It felt weird knocking on Tess’s fr

It felt weird knocking on Tess’s front door. As though they’d been casual backyard friends from day one and coming through the front was too formal. After last night, Carter was hoping for more. Nate and Chloe had driven down early and picked up the girls for an overnighter with Chloe’s foster son, Derrick. They had a full twenty-four hours’ worth of activities to keep the kids busy, which would undoubtedly earn Nate the Uncle of the Year award.
It had already earned him the Brother of the Year award.
“Carter?” Tess answered the door, her brow puckered and an adorably confused expression on her face. “Did you knock at the back? I didn’t hear you.”
He suddenly felt like the world’s biggest jackass. The day he’d planned seemed so perfect in theory, but now? Shit. “No, I uh … my truck’s in the driveway and there’s too much to haul around to the back.” He’d been confident enough to march over to her house and kiss her last night. Today? He could barely articulate.
A smile tugged at Tess’s lips as she craned her head to look out at the driveway. “Where are the girls?”
They were always on her mind. That alone made Carter want to sweep her up into his arms and kiss her again. “With their uncle Nate,” he said. “Until tomorrow.”
Tess’s eyes widened a fraction and her smile grew. Carter’s gut tightened and his heart began to pound. “What’s in your truck?” Her voice had gone low and breathy which only served to increase Carter’s heart rate. He was as eager as a fourteen-year-old kid on his first date. Totally pathetic. Times like these, he wished he could be more like Travis. Confident, forward, a little wild. A hell of a lot more experienced.
“Paint, molding, some wainscoting. I thought I could help you get started on the inside. So it felt a little less like Millie’s place, and more like yours.”
“Carter.” Tess’s voice softened with emotion and his chest swelled. She jumped up and threw her arms around him and as though as he was helpless not to, he wound his arms around her. “This is awesome. Thank you so much.”
She angled her head back to look at him and put her mouth to his. It caught Carter off guard, but he wasn’t about to complain. The kiss was slow and sweet, and only made him want more. She was breathless when she finally pulled away, and Carter was reluctant to let her go.
“You have to let me pay you for what you bought, though.” Tess headed down the front steps and rushed toward Carter’s Ford with an excited bounce in her steps. “So far, all I’ve managed to buy is white paint for the ceiling. Oh my god, Carter, this is awesome!”
She hopped up on the bumper and climbed into the back of the truck with all of the enthusiasm of a kid at Christmas. Carter grinned as he followed her down the stairs. That he’d made her happy filled his chest near to bursting with pride. “No way are you paying me back,” he said. “It’s a housewarming gift.” She pursed her lips as though about to argue. “Try to pay me,” he said, “and I’ll call a contractor to do a full remodel.”
Her answering laughter was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. “I can’t wait to get started. These projects are always more fun with a partner.”
Partner. Carter agreed. “Everything in life is better with a copilot.”
Tess’s gaze met his and the depths of her blue eyes shone with emotion. “Definitely.”
They started in the living room and talked while they worked. With every minute he spent with Tess, the more Carter marveled at how easy she was to be with. He didn’t need to be anything but himself with her. He realized, though, that there was still one big part of his life he hadn’t told her about.
“So, what is your brother doing with the girls?” Tess dipped her roller into the sage-colored paint and began to spread it on the wall.
“Zoo, FC Dallas soccer game.” he paused. “Helicopter ride.”
“Helicopter ride?” Tess laughed. “How’d that fall into the mix?”
“Technically it belongs to Christensen Petroleum,” Carter said. “Nate usually refuses to use it but he made an exception in the interest of entertaining the girls.”
Tess nodded as though following along with the conversation. She stopped, the paint roller frozen on the wall. “Wait. Christensen Petroleum as in Carter Christensen Petroleum?”
He cringed. “I own shares, but Nate has the controlling stock.”
“Holy shit Carter! So you’re like, loaded.”
He hated being judged by his money. He didn’t think that Tess would care either way, but it still reminded him of why he and his brothers liked to distance themselves from their family name.
“We grew up with nothing,” he said. “Okay, that’s not entirely true. But when we graduated high school, our dad cut us loose. He wanted us all to be self-made men. He didn’t give any of us a dime. I paid my own way through college—the portion that my scholarship didn’t cover—and paid off the student loans on my own, too. He died about nine months ago and left us the company. Not that any of us had any use for it by then.”
“Wow.” Tess shook her head. “I can’t even imagine.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Rasanya aneh mengetuk pintu depan Tess. Seolah-olah mereka telah santai belakang teman dari satu hari dan datang melalui depan adalah terlalu formal. Setelah semalam, Carter berharap untuk lebih. Nate dan Chloe telah didorong ke bawah lebih awal dan mengambil gadis-gadis untuk overnighter dengan anak angkat Chloe, Derrick. Mereka mempunyai dua puluh empat jam penuh senilai kegiatan untuk menjaga anak-anak sibuk, yang tidak diragukan lagi akan mendapatkan Nate paman of the Year penghargaan.Itu sudah telah memberinya saudara of the Year penghargaan."Carter?" Tess menjawab pintu, dia alis berkerut dan ekspresi pasti adorably bingung di wajahnya. "Apakah Anda mengetuk di bagian belakang? Aku tidak mendengar Anda."Dia tiba-tiba merasa seperti jackass terbesar di dunia. Hari dia berencana tampak begitu sempurna dalam teori, tapi sekarang? Kotoran. "Tidak, saya eh... saya truk di jalan masuk dan ada terlalu banyak untuk mengangkut sekitar ke belakang." Ia telah cukup percaya diri untuk Maret atas ke rumahnya dan mencium dia malam terakhir. Hari ini? Dia nyaris tidak bisa mengartikulasikan.Senyum menarik di bibir Tess sebagai dia craned kepalanya untuk melihat keluar di jalan. "Mana yang gadis-gadis?"Mereka adalah selalu di pikirannya. Yang sendirian membuat Carter ingin menyapu dia ke dalam tangannya dan menciumnya lagi. "Dengan paman mereka Nate," katanya. "Sampai besok."Tess mata melebar sebagian kecil dan senyumnya tumbuh. Carter usus diperketat dan hatinya mulai pon. "Apa yang ada di truk Anda?" Suaranya telah pergi rendah dan mendesah yang hanya melayani untuk meningkatkan denyut jantung Carter. Dia adalah seperti bersemangat sebagai anak-anak berusia empat belas tahun pada tanggal pertama. Benar-benar menyedihkan. Kali seperti ini, dia berharap dia bisa lebih seperti Travis. Yakin, maju, sedikit liar. Neraka yang lebih berpengalaman."Cat, molding, lahir beberapa. Saya pikir saya bisa membantu Anda memulai di dalam. Jadi, rasanya sedikit kurang seperti Millie di tempat, dan lebih seperti Anda.""Carter." Tess suara melunak dengan emosi dan dadanya membengkak. Dia melompat dan melemparkan lengannya di sekelilingnya dan meskipun ia tak berdaya tidak, ia luka lengannya di sekelilingnya. "Ini mengagumkan. Terima Anda begitu banyak."Ia miring kembali kepala untuk memandangnya dan meletakkan mulutnya nya. Itu tertangkap Carter lengah, tetapi dia tidak mengeluh. Ciuman lambat dan manis, dan hanya membuat dia ingin lebih. Dia adalah terengah-engah ketika dia akhirnya menarik diri, dan Carter enggan untuk membiarkannya pergi."Anda memiliki untuk membiarkan saya membayar Anda untuk apa yang Anda membeli, walaupun." Tess menuju ke depan langkah dan bergegas menuju Carter Ford dengan bouncing bersemangat dalam langkah-langkah. "Sejauh ini, aku sudah berhasil membeli adalah cat putih untuk langit-langit. Oh Tuhan, Carter, ini mengagumkan! "She hopped up on the bumper and climbed into the back of the truck with all of the enthusiasm of a kid at Christmas. Carter grinned as he followed her down the stairs. That he’d made her happy filled his chest near to bursting with pride. “No way are you paying me back,” he said. “It’s a housewarming gift.” She pursed her lips as though about to argue. “Try to pay me,” he said, “and I’ll call a contractor to do a full remodel.”Her answering laughter was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. “I can’t wait to get started. These projects are always more fun with a partner.”Partner. Carter agreed. “Everything in life is better with a copilot.”Tess’s gaze met his and the depths of her blue eyes shone with emotion. “Definitely.”They started in the living room and talked while they worked. With every minute he spent with Tess, the more Carter marveled at how easy she was to be with. He didn’t need to be anything but himself with her. He realized, though, that there was still one big part of his life he hadn’t told her about.“So, what is your brother doing with the girls?” Tess dipped her roller into the sage-colored paint and began to spread it on the wall.“Zoo, FC Dallas soccer game.” he paused. “Helicopter ride.”“Helicopter ride?” Tess laughed. “How’d that fall into the mix?”“Technically it belongs to Christensen Petroleum,” Carter said. “Nate usually refuses to use it but he made an exception in the interest of entertaining the girls.”Tess nodded as though following along with the conversation. She stopped, the paint roller frozen on the wall. “Wait. Christensen Petroleum as in Carter Christensen Petroleum?”He cringed. “I own shares, but Nate has the controlling stock.”“Holy shit Carter! So you’re like, loaded.”He hated being judged by his money. He didn’t think that Tess would care either way, but it still reminded him of why he and his brothers liked to distance themselves from their family name.“We grew up with nothing,” he said. “Okay, that’s not entirely true. But when we graduated high school, our dad cut us loose. He wanted us all to be self-made men. He didn’t give any of us a dime. I paid my own way through college—the portion that my scholarship didn’t cover—and paid off the student loans on my own, too. He died about nine months ago and left us the company. Not that any of us had any use for it by then.”“Wow.” Tess shook her head. “I can’t even imagine.