a certain amount of fear in her mind.
She also thought of Carter and Blair, and their question about her feelings on weddings drifted into her mind. As she’d listened to the couple’s vows, they seemed to have more weight than in the past. Did it have anything to do with Carter suddenly reappearing in her life?
There was a time when she’d entertained the thought of marriage. She’d fantasized about it, but that’s as far as it had gotten. Even after moving to Princeton, seeing all the brides in their gowns made her imagine walking down the aisle with Carter.
It was safe, she told herself—she was leaving New York in a couple of days, regardless of what she’d said to Carter. She’d be back occasionally, and it was inevitable that they would meet at the same events. But Renee would be able to see him across a room and not have her heart jump.
Carter had changed. Gone was that boyish quality that used to vie for dominance on his face. His expression was more serious than before. His hair was shorter and the mustache that used to tickle her nose had been replaced with a clean-shaven look. He’d been on the basketball team in high school and college, and his body today still had the lean hardness of a twenty-year-old.
Renee wondered where he’d been for the last few years. He’d blown her off as if she were nothing to him. So why was it she still felt as if there was some unfinished business that needed closure? Carter had told her there was nothing between them. And there wasn’t. They’d never gotten to the point where things change for better or worse. The place where you decide if you want to step over a line, or you realize the relationship has no place to go.
He hadn’t waited for that moment. Carter knew earlier than the launch. And he’d spared her from any further involvement. At least, that’s what she’d told herself. So what now? Why was her mind stuck on him and when she’d see him again? She thought their discussion last night would have discouraged him from trying to convince her to return to work at Hampshire.
Yet he’d called her cell phone during the ceremony and insisted on meeting with her at her hotel. No doubt he’d gotten the number from Blair. If she’d had time to banter with him, Renee would have refused the meeting. But in the back of her mind she knew she wanted to see him.
Back at the guesthouse, Renee changed from the suit she’d worn to the wedding. She wanted Carter to see her in control, happy with herself and commanding her own future. She put on a straight red dress and added a pearl necklace and matching teardrop earrings. She swung her hair up and to the side, anchoring it with a wavy pearl comb. Checking her image in the mirror, she left the town house in time to meet him in the hotel lobby.
Carter arrived through the revolving door just as she stepped off the elevator and waited. It was all she could do to keep her breath from leaving her body. The contrast of his dark suit and white shirt emphasized his skin. She took in the broadness of the shoulders she used to lay her head on. If he’d gained an ounce in three years, she’d need a microscope to find it. He started toward her. Renee remembered his easy gait, the confidence that wrapped around him like a second skin.
What hadn’t changed was his smile. White teeth gleamed at her, and try as she might, she had to return it. He stopped two feet away. Despite her five-foot-five-inch frame and the heels that raised her up four additional inches, she still had to look up at him to see his face.
“You look beautiful,” he murmured. It was a whisper, so low she barely heard it.
Renee felt the rush of heat flush her cheeks.
“Thanks. You’re quite the figure, too.”
He moved a step closer to her. Renee instinctively knew he planned to embrace her. The thought made her both excited and scared.
Taking a step back, she said, “Don’t.”
Carter stopped. “I was only going to kiss your cheek. Isn’t that what friends do? And we’ve known each other for years.”
“No, we haven’t.” She shook her head. “We’re strangers.”
“Strangers?” Carter’s brows rose.
“You’ve been gone for three years. For all I know, you could be married with three children. The same could be true of me. So we are strangers. You’ve changed. I’ve changed. We’re not the same people we were three years ago. You wouldn’t hug someone you’d just met. So consider me that someone.”
Carter took a step back. For a long moment he stared at her as if assessing who this new woman was. Renee withstood his scrutiny.
“I thought we’d go to Mile’s End.”
“My last wedding was today, and I’m leaving early. Would you mind eating here?” She gestured toward the restaurants that were at the back of the building on the ground floor. “I’ve already made us a reservation.”
Carter shrugged and smiled. Renee understood that she’d thwarted his plans. She had plans of her own, and traveling to a place they’d spent time together wasn’t on her agenda.
“I must admit, I was a little surprised to find you on the other end of the phone asking me to meet you for dinner,” Renee said when they were seated.
He smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’m glad you came.”
“Why is that? What do you want to talk about? I was sure we’d settled everything last night.”
He took a moment to gather his thoughts. Renee wondered if this meeting had something to do with them as a couple. There was no them. There had never really been a them. She’d thought there was, that there could be, but obviously Carter had other plans.
“Your name has come up several times in the last few days,” Carter said.
She didn’t react. She waited for him to go on. “Come up where?”
“Along the avenues of publisher’s row. There’s a rumor going around that you’re going into competition with me.”
Renee leaned forward. “With you?”
“With my company.”
“What kind of competition? There are several different kinds of businesses you’re responsible for.”
“Magazines,” he said. “Specifically bridal magazines.”
Renee smiled. She picked up her glass of wine and took a sip. Then she replaced it and sat back. “Not a rumor,” she said.
“It’s not a rumor?”
“Can’t be a rumor if it’s true.” She waited a moment, then asked, “Weren’t you listening last night when Blair mentioned my new job?”
His brows rose in surprise. “I didn’t think she was serious.”
Renee stared at him. “And the notice in the trades?”
She knew Carter read all the trade publications that detailed news about the various magazines Hampshire sold. He had a huge capacity for remembering and recalling what he read, and Renee knew he wouldn’t miss the small paragraph bearing her name.
“You
