Free Gentlemen Prefer Curves: A Perfect Fit Novel by Sugar Jamison Page B

look into his eyes. They heated for a moment. Anger. He was pissed at her but it only showed for a moment. The cool mask returned, that coldness that always lurked just beneath the surface. “I swear to you, Carter, I never got your calls.”
    He nodded stiffly. “I take it you don’t live in the city anymore?”
    “Not for three years now. Are you here just for a visit?” she asked hopefully.
    “No.” He shook his head. “I moved here. I’m a partner in Steven’s firm.”
    “Oh.” She lost the ability to form words. It was too much. Of course he’d moved to Durant. To her hometown. When she left California he was supposed to stay behind along with all the memories of him. He wasn’t supposed to leave and make a bigger mess of her life than it already was. “Why?”
    “Why what?”
    “You know damn well what I’m asking,” she snapped. “Why here? Why did you have to move here?”
    He looked down at his daughter. “I did it for her and honestly, it’s the last place I thought you would be.”
    “How could you think—”
    He held up his hand, cutting her off. “We will not have this discussion in front of my child. It’s time we settled some things. We need to sit down and talk.”
    “I think you’re right.” It was past time. “Call me.” She freed her wrist to pull a business card out of her wallet. “I promise I’ll pick up when you do.”

 
    CHAPTER 5
    Do that to me one more time …
    For two days after his run-in with Belinda he stared at her business card.
    Belinda Gordon. Manager of Size Me Up.
    How many times had he and Ruby walked past that store in the near month they had been there? Durant wasn’t a huge town. He was surprised he hadn’t run into her sooner. He would probably run into her a thousand times now that they were both living in Durant, and the next time he did, he wanted things to be settled between them.
    He wasn’t sure that was possible. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to look at her and feel settled. He wasn’t sure if he could ever look at her and feel nothing.
    After two days of staring at her card, after two days of trying to think of what he would say to her, he picked up his phone and dialed her number. He held his breath as the phone rang and couldn’t help but wonder how she had spent the last four years, if she dated, if she was seeing anybody now.
    It didn’t matter anyway. They were over.
    Keep telling yourself that.
    Part of the reason he hadn’t sent the divorce papers before was because he was waiting for her to end it first. She had left him. She should be the one to take the steps to dissolve their marriage. If it was up to him they would still have been together. They would have still been happy.
    His call went to voice mail, her slightly husky voice telling him to leave a message. For some reason he was relieved he didn’t have to speak to her. It was ironic. He had always been a quiet man, a man who liked to keep to himself, but he always liked to hear Belinda speak. She could talk about everything and nothing. She could go on for hours, but instead of her chattiness annoying him, it used to make him feel not so empty.
    Ruby filled up his life these days and he couldn’t fathom his existence without her, but there was still that emptiness, that hole that never felt filled after Belinda had gone.
    “Hello, Belinda.” He paused for a moment, his voice not sounding as steady as he wanted. “It’s Carter. I think it’s time we talked. Please call me back at this number when you get the chance.”
    He disconnected and walked down the hallway to Ruby’s room, needing a distraction from his thoughts. She was sound asleep, curled up on side, her chubby hand resting on her cheek. It was the same way she had slept when she was a baby. Unwillingly his mind flashed back to two days ago in the department store. He kept seeing Belinda reach up to touch Ruby’s face. He kept seeing how Ruby leaned in to Belinda’s hand, how she responded to