Page 9 of Forever After All (Pine Harbour #2)

Carter

I was in the area, my ass.

More like making excuses to take Alice to lunch. Giving Brenna something to talk about made it even sweeter.

Gossiping with the girls at the Calder Marketing office wasn't really at the top of my list of things to do today, but I sometimes like to surprise myself.

"Sooo…where are you taking me? It better be somewhere expensive after the stunt you just pulled." The way she holds herself at work makes her look far more serious than I know her to be, so it adds an air of comedy to the situation.

"How long do you have?" I ask, giving her a side-eye and trying not to stare at her annoyed face as she walks next to me.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can take as long as I like, but I don't want to take the piss either, so you can pick where you like."

"Okay. Italian? Coffee? Seafood?" I stop when she makes a face at seafood .

"Don't make me vomit," Alice retorts as her brows furrow and the corners of her mouth turn down as she shakes her head.

"No seafood. Got it." I nod.

"Whoever thought that eating the bugs of the sea was a good idea, did us all a disservice." She pokes her tongue out to mimic vomiting, and I can't help but laugh at her description as her nose wrinkles.

"The bugs of the sea? I like it."

Alice is unwittingly hilarious. She doesn't try to be, it’s just effortless.

I don't think we've ever had a conversation that hasn't ended with me laughing—whether it's intentional or not.

The more time I spend with her, the longer I want to spend with her.

She is good to be around, even if you're having a crappy day and would rather not see or talk to anyone.

Alice is one of the few people who makes it easy to be yourself, which is rare.

This woman couldn't give any less shits that I used to play in the NHL, which is quite honestly a breath of fresh air.

You can never be sure what people are trying to get from you when they get to know you, trust is hard to come by, but not with Alice.

"On second thought, you're not picking. I am. You can't be trusted. To be honest, though, I could really just use some coffee and the biggest slice of pie we can find."

"Not seafood pie, then?"

Alice rolls her eyes at me. "No. Cherry. With the biggest vat of coffee known to man. Seafood pie. What a fucking abomination."

"I know just the place then. It's the best pie you'll find around here."

Luckily for me, I know the best fucking pie place in the whole vicinity. I didn't really have a plan when I asked Alice to lunch, and I didn't think I'd spend my afternoon wowing a woman with pie, yet here we are.

It is finally my time to shine.

Pie As You Feel is usually packed between ten and two, but if we’re lucky, there might be a free spot inside. If not, we can always get takeout and find somewhere quiet to eat.

"Pie As You Feel. Good pun," Alice looks up at the sign above the doorway and grins before turning to face me. "I hear people talk about this place all the time, but I've never been."

"Yep. I'm telling you this, right here, is the best pie you'll ever taste." I make the chef's kiss seal of approval with my hand.

"That's a bold claim, my friend." She side-eyes me in response.

"Trust me. You. Will. Love it. They also donate most of their profits to local charities and feed the homeless every single day."

"That's…really lovely." Her eyes soften slightly behind the fr ame of her glasses.

Her sexy fucking glasses.

"It is." I nod my head firmly and smile in her direction, and for once, she has nothing sarcastic to say in return. Ha.

Opening the door, I usher Alice in, to be greeted by the redolence of sweet, buttery pastry and coffee.

My stomach grumbles and I place a hand over it to try and stop the noise becoming audible for all to hear.

I could eat a whole fucking pie and still go back for more.

Looking around, I spot an empty booth and nod to Alice so she knows where we're aiming for, and she nods in return, like she knows we’re on a mission to get there before anyone else.

"Oh my god. Hey, Carter.” A sweet, yet high-pitched voice draws my attention away from the booth I have my eye on. One more step away from me stuffing my face full of pie.

"Oh, erm, hey. How's it going, Belle?" I answer far more awkwardly than I intend. I may be retired now, but I still don't like having attention drawn to me in public, especially if I can avoid it.

Belle is a sweetheart. She is the daughter of Jim and Ange, the owners of Pie As You Feel.

In her early to mid-twenties, she’s a tiny little blonde.

Five-foot-fuck-all with a huge heart and would do anything to help anyone.

I have watched Belle grow up, and it's funny to me, seeing her turn from teenager with a full-blown attitude, to an incredibly polite and all-round young woman.

"Good, thanks, I hope you're well too? We haven't seen you in such a long time," she replies sweetly.

"No, I know. It's been a while. I was in town for a meeting." What a lie. "I'm just here to grab a slice with my friend, Alice."

"Hi, Belle, I'm Alice. The friend he's talking about." Alice shoots a beaming smile in Belle's direction and waves as she weaves through a couple of people to get to the free booth.

" I beat you, loser ," she mouths triumphantly as she sits in and shuffles across the black and white leather seat.

"It was really nice to see you, Belle. I'll come in and catch up real soon, okay?"

"Okay, that'd be great. Mom and Dad would love that. I'll let Mom know you're here. Someone will come over and take your order soon." Belle heads back to the counter with her ponytail falling down her back which sways as she walks.

I slide into the booth opposite Alice and feel the worn leather creak as I make myself comfortable.

"Soo, who is Belle?" The words tumble out of Alice's mouth and it looks like she surprised herself by asking.

"She's an ex."

She bristles ever so slightly, but catches herself and regains composure straight away. My god, I love winding her up. It's too easy.

"Oh. That's cool. She seems sweet." There are a few seconds of silence, followed by "Isn't she…a little young?"

"She's in her early twenties." I act nonplussed and shrug.

"Nothing wrong with an age gap, I guess," Alice chirps then picks up the menu.

"My god, Alice. She's almost young enough to be my kid. She's not my ex. Her parents own this place." I try not to be offended she thinks I’d date someone so young.

"My god, Carter, you're a dumbass," she mocks.

"I really am." The easy rise I got out of her causes me to grin.

Alice picks up the menu and hits me on the arm with it.

"That's abuse!" I shout at her jokingly, but Alice's demeanour changes and she sits back as far into the seat as she can and drops her shoulders, not taking her eyes off the menu.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, loud enough for me to hear.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm only playing," I reach out to pull the menu down with my finger so I can look at her face.

"Please don't joke about that."

"Are you okay?" Something feels a little off and a look of concern grows on my face.

"I'm fine. Just hungry."

I don't push for a different response, but the atmosphere at the table has changed a little. Alice pulls the menu back up and continues to read it. I see the top of her head poking out above it, but she makes no further conversation, looking engrossed in the laminated paper in front of her.

Luckily for me, my guardian angel, Ange, comes to take our order at just the right time.

"Oh, Carter, my honey. How are ya doin’?"

I stand and pull Ange into a hug. "So good to see you, Ange. I’ve missed you."

"Missed you too, kiddo."

Ange is the best. Her and Jim have been running Pie As You Feel for about fifteen years now.

I’m a huge advocate for what they do here.

Feeding people for free or at very low cost means you run out of options pretty quickly when you have bills to pay, but they never complain.

They never close. Pie As You Feel is open sixteen hours a day, every single day of the year.

They have volunteers that come in to help, but it's mostly run by the family.

You will never meet a more selfless group of people.

They don't care who you are, where you're from, or what your story is.

All they care about is feeding people. There are always huge donation drives for them at the local sports games and at local businesses.

Everyone wants this restaurant to succeed, because nobody should ever go hungry.

"This is my friend, Alice. I told her about how good the damn pie is here, but I don't think she believes me. "

"Hey, I never said I didn't believe you." Alice smiles at Ange, but doesn't even attempt to look at me. "He's making it all up. Don't listen to him." She beams now.

"Well, just look at you. Aren't you gorgeous. How do you two know each other?"

"Oh, thank you so much. That's so sweet of you.

We're friends." Alice starts filling Ange in.

"His brother, Sawyer, is married to my best friend, so I'm kinda stuck with him.

He's not too bad, though. He is taking me out and buying me pie.

So there are some benefits to being friends with Carter.

" Alice looks at me now, trying not to allow the grin to spill over.

"Excuse me. I'm also cool," I interject.

"Debatable," both Alice, and Ange say at the same time.

"Wow. Did you plan that?"

They both laugh at their jinx.

"Anyway…" Talking over the two women, I say, "How about some pie, Ange? Apple for me, cherry for Alice."

"Sure, sure. Coffee?"

"Please."

Ange sets down two plates of pie—with slices bigger than my head—and two huge steaming coffees .

"Holy shit. That's a lot of pie!" Alice exclaims and her face lights up and she sits upright in her seat. "Thanks so much."

"You're welcome, honey." Ange walks away from the table and leaves Alice and I to our pie. Taking a bite, Alice's eyes go wide and she stares at me across the table, the green of her eyes popping as she does.

"Well, fuck me."

Okay, if you insist.

"You weren't lying. This is…incredible." The words are muffled as she talks through a mouthful of pastry.

"Told you so," I tease.

"Do you always have to be right?" Alice rolls her eyes at me.

"Not always, but I love it when I am." I wink at her in return.

I really do love being right. It’s the competitive streak in me. I've been this way since I was a kid. I love winning arguments, games, competitions. Hell, I even loved winning the school science fair. I am such a fucking nerd at heart, and I'm proud of it.

Alice starts wiggling in her seat with a content look on her face. It’s the most relaxed I've ever seen her look. This is adorable, and she has no idea that she's doing it at all. It’s so funny to see someone so excited over Ange's pie.

"That's so cute." The words leave my mouth as I think them, even though I don't mean to say them. She looks at me confused before realising she's doing a happy little food dance in her seat.

"Oh." Her cheeks redden slightly. "Sorry, I can't help it. It's just… SO good."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"Me too," she hums between mouthfuls of pie and coffee.

Best decision ever. Ange and Jim, I could kiss you.

"I need to get back to work now but I could stay here all day. I hate to admit that you're right. But damn, that really was the best pie I've ever had."

Ange brings the cheque over and I drop a few hundred-dollar bills on the table.

"You come back soon, Carter, you hear me? You're too good to us."

"I will. I promise."

"Even if he doesn't come back, I will. That really was the best pie I've ever had," Alice says as she gets up from her seat.

We walk back to the office in a comfortable silence and it seems like no time passes at all before we’re back at the glass doors leading into Calder Marketing.

"Thank you again for lunch. It really was so good." Alice leans into my side.

"You're welcome, Ali." I lean right back into her, as we prop each other up, full of food.

"It sounds weird when you call me Ali. I like it when you call me Alice.” She gives a firm nod, one that I return.

"Well, okay then. Alice it is. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Five-thirty pick up, right?"

"Right." Alice nods at me. Before walking back into the office, she stands up straight, pulls her shoulders back, and smooths her hands over her slicked back hair, then down over her hips and ass, to make sure she is fully composed.

"You look great. Have a good afternoon." I try my hardest not to stare at her silhouette, but the temptation is real.

"Will do. See you tomorrow, friend."

On the walk back to the car, a text comes through.

Alice: When I said expensive, I didn't mean $300 for two slices of pie kind of expensive.

Me: Well, you didn't specify how expensive, either.

Alice: Next time I'll try harder.

Me: It was worth it though, wasn't it?

Alice: Yep.

Me: Back to work now, Alice. Don't get yourself in trouble on account of me.

Alice: Worth it. See you tomorrow xo