After All - Romancing Manhattan

“It’s not so bad.”

I chuckle and sip my coffee. “No, but it does look like an older woman decorated it.”

“Because she did,” Carter says with a smile. “Grandma had a great time with it. She was able to enjoy it for two years before she passed last year.”

“I’m glad. If I were you, I’d be here every weekend.”

He blinks at me slowly. “That often?”

“Oh yeah. Look at this view. I mean, I know it’s not practical to say every weekend, but I’d come as often as I could.”

“Done,” he says.

“What do you mean?”

“We’ll come as often as we can. It may not be every weekend, but I bet we could manage every month.”

“You’re serious.”

“Of course. You and Gabby can decorate it however you want.”

I don’t know what to say. It’s like it’s the easiest thing in the world, thinking so far into the future.

This could be over in a week. A month. We haven’t talked about anything long term, and well, that’s fine because we’ve only been seeing each other this way for a few weeks.

But damn it, I’m already in love with him, and now he’s brought me to a condo in the very place I’ve longed for most of my adult life, and has offered to let me decorate it as I see fit.

I don’t know what to say.

“Are you okay?” he asks with a grin.

“Fine,” I reply and reach for another Danish. “I’m just fine.”

He’s gone.

I blink in the dark, getting my bearings. I’m in the condo. The bed is cold where Carter was just a few hours ago.

It’s the dead of night. I glance out the doors of the bedroom to the balcony beyond but don’t see him out there.

There’s a full moon tonight, lighting up the outside brightly. I pad to the closet and reach for the silky robe that was bought for me and pull it around my naked body.

There was significantly more than a few dresses and swimsuits in the closet when I came to look around this afternoon.

I won’t have to pack for a trip down here anytime soon.

With the robe around me, I walk out to the living area. The space is dark, as is the kitchen, with no Carter.

But then I spot him, standing on the balcony, resting his forearms on the banister, his ankles crossed. He’s wearing nothing but sweatpants, leaving his torso and feet bare.

My God, he’s something to look at.

The moonlight shines on his skin, defining every muscle on his back. His arms flex as he clasps his hands together, and I feel the saliva pool in my mouth.

I’ve always known that Carter is handsome. But now, after getting to know him intimately, he’s stunning. Sexy. Charming.

He brings out emotions in me that I’ve never felt before, and I was a married woman for six years.

What does that say about me?

That you didn’t love Richard the way you love Carter.

A year ago, that would have been a hard pill to swallow.

Today, it’s as easy as breathing.

Because it’s true. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love Carter, and I’m quickly learning that I don’t know him nearly as well as I thought I did. I can’t wait to discover more about this complex man.

Carter calmly turns and rivets his eyes on me. I’ve been caught.

I grin and walk to the door, pull it open, and step outside with him, shutting the door behind me. He reaches for my hand and embraces me, kisses my palm, and presses it over his heart.

It’s a gesture that’s become habit for him, and it’s one that makes my heart stutter, then pound in my chest.

“You left,” I whisper before pressing a kiss to his bare arm. “I was worried.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he says softly. “Look at the way the moonlight dances on the water.”

“Beautiful.” I look up at his face, admiring the stubble that’s grown on his sharp jawline. “I was watching the moonlight on your skin.”

“Were you now?” He turns to me fully and pulls the silk sash open on my robe, exposing my nakedness before pressing me to him, skin on skin. “I have a hunger for you, Nora. It seems no matter how much I feast on you, it’s never enough.”

“I’m right here,” I tell him and twist my fingers in his thick, dark hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”

His lips lower to mine. It’s a lazy kiss in the moonlight, as the surf pounds below. He’s exploring my mouth, my tongue as his hands roam gently over my breasts and ribs, making me shiver in the cool night air.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he says before biting my earlobe. He plants his hands on the globes of my ass and lifts me against the wall, his eyes even with mine. I feel him reach down to move the sweats out of the way, and then he’s sinking inside me, and all I can do is wrap my legs around his waist, holding on for dear life.