With a frown, he scratched at his jaw, and I noticed the stubble there. I felt a tingle in the palm of my hand that was begging to touch it too. What I loved about Carter was that he didn’t look like your average rocker. Not in his mundane clothes, anyway. He really was simple, like me.

“It was the truth,” he told me, quietly. “What I said to you last night wasn’t something that I just blurted out. I’m not doing it to get something out of you, either, Leah. I don’t take it back. But try not to overthink it.”

“How do I do that?”

“By living in the now. Stop listening to your head.” His hand shot up, and he lightly brushed my chin with his finger. “I’d be happy if you came back, and I think you would be too.”

My breath escaped my lungs as I took in the solemn look in his eye and nodded. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do,” I forced out, pulling away from his touch quickly. He blurred my senses when he touched me, and I needed the distance.

He stepped back and watched as I started the car, horrendously pulling out into the street. I saw him smile in the rear view mirror at my driving skills. Sticking my hand out the window, I shot him the middle finger. I watched him laugh as I took off down the street. When he was out of sight, I pulled over several streets later and had a mini freak-out. I felt like my heart had been punched out of my body.

What are you doing, Leah?

One minute he was gone, and the next he was in my life like he’d never been away from it.

*

Melanie: Don’t go back. He hurt you. He might hurt you again.

I stared at her text a dozen times during my lunch break in the backroom of the store. I’d told her all about what happened when I got to the condo this morning, and she was none too pleased about it. Since then, she’d been sending me messages, warding me away from Carter, and I was doing my best to listen.

Honestly, I was.

Reflecting back on last night, I was happy I stopped the kiss when I did. It could have ended in a different way, one that would have me face palming in shame.

Another text from Melanie.

Melanie: Be strong.

I sighed.

Then, I opened up my internet browser on my phone and looked up the music video Carter had been telling me about last night, of him in the café singing to the girl he said looked like me. I nervously chewed on my nail as I played the song, and I felt overwhelmed the second the girl’s face appeared with her dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. I couldn’t fight the timid smile on my face as I looked at it from a different perspective than I did the first time I watched it. I was no longer hoping she’d fall head first into a pit of fire as she danced around Carter. The video itself was intriguing. He treated her like a yo-yo, pushing her away one second, and bringing her back into his arms the next. It was a classic re-enactment of us.

How had I not noticed this before?

You’re a numbers kind of girl, not the artsy type.

Oh, so I was a fucking idiot, pretty much.

When the song ended, I played it on repeat and nibbled on my deli sandwich. I could faintly hear Gary’s voice in the background, and I knew he was talking to a customer. Which meant the lazy dick was going to hand them off to me in 3, 2, 1 ––

“Leah!”

My shoulders slumped and I exhaled loudly. “Are you serious right now?”

“LEAAHHH!”

I tucked the phone into my pocket and hurried out of the backroom, feeling shittier than ever before. My arms were crossed, my Joker smile was twitching at my lips as I saw him standing at the counter, his back turned to me, facing…

I stopped mid-step and stared bug-eyed at Carter. He looked over Gary’s shoulder, his gaze meeting mine, and he mischievously smiled at me. Gary sensed my presence and turned around, his sweaty face looking flushed for once.

“There you are,” he said gruffly. “Grab your things and get out. You have the rest of the day off.”

I blinked at him in surprise. “What?”

“Get out,” he repeated.

“I can’t –”

“You’ll be paid just the same. Treat it like a holiday, but leave it out of the books.”

Without another word, Gary walked past me for smoke number thirty six. Leaving me alone with Carter, who looked like he was real proud of himself with that cheeky smile of his.

“Surprised?” he said.

“You weren’t supposed to leave the house,” I told him quietly.

“It’s not an issue if they don’t know about it,” he replied, chuckling at my bewildered face. “By the time they realize, it’ll be too late. It’s important we’re one step ahead of them. Grab your things and we’ll make our getaway.”

“But…” I glanced over my shoulder in case Gary was still kicking around. “How did you manage this?”

“Because you mentioned he was a dick, and dangle money in front a dick, and they’re yours.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “The old money trick, huh?”

He winked. “It works like a charm. Anyway, hurry up.”

“Wait, whose car are we taking?”

“Mine. Leave yours in the employer’s parking lot, and I’ll drop you off back here when we’re done. We gotta go. Pretty sure people spotted me walking across the street to get to here, and I’m a little paranoid.”

So much for staying away.

I went to the backroom again and hurriedly grabbed my bag. I paused for a moment, wondering if I should let Melanie know what just happened, but I resisted at the end. She’d find out eventually. For now, I liked the idea of spending some uninterrupted time with Carter.

So long as we weren’t entirely alone in a bedroom with a bottle of vodka.

*

We made our “getaway” in one of the black BMW’s he’d taken. The windows were very tinted, but he still wore Harold’s trucker hat as he cut through traffic.

There was always something enormously sexy watching Carter drive. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly. Maybe the concentrated look on his face. Or the way he dragged his teeth along his bottom lip that made me want his mouth on mine. Or that I had a perfect view of his protruding biceps, a classic indication of how strong he was.

It was probably a combination of all three, really.

“Where are we going?” I asked him.

“Anywhere you want,” he answered. “Somewhere discreet. You won’t like what happens if we’re discovered.”