A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(204)

She’d struggled to keep her emotions in check when her class of twelve students at the Brooklyn Young Offenders Institute had handed her the beautifully wrapped gift. “I’ll miss them this week.”

Carter placed his chin on the back of the sofa, looking insanely adorable. “You’ll have me.”

Kat leaned over and kissed him. “Aren’t I lucky?”

“Beth called,” Carter whispered against her lips. “She wanted to know if we’re still going to the benefit on New Year’s. I told her yes. That okay?”

“Definitely. How was your day? Did Max call?”

Carter’s face turned sad. “Yeah, he did.” He sighed. “It breaks my f*cking heart, his being in that place at Christmas, but I know it’s where he needs to be.”

Less than twelve months after his heartbreaking confession to Carter, Max was admitted into rehab, finally conceding that he needed professional help. His solo battle against his coke addiction had been valiant but short-lived. He was clean for only seventy-three days before he caved after seeing a woman he thought was Lizzie on a busy street in Brooklyn.

Carter and the boys from the shop tried their best to steer their friend onto the right path, keeping him busy, but Max’s emotional scars ran too deep. Once Max had admitted defeat, after Carter had found him unconscious on his bathroom floor, Carter had footed the rehab center bill, also clearing the shop of the debts Max’s addiction had created.

Kat cupped Carter’s cheek as she kissed him. “Be strong. He needs you.”

Carter exhaled. “I know.”

“Hey, guess what?” Kat smiled. “I stopped at the store on the way home.”

Carter’s eyes brightened. “Did you get me something nice?”

She grinned. “Oreos, milk, and twelve cans of Coke.”

He dropped his head back onto the sofa and sighed. “God, I love you.”

Kat laughed and went back to the kitchen to put the groceries away. The lush domesticity that swept through her was as familiar as it was welcome. Living with Carter had been trying at first, but after almost a year, they’d finally found a new level of comfort that Kat cherished. Sure, his obsessive cleanliness and OCD habits still drove her crazy, but it was most definitely worth it.

They split their time between the beach house and the TriBeCa apartment, which they used primarily during the week and whenever Carter was needed at WCS. The beach house, however, would always be most special to them: a precious getaway they both treasured.

Once she was done unpacking, Kat poured two large glasses of milk and tucked the pack of Oreos under her arm. She handed one glass to Carter and sat down next to him, putting the cookies between them. Carter took all of two seconds to rip the pack open and begin devouring the contents.

“So, look, I was thinking while you were at work,” he mumbled before swallowing the cream from his cookie. “I was thinking that we should exchange gifts today. You know, to celebrate your vacation time.”

Kat looked at him askance. “But it’s not Christmas for another four days. Can’t you wait?” She’d caught him at least half a dozen times shaking and touching the parcels under the tree they’d decorated together two weeks before. “Besides, Nana Boo, Mom, and Harrison will be here then. I’d like to have some gifts to open with them.”

Carter shot a longing gaze at the beautiful Christmas tree. “But …”

[page]Kat laughed. “Oh my God, you’re such a child.”


He grinned, blue eyes sparkling. “Does that mean we can?”