“I need a drink.”

It was a sign of how long she’d been isolated that Tess was talking to herself. How could she have ever thought that she’d make it out here by herself? Maybe she should sell the place and move back to New York. She was down a boyfriend and a best friend, but she’d had other friends in the city. A hell of a lot more than she had here.

Tess had never considered herself a quitter. She was strong, independent. Self-sufficient. She made decent money and was good at her job. Dallas was proving to be a promising market for her business as she’d managed to line up a few new clients. When she’d left New York, she’d convinced herself that she was taking on a new challenge, not running away from her problems. If she left Nacogdoches now, wouldn’t she be proving to herself that she wasn’t strong at all? Wouldn’t it prove that she’d been running all along?

A knock at her front door drew Tess’s attention. She was surprised to see the contractor Carter had hired to assess the barn standing on her front porch, clipboard in hand. “Hi, um…” What in the hell was his name? “Steve!” He gave her a funny look at her ah-ha! moment. “Do I owe you for the barn assessment?” She’d thought Carter had paid for it but maybe he’d changed his mind. God, she hoped not. She was doing all right financially but she wasn’t a bank.

“No.” Steve looked as confused as she sounded. “I’m here to get started on the remodel.”

Remodel? What the ever loving…? “I think there might be a miscommunication somewhere. I just wanted to make sure the structure was sound. I’m far from being able to do a remodel on it.”

Steve’s glance slid to the side, in the direction of Carter’s house. “I’m confused. Carter called yesterday and asked if I had time to work the barn into my schedule. I was hoping we could do the walkthrough today to see what you were thinking for the space. Carter suggested an office in the loft and maybe turning the ground level into a studio or second living space, but he said the final say was yours. Did something change between yesterday and today?”

Tess had absolutely no idea what was going on. “You talked to Carter yesterday?”

“Yeah. Yesterday afternoon. I’ve got a crew scheduled to start work next week.”

“Can you give me a few minutes? I need to straighten a few things out.” A few things? A whole hell of a lot of things.

“Sure. I need to make a couple of phone calls to my sub-contractors anyway. We’ll need to do some minor foundation work before we do any actual building and I need to get some prices from my concrete guy. I’ll be in my truck when you’re ready.”

“Thanks.”

Tess left the front door wide open and trekked back through the house. She slipped through the back patio door and jogged across their two lawns until she stood on Carter’s patio. Fist poised and ready to knock on the glass, Tess paused. She could tell Steve to leave. She didn’t have to talk to Carter at all. She could go back to her house, sit her ass down, and get back to work. She could try to forget the time she’d spent with Carter, the things he’d said to her, the way his touch set her on fire. She could forget that he’d broken her heart with cold and hurtful words and get to back to her life. She could let him go back to Dallas and he’d be nothing but the neighbor she saw once or twice a year when he needed a break from the fast pace of his life.

Tess could do all of those things. She simply didn’t know if she wanted to.

“You look like a woman on the verge of a serious decision.”

Tess whipped around to find Carter walking toward the patio from the lake. Behind him, the girls shuffled along, their leggings pulled up to their knees and their shoes clutched in their little hands. They looked up at their dad’s words and bright smiles lit their faces as they exchanged a knowing glance. Their soft giggles made Tess’s stomach draw into a tight knot.

“Hi Tess!”

“Hi Tess!”

They ran past her and into the house, their wide, secretive grins causing her suspicions to grow. The girls obviously knew something she didn’t, and Tess didn’t like not being in on the secret.

Tess opened her mouth to speak. Closed it. Started again and failed. Words refused to form on her lips as she took in the sight of Carter strolling with casual grace toward her. The memory of what it had felt like to have her naked skin against his, to feel the power of that magnificent body thrust over hers was still too fresh in her mind. Her breath stalled in her chest and a ball of emotion gathered in her throat. How could she ever think it would be so easy to banish Carter from her heart and mind?

“Did you hire your contractor to come out and do a remodel on my barn?” Instead of focus on her heartache, she let her anger take over. It was the only way to force any words past her lips.

Carter continued to stroll toward her in that calm, calculated way that made him look like a predator on the prowl. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and averted her gaze from him. It was like staring at the sun; his very presence blinded her.

When he was close enough to reach out and touch, Carter stopped. The space between them sizzled with electricity and Tess forced her eyes back to his face. “Did you?” she asked again.

“I suck at apologies.” The warmth in his deep voice cascaded over her in a pleasant rush. “And flowers seemed too cliché.”

“Carter.”

“Tess.” His gaze devoured her. “I’m so sorry.”

Thirteen

For over a week, Tess had been feet from him and yet, it had felt like miles. After Carter’s conversation with Travis yesterday, he’d come to a decision. It was time to live his life. Steph had wanted him to live. For him, for her, and their girls. The guilt he felt wasn’t fair to any of them. He’d loved Steph more than he thought he could ever love another woman. Loving Tess wasn’t a betrayal of that love, it was a testament to what they’d had that he could open himself up to love for a second time.

Carter’s own stubbornness had almost caused him to miss out on a chance at happiness. He wasn’t going to let it pass him by again. He reached out and smoothed an errant strand of hair away from Tess’s face. Her gaze softened, but the deep blue of her eyes still reflected the hurt he’d caused. He’d do whatever it took to make it up to her.

She didn’t respond to his lame attempt at an apology. Carter took a deep breath and held it for a moment. “I was scared Tess. Scared of what I felt and rather than admit that to you, admit that I was worried about how a new relationship might affect the girls, I pushed you away. I said a lot of things I didn’t mean and if I could, I’d take it all back. I’m sorry, Tess. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you forgive me. I…” He let out a gust of breath. “I’m in love with you.”

Tess’s soft mouth parted and it was all Carter could do not to lean down and kiss her.

“You’re in love with me.”

Carter’s heart leapt up into his throat at her monotone response. “I knew the second you stepped up to my back door to give me a piece of your mind that I’d fall in love with you, Tess. You’re so strong, so sure, so goddamned beautiful that I can’t breathe when I look at you. You’re so caring and soft. So passionate. The past week and a half without you almost ruined me. Jenny and Jane love you. They miss you.” He reached out and traced his fingertips over the silly penguin necklace draped around her neck. “I know you miss them too. Forgive me for being an asshole who hurt you. Forgive me for being too damned stubborn and scared and guilty to acknowledge what my own heart wanted. Let me make it up to you. Let me love you, Tess.”

Tears glistened in her brilliant eyes, and Carter’s chest clenched.

“Flowers would have been okay, you know,” she said through her tears. “And a hell of a lot cheaper than a contractor.”