Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Playing with fire had never been so much fun. Carter sat back in his chair and linked his fingers behind his head, the scene from the health center playing through his mind once more.
He loved the way Audrey got all fired up. He’d had to bite his cheek to keep from smiling when she tried to pass the huge guy off as her boyfriend. Yeah, right. He saw the appeal, but the guy wasn’t her type—not like he was.
Her cheeks had gotten bright red, and he swore she was tempted to smack her friend—Hannah—when she’d refused to play along.
He thought he should send the woman flowers or something for doing him a favor.
Then he’d heard them talking about him as he strode away.
Hannah was solidly Team Carter. He grinned.
Winning over the best friend was step one.
His desk phone rang, and he picked it up, tossing a quick look at the clock in the lower right-hand corner of the computer screen.
“Yes?”
The elderly receptionist’s warm voice flowed through the speaker. “Your two o’clock is here.”
“I’ll meet them in the lobby. Thank you, Mrs. Hodges.”
Dropping his feet to the floor, he shrugged into his jacket, then straightened his tie before heading out of his office to meet his next clients.
He flipped on the light for the conference room as he passed, then continued toward the lobby, following the childish peals of laughter that drifted his way.
He rounded the corner and paused midstride at the sight that greeted him.
A tall man stood in the middle of the small lobby, making airplane sounds as he held a baby suspended high over his head.
The toddler waved her arms and legs, clearly delighted with the activity.
Next to them, seated on the couch, a pretty brunette watched on, her lips curled into a soft smile.
As soon as they saw him, the woman stood and the man lowered the baby to his chest, a huge grin on his face. “Sorry about that.”
He waved away the man’s apology. “No need. She seemed to be enjoying it.” He held out a hand, first to the woman. “Carter Cross.”
She tipped her head in acknowledgement and slipped her hand into his. “Adalyn Keller.”
He turned next to the man, who returned his handshake. “Jaxon Keller, and this”—he bounced the baby on his hip—“is Jaclyn.”
“Hey, beautiful.” The baby turned her head into her father’s shoulder, peeking at him with one eye, and he grinned as he gestured down the hallway. “You can follow me.”
He watched with interest as the man wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist, then fell into step behind him. As soon as they were seated along one side of the table, he closed the door and sat opposite them.
While Adalyn extracted a sippy cup and some snacks from a large bag, he took a moment to study them.
She wore a wide head wrap to hide a portion of hair that had been shaved away, and the white square of a bandage was visible over her temple.
The baby sat on the table in front of Jaxon, her curious gaze flitting around the room.
It suddenly struck him, seeing the baby’s face next to his, how much they looked alike. From her pale blonde locks and bright eyes, she seemed to be the spitting image of her father. They were a beautiful family, which made him all the more curious about their appointment today.
He’d looked over the paperwork just a few days ago, and it seemed like a pretty cut-and-dried case to him—Mrs. Keller had requested to annul the marriage nearly a year ago, and all they were missing was a signature from each party in order to prepare the final paperwork.
From the looks of things, though, the annulment no longer seemed to be required.
Finally all settled, Mr. and Mrs. Keller gazed across the table at him expectantly, and he jumped right in. “First of all, I’d like to apologize for not following up sooner. It was an oversight that should never have happened.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jaxon said. “Actually, I’m glad it worked out this way—we both are.”
He and his wife shared a warm look, and he sat back in his chair with a little smile. It wasn’t often that he dealt with happy clients like this. “So,” he began slowly, “should I assume that we can disregard the paperwork?”
“We…” Adalyn faltered for a second, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. “It was kind of an impetuous mistake on my part.”
Her husband draped one arm over the back of her chair and lightly grazed his knuckles across her shoulder. “On both our parts,” he said before turning his icy blue gaze to him. “We met in Vegas a couple years ago. One thing led to another, and…”
His brows rose, and he lifted his chin in understanding as his gaze bounced between them. “Got it.”
As a lawyer, this was precisely the type of situation that he typically advised clients to be extremely wary of. Seemingly aware of the same thing, Adalyn dropped her eyes away, blushing furiously, and Jaxon pulled her closer.
He couldn’t help but wonder how many people had said the exact same thing—that eloping in Vegas was rash and would never work out. Neither tried to defend themselves; they didn’t have to. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that they’d found something special.
Adalyn leaned into her husband, and he dropped a kiss on her forehead. The baby squirmed on the table, one of Jaxon’s arms curled loosely around her, ready to catch her in case anything happened. The man in question turned back to him. “We’ve decided to give things a second chance.”
“Good. I hope it works out for you,” he said sincerely. They truly looked happy, and he wished them the best—but he still couldn’t figure out exactly why they were here. “Well, then, you can disregard the paperwork you’ve received, and I’ll make the changes on my side.”
“I appreciate that,” Jaxon replied, “but there’s actually something I was hoping you could help us with.”
He tipped his head in question, and Jaxon continued. “The woman I spoke with told me you could help us with our wills.”
He nodded. “I can do that. Do you have an existing will, or are you starting from scratch?”
They exchanged a quick look. “From scratch,” Adalyn said.
“I work security,” Jaxon spoke up, “and I want to make sure the girls are taken care of in case anything happens.”
His eyes moved to the insignia on Jaxon’s chest displaying the letters Vantage in white thread, and he nodded thoughtfully. It looked so familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d last seen it. He tipped his chin toward the logo embroidered into the shirt. “Is that where you work?”
Jaxon’s head dipped, his eyes following his gaze before meeting his again. “Vantage Security,” he clarified. “I was discharged from the Army a couple months ago, and a buddy of mine invited me to come work for him.”
“I’ve seen that logo before.” Focusing intently, he tried to bring the man’s face into view. He’d seen him when he visited Audrey at the health center. What was his name again? He stared across the table at Jaxon. “Tall guy, broad, beard. I met him at the health center not too long ago.”
Jaxon nodded knowingly. “Luke.”
He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. His girlfriend works with a friend of mine.” Calling Audrey a friend sounded childish, but he didn’t have a better word for their relationship—yet. “Is your group local?”
Jaxon nodded. “We do a little bit of everything—PI work, personal protection. We’re in the process of setting up a gym upstairs to offer self-defense courses.”
“Nice. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
With that, they transitioned into a discussion of preparing a living will for both of them, listing assets and beneficiaries. Half an hour later, Jaclyn began to fuss, and he smiled over the table at them. “I can finish this up and send it your way in a couple days to check over.”
Adalyn gathered her things and stood, holding one hand out to him. “Thank you so much.”
“No problem.” He shook Jaxon’s hand. “I’ll be in touch.”
He walked them to the lobby, then returned to his office and closed the door. Pulling his cell from his pocket, he flipped through the messages and emails, noticing that the one name he was looking for remained infuriatingly absent.
He set the phone on the blotter on top of his desk and sat back in his chair, pondering his next step. He wanted Audrey to reach out to him, but he had a feeling she never would. He’d have to take that step—but he had to do it carefully. If he came on too soon or too strong again, she’d bolt.
If there was ever a woman worth waiting for, it was Audrey Stanton.
He’d never felt this way about a woman, not even as a teenager.
He knew he wanted her from the moment she walked into his office more than six months ago.
He’d spent a grand total of about twenty hours with her, but he knew—just knew—that she was it.
Now that he’d touched her, tasted her, felt every curve beneath his hands, there wasn’t a chance that he was ever going to let her go.
Everything about her appealed to him—her intelligence, that wicked sense of humor, her fiery hair and temper to match.
And then there was her passion, wild and unrestrained, giving as good as she got.
God, how he wanted her—all of her—but he knew he needed to keep it slow and steady, acclimate her to his presence.
He knew how badly she’d been hurt by that idiot ex of hers, and he needed to prove to her that he wasn’t the same. He couldn’t risk moving too fast and spooking her. If he pushed too hard, she would run far away, and he would lose her forever.
He knew that whatever was between them wasn’t love, not yet. But it could be. He just needed to convince her to take another chance. He’d be here waiting until she was ready. After all, he’d already waited this long. What was a few more weeks, or even months?
Audrey Stanton would be his. She just didn’t know it yet.