Read Online Father Of The Brat by Elizabeth Bevarly - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Bevarly
Ads: Link
study her in silence.
He had forgotten what he’d asked her and replied with a puzzled, “What?”
“Breakfast,” she clarified. “Where do you want to go?”
He gestured over his shoulder. “There’s a great bakery right around the corner. What say I spring for coffee and bagels?”
She smiled, the first real smile Carver had seen from Maddy since their encounter two days before. He was amazed by the way the simple gesture warmed her features. “I think I’d rather have a raspberry jelly-filled doughnut,” she told him.
He smiled back. “Never could resist sweets, could you?”
Which is why I could never resist you, Maddy thought. Funny, though, how she hadn’t had an appetite for much of anything, sweet or otherwise, until that moment. But looking at Carver, with the backdrop of burnished autumn trees behind him, his cheeks stained red by the crisp air, his hair ruffled affectionately by the fingers of a brisk wind, she suddenly felt ravenous. Unfortunately, she was beginning to realize that her hunger at the moment was for something a lot more substantial than food. And it was a hunger she simply could not afford to feed.
Nevertheless, she echoed, “No, I never could resist sweets.”
Carver crooked his elbow at his side, silently encouraging Maddy to take it, and without a thought otherwise, she looped her arm through his. It was the first real physical contact she’d had with him in twenty years, and the moment she wrapped her fingers around his solid upper arm, she felt a familiar tingle of delight she’d nearly forgotten. She had to fight the impulse to lean into him and settle her head against his shoulder. Where the erratic desire to perform such a gesture came from, she couldn’t possibly understand. It was something people only did when they cared for each other.
Then she forced herself to be honest. Two decades had changed nearly everything about her, she thought. But there was one thing, she supposed, that would always remain the same. Amid all the frustration and aggravation he caused her, she would always have affectionate feelings for Carver Venner. The realization should have alarmed her. But somehow, she felt comforted by it instead. And then she pushed the thought away, thinking it might be best if she just left such ideas in the past where they belonged.
True to his word, Carver footed the bill for coffee and doughnuts, and the two of them sat outside the bakery to enjoy the cool morning and watch the people hurrying by. Maddy circled her bare hands around the foam cup and held her coffee close to her lips, inhaling the warm, damp fragrance of the strong brew before tasting it. When she lookedup, Carver was watching her, as if he’d been completely focused on her since they had sat down. A coil of something hot and heavy wound to nearly bursting in her midsection, and she assured herself the reaction was simply a result of the heat of the coffee chasing away the chill of the morning. Nothing more than that.
In an effort to dispel her wildly errant thoughts, Maddy reminded herself that Carver was the one who was supposed to be confused here, not her. She sipped her coffee again, then asked him, “So the prospect of becoming a father so late in life has you running scared, has it?”
He didn’t answer her right away. He simply stared down into his own coffee cup and shrugged. “It’s just a shock, you know?” he finally replied. “It’s as if the last twelve years of my life have been a complete sham. Things should have been different. They could have been different. If Abby had told me she was pregnant, that I was the father…” He let his voice trail off without completing the thought.
“What if she had?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t help thinking that things would be a whole lot different than they are.”
She studied him thoughtfully for a moment, then decided to play devil’s advocate. “Different for whom? You? Rachel? Abby? In what way?”
Again,
He had forgotten what he’d asked her and replied with a puzzled, “What?”
“Breakfast,” she clarified. “Where do you want to go?”
He gestured over his shoulder. “There’s a great bakery right around the corner. What say I spring for coffee and bagels?”
She smiled, the first real smile Carver had seen from Maddy since their encounter two days before. He was amazed by the way the simple gesture warmed her features. “I think I’d rather have a raspberry jelly-filled doughnut,” she told him.
He smiled back. “Never could resist sweets, could you?”
Which is why I could never resist you, Maddy thought. Funny, though, how she hadn’t had an appetite for much of anything, sweet or otherwise, until that moment. But looking at Carver, with the backdrop of burnished autumn trees behind him, his cheeks stained red by the crisp air, his hair ruffled affectionately by the fingers of a brisk wind, she suddenly felt ravenous. Unfortunately, she was beginning to realize that her hunger at the moment was for something a lot more substantial than food. And it was a hunger she simply could not afford to feed.
Nevertheless, she echoed, “No, I never could resist sweets.”
Carver crooked his elbow at his side, silently encouraging Maddy to take it, and without a thought otherwise, she looped her arm through his. It was the first real physical contact she’d had with him in twenty years, and the moment she wrapped her fingers around his solid upper arm, she felt a familiar tingle of delight she’d nearly forgotten. She had to fight the impulse to lean into him and settle her head against his shoulder. Where the erratic desire to perform such a gesture came from, she couldn’t possibly understand. It was something people only did when they cared for each other.
Then she forced herself to be honest. Two decades had changed nearly everything about her, she thought. But there was one thing, she supposed, that would always remain the same. Amid all the frustration and aggravation he caused her, she would always have affectionate feelings for Carver Venner. The realization should have alarmed her. But somehow, she felt comforted by it instead. And then she pushed the thought away, thinking it might be best if she just left such ideas in the past where they belonged.
True to his word, Carver footed the bill for coffee and doughnuts, and the two of them sat outside the bakery to enjoy the cool morning and watch the people hurrying by. Maddy circled her bare hands around the foam cup and held her coffee close to her lips, inhaling the warm, damp fragrance of the strong brew before tasting it. When she lookedup, Carver was watching her, as if he’d been completely focused on her since they had sat down. A coil of something hot and heavy wound to nearly bursting in her midsection, and she assured herself the reaction was simply a result of the heat of the coffee chasing away the chill of the morning. Nothing more than that.
In an effort to dispel her wildly errant thoughts, Maddy reminded herself that Carver was the one who was supposed to be confused here, not her. She sipped her coffee again, then asked him, “So the prospect of becoming a father so late in life has you running scared, has it?”
He didn’t answer her right away. He simply stared down into his own coffee cup and shrugged. “It’s just a shock, you know?” he finally replied. “It’s as if the last twelve years of my life have been a complete sham. Things should have been different. They could have been different. If Abby had told me she was pregnant, that I was the father…” He let his voice trail off without completing the thought.
“What if she had?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t help thinking that things would be a whole lot different than they are.”
She studied him thoughtfully for a moment, then decided to play devil’s advocate. “Different for whom? You? Rachel? Abby? In what way?”
Again,
Similar Books
