“You did,” he confirmed. “Civil is the way to go when I want something from him.”
“What do you want?”
“Use of his city penthouse,” he said. “How’d shopping go?”
“Cecilia had a few things to say about my rising shopping bill. She had a point though. A new dress or gown for every party was getting excessive. Instead, we went to this amazing vintage shop and I got an ivory sweetheart gown from the fifties. You’re going to come in your pants when you see me.”
He laughed. “Exposure therapy to your daily outfits has me under control. I think I can make it without a public incident.”
I rounded the bed, holding out my hands. “What about a private one?”
“Depends.”
“On?” I asked as I drew him up.
Carter secured our hands behind my back and pressed our bodies closer than two people could be. “If those clothes are on you or the floor.”
A thrill warmed my cheeks. I’d been waiting weeks for Carter to speak like this. It surprised even me how quickly those old feelings returned. Though if I thought about it, they never truly faded. Carter Knight was quick, witty, passionate, and his eyes saw straight to my soul. Whenever I was around him, I felt stripped and laid bare.
It was terrifying being challenged by someone like that, but if I’d learned anything that summer, it was that a life playing it safe wasn’t one worth living.
“You going somewhere?” he asked. “Hanging out at the bar?”
“I am going somewhere, but we’re not going to the bar.”
He cocked a brow. “We?”
“I believe it was you who said if I wanted you, I had to seduce you.” I smacked his ass. “Put something sexy on. We’re going on a date.”
“I now take back everything I said.”
“Too late,” I sang. Rising up, I caressed his jaw with my lips. “I have it all planned. Dinner, conversation, and then—spoiler alert—my clothes will be coming off.”
His cock twitched against my leg.
“Are you sure you have this guy under control?” I asked. “Because he’s saying plenty in your place.”
“We’re saying the same thing. I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
Carter made good on their word. He changed into dark pants and a buttoned shirt that opened at his collar. I bit my lip as he slid on a pair of shades and a watch. He didn’t need those things, especially at night, but the man knew style had nothing to do with practicality. There was something incredibly sexy about that.
“Where are we going?” he asked as we left his room.
“You know it. It’s the place where you first let me view the goods.”
Together we descended the stairs and slipped out into the night. It was a peaceful scene. Friends and couples gathered on the pool chairs, talking in low tones. Zion and Owen lazily floated in the pool. We passed them and continued on, letting the villa grow small behind us.
“Wait.” Stopping, I bent and took off my shoes, squidging my toes in the cool sand. He followed my lead. As he rose, Carter laced our fingers together, initiating contact for the first time.
“I hope you like it,” I said. “Hendrix helped me out a little. I think he’s rooting for me.”
“I am too, Belle. Everyone who meets you is overcome. We want to help you. Please you. Make you happy.”
“People don’t care that much about me.”
“How can you say that after everything that’s happened?” He grasped my chin, tilting me to look at him. “You’re surrounded by people who would sacrifice everything for you. Because unlike Mal who has to own and possess, you ask nothing. You expect nothing. I think a part of you even believes you deserve nothing. You can’t walk away from someone like that.” He dropped his hand. “Ask me how I know.”
I tucked myself under his arm, burying my face in his side. Carter said he couldn’t walk away. But how far could I go from a man who says things like that?
A gleam shone in the distance. We crossed the final patch of beach to the blanket.
Hendrix and I put it together pretty quickly. Asking the chef to pack our dinner. Buying a picnic basket and candles in town. Choosing a playlist based on Carter’s evolved musical taste. The result was better than I imagined.
Flickering candles encircled the blanket. We stepped over them and stretched among our feast. Fresh bread, fruit, caprese salad, turkey panini, cider, and chocolate brownies.
Carter whistled. “I did say I wanted to be wooed.”
“Does it live up to your expectations?”
“This is great, Belle.”
We dug in, piling food on our plates, and mostly using them to feed each other. Carter rubbed the sweet grape on my lips and hitched a breath as I closed over it and his fingers. The next one he threw me, whooping when I zipped to the side and caught it open-mouthed.
“You haven’t lost your touch,” he said. “I swear, I could blindfold you and you’d still catch it.”
“I’ve only gotten better with age, Knight. In every way.”
He smiled. “Yes, you have.”
I shivered in the warm night. I felt as beautiful as my boys told me I was when he looked at me like that.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“What do you want to do with a bigger inheritance?” I asked. “Very few people would give up this lifestyle, I get that, but with you there’s always more. Living on every continent isn’t your dream, Carter. What is?”
Carter glanced out over the sea. The champagne glass hung from his fingertips, its contents swirling around as the silence stretched. When he spoke, it almost startled me.
“Did Preston ever tell you about his sophomore roommate?”
“The one who smelled like moldy milk cartons and frustration?”
“He’s such an asshole,” he muttered. “But yeah, that’s the guy. Did Preston also tell you that guy was me?”
“He did not, but that makes a lot of sense.”
“I was working on a way to break down those trash gyres. There are five—fucking five—floating patches of garbage in our oceans causing terrible harm to marine life, and no one is doing a thing about it. Cleaning up the large debris is one thing. It’s the microplastics that pose the biggest challenge. They can be as small as five millimeters and have sunk as far as the ocean floor. How do you devise a net fine enough to scope them out and not catch fish, turtles, and all the rest in it?”
“I don’t see how you can,” I said.
“That’s the answer I came to,” he replied, voice wry. “Hence the frustration. But just because it’s difficult and expensive, doesn’t mean we give up and watch our planet die. An argument I’ve made to my father numerous times as I’ve pushed him to adopt environmentally friendly alternatives and eventually get the Knights out of the oil business.
“He refuses and so do my brothers. With them taking over, nothing is going to change, but I don’t see why I can’t be the one out of the five of us to do the right thing.”
“Are you starting a nonprofit?”
“Bigger than that, Belle.” He got up on his knees, gesturing like he was writing his future in the sky. “I’m starting an environmental consulting firm. We’ll work with the private and public sector, teaching our clients how and where to make changes. If I build a big enough name, I can bring in steady funding for research. Someone one day is going to invent the technology to clean up our oceans. Until then, I’ll work toward prevention and hire the best minds to move us forward.”