The Renovation (Contemporary Reverse Harem 2)

We stopped at the end of my driveway, ice cream long gone. Carter stuffed his hands in his pockets and raised his shoulders as if he were stretching.

“I have an early morning. Thank you for dinner,” he said, moving his gaze toward me.

Wow. Awkward. But why? I thought to shake his hand but mine was all sticky from the ice cream. Plus, it would just be weird.

“I’m glad you could join me. It was nice getting to know you.”

He nodded and just stood there.

“Well, um, Jayma. Would you like to go for a drink sometime?” he asked.

Good grief. Either he’s an asshole for hitting on another dude’s girl, or he figured out Lance bailed and that I’m sad and lonely.

So I decided to test him.

I raised my eyebrows. “But, you know about my boyfriend, Lance, right?”

“Yeah. What about him?”

He gave me a look that could only be described as seeing right through my bullshit.

Damn.

I looked everywhere but at him while I gathered my response.

“You know, don’t you?” I asked.

He just gave me a little smile.

Busted.

“Okay. Lance is not on a business trip. Well, he could be on a business trip, but when he returns, he’s not coming home to me.” Sadness caused a little strangling sensation in my throat. I had to get inside. I couldn’t cry in front of some guy I barely knew.

Carter tilted his head and said, “I know.”

I nodded. “You know.”

“Yup,” he said.

Okay. Wow. Caught in a lie.

“How’d you figure it out?” I asked.

“It wasn’t hard. First of all, you invited me over. You wouldn’t have done that with someone like Lance in the picture. Second, there were no signs of him in the house.”

I looked at the ground for a moment, feeling like an even bigger loser than I’d felt before Carter came over to look at my falling-apart house. Wait ‘til he found out I was about to be homeless.

“You’re a smart guy there, Carter,” I said.

He raised his hands in that what can I say? gesture.

“But I tell ya what,” I continued. “You’re my neighbor, and I’m not sure it’s a good idea to, you know…” I sputtered, “go out.”

“All right. If that’s how you feel…” He smiled and s

hrugged. “Thank you again for dinner. I owe you.” He turned to walk up to his own house.

Well, shit.