“Uh …”
“You don’t have to spin,” Lakelyn says, “but you’d better have remembered your dress.”
“I’m nothing if not an efficient packer,” I tell her as Sophie gets bored with our conversation and skips away. “And as maid of honor, my job is to take care of you.”
“Get ready to be put to work then. We have so much to get done.” Mom’s voice takes on the no-nonsense tone I remember. She always gets this way when she’s busy and in charge. “The food for the shower is still up in the kitchen. Drinks too. They need to be brought down. Your sisters are decorating and might need a hand. I think we’ll need more chairs too …”
“Mom, you’re making me dizzy.” I laugh. “Besides, there’s someone I’d like you to meet before I dive in.”
Carter’s standing just to my left.
I reach out a hand and draw him closer. “This is Carter Crawford. Carter, this is my mother, Sarah.”
She touches a hand to her chest while looking him up and down. “Oh my goodness, you’re very handsome.”
“Mom!” I laugh.
Carter takes it well. “Thank you, Mrs. Martin. It’s lovely to meet you. I can certainly see where Vale’s good looks come from.”
Her cheeks flush. “I like him.” She laughs, looking at me.
“I knew you would.” I lean against him, letting my head touch his shoulder. It comes natural before I realize I’m supposed to be pretending. Honestly, it won’t be much of a stretch to pretend to love Carter.
“It is so good to have you here,” she gushes, touching his arm. “Please make yourself at home.”
“Vale!”
I have no time to respond or to even know who shouted my name before I’m swept up in a pair of thick, muscular arms and twirled around in a circle.
“Damn, girl, you look good enough to eat! Traveling the world seems to have treated you well!”
Not until I’m on my feet, but still in his arms do I recognize Trent Orlitz. “Small-town life has treated you well too.” I laugh, a little breathless.
He’s looking pretty darn good himself. He’s as tall and broad-shouldered and handsome as ever, but he’s filled out even more and looks less like the boy I left and more like a man.
But he doesn’t make my heart flip the way Carter does.
He pushes a lock of black hair away from his forehead, looking me up and down in a very obvious way. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. I almost couldn’t believe it when I heard you were Lakelyn’s maid of honor.”
“Well, wonders never cease,” I manage with a faint laugh. Faint because I can just about feel Carter boring holes into Trent—and into me by virtue of the fact that we’re standing so close together.
I take a step back, reaching for Carter. “Trent, this is Carter Crawford, my—”
“What is that?” Lakelyn squawks, grabbing my left hand and holding it close to her face.
“Vale!” my mother gasps. “Is that what I think it is? Are you two—”
“We’re engaged. Yay!” I announce. Not the way I expected to announce it, but nothing ever goes quite right when it comes to my family, so I really shouldn’t be surprised.
“You’re getting married?” Mom just about faints on the spot while Lakelyn squeals and calls my sisters over to take a look.
Trent looks slightly stricken, but Blake claps Carter on the back and offers him a celebratory beer.
For a moment, I can almost get caught up in it. The excitement, the thrill of it, hugging, and answering questions.
Until …
“What’s this? You got engaged and didn’t tell your family?”
Boom. Moment over.
I turn slowly, knowing what I’ll find.
The same tall, burly, imposing man whose eyes are still as sharp and intimidating as ever.
“Hi, Dad,” I murmur. “I’m home.”
If you say so.
Carter
It doesn’t take long for me to understand why Vale was so hesitant to come home.
At first, I wondered if she was letting some past drama influence the present, but that was before I met her father.
Mr. Martin is a big man, the sort of man who takes up all the space in a room just by virtue of the fact that he’s in it. The barn doesn’t feel big enough for both of us as he marches our way.
Instead of acknowledging his daughter, he comes straight at me. “You intend to marry my daughter?”
“Yes, sir,” I lie. Part of me wants to tell the truth, if only to avoid being shot. Not that he’s carrying a gun, but I wouldn’t put it past him to grab the nearest rifle.
“Dad, this is my fiancé, Carter Crawford.” Vale wraps both her hands around my bicep.
Her father hasn’t taken his eyes off me. “What do you do, Carter Crawford?” he asks.
“I’m a sports agent, sir. I work for—”
“A sports agent?” he sneers. “As in you’re one of those guys who takes part of a man’s hard-earned money all because you sat there while he signed his name on the dotted line?”
“Dad.” Vale’s voice has an edge to it now. “Don’t do that.”
“With all due respect, sir, there’s a lot more to it than that,” I say.
All this gets me is a snort. “If you say so. In your line of work, do they teach you it’s appropriate to ask a girl for her hand in marriage without first asking for her father’s permission?”
He doesn’t wait for an answer before placing an arm around my shoulders and leading me away from the barn. “Let’s have a chat, Carter Crawford.”
“Dad, we just got here!” Vale trots along beside us, throwing me huge, apologetic eyes.
“He can spare a minute for me, all things considered,” her father counters.
There’s not so much as a hint of invitation. I’m not being invited to chat with him. I’m being ordered to.
And I can play along. I’m a good negotiator. I’m good in a room. I’m used to men thinking they are smarter than me because I was an athlete myself.
Mr. Martin leads me into his house, which I see is both cozy and extremely well-appointed, steering me toward what I assume is his study and depositing me inside.
Closing the door, he looks me up and down. “So, you plan to marry my Vale.”
“I do, sir. As for not asking for your blessing, it was spontaneous. My proposing, I mean. I didn’t plan on asking her before speaking with you, but I guess I got swept up in the moment.”
His brow furrows. “You get swept up in the moment a lot?”
“Only when your daughter is involved.”
I get the feeling he wants to approve of this comment, but something holds him back.
“Your family? Tell me about them.”
I happily give him the rundown. I’m incredibly proud of my family. “I’m sort of the middle child. My older brother, Cade, is recently married, and he and Palmer Montlake are expecting their first child soon. My younger siblings are twins. Cash is married to Ashlyn Roberts.” I decide to leave out the part about how they met at a wedding and drunkenly got married in Vegas that same night. “And then there’s Chloe. She’s a jewelry designer. My parents are still married and in love. We’re very close. Take vacations together every year without fail.”