“He’s staying here?” Amy asks greedily for details and I’m unable to do anything else but nod.
“Did he hire you as his maid?” Jenna whisper-yells. “A man likethatis clearly used to having help at his beck and call.”
The familiar rush of shame crawls up my chest and neck again. Itwasour agreement, but the way she said it delivered another blow to my fragile state of mind. There’s a loud clang in the kitchen as Carter places a glass on the counter with too much force.
Amy and Jenna continue, ignorant of the change of temperature in the other room, and I don’t know how to stop them.
“You have to introduce us.” They both giggle.
A low hum reverberates through the small space, and I know he is listening. I’m mortified and my knee bounces uncontrollably.
“Maybe throw a party so we can get to know him better,” Jenna says suggestively, wiggling her thin eyebrows my way.
Carter comes back slowly and stops next to the armchair I’m trapped in.
“We’ll have to cut this short, I’m afraid,” he tells them, with zero remorse in his tone. “Eliza and I have urgent business to attend to, and I have to steal her away.” His hand lands on my shoulder, making me jolt. He’s looking at me to play along and I can’t for the life of me understand what he’s doing.
Their focus keeps bouncing between us, eyebrows hiked up to their hairlines. My internal temperature rises to new highs by the second and I’m close to combustion. The man who ignores me like I’m a house plant thinks I’m so pathetic he has to jump in and help me save face in front of my friends.
“Can we assist you in any way?” Jenna tries to get his attention once she snaps out of her stupor.
“I doubt you’d have the qualifications,” Carter says in a posh tone that grates on my nerves.
His reply silences her, and they rise in a huff. I don’t know how much time passes before they finally leave with promises of coffees and girls’ nights I did not quite register.
“Thank you,” I tell the floor once they’re gone, struggling to keep up a frail protective wall. “You didn’t need to pretend I can help you.”
“I don’t care what they think. The way they were talking down to you is unacceptable.”
That’s rich coming from him.
“You mean, like you do?” I don’t know where I got the nerve to talk back to him and it takes me by surprise. Another shock is the slight twitch of the corner of his lips.
Carter ignores my question but he’s not done with me.
“Wedohave urgent business to attend to.” His voice is slightly amused, and I don’t like it at all.
I reject Jared’s call once again while I stare into the black box Carter placed in front of me. It’s filled with cables, small plastic accessories, a flat metal square, and a metal contraption similar to a tripod.
Jared texts again.
We need to talk, baby.
Answer the phone, please.
I only love you, you’re the woman I want to spend my life with.
Fine. I’ll let you mope at the cabin until I come back.
Now I wonder if Amy and Jenna came here on his behalf and not because they actually cared about me.
The scar near my temple itches. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to resist his attempts to convince me. To notlet him pressure me back to the safety of a shared home. To tell him to leave me alone forever. The alternative, cutting myself out of his life, is equally terrifying.
Rummaging through the box for the user manual helps me take my mind off the visit and even if I don’t want to admit it, I’m grateful for something to do.
“I found the perfect place to mount the dish,” Carter says after checking the cabin, inspecting the roof.
As I suspected, he is a control freak. The man has brought his own fancy kit to connect with the famous Rawlings’ satellite internet, even though the cabin has Wi-Fi.
