There was only one cute blonde that fit that description: Melanie Ann Smith. He’d invited her and his sister, along with his brothers to the race and the party afterwards. “Melanie? Oh, come on, I’ve known her since she was eight.”

When April remained silent, he added. “She’d had too much to drink and so had my sister. No telling where the two of them would’ve ended up without my help. My God, April, you were there.”

Hair the color of caramel was tossed over a slender shoulder.“Yeah, and I came to see what was taking you so long.”

The implication that he’d been found guilty and convicted without a trial turned his body hot with fury. “And?”

“I saw you scoop her up in your arms and she snuggled all against you before you smiled at her and walked inside. Like y’all had done that before.” April laughed. “Who am I kidding? You had to have done that before, because you sure as hell never smiled at me like that.”

Jesus H. Christ. A fucking smile made him guilty? “Well, if you had stuck around, then you would have seen me come out about thirty seconds later—alone.” He picked up his napkin from his lap and threw it on the table. “I give women a whole lot more than thirty seconds of pleasure and you know it, having been on the receiving end.”

“I’m pregnant,” April said and his mouth fell open. There was a gasp and his head jerked up, finding Melanie, only a few feet away, staring at him. Her face was pale and he’d never seen her eyes so big. Hell, he’d never seen her looked so crushed, not even when he and April had announced their engagement.

“Isn’t that convenient,” April said, her voice smug. “I think she’s in love with you.”

Melanie in love with him? A crush, maybe, but that was a long time ago. “No. She’s just known me forever and…” He watched Melanie run outside. Fuck. But he couldn’t go after her. Not right now. He directed his attention back to April. “I’ll do right by you and”—he swallowed—“the baby.” The response was automatic, taking responsibility for his actions something that had been taught to him for as long as he could remember.

“I’m four months along.” April’s eyes narrowed. “We haven’t slept together in eight months, Carter. It’s not yours. The father is daddy’s new campaign manager, Ned.” She shook her head and muttered, “Why is it that the pretty ones are always so stupid?”

Relief coursed through him and he tried to feel remorse or even like an ass, but he couldn’t. And he didn’t give a shit about her stupid remark. Thing was, he couldn’t imagine his entire life tied to April. The baby, he wouldn’t have minded at all. Only he or she would be used in campaign ads, whether he liked it or not.

“So, why are you telling me?” he asked.

“Because I cheated with Ned in retaliation, and that’s why I quit screwing you before we broke up.” April lifted her glass of wine, then set it back down and picked up her glass of water.

Rubbing his temples, he exhaled. “Let me get this straight: You thought I cheated on you, so instead of talking to me and finding out the truth, you decided to screw another man to get back at me, but kept everything quiet.” Her logic made his head hurt. “And your problem is?”

“Ned is married.”

“Of course he is.” Carter pinched the bridge of his nose, then dropped his hand to the table. “Again, why are you telling me this?”

“Daddy’s willing to make it worth your while to claim it’s yours.” She pulled a check out of her purse, placed it on the table and slid it over to him.

The amount of zeros made him blink. It was a damn good thing he had morals, and the millions he’d accumulated over the past few years didn’t hurt things. “To avoid a scandal?”

April gave him this look and in that second he could see fifty years worth of that look. He shuddered. “Think of what it could do for you, to be married to the daughter of the Governor. Maybe translate into a run for office.”

“You don’t know me at all.”

“We were together for three years, Carter. Of course, I know you,” she snapped.

“Really?” he asked, his brows rising. “What’s my favorite television show?”

“You don’t have one.”

“It’s Golden Girls.”

Frowning, she said, “Give me another one.”

Yeah, she hated to be wrong. Ever. “Favorite beer?”

“Ale Brown Nights.”

Well, she was bound to get one right. Plus, they had been a major sponsor of his. “Favorite cake?”

“Yellow, with buttercream frosting.”

Melanie’s voice slipped inside his head. Brought your favorite…German Chocolate… As upset as she’d looked, he hoped like hell she hadn’t driven off somewhere. “Nope.”

“Favorite track?”

“Talledega—too easy.” Yeah, that was too easy, because that was all she had cared about: Carter winning every race. Confidence made her smile. “Give me something hard.”

“Names and ages of all of my brothers and sisters. Since we were together for two years it should be easy, right?” Picking up his glass of red wide, he drank deeply and set the glass down.

“Zoe, twenty-four; Heath, nineteen; Evangeline, sixteen.” She smirked. “Guess I know you better than you thought.”

“Not so fast, honey. Heath’s eighteen and you forgot the twins, Luke and Logan, twenty-three.”

April’s nose wrinkled. “But they’re not your—”

“Luke and Logan are my brothers, no matter the color of their skin or what language they spoke first. Funny how right I was about you. Can’t tell you how much I hate that I wasted so much time trying to prove myself wrong. ”

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” he added and rose to his feet, paid their bill on the way out and went to look for Melanie.

***

Carter found Melanie out back, sniffing and shivering. White puffs of air floated with every breath she took.

Taking off his coat, he draped it over her shoulders. “Did I chase you off earlier today?”he asked. He hadn’t returned to his garage until well after five. His office had been organized and he could tell she’d begun to clean.

“This is one of my jobs. I had the night off, but Kelsey called in sick,” she said with another little sniff. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“Not mine.”

“Don’t be a jerk, Carter.”

He couldn’t help but smile and shake his head. She would defend a woman who’d never been anything but rude to her. “This really isn’t any of your business, but she’s four months pregnant and we haven’t been together in eight months. Math doesn’t work out and she told me who the father is.”

“Oh.” She looked up at him then, the security lights in the parking lot highlighting her pretty face and the multiple paths of wetness on her cheeks. His heart pinched at the sight. “Sorry for calling you a jerk.”

Using his thumb to wipe away the tears, he tried teasing her. “Gotta admit, I liked what you were wearing in my office better than what you have on now. Best theme outfit I’ve ever seen you in.”

The most adorable scowl appeared on her face. Thinking she was adorable was okay. Puppies, kittens and babies were adorable. “Now I’m back to not being sorry.”

He pulled his coat tighter around her body, then started buttoning her up. “Why’s that?”

“Because you’re teasing me.” A lock of hair had come loose from her ponytail. It seemed to glow as he picked it up and tucked it behind her ear.

“I’ve always teased you, Melanie.”

She licked her lips. That wasn’t adorable in the least, mostly because it made him want to lick her lips, too. “Yeah, well, I don’t want you doing it anymore.”

Then how the hell was he supposed to talk to her? “You want me to treat you like a sister?” It hit him right in the gut how much he did not want to treat her like that, as if she were an afterthought, or still a pain in the ass kid that had followed him everywhere, always spying on him.

“You already treat me like one.” Her shoulders fell, then she took a deep breath and looked him right in the eye. “I want to be treated like a woman, with needs and wants that only a certain kind of man can satisfy.”

Damn, but she couldn’t have said the most perfectly sexy and terrifying thing right then. “Suppose I know a man who’d be up for that. A man who’d not stop until every need and want was met to your satisfaction.” Ah, hell. There was no going back now. His dick was all up for it. Literally. “And if it wasn’t…well, he’d redouble his efforts and take it from the top.”

“Is that man supposed to be you?”

“And if it were?”

“Fat chance that will happen,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Not that I care. There are plenty of men around here.”

Jealousy, hot and lethal to his state of mind, coursed through Carter, surprising him with its intensity. He pulled her to him. Her eyes grew wide, then heavy-lidded. Oh yeah, she cared. So, he leaned down, hovering his mouth mere inches from hers. “Baby, I’m your man.”

Chapter Five

Gazing into Carter’s dark green eyes set Melanie off-kilter, like she’d been spun around on a ride at the county fair and hadn’t found her center of gravity yet. The only other time she’d ever been this up close and personal had been when he’d caught her taking pictures of him skinny dipping with Naomi Price in the Pamlico Sound. Though he wouldn’t have caught her if she hadn’t fallen out of the tree she’d been hiding in.

Except this time, there wasn’t murder and embarrassment on his face as he patted her down, searching for broken legs or arms while yelling at her for being a nosy pain in his rear.

Oh no, Carter was extremely serious.

His lips lightly brushed against hers, over and over, like he was teasing her. She tried to put her arms around to get him to kiss her fully, only they were trapped beneath his coat. She was trapped beneath his coat. She’d rather be trapped by his body.

“Carter,” she whispered against his mouth. “Kiss me.”

“Patience, sweetheart.”

“I’ve waited my whole life for this.”

“You say the most amazing things to puff up a man’s ego.” He her drew in her bottom lip and lightly bit it. Her knees went weak and she sagged against him. “Like that?”

Nodding, she rose up on her toes. She used the tip of her tongue to trace the seam of his mouth. As soon as he parted his lips, she slid inside and his tongue met hers. He growled, his shoes crunching on gravel as he moved out of the parking lot light.

His hands moved to the front of his coat, unbuttoning and sliding inside to touch her. One of his thumbs found a tight nipple through her thin bra and shirt, beginning a slow glide. “Before the night is over, I’m going to have these in my mouth,” he said between kisses as he pushed up her shirt.

The cold night air washed over her but she was too hot for him to care.

“Unfasten your bra.”

Hands trembling with desire and excitement went to the fastening in the front, his dark gaze tracking her movements. With one tug, the fabric fell away and her breasts spilled out.

“Jesus Christ that’s a sweet sight.” All at once, he pivoted and her back hit the brick wall of the restaurant. He sealed his mouth over hers and cupped her breasts. For long, sweet moments, there was nothing but his mouth on hers. Nothing but tasting and pleasure. Nothing but Carter.

Then his head dipped, lips wrapping around a taut nipple. She cried out when he began to suck, deep pulls followed by slow swirls of his tongue. “You taste so damn good.”He sandwiched a thigh between her legs, pressing against where she throbbed the most. “There you go…grind down on me.”

Shamelessly, she rolled her hips and rode him. Moan after moan sang out. At this moment she didn’t care who heard her.

From a distance she heard the squeaky hinges of the back door of the restaurant open. “That’s it—you’re fired.”

Carter jerked away from her and she opened her eyes. “Oh my God.” Her body ran cold, then hot with embarrassment. They’d been like two alley cats, in heat and going at it.

Light from the interior of the restaurant shone on him. His cheeks were flushed and he was breathing hard, but desire no longer flared his gorgeous eyes.

His gaze moved lower. “Fix your clothes before someone sees.”

Trying not to flinch at his harsh tone, she refastened her bra and smoothed down her shirt. “Someone already saw.” Us, she wanted to add, because she knew that was what he had meant to say.

His jaw worked. “I’ll make sure Jack keeps his mouth shut.”

Fisting her hands on her hips, she lifted her chin. “Worried about your reputation?”

“You’ve said and done some dumb things, Melanie,” he said with a shake of his head, “But that blows them all out of the water.”

If it had been anyone but him calling her dumb, she would have rolled her eyes and laughed it off. But this was Carter, the man who never said anything he didn’t mean. “That’s me: the town dummy,” she said, tears gathering in her throat.

“You’re twisting my words.”

“Whatever.” Pulling his coat from around her shoulder, she threw it at him and started for the door. “You always mean what you say.” Her purse and fleece pullover were inside, under the utensil station. Maybe she could get in and out of there before anyone saw her.