Whiskey and Lace(25)

Carter had been engaged to Madeleine.

Carter still saw Madeleine.

Carter fucked me in a restaurant bathroom and then told me he loved me.

I needed distance because he had just turned my world upside down.

"Are you sure?" Carter whispered.

"Yes." I nodded. If I said anything more I was afraid my voice would crack and the levees would burst.

"Miss Austin will be going home tonight, Parker," Carter announced through the intercom. He held my hand tightly the entire way back to my apartment, as if he held me tight enough it would cement the status of his claim on me. The car pulled up outside the townhouse and Parker jumped out to unload my luggage from earlier. So much had happened that it felt like ages ago that I'd flown in from New York. He carried my bags up to my apartment, and Carter handed me the La Perla bag.

"Don't forget your panties." A small smirk played across his mouth. That smirk could melt my panties; that smirk was the reason I was standing there without panties on. My heart warred with my mind to invite him up.

"Thanks." I smiled up at him. Carter pulled me in for a soft kiss on the lips.

"Thank you for a wonderful dinner, Evangeline," Carter whispered. I nodded and smiled again before turning and walking into the building.



"Hey, how was New York?" Cate gave me a warm smile when I walked into our apartment.

"It was tiring." I dropped my purse and the La Perla bag on the floor.

"Great dress. What's wrong?" Cate set her tablet down and made her way over to me. I heaved a huge sigh. It was beyond comforting to see her. I wrapped her in my arms and sobbed on her shoulder.

"God Eva, what happened?" She rubbed my back. I continued to sob on her shoulder, unable to even answer her.

"I don't know." I pulled away and wiped the tears from my cheeks. "I don't know what happened. Carter followed me to New York, which was a surprise. He did this weird, staking his claim thing on me with my parents, but that wasn't the big deal. We had this amazing, romantic few days at his apartment. And then when I flew in earlier, I went to his office…" my sobs cut me off again.

"Just breathe, Eva, breathe. If he hurt you I will cut off his balls. Seriously,"

"No, no. It was great. So perfect. And he gave me this dress." I smoothed my hands over the fabric. "We got ready to go out to dinner, and then I found stuff."

"What do you mean stuff?"

"In his bathroom. Girl stuff. Perfume." My heart raced at the memory. Cate narrowed her eyes at me, waiting for further explanation.

"And not even that was the problem. He explained; I was fine-ish." I gave a weak smile. "But when we were at dinner he told me he was engaged to Madeleine. Engaged, after the things she said to me at the ball, he never told me. And after the huge fight we had about Sawyer. Forbidding me from seeing him, and here Madeleine is his ex-fiancé. And they're still friends. She fucking works with him."

"Well, that's not terrible, Eva. You can get past that." Cate rubbed my arm reassuringly.

"Maybe, but when I got upset and went to the bathroom in the restaurant he barged in and, God I don't even know what happened. One minute he was hollering, I was hollering, and then we were fucking, and then…"

"Wait, you fucked in the bathroom?" Cate's eyes widened in surprise. I nodded with a small sob.

"He told me he loved me, Cate, right after this wild, rough fuck; after we'd been hollering, and I was crying, he told me he loved me." I slouched down onto the bar stool.

"Jesus Christ, Eva." Cate sat next to me. "Do you love him?"

"What?" My head shot up to her. "I don't know. God it's been two weeks. I don't know," my voice trailed off.

"I knew he loved you." Cate smiled.

"What? What do you mean?" I glared at her.

"I just knew. I could tell the way he acted with you. Women chase Carter Morgan, he doesn't chase them. I've been in Boston a few years now; I’ve heard much about Carter Morgan, especially from girls sobbing in bathroom stalls at clubs, but that's besides the point. He was different with you, Eva." She smoothed my hair. "You love him too."

My eyes shot to hers and held them for a moment. "We're not good for each other, Cate. Really, we're not. We're so fucked up together. One minute it's the best, and the next it's the worst." I was chewing on my bottom lip again.

"That's just how you are. The good times make it so worth the rough times though, don't they?" I met Cate's eyes and gave a small nod.

"Carter is worth it. The way you feel when you're with him is worth it." She smiled again. "Are you going to be ok?"