After All - Romancing Manhattan

I hate that I let her get to me that way.

“Wanna talk about it?” Carter asks as he turns into his parking garage.

“Yeah, when we get settled upstairs.”

He nods patiently and escorts me up. We already have a routine whenever we get home. We drop off our bags, slip out of our coats, and stow them away. I kick out of my heels and pad to the bedroom where I change out of my suit into yoga pants and a sweatshirt.

I throw my hair up into a ponytail with a headband and go to the kitchen, where Carter’s filling two glasses with wine.

“I ordered the pizza,” he says as he passes me a glass. “Pepperoni and extra cheese.”

“My favorite.” I smile at him as I sit on the couch and let out a long, relieved sigh. “This is exactly what I needed. Where’s Gabs?”

“With Maggie this evening,” he says. “She called and asked if she could stay over there tonight because I’m mean.”

I snort. “Right. So mean. It’s a school night.”

“I know. Quinn’s going to pick her up and take her to school in the morning.”

“Hmm.”

“You don’t agree with that decision?” He cocks his head, watching me.

“I didn’t say that. It’s really none of my business.”

“Yes, it is.” His voice is soft.

“I guess I feel like giving her what she wants when she’s acting out isn’t going to change the behavior. It’ll only reinforce that if she’s a brat, she’ll get whatever she wants.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right. But she was on my last nerve this morning, and to be perfectly honest, the thought of having an evening without her sounded fantastic. Which makes me the worst father in the history of the world.”

“Hardly.” I reach over and pat his shoulder. “Pretty sure it makes you human. Kids are tough, and you’re a single dad. Taking an evening off isn’t the end of the world. But making things tough for her isn’t the end of the world for her, either.”

“Sometimes punishing her feels more like a punishment for me,” he confesses.

“Totally,” I agree. I’ve spent plenty of time with Gabby when she’s been punished. It’s not fun. “It’ll all work out. Unfortunately, the next few years, or ten, are the hardest.”

“Awesome.” He pulls my feet in his lap and starts rubbing. The sound that comes from me is a cross between a moan and a purr. “So tell me what happened today.”

“My mom called shortly after you arrived this morning.” I lean my head back on the pillows and let myself relax into the foot rub. “Like you, it always puts me in a mood after I speak with my parents.”

“What did she say?”

“It’s her check-in call,” I explain. “It happens a few times a year whether we need it or not. I had a feeling it would be coming soon. She basically tells me all about her many medical ailments.”

“I didn’t know your mom was sick.”

“She’s not. She just thinks she is.” I shrug a shoulder. “I mean, yes, she did have stage one breast cancer about ten years ago, but she’s fine now. She’s always been a bit of a hypochondriac. She’s gone through three doctors in ten years because they refuse to continue seeing her.”

“Gotcha.”

“Anyway, she also likes to browbeat me into going back to Richard.”

Carter’s hands still on my feet, and I crack one eye open to look at him.

“Why would they want you to do that?”

“I told you. Divorce is wrong. She still refers to him as my husband.”

His eyes shrink to slits. “Does she.”

“Don’t worry, I correct her. It’s the same argument every time. She insists I should come home and grovel for my ex-husband to take me back, and I tell her there’s no chance in hell that lying son of a bitch is ever going to be part of my life again. Then I get pissed and cut the call short.”

“Sounds lovely, darling.”

“It’s a blast.”

I sigh as he switches to the other foot. “I could get used to this. It’s not a bad way to end the day.”

“Move in with me.”

My eyes fly open, meeting his.

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this. It makes sense for you to move in here. You have to go to your place every few days for clean clothes, or to do your laundry. It just makes sense to have one place.”

I frown. “You want me to move in because it’s convenient?”

“Yes.” I pull my feet out of his lap. “No. Not just because of that. Of course I’d like to have you here every day. I hate sleeping without you.”

“No.”

He cocks a brow. “No?”

“No, thank you,” I repeat. “I truly appreciate the offer, but I like having my place. It’s not that big of a deal to get clothes and stuff.”

Okay, it is a pain in the ass, but I’ll be damned if I’ll move in here because it’s convenient. I got married for the same reason, and look where that got me.