The Ladies' Man. Susan Mallery

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СКАЧАТЬ course you do.” Nina smiled at her. “You’re a nice girl, I can tell. You didn’t mean to get pregnant. But it happens. So we’ll deal with it.”

      We? No, no. There was no we. “Technically, I’m the one who’s pregnant,” she began.

      Carter’s gaze narrowed. “And I’m the father.”

      “I’m not denying that,” Rachel said, bristling. “I’m the one who came to you.”

      “I would have been happy to do things the other way,” he reminded her. “You didn’t call.”

      The sisters looked at each other. “Really? You went out with Carter and didn’t call the next day?” one of them asked.

      “Ah…”

      “The women always call,” the other sister said. “Some of them won’t stop calling.”

      “Ah…”

      “It gets embarrassing,” the first one continued. “I want to take them aside and tell them to have a little pride.”

      “It’s not their fault,” Nina said with a proud smile. “It’s my son.”

      Rachel raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

      Carter groaned. “Ignore them. I mean that.”

      “Maybe I want to hear about ‘the women.’”

      “You don’t,” he told her. “Trust me.”

      “About the baby,” Nina said, breaking the mood. “We need to talk.” Nina patted the back of her hand. “I understand. If you young people insist on putting the cart before the horse, then they need to turn the horse around.”

      “What?” Rachel and Carter asked together.

      Nina glanced between them. “Isn’t it obvious? You have a baby coming. You need to get married.”

      Chapter Four

      Carter stood. He’d been willing to let the moment run its course. Thirty years of being his mother’s son had taught him that was the easiest way to deal with her. He would listen and then do exactly what he wanted. But mother or not, she’d just crossed the line.

      “Okay, that’s enough,” he said flatly and walked to the door. “Great to see you all. Thanks for stopping by.”

      His mother was about a foot shorter, but that never seemed to bother her. She rose and walked over until she was in front of him, staring up, glaring.

      “Carter Brockett, I’m serious.”

      “So am I, Mama. This isn’t about you. This is between me and Rachel. We’re going to deal with it and we don’t need your help.”

      Her brown eyes narrowed. “You’re going to have a baby, Carter. This is serious.”

      He knew she meant well. He knew she loved him and would gladly throw herself in front of a train for him. But sometimes she was the biggest pain in the butt.

      He bent down and kissed her. “I know, Mama. Trust me, okay?”

      She sighed heavily, then nodded. As she stepped out of the house, his sisters trailed after her. Merry grinned.

      “You’re in big trouble, now,” she murmured as she passed.

      “Thanks for the support.”

      “Any time.”

      He closed the door behind them.

      Rachel still sat on the sofa, although she looked a little shell-shocked. His family had that effect on people. He’d seen it many times.

      He walked into the kitchen and got her a glass of ice water, then returned to the living room. She stared at him, her green eyes wide, her mouth slightly parted.

      “You doing okay?” he asked.

      “No.” She took the glass he offered. “Who were those people?”

      He sank back into his chair. “My family. Most of them, anyway. I have another sister around somewhere. She must not have been home or she would have been part of the parade, too.”

      “You have three sisters, right?”

      “I’m the youngest and the only boy. My dad died before I was bor so it was just me and them. A world of women.”

      She sipped the water. “When you said women were the cause of all the trouble in your life, I thought you meant romantically.”

      “That would have made things too easy. I’m surrounded by them. Even my dog, a stray Lab who showed up one day all skinny and pathetic, is female. Welcome to my world.”

      She managed a small smile. “It’s not so bad. Your family obviously cares about you.” She took another drink. “Did Jenny really call your mother to tell her what she’d heard?”

      “Oh, yeah. Jenny stayed pretty tight with her and my sisters. As have a lot of my ex-girlfriends. They show up at holidays or parties. I never know when I’m going to run into one.” Or twenty, he thought grimly. Why couldn’t his ex-girlfriends be like other women? Bitter and vindictive. Right now the idea of someone slashing his tires was a whole lot easier to deal with than someone like Jenny, who simply stayed in his world.

      Not that he didn’t like Jenny—he did. She’d married a great guy, but damn, whose side was she on? Calling his mother and telling her Rachel was pregnant.

      Rachel set down her glass and glanced at him. “I didn’t get pregnant on purpose.”

      “I know. Neither of us planned on that. We just weren’t thinking.”

      She ducked her head, but he saw her smile. “I was kind of swept away. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before.”

      “Me, either.”

      She looked up and rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I might not know you very well, but I’m getting a clear idea about your past. You seem to have women lined up around the block.”

      “Sure, a lot of relationships, but that kind of heat?” He shrugged, trying to remember the last time he’d felt it. “It doesn’t happen very often.”

      “Are you just saying that?”

      The uncertainty in her voice added to her charm. They were already in so much trouble, Carter almost felt still being attracted to her couldn’t make things worse. Except he knew it could. A relationship would only complicate the situation. Better to keep his head and think clearly. If only she didn’t smell so good.

      “I don’t do lines,” he told her. “You’re beautiful and sexy and funny. You dress like a nun and you have a body made for…ah, making love,” he said, self-editing to something less graphic. “What’s not to like?”

      “Wow. СКАЧАТЬ