Carter immediately let her go, and she missed that touch. “It’s fine. Sorry.”
“Baby, are you coming back?” Summer asked, entering the kitchen.
Guilt swamped Autumn, and she turned back to her baking. There was no chance that anything would ever happen between her and Carter.
****
“Where did you go?” Carter asked, pulling her out of the memory.
“Nothing.”
“Nah, I see that smile. Tell me. Does it have anything to do with me?”
“Maybe a little?” She added her seasoned chicken to the pan and watched as it started to sizzle. “Do you remember being at my folks’ place, and I was in the kitchen?”
“Which time? You were always there.”
“Very true. Erm, lemon cupcakes. I was going crazy on some batter.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember. That was the time I touched you, and you tensed up. I never forgot that because I thought I had fucked up.”
“Why did you think you’d fucked up?”
“I touched a woman who was underage.”
“You didn’t touch me, touch me.”
“No, but I made you nervous.”
“I’m so sorry. I was … I was attracted to you.”
“You were?”
“Yeah. I felt guilty. I thought I was doing something wrong, talking with you, and being attracted to you. You were dating my sister, and you don’t try to take your sister’s boyfriend.”
“I wouldn’t have cheated on her, Autumn.” He stepped up behind her, placing his hand on her stomach, and pulling her back. “Do you want to know my secret?”
“Yes.”
“I was attracted to you, too.”
“No joke?” she asked.
“No joke. It used to bug me for hours at a time. I’d sometimes only go to Summer’s place so that I could go and see you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You were always so different around me than other women. I guess I liked being with you without the need to be someone else. The bad boy.”
“I was still looking at you. Just not exactly how you wanted me to.” She added more seasoning into the chicken and vegetables, tossing the pasta into the boiling water. Carter didn’t move from behind her, and she liked it. She liked his attention.
“This smells amazing.” He leaned over her about to snag a piece of meat, and she slapped his hand away.
“Not yet. It’s not cooked.”
He kissed her neck, growling. “I’m hungry.”
She giggled. “You’re always hungry.”