From her vantage point, Allie laughed breathlessly, and he grinned at her.
"You look like a billion dollars," she said and winked at him.
The next morning after they woke up, they ate breakfast on the terrace and watched the city come to life. Then Carter took Allie around to his favorite museums, and that evening, they went to a Broadway show.
"I've never been to a play or anything like that," Allie told him as he handed the usher their tickets.
"You'll like this," Carter said. "It earned excellent reviews."
After the musical was over, he took her for ramen.
"Ramen?" Allie asked when they stopped in front of the tiny restaurant.
"This is the best ramen in the United States," he told her. "It's a pop-up shop, and it's only around for a few days, then they're moving on to the next stop while their San Francisco restaurant is being renovated. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get tickets?"
When they returned to the luxurious suite later that evening, Carter decided he would never tire of seeing the delight in her eyes when she was in the elegant interior.
I wonder if I could buy Allie her own condo,he thought as she lay half sprawled on him after another marathon session.
His leg was falling asleep, but Carter didn't want to move. He felt as if he was exactly where he wanted to be.
61
Allie
The weekend with Carter had been enjoyable. Actually, no, she thought, it had been magical. It was as close to a scene in one of the romantic comedies that she used to watch with Stacy as she was ever going to experience. At the start of the weekend, she had felt like a complete imposter, but by Sunday afternoon, Allie had felt much more relaxed.
Her relationship with Carter felt a lot warmer as well. Every night, Carter would bring her to dinner, and they would eat at the little folding table in her small studio. He talked about his travels, both in the military and when he was a student, and she told him about the places she wanted to see.
"I'd love to see Japan," she told him one evening.
"We should go sometime," Carter said. "I bet we could make up a work excuse for it." He winked at her.
Their next trip was not to Japan, however, but rather, back to New Cardiff and the Holbrook estate. The pair drove in a comfortable silence, listening to a podcast on the history of the Japanese yakuza.
All of Allie's tension came back as soon as they set foot inside the large house, however.
As soon as Allie set Margot down, Stacy bounded into the room and threw her arms around Allie.
"Hi!" Stacy drawled. Stacy's dress was several sizes too small, and she also sported egregiously long extensions in her hair. They went all the way down to her waist.
"Carter!" Stacy jumped up on him.
"You need to stop that," Allie said sharply.
Stacy pouted and twirled a finger through her hair.
"I just want to say hi," she said, making sure that they noticed the large diamond ring as she patted her hair back in place. "Carter's going to be my step-grandson, after all!"
Carter had a look on his face as though he'd just bitten into something squishy and foul tasting.
"I’m going to see if your mother needs help," Allie told Carter.
"I'm going to come with you," he said, glancing meaningfully at Stacy.
Later, as the family sat around the table for a tense dinner, Allie wondered why Harris had called them all there.
Stacy was feeding Harris small bites of food. Allie caught Kate's look from across the table. Everyone seemed apprehensive.
