Chapter 18 #2
“You didn’t, so don’t sweat it. I’ve had a bunch of offers since the Gooding trial. We can do anything we want. I’m ready to find something with more regular hours, so I can spend most of my time with you. And the baby.” He ran a hand over her flat belly. “What will we name him? Or her?”
“You don’t already know?”
“Should I?”
She nodded.
“Hmmm. I’m stumped.”
“We’ll name him—or her—Sam.”
“Carly,” he whispered as he pressed his lips to hers. “My parents would love that. Thank you.” He noticed the new tears in her eyes. “Hey! What’s this?”
“I’m just . . .”
“What?”
“Happy.”
Pulling her to him, he held her as tight as he could. “Good. That’s the only thing that matters to me.”
“And scared. We’re so close to having everything we’ve ever wanted. I’m afraid he’ll find a way to take you away from me again.”
“I won’t let him touch us, Carly. I promise you that.” He poured all his love for her into a kiss that left them both breathless. “Guess what I discovered out there in the world?”
Amused by his expression, she said, “What’s that?”
He kissed her neck until she trembled with desire. “There’re tons of ways to make love. We’ve only scratched the surface.” He kissed his way down to her belly and dipped his tongue into her belly button.
She clutched handfuls of his hair. “Brian!”
Laughing softly, he said, “I’d forgotten about your hang-ups. We’ll have to get you over that—and fast. I’ve got lots of stuff to show you.”
“Oh, God,” she groaned.
On their way back to Granville late on Saturday, they called Brian’s parents and Carly’s sisters, requesting everyone meet them at Carly’s parents’ house.
“Did you ask her?” Mary Ann said breathlessly.
“I’m not saying a word,” Brian replied with a wink for Carly.
“That’s not nice!” Mary Ann complained.
“See you at seven thirty,” Brian said, smiling as he ended the call.
“She knows,” Carly said.
“She thinks she knows.”
“She gave you the ring,” Carly reminded him.
“I told her not to get her hopes up and not to tell my dad about the ring, just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“In case you said no.”
Startled, Carly spun around in her seat to stare at him. “Did you really think that was a possibility?”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how you felt about me being married before. And I was afraid I might be hitting you with too much too soon.” Pausing, he added, “If I am, you know, going too fast for you, it’s okay to say so.”
She held his hand between hers. “You’re not, Bri,” she said. “I want everything right now, too. I feel like my life has been on hold for fifteen years, and now that it’s finally moving forward again, I don’t want to waste a minute of it.”
He squeezed her hand. “In that case, how about Labor Day weekend?”
“That’s in three weeks!”
“That long?”
“We can’t get a wedding together in three weeks!”
“Sure we can. I’ve got nothing but time right now since I’m not working. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
“I know you’re quite experienced with planning weddings—”
“Watch it,” he said in a teasing growl.
She giggled. “But you’re still a guy, and no woman in her right mind would trust her one and only wedding to a guy.”
“You’ll pay for that later.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” she said with a saucy smile.
“What do you say to quitting that job of yours so you won’t have to trust the wedding planning to a dreaded guy?”
She shook her head. “Not until we’re married and figure out where we’re going to live and everything.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do. Molly has been so good to me.”
“The right thing would be for you to take the next three weeks to enjoy every minute of planning your one and only wedding without any pesky distractions like a job. I’ll move in with you and pay for everything, so you can focus on the wedding.
” He kissed her hand. “Let me do this for you, honey. Please?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“What’s there to think about?”
“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Brian. Just let me have some time to get used to the idea that I’m not going it alone anymore.”
“You’re not alone anymore.”
“I know, and you’re very sweet to want to come in on your white horse and take care of me. But even if I do say yes to this plan of yours, I’d have to give Molly some notice.”
“Fine. Tell her tomorrow you’re leaving at the end of the week.”
“Brian.”
As they crossed the line into Granville, Carly felt her tension return.
Somewhere in this town she called home was a man who wanted to harm her for a transgression she could neither remember nor repair.
Her worries about who he was and when he might strike again took something away from her happiness, and that made her mad.
Hadn’t he already taken enough from her? When would the debt be repaid?
“Hey.” Brian rolled their joined hands around on her leg. “What’s going on over there?”
“He’s out there somewhere, waiting for us to come back. It’s like I can feel him watching me.”
“Why don’t we go to New York until the wedding? There’s no need for you to live like this when I’ve got a place sitting empty in New York. Let’s get you out of here until they find him.”
“What’s to say he won’t follow us there?”
“He’d be out of his element in the city.”
Carly thought about that as Brian rolled the car to a stop at a four-way intersection. “You can take Tucker Road,” she said. “There’s no sense going all the way around.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, and he took a right.
“So what do you think about New York?”
Turning her head so she could see him, she said, “Would you think I’m a silly, sentimental girl if I said I want to be with my mother, my sisters, and my nieces before the wedding?”
“Of course not.”
“Then we can stay here at least until the wedding?”
“Only if you’ll consent to spending twenty-four hours a day with me.”
“I don’t know if I could stand that,” she joked.
He poked her ribs, and she was still laughing as they took the last curve before the accident site.
Her laughter faded to a shriek when Brian slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a person standing in the road.
The car fishtailed wildly for what felt like an endless second before stopping just a few feet from where Sam and their friends had died.
In the time it took for Brian to regain control of the car, the man dashed into the thicket of trees that lined the road. Brian sprinted from the car and disappeared into the woods after him.
“Brian!” Carly screamed. “Come back!”
Fumbling around in her purse, she found her cell phone. With shaking hands, she dialed 911.