Page 35 of Hometown Hottie

The line went dead and I smirked. “See, spotty service. Dry off and get dressed. I’ll track down the rest of the candles.”

I’d already lit some, which didn’t help with the notoglinghim thing. Even the worst looking people were all pretty and soft in candlelight, and Carson was not one of those people. Even so, he’d just conspired against me with my brother. He didn’t deserve to be ogled right now.

He dried off quickly with one towel, then used the other on his hair and to soak up the puddle that had formed around his feet. Once he was done with that, he changed into the clothes I’d brought him while also trying to call his mother.

The phone was still on speaker, so I heard his first few attempts fail as I moved around the room, lighting a bunch more candles. Finally, as I was heading to the stove to boil some water for hot drinks, the line connected.

Carson grabbed the phone off the back of the sofa, his jaw tense when her voice didn’t immediately flow through the speaker. “Mom? Are you there? Are you okay?”

There was some crackling. Then she came through, the connection a little broken at first. “I’m fine— Mrs. Norris—down the street.”

His brow furrowed as he stared at the phone. “Mom?”

“I’m here,” she said cheerfully just a moment later. “Oh, there we go. That sounds better. I’m fine, honey. Mrs. Norris and Earl from down the street are here with me. Eleanor got caught in the rain, so she decided to hunker down here, and Earl was trying to save a tree.” She chuckled. “We’ve got snacks, wine, and candles. Where are you? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I came out to Red Stone Ranch with Ryan and Vance, so I’m with Nova. She’s fine too. She just wasn’t picking up her phone. We’re all good, but we’re stuck here until the storm dies down enough for Ryan and George to move some downed trees.”

“You’re with Nova?” she said, sounding weirdly delighted.

I smiled as I filled my stove-top kettle and set it down on the hob. This turn of events had me feeling things as well.

“Yeah, it’s a bit of a long story,” he said. “But everyone is safe and dry.”

“That’s wonderful, darling. They’re predicting that it could go on all night. It could easily carry on into the morning, too. I’m sure you two will keep each other safe and occupied.”

Carson groaned. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll talk to you later, okay? Stay safe.”

“You too, baby,” she said, still excited as if she couldn’t imagine any news better than what she’d just heard.

I fixed us each a cup of tea and carried the mugs over to the living room. Carson sat down on the sofa. When I handed his over, he grimaced at me. “I’m going to assume you heard all that.”

“You did have her on speaker,” I said as I wrapped my fingers around my own mug and sat down on the sofa kitty-corner to the one he was on. “Do I want to know what that was about?”

He sighed, eyes on mine as he shook his head. “Probably not, but I’ll tell you anyway. My mom knows I came home to settle down. She knows I want a family, a wife, and all those other things I couldn’t have the way I wanted them while I was playing and on the road all the time.”

My heart fluttered. “Okay, but what does that have to do with me?”

Those green eyes sparkled in the candlelight as he stared right into mine. “My mom has always liked you. I think she’s hoping that we’ll fall head over heels in love in the time it takes the storm to clear.”

If we had been any other pair of people stuck together for only a few hours, I’d have found the idea of falling in love so fast laughable. But Carson and I weren’t any other people. With us, it was definitely within the realm of possibility that it could happen.

Well, for me, anyway.

I blew out a long breath through my nostrils and reminded myself of what he’d said. Nothing was going to happen between us tonight. So while it was sweet that his mother was so excited, it didn’t make a lick of difference if he wanted all those things. He didn’t want them with me.

Besides, I don’t have time for any of that anyway.

A stab of disappointment speared my gut, but I refused to let it show. “I love your mom, but somehow, I think she’s a little off-base tonight. It must be the storm.”

Unless I was imagining things, I saw my own disappointment flickering in his eyes for a second until he blinked it away. Smiling instead, he leaned back on the sofa and brought his cup to his lips, taking a small sip and swallowing it down. “Okay, so now that you know the truth about my homecoming and my mother’s dreams, what about you? Why did you wait so long to be a baker and why haven’t you allowed yourself to find love and have kids?”

“Wow. We’re jumping to intense conversation tonight, huh?” I tried teasing, but it fell a little flat. We’d touched on this briefly the other day at the brewery, but right then, I felt like he could see straight through me.

If I was being completely honest, I had been using the ranch as a distraction because no one had ever made me feel like he did, but I couldn’t go there. Not while we could be stuck here together all night or maybe even longer. It would probably make him hellishly uncomfortable if he didn’t feel the same way, and he wouldn’t even be able to escape.

Besides, I didn’t want him to feel pressured into doing anything with me when he’d just told Ryan he wouldn’t. “I’ve answered that question already. I just haven’t found the right guy. As for being a baker, I didn’t wait that long. I went and got a degree that could help my family, and as soon as I could after I got back, I opened up the bakery.”

He cocked his head, those freaking eyes still super intent on mine. “I don’t think that’s the whole truth. Is it? Or are you just not ready to tell me the rest of it yet?”

“That,” I murmured, my heart galloping in my chest as I wondered if he already knew the rest of it even if I hadn’t said it.

Carson let out a soft groan, still looking at me as he moved forward on the sofa and leaned over to set his cup down on the coffee table. I scooted forward too, as if tethered to him with an invisible but unbreakable force.

“Nova…” He trailed off, his hands coming up to cup my face. I leaned into his touch, my lips already buzzing with the anticipation of what was about to happen.

“Don’t overthink it,” I whispered as I slid my hand around the nape of his neck and gently pulled him closer to me.

“We should not be doing this,” he breathed but he didn’t stop. His fingers gripped on my cheeks and around the base of my scalp as he brought my mouth to his.

Our lips touched and angels sang. I swore I heard their chorus of relief and joy as my fingers pushed into his hair. His tongue came out to probe my lips. Sparks flew through me, my body and heart electrified.

I parted them for him, moaning. He kissed me passionately, like this was it. Like we were making each other some kind of promise we could never break.

And then the power came on and ruined the moment. My spirits sank to my shoes. So often, it felt like our stars were aligning and then something like this would happen, making me question it all. If Carson and I were meant to be together, then why on earth were we always forced to break apart right when we were on the verge of something wonderful?