopped and set her back on the ground. Under her breath, she muttered, “Barely.”
Which got me giggling since it was such a typical comment from my sassy girl. Carter threatened to tickle her again. Seeing my two favorite people getting along made me feel so damn lucky.