“But what?” he asked with a smile. He was disappointed, but no less determined to win Lula over. Friends was a place to start, and he loved her for so many reasons aside from how much fun they’d had in bed.
“Why me, Carter?” she asked, her pale brows pinching together. “I mean, you’re a good-looking man who’s lived this wild life and has so many amazing stories to tell. I’m sure you could find plenty of beautiful, uncomplicated women to be involved with.”
“I prefer beautiful, complicated women,” he said. “Particularly this one in front of me.”
Lula’s frown deepened, his answer obviously not satisfying.
“I’ve been involved with other women,” he said honestly. “I even tried to convince myself I loved one or two of them, but it wasn’t real. It wasn’t like this.” He squeezed her fingers again and felt the connection between them humming up his arm to spread out across his entire body. “Can’t you feel it, Lula? The way it’s just…right? Just the way we’re able to talk after years apart is so rare. This is why it was so good between us, and why it can be good again.”
“You know how I said I needed to take it slow?” she asked, continuing when Carter nodded. “Well, I think a snail’s pace might be more accurate. I need time, Carter. And I need to be friends first, but if that isn’t okay with you, then—”
“It’s fine with me,” he said, reluctantly releasing her hand. “So I will say a friendly goodbye and let you enjoy supper with your family. But could I take you to a movie tomorrow? They’re showing A Christmas Story at the theater downtown.”
“Sounds like fun,” Lula said, leaning against the counter as he backed away. “See you around six thirty?”
“Six thirty,” he confirmed, turning toward the door, but stopping when Lula said his name.
“Thank you,” she added as he glanced over his shoulder. “For understanding.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’ve become a patient man, L.J. Especially when it comes to the things in life that are worth waiting for.” He waved goodbye, slipping his hat onto his head as he stepped out into the night.
It was true, he was a patient man, but that didn’t mean he intended to make it easy for Lula to hold him at a friendly distance. He knew her better than she realized, and he intended to use that knowledge to get her back in his arms, where she belonged.
7
Lula
On their first night out, she and Carter found seats at the back of Lonesome Point’s one-screen theater and shared a bag of peppermint-chocolate drizzled popcorn while watching A Christmas Story. Half the town was crowded into the small theater and Lula ended up sitting elbow to elbow with Trish Mullens from her book club.
At first, she was shy about introducing Carter to Trish and highly conscious of the curious looks from everyone who spotted Lula wearing an uncharacteristically vibrant orange dress while out on a date. But by the time Ralphie began to daydream about his Red Ryder BB gun, Lula was lost in the movie and the feeling of her fingers brushing Carter’s as they reached for the same piece of popcorn.
By the end of the movie, the rest of the world had faded away, until there was nothing but warmth spreading through her chest and a different kind of warmth curling in her belly. It had been a scandalously long time since she’d been with a man, not since her ill-fated long distance relationship with a university librarian in San Antonio five years ago, the one that had ended when Steve decided to join a monastery.
During the past few years, she hadn’t missed physical closeness that much. No man had ever made her hunger for a sexual connection the way Carter had, and after a while, she had begun to doubt any man ever would. She had eventually allowed her libido to go dormant and resigned herself to more productive pursuits than attending singles mixers or internet dating.
But now Carter was back, walking beside her, filling her head with his sexy smell, warming her body with his as he pulled her in for a hug on her front stoop after the movie.
“That was fun,” he said, his breath ruffling her hair, making her skin tingle before he released her and stepped away, starting down the steps to the shop with a wave. “See you for climbing tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” Lula echoed, lifting a hand and fluttering her fingers.
But her fingers weren’t the only thing fluttering, and Tuesday afternoon proved even more tingle-inducing than Monday night.
Lula’s blood started pumping faster the moment Carter helped her into her climbing harness—his hands lingering on her upper thighs as he adjusted the buckles—and didn’t let up for a solid hour and a half. Every time Carter reached out to help her onto the next ledge or his fingers brushed against her calf as he encouraged her to lift her foot a little higher to find the next foothold, her pulse would stutter anew.