I tuck my arm under my head and look up at him. “What did Miles tell you about our dad?”
“Nothing specific,” Carter says. “Just that he wasn’t a great guy.”
His tone is so gentle, so full of understanding, I’m half-tempted to tell him everything. But I don’t want to ruin the night we’ve had by digging into my childhood. And I don’t want him to look at me differently once he knows.
“What about you?” I ask instead. “Who was your last girlfriend?”
He pauses for a second, but then he seems to accept the subject change and scoots a little lower on his pillow. He turns to face me, stretching out on his side with his head propped on his hand. “Her name was Veronica. We broke up…maybe eighteen months ago? She was super big into hockey, and that was fun for a while, but then it just started to feel like it was more about hockey and less aboutme.Like I could have swapped myself for any other guy on the team and she wouldn’t have cared.”
“Ouch,” I say, and he huffs out a laugh.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry that happened. It must be hard when you don’t know people’s motives. If they’re looking for money or status or whatever else.”
“Theo’s gotten good at looking for the signs,” Carter says. “He dates a lot more than I do, so he has more practice.”
“Why is that?” I ask.
“Why does he date more?” Carter asks, and I nod. “I don’t know. He’s chasing something, I think. But also…it’s probably not so much that he datesmore, but that I dateless.”
“Why isthat?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Sometimes I think it’s my own fault. When Igo out with Theo, it’s hard to compete with him. Even though we look the same, he’s funnier, more charming, better at flirting. And I never go out without him, so I’m not giving myself much of a chance.”
A tiny piece of my heart breaks at the thought of Carter ever feeling like he’sless thanhis brother. I recognize Theo’s charm, but Carter is steady and good and thoughtful and just as charming in his own way.
I suddenly feel a pressing need to help him see that. To show him that he’s just as dateable as his brother, even more so in my eyes. I open my mouth to tell him, but then I swallow the words. I’m not sure I can say them without it sounding like a confession of feelings.
“You should sleep,” Carter says. “It’s been a long day.”
I let my eyes fall closed. “Yeah.”
Carter gets off the bed and heads to the bathroom while I fight to stay awake. If I sleep, the night will be over, and it’s been a really,reallygood night. We got engaged, we had champagne, wekissed…
Wait. We got engaged! And I never posted the photo.
I sit up and scramble across the bed to get my phone. I don’t have much battery left, so I hope whatever charger Carter uses for his phone will fit mine too. I look through the photos, grabbing the one that makes the ring most obvious, then upload it to Instagram. I tag Carter’s account and add a caption that readsforever with @c.williamson starts now.
The bathroom door squeaks open, and Carter reappears.
“I forgot to post the engagement photo,” I say. “But it’s up now. I tagged you.”
“Wow,” he says, pausing midstride. “I guess it’s really real now.”
I nod, holding his gaze. “Should I have waited to make sure you were still good to move forward?”
He quickly shakes his head. “Nah. You have my pinky promise, remember?” He steps to the side of the bed and holds out his hand. “Do you need to charge your phone?”
“Will it mean you can’t charge yours?”
He quickly shakes his head. “I’ve got an extra charger. It’ll be fine.”
I hand it over and snuggle back down under the duvet. “Are you even for real right now? You got me toiletries even though I didn’t ask for them. You gave me pajamas. You have anextraphone charger. Are you this good at taking care ofeveryone?”
“Not everyone,” he says softly, and my heart skips a few beats, loving the thought that maybe it’s just me who gets this kind of treatment.
Once my phone is plugged in, Carter climbs into bed and turns off the light. We’ve been on the bed together for a while now, but the darkness suddenly makes me hyperaware. Exactly how far away is his body from mine? If I roll over in my sleep, am I going to kick him? Will I snore? Wait.Do I snore?
