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to figure this all out. We just met, Carter, and…and I don’t do this …I don’t flirt with guys. And I sure as hell don’t go around kissing random men. Normally, I do what I’ve come to do, get paid, and that’s it. I don’t sit around talking. I don’t try to meet people. I do my job and get out. And I guess it’s because, for the most part, I’ve only been around guys that are trying to be…ugh…I don’t know… men .”
    “What do you mean?” He pulled away and took her hand again, regarding her as if he really had no idea what she was talking about.
    “You know braggy, perverted, show off. Like your buddy, Dylan.”
    He chuckled. “We all are, Gorgeous.”
    “You included?” She looked at him, unable to hide the disappointment.
    “Well, it takes the right girl to make a man want to act better than a twelve-year-old boy.” He squeezed her hand.
    “So…I’m the right girl?” she asked softly as they walked up to the group. Like she’d told Carter, she didn’t flirt, didn’t play games. She wasn’t going to skirt around questions or assume answers. And though it was dangerous, she wore her heart on her sleeve.
    He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Yeah…you’re the one, Gorgeous.”
     
    ~
     
    “How come she’s sweaty and flushed, and well, you’re not?” Jesse laughed as Molly and Carter approached the group.
    “Screw that. That’s my fiancé.” Eli hopped up and put his arm around Molly’s shoulders. “Damn it, Sterling, how come you’re holding hands with my girl? You’re not going to fall for this guy, are you? I proposed already, you and me, we got something going girl.”
    “Sorry, E.” She looked up, smiling between the two men who were standing close on either side of her. “I kind of already did.” She grinned when Carter squeezed her hand.
    Eli let out an exaggerated breath of disappointment as he squeezed her shoulders, then kissed the top of her head. “Well at least it was Sterling and not Martins. That’d have been a real blow to my ego.” Laughing, Carter fist-bumped Eli as he pulled Molly close to his chest.
    “Hey, jackass, I’m sitting right here,” Dylan piped up.
    “So?” Eli asked, not hiding the look of extreme annoyance written all over his face.
     
     
    Carter sat down in a chair without letting go of Molly’s hand. “Sit by me?” There was no way he wanted to lose the connection they’d made. He could tell Erin was her safety net, and even more so, Brody. Call him paranoid, but he was more than a little scared that they’d talk her out of pursuing this thing. Even though he knew with every bit of his soul that she was special and the woman of his dreams, he could feel the way Brody’s eyes narrowed in concern as his eyes roamed over her, the way those same eyes filled in suspicion and doubt when he looked at Carter.
    Molly settled into the chair beside him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He met Brody’s stare but didn’t back down. The guy was intense and he probably scared off other men on a regular basis, but Carter thought Molly was worth putting up with the big brother bully treatment. And he didn’t scare easily.
    “So, did he keep up?” Jesse asked, grinning.
    Carter could tell Molly was trying not to laugh, which was obviously a wasted effort. She snickered under her breath. He reached across and tickled her with his free hand. “Hey, that was our secret.” His voice was low, but teasing.
    Laughing, Molly answered, “I didn’t say a word.”
    “You didn’t have to.” Even in separate chairs, they were close enough that he could pull her tighter. Carter looked at her friends. “Well you all could have told me she intended on running on the track and not just around it.”
    Brody threw Carter a cocky glance. “I knew you couldn’t keep up, so why bother with a warning?”
    Carter felt Molly stiffen under his arm. He glanced down to see her chin come up in a defensive stance. Even without knowing her