Page 109 of Carter

Carter gives me anoh-you-did-not-just-say-thatlook, and I chuckle as he slaps me in the chest.

“This guy,” he says with a shake of his head. He kneels down beside the mat, looking at Ryan. “You look so comfortable on this mat, I kind of wish I had one for myself. Is it okay if I sit here?”

The boy makes a sound like he approves. But Carter looks up at his mom.

“Pretty sure that’s a yes.”

Carter sits on the corner of the mat, giving Ryan plenty of space. Then he gasps quietly.

“Is thatAre You My Mother??” Carter gestures to the small bookcase against the wall, not too far from the top of the mat.

“It’s one of Ryan’s favorites,” Heather says.

“It wasmyfavorite. One of the only books I ever read as a kid. Let me guess… you like it because of all the animals?”

Ryan makes another happy sound and my heart is bursting.

“How’s Teddy doing?” he asks quietly. “Looks like you two hit it off. Hi, girl.” He moves his hand closer to her, and she slides closer to him, enough that he can pet her head. She comes closer and nuzzles her head against his leg and lets him pet her for a moment before she goes back to Ryan and curls up at his side.

Carter discretely wipes his eyes, and talks to Ryan more about the book and Teddy’s favorite things. We visit with them for about an hour and promise to come back soon. Especially when the weather gets nicer and we can hang outside with them. Apparently they have a pool that Ryan loves, and they’re curious if Teddy will like the water.

I think we just made our first friends as a couple.

That’s what we are, right? I hate questioning myself over something like this. It feels like a weird thing to have to put a label on, but I don’t want to say something wrong.

On the way home, I bring it up. Sort of…

“I want you to know that I haven’t been with anyone else since we’ve been together,” I say firmly.

“I know,” Carter answers with a knowing smile.

“How do you know?”

“You spend all your time with me, Nash.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, good point.”

“But neither have I.”

I nod. “Do you want it to stay that way?” The words come out a little cautious. Definitely not as confidently as I imagined.

“Yes. Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” he says, taking my hand. “That’s good.”

And it is good. So fucking good.

Chapter thirty-six

Carter

Work sucks.

Okay, it’s notworkthat’s my problem. It’s being away from Nash. After spending the entire weekend with him, I didn’t want either of us to go to work this morning. And even though my position is easily replaceable, his isn’t. He has important work to do, and I can’t keep him from that job. He’s helping people in ways not everyone can do.

It’s late afternoon, and there aren’t many people here. There is freezing rain going on outside, so people don’t want to venture out in it to come to the library. It’s all going to freeze into ice later on tonight when the temperatures dip again, which is the worst.