Drive Me Crazy (4 page)

“
Just spit it out, Zoe.”

“
Evangeline said that April called Carter last night, wanting to get back together. He’s supposed to meet her for dinner this evening at Jack’s.”

Melanie’s heart fell to the pit of her stomach and she blew out a shaky breath. “I’m off tonight, but thanks for warning me.”

“
I’m sorry, honey. I really am, but I don’t want you to get hurt,” Zoe said, her voice sincere. “Carter’s not the type to string women around, but you’re my best friend and I don’t want to take the chance. Sometimes men, even ones you have high opinions of, turn out to be real asshats.”

“
You and Gabriel have another fight?”

“
No, he’s been really sweet. Distant but sweet. Then again, Summer Holland is back in town and living with Patrick Johnson. I don’t think Gabe is too happy about that.”

“
Carter’s helping out her sister, Rose,” Melanie said, grabbing a yo-yo in the shape of the globe. She spun it around on the desk top. “I swear there is something about those Holland girls. It’s like they have supernatural powers or something. Heck, if I liked women, I’d date one of them. Only downside would be that if there was a bad breakup, I’d no longer be able get my coconut bath and body stuff.”

Zoe snorted, the familiar sound chasing away her blues. “Well, as my momma says, the Hollands are an institution, and should be respected.”

“
Your momma and her sayings.” Amazing how Leah Ambrose would defend a whole family of women who supposedly preyed on men—married to another or not. “Bet she’d never say that about me. I’m not “from” here.”

“
As long as you stay away from her boys, you should be fine,” Zoe said, then Melanie heard her friend smack herself. “I didn’t mean that. Oh, God, I am so sorry.”

“
It is what it is,” Melanie said as she looked around Carter’s office. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. The entire room needed to be cleaned from top to bottom. “Look, I need to go. Work and all. Talk to you later?”

“
I could bring you lunch?”

“
You’re a doll, but I brought it with me.” She’d be bringing all of her lunches from now on. After saying goodbye, Melanie hung up the phone and laid her head in her hands.

Maybe she’d celebrated victory too soon. Carter had all but run away from her. At the time she could have sworn it was because he had realized what he’d said and what he’d almost done, but now it most likely because he wanted to get back together with April Billingsworth, daughter of the current governor.

Really, who would chose trailer park over gated community? Rising from the chair, she moved to the radio by the window and cut it on, tuning it to her favorite country station. Pistol Annie’s ‘Bad Example’ filled the room.

Yep, that was her.

Sighing, she moved to the filing cabinet and opened the top drawer.

Chapter Four

“
Shouldn’t you be at work or something,” Heath said as he tossed him a beer and a game controller.

“
Shouldn’t you be in class?” Carter shot back, then pressed the START button. Call of Duty III flashed on the screen.

“
If I were in class, then you wouldn’t be able to hide out in my apartment.” Heath killed his player before he had time to blink.

“
I’m not hiding.”

Heath snorted, his dark blue eyes rolling. “Yeah, right. You’ve been home for almost a month and this is the first damn time you’ve stepped foot in my apartment.”

Another kill and Carter threw his controller down in disgust.

“
Hey, the game’s not over, chicken shit.”

“
You kiss your momma with that mouth?” Carter shot back. He had no idea why he’d chosen to hang out with his eighteen year old brother of all people.

“
Hell no. I stopped kissing her when I was fourteen and in love with Rose Holland.” Leaning back in his chair, Heath smirked. “Got over that when Isabella Edwards kissed me two months later. Then there was—”

Carter held up a hand. “Don’t need a fucking list of all the girl’s you kissed, but please text me when you finally become a man.”

Heath flipped him off, then his face grew serious. “Can I ask you something?”

Now this was interesting. His baby brother was never serious, only concerned about having a good time, women and playing baseball. “Shoot.”

“
You ever done something that you regretted?”

Taking a pull of his beer, Carter nodded. “Yep. Matter of fact, I did something really stupid today, but—”

“
I don’t mean with your cars; I mean with another person. Something so big that you and she, er- that person had to keep it a secret.” Heath didn’t take his eyes off the screen. “And now you wish you could have a do-over, only the other person involved won’t give you the fucking time of day.”

Carter set his beer down on a coffee table made of plywood and cinderblocks. “Are you in trouble, Heath?”

“
No, but I’d like to make things better with the person I hurt.”

“
That’s good start.” Ah, hell this was hard. He had no clue what his little brother had done, but he was almost a hundred percent sure that it had something to do with the preacher’s daughter, Isabella Edwards.

“
That’s the problem. She won’t answer my texts or my calls. And she’s going to school clear across the country, so it’s not like I can just hop on a plane and show up on her doorstep,” Heath grumbled, then paused his game to grab a handful of chips.

His brother had all but confirmed it involved Isabella. Damn. “Look, if you need to talk about something, anything, I’m here for you.”

Just as his brother was about to answer, two of Heath’s roommates burst through the door and the moment was lost. No way in hell they could talk now.

Heath flashed him a grin. One that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Nah…I’m good.”

“
You need me…call me, text me—whatever works for you,” Carter said before he left. His little brother had it right though: Sometimes, you needed a do-over in life. All he had to do now was make sure that Melanie would accept his apology.

Should be as easy as nailing Jell-o to a wall.

***

Now this was familiar, Carter thought as his ex-fiancé smiled at him. This was something he could handle. There wouldn’t be any half-confessions or outfits meant to tease a man to the point of leaving his own damn garage.

He frowned.

His date cleared her throat and he forced a smile back on his face. April’s had never left, perfectly white and full like a toothpaste commercial. Her hair was perfectly made up, just like the rest of her. No extraneous emotions, no outbursts…at least not in front of her daddy’s constituents.

This was a woman in control of her wardrobe, her life and her career. In bed. Unfortunately, that hadn’t translated into I’m-in-control-of-my-man and you’d better make each orgasm better than the last one. Too bad, because he wouldn’t have been opposed to that in the least.

No, every move was calculated. Every sigh and moan. Eventually, great sex had become stale for him, because it felt like she was checking off a list. As in football season has started, guess it’s time to break out the cheerleading outfit that’s three sizes too small.

Even their breakup had been polite. A perfectly orchestrated scene in one of Charlotte’s finest restaurants. She’d cried and told him how sorry she was for wasting his time, but she wasn’t ready to settle down. Or any kind of commitment. Amazingly enough he’d been okay with that, not that he hadn’t loved April. He had, but it was a toxic kind of love.

There had also been the little digs she’d like to get in, the flirtations she liked to start with other men to make him jealous and the angry sex…lots of angry make-up sex, too. Damn near exhausting.

In the end he hadn’t liked the person he’d become while they were together, and had been searching for a way out of months. Breaking off an engagement with the daughter of the current Governor wasn’t something a guy could just do without ramifications-at least according to April’s father.

Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea.

“
This is probably a surprise for you,” April said, toying with her still full glass of wine.

Carter forced his smile wider. “I’m not opposed to having dinner with old friends. We didn’t end our relationship on bad terms, you know.” His mother had been thrilled when she found out he was having dinner with April while he’d wanted to strangle the person who had told Leah his business. Leah had made it perfectly clear that she wanted him to get back together with April. That he and April would have the most beautiful babies together. As the oldest, it was Carter’s duty to provide grandchildren as soon as possible.

That perfect smile of hers slipped, becoming brittle. “Maybe you didn’t but I did.”

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

She glanced around the dining room. Patrons talked, drank and ate, ignoring them. “I know you cheated on me, Carter, and I think you should finally come clean about it.”

“
You’re out of your mind,” he said, then took a deep breath. “I’ve never cheated on anyone. Never will either.”

She shook her head, brittle smile staying firmly in place. “Daytona, after party. Cute blonde, wearing a racing jumpsuit. Big brown eyes staring at you with hero worship. You took her back to her hotel room because she’d gotten sick.” She made little air quotes.

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.