“Seriously,” Mia agreed, still looking like she couldn’t be more shocked if Lula had given birth to a muskrat in the middle of the cookie exchange. “That man was gorgeous, Lula. It was so romantic I almost passed out.” Mia let out a dreamy sigh. “What’s the story with you two? I never knew you had a serious boyfriend, let alone a tall, hunky—”
“You met him when you were younger,” Lula said, voice trembling. “But you clearly don’t remember and I don’t want to talk about Carter Bryce.”
“Oh, come on,” Mia pressed. “You have to tell us something. Are you going to let him have a second chance? I hope so, because the poor man looked—”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it, Amelia Louise,” Lula snapped, downing the rest of her juice before forcing a smile for the rest of the group. “I’m so sorry for putting a damper on the festivities, but I’m feeling much better now. I think we should get on with our party. Should we begin with holiday trivia for prizes or with the balloon antler contest, since we’re already on our feet?”
After an awkward moment, in which Mia tried to apologize, Lula shushed her repeatedly, and everyone else stared uncomfortably at their shoes, their coffee, or their neighbor, the women divided into teams. Ten minutes later, five of the partygoers had enormous balloon-filled pantyhose antlers on their heads, and everyone was laughing so hard you would think nothing had disrupted the fun.
But Lula’s laughter was forced, and she couldn’t think of anything but Carter. He was the one who got away, the only man she’d ever loved. And now he was back, declaring his intentions to fight for a second chance.
Ten years ago, Lula would have been thrilled. Even eight years ago she had still clung to the hope that Carter might show up on her doorstep one day. But it had been eleven years, during which Lula had erected scaffolding around her heart and declared the area permanently condemned. She had no idea if she was capable of loving someone again, no matter how intensely something inside her had reacted to Carter’s kiss.
She had gone without love, lust, or even the comfort of someone’s arms for so long. She was a confirmed spinster, and it would be best if she told Carter as much, and they went their separate ways.
But even as the thought plodded through her head, something light and hopeful danced behind it, blowing kisses at the stars the way she had one December night, long ago.
4
Carter
Carter was on Lula’s doorstep—the front one this time—at five minutes until six, a bag of groceries in one hand and a bottle of red wine in the other.
He stood staring at the door for several long moments, sweat beading on his lip despite the unusually cold Texas night. He was even more nervous than he’d been this morning. He’d had eight long hours to stress about this second meeting, beating himself up for being such a fool and wondering if he was crazy for thinking Lula could forgive a man who’d been missing in action for over a decade.
He’d decided to spill the entire crazy story as soon as possible, but when Lula answered the door in a pair of khaki pants and a gray-green sweater that dropped past her hips, all his words drifted away.
In the casual clothes, with her hair loose around her shoulders and her make-up free face peering up at him in the soft light of the antique street lamps, she looked like she had when they’d first met. When she was twenty and in the middle of her first year as a business owner and he was a cocky twenty-two-year-old, embarking on his first solo treasure hunt.
“You look really nice,” he said with a smile.
“This is what I wear on a normal night,” she said, pausing to nibble nervously at her bottom lip. “I didn’t get dressed up. I thought about it, but…” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other but didn’t move from the doorway or motion for him to come in. “I honestly don’t know how to do this, Carter. I don’t know how to be with you or what to say. It’s just been so long.”
“I know, and I can explain part of that, but first I—”
“And the thought of giving us a second chance.” She shook her head as she crossed her arms. “I don’t know you anymore, and you don’t know me. I’m a different person. That girl you used to love doesn’t exist anymore.”
Carter’s brow furrowed. “I’m different, too, but it doesn’t change the way I feel. And I’m smart enough now to realize what a dumb kid I was back then. I should have stayed. If I could go back and do it all over, I would.”