Carter Reed

his gaze as he raked me up and down.
    I expected the owner of The Richmond to stick his hand out, smooth back his hair, and become the sleazy smooth-talker most of the guys at the top level were. He didn’t. His frown deepened and he leaned against the island counter in the kitchen. He folded his arms, making his chest seem even bigger, and scowled at me. “Who are you?”
    He didn’t know—but he must’ve. “I’m Emma Martins.”
    His eyebrows shot up and everything vanished. Shock and something close to panic came over him. He glanced to where Theresa had gone and, when he heard she was still on the phone, dropped his voice to a whisper. “What are you doing here?”
    “I—huh? Theresa and I are friends. We’re working together. You put us together.”
    He growled from the back of his throat. “I didn’t expect this. I knew you’d work together, but,” he glanced where Theresa was again, “she doesn’t know your relationship with Carter, does she?”
    My relationship with Carter? Did he? What relationship? “No, no one does.” Well, he did. I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean you didn’t expect this?”
    He frowned again. “That was my mistake. I’m sorry, but you really need to go. You should cut your friendship with Theresa too. She hates Carter.”
    My eyes threatened to pop out. She knew Carter?
    He amended, “I mean, she hates the idea of him. She’s never met him, don’t worry, but she knows he’s a friend of mine and connected to the mob. She doesn’t approve of our friendship, and if she knew your relationship with him,” he whistled and shook his head, “it would not be pretty. Trust me.”
    “How do you two know each other?”
    He shrugged. “Family friends. Her parents were friends with my parents. We took her in when they died.”
    “Oh.”
    His eyes narrowed again. “You’re not here trying to get her money, are you?”
    WHAT?
    But then I glanced around, she had money. I saw that from before, but I wondered how much she had. Then I remembered who I was living with and replied, “You think I’m scamming her for money?”
    “Oh, yeah.” He relaxed and flashed me a grin. It transformed his face. I saw why a lot of the females at work whispered about his deliciousness. He didn’t have the classic model-like looks that Carter had, but when his mouth turned into a smile, it lit his face up and he was handsome in a manly and rough looking away. I knew that appealed to a lot of women. “I forgot your connections. Maybe she’s scamming you?”
    I could tell by how his mouth curved up in a crooked grin that he was kidding. I was a little insulted. I might’ve grown up with a scammer, but I never did cons. AJ never allowed it, and after he died, I was determined to be successful without resorting to low-level ways of making money.
    “Look,” his jaw tightened and his voice grew rough, “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that, just that Theresa’s been targeted before because of her money. She doesn’t have a lot of friends because she’s too damn trusting. I tell her to steer clear of everyone, but she tries every now and then. They never end well. That’s what I thought before I knew who you were.”
    That would explain Theresa’s lack of friends, but I couldn’t shake his suspicion. He was covering up for it, but it was there. I didn’t know if my relationship with Carter kept it there or made it worse? My gut told me that he would’ve been suspicious of me with Carter in my life or not.
    “Okay!” Theresa returned with a smug smile on her face. She threw an arm around Noah’s shoulders and bumped her hip into his. “It’s all good with your mother.”
    He studied her with a slight sneer. “Tell me you didn’t.”
    Her smile stretched from ear to ear. “I did.”
    I frowned.
    He groaned. “Whatever deal you struck with my mother, I’m out. I have a date tonight.”
    “No, you don’t,” she laughed and poked him in the chest. “Well, yes, you do. With me and Emma.” She continued, “Brianna got a job at Octave. I told your mother that we’d go and check on her.”
    “Brianna did what?” Noah exploded. “You did what?”
    “Yeah, I did.” Theresa struck a cocky pose with her hand on her hip. “And you can be damn pleased with me because I told your mother that we’d go and check on her. In return, she’s not going to hold it against you that you didn’t invite me to the family dinner tonight.”
    “What family dinner?