“There are more in the kitchen on the counter,” Tess replied. “Go ahead and grab the whole box.”

The girls took off toward the house and Carter studied the nearly empty glass of IPA in his hand. “How long ago was that?”

“It’ll be nine months in June,” Tess said. “I lived in New York for a couple of months after we broke up. Then my dad called and said that Aunt Millie had passed. She left the house to me.” Tess let out a soft laugh. “I’d never even been here. I guess she figured she’d leave the place to the only person in the family young enough to deal with fixing it up. A quiet, small town felt like a good place to start over, so I packed up my stuff and left.”

Carter couldn’t help but be glad Millie Adams had seen fit to leave the place to her niece. “Not many job opportunities here, though.” A lot of the newer homes around the lake were second residences. Nacogdoches wasn’t exactly a career hub. The economy was more tourist-based.

“I’m a graphic designer.” Tess examined her perfectly golden brown marshmallow before offering it up to Carter. A smile tugged at his lips as he eased the gooey lump from the end of the stick. Tess popped another marshmallow onto the tip and lowered it to the embers. “I can pretty much work anywhere. I get the convenience of a home office, plus I’m close enough to Dallas to make some business connections.”

He’d have to talk to his brother Nate and see if maybe Christensen Petroleum could throw a little business Tess’s way. The last thing he wanted was for her to have to move back to New York because she couldn’t find enough work. A companionable silence filled the space between them.

“Do you miss it?”

“New York?” Tess asked. “A little. I miss the food and the energy of the city.”

“No,” Carter said softly. “Being in a relationship.”

Tess looked up and their eyes met. Emotion swelled in Carter’s chest. She was so damned beautiful.

“I do,” she said. “I’ve never been a serial dater. I like the stability, the comfort of knowing there’s someone there to share my day with or watch TV with.” She averted her attention to the marshmallow she was roasting. “I miss having someone next to me in bed.”

“Me too,” Carter said. He couldn’t admit to Tess that since Steph died, he’d slept with a pillow next to him in bed. “Steph and I got together in high school. I wasn’t interested in playing the field. My brother Travis, he’s the player. I always just wanted someone to share my life with.”

“I didn’t know you had a brother.”

Carter wondered if she intentionally steered the conversation away from Steph. He needed to quit keeping everything bottled up and learn to talk about her. “I have three brothers,” Carter said. “Nate’s the oldest. Travis and I are twins. And I have a younger brother, Noah.”

“Wow,” Tess said. “Your poor mother.”

Carter twirled his glass in his hand. “Our mom died when we were kids.”

Tess looked absolutely horrified. Now that he thought about it, his life did sort of come across as pretty damned bleak.

“Carter, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He gave a sad laugh. “It’s not like you had anything to do with it and it was a long time ago. I worry about the girls, you know? We were four rowdy boys—Nate was almost a teenager—and we still missed not having a mom around. I can only imagine what it’s like for Jenny and Jane. Did you see the way they turned their noses up at those Barbies?”

Tess’s lips curved into a soft smile. Carter wanted to reach out, feather his thumb across them to see if they were as soft as they looked. “We already covered that. They’d have a disdain of Barbies even if their mom was still here. They’re their father’s daughters.”

The endearment warmed his heart. They’d always been rough-and-tumble. Steph used to joke about how she’d been so happy to have daughters and so sad that they were daddy’s girls. “They are.”

“You could use a little help in the hair department though,” Tess joked. She offered him another marshmallow as he shook his head. “Your ponytails are pretty abysmal.”

“I know.” Carter chuckled. He sucked at hair. “I promised Steph I wouldn’t cut their hair. She wanted it long.”

“How long as she been gone?” She added quickly added, “You don’t have to answer that. Sometimes I’m too nosy.”

“No one wants to talk about it,” Carter said. “Least of all me. But I need to, you know? I have to, for the girls. I want them to remember their mama, and I’m not helping by making people feel like they can’t talk about her. It’s been almost two years.”

Tess picked at the marshmallow, taking the toasty shell off first. “Do they have any aunts?”

“One on Steph’s side of the family. But she lives in London. Nate settled down with a great girl about six months ago. Noah’s not looking for anything serious.”

“What about Travis?”

Carter rolled his eyes. “He’ll never settle down. He’s the goalie for the Dallas Stars. Damned good, too. Wild and horny as a spring turkey, though. He’s got a big heart. He just likes to share the love if you know what I mean.”

Tess laughed, and the sound rippled pleasantly over Carter’s skin. “Twins and both pro athletes,” she said ruefully. “It’s almost not fair to unleash that much male perfection on the world.”

Whoa. Carter leaned forward in his chair until his arm brushed Tess’s. She brought her gaze up to his, her lids hooded and her lips parted invitingly. God, he wanted to kiss her. The familiar pang tweaked his chest, and Carter forced it away. It was okay to move on, wasn’t it? It was okay to want to feel happy again. He leaned in closer and Tess mirrored the action. Another inch. Another. Her lips parted further as she let out a slow sigh. One more inch and their mouths would touch …

“Dad!” Jane’s indignant screech rent the night air. “Jenny won’t let me hold the box of graham crackers!”

“I want to do it!” Jenny hollered back.

The disagreement quickly escalated into screams, angry shouts, and finally crying. Carter let out a slow sigh. “I think it’s time for bed,” he said as he pulled away.

Tess’s expression fell but she quickly covered it with a smile. “It is pretty late.”

“Do you need help cleaning up?” What had been a perfect moment crashed and burned with the same intensity of his girls’ going at it in Tess’s kitchen.

“I’ve got it,” Tess reassured him. She stifled a giggle as another angry shriek rent the air. “I have a feeling if you don’t put them to bed, someone’s going to draw blood.”

Tess probably didn’t realize how close that was to the truth. “Girls!” Carter barked. “You’ve got ten seconds to get your little butts in line. Understand?” The screeching continued. So much for the big tough dad. “Thanks for dinner, Tess. It was really great.”

He pushed himself up from his chair and jogged for the house. Damn. What he really wanted to do was turn around and finish what he’d started with Tess. Maybe he was finally ready to move on.

Five

Tess loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher and started it. She could have sworn that Carter had been about to kiss her. The ghost of heat from his parted lips had brushed hers and the anticipation had almost killed her. A sweet moment had turned sour with disappointment but Tess wasn’t upset. She could only imagine how hard it must be for Carter to have any sort of social life as a single parent. It was late. The girls had been tired and cranky. It was all part and parcel of parenthood.

Did she want that baggage? Could she handle being involved with a guy who didn’t just have kids, but twins?

Abso-freaking-lutely.

Cranky little whirlwinds of trouble or not, Jenny and Jane were adorable. Carter was unlike any man she’d ever known. He was the calm after a storm. Tess couldn’t help but feel at ease in his presence. He was a real man. A responsible man. A loyal man who would never hop into bed with her best friend on a whim. God, she’d wanted to kiss him so badly her body practically burned.