Free

Chapter 2

TWO

Charlie

3 years ago

“Your family’s so cool,” I say, raising my champagne glass to my lips, though my eyes betray me, flitting across the room until they meet Nick’s.

Angela turns, her knowing grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as she catches the moment. Nick is watching too. My cheeks flush with warmth, and I drop my gaze, pretending the bubbling fizz of champagne is suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

“I mean, I’m a fan of us,” she says, the grin never leaving her face. “But what makes you say that now?”

“How many other families would welcome me to all their parties? Sure, you married my brother?—”

“And you’re turning into one of my best friends.” Angela clinks her glass to mine, the sound light and cheerful.

“Definitely. And ditto. But me flying down just for your parties? Most people might call that… strange.”

Angela’s parents’ house has become so familiar over the past year that it feels like stepping into a vacation rental I’ve been to a dozen times. The enclosed outdoor living area smells like ocean spray and citrus-scented candles. A breeze rolls in from the beach, rustling the palm fronds that frame the pool, the water glinting under the soft glow of fairy lights strung along the patio.

Angela shrugs, the movement as effortless as her confidence. “We Huttons are a different breed.”

“Except you’re a Cooper now,” I tease my sister-in-law.

“And loving every minute of it.”

Nick’s eyes catch mine again over her shoulder, and it feels like the air thickens. My chest tightens, but in that fluttery, almost giddy way I can’t quite control. A slow smile spreads across my face before I drop my gaze, my heart hammering.

Angela notices—of course, she notices—and glances back, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “So,” she says, drawing out the word, “what’s going on there?”

“With Nick?” I counter, my voice a little too high as I scramble for composure.

“Yes, with Nick.” Angela laughs, shaking her head. “You’re trying to hide it. Failing miserably, by the way, but there’s definitely something between you two.”

“There’s something,” I admit, my voice soft. “I don’t really know what it is. We’re friends.”

Angela arches a brow. “Friends,” she repeats, the skepticism dripping from her tone.

I don’t know if I buy it either. Friends don’t text each other every morning without fail. They don’t send sweet, flirty messages or call late at night, voices low and full of the kind of connection that defies distance. Friends don’t make every other guy seem like a cardboard cutout by comparison. Davis has asked me out so many times since he first showed up in my yoga class. He’s sweet, successful, and charming. By all rights I should have at least let him buy me a cup of coffee by now. But he just doesn’t hold a candle to Nick.

“We talk a lot. It’s fun. Flirty, sure. But…” I sigh, the words catching. “We don’t get much time together. His job being what it is. My home being where it is…”

Angela opens her mouth to respond, but a high-pitched shriek splits the air, followed by a splash that sends waves rolling across the pool. A little girl stands at the edge, hands planted on her hips, glaring at another, soaked and flailing in the water, her dress billowing like a jellyfish.

“I’m gonna kill you!” the girl in the pool shouts, her voice a mix of outrage and humiliation. “You stupid, jealous, bratty idiot!”

Their mother, Angela’s cousin Nathan’s girlfriend, storms toward the scene, gesturing wildly for Nathan to solve the problem with her daughters.

I shake my head, murmuring, “He deserves so much better.”

Angela sighs, her head bobbing in agreement. “So much better. Maybe someday he’ll figure out what he’s worth.”

Then Nick approaches, and every coherent thought flies straight out of my head.

He’s in his dress blues, sharp and commanding, with dark hair cropped perfectly and eyes so blue it’s like God used them for inspiration when he colored the summer sky. He’s all clean lines and quiet strength, six-foot-three of impossible charm, and I am utterly helpless. Nick Hutton is the stuff sexual fantasies are made of.

Believe me, I know.

He smiles, and it hits me like a bolt of lightning. My pulse quickens, my stomach flips, and Angela’s amused scoff barely registers

“Friends. Sure,” she murmurs, before drifting away to give us some time alone.

The rest of the party blurs, the voices, laughter, and music fading to the edges. It might as well just be Nick and me, alone instead of surrounded by people, talking like we’ve known each other forever instead of only a year. My awareness sharpens on the details—the warmth of his skin when our arms brush, the low timbre of his voice that sends shivers down my spine, the way his laugh seems to echo in my chest.

Time becomes elastic in Nick’s company, moments stretching and snapping back. Eventually, though, the bubble we’ve created bursts, and we wander through the crowd to join others. I meet Ivy, girlfriend to Nick’s cousin Micah. She seems sweet, and they seem serious, but as she talks, I can’t help but notice Nick’s arm brush mine again, his easy grin flicking my focus back to him.

“That is so gonna be a thing,” Micah whispers to Ivy, just loud enough to hear as Nick and I drift toward yet another quiet corner. “Charlie, and Nick. They eye-bang each other whenever they’re both in town at the same time. Which happens a lot more than you’d think.”

Nick glances at me, his expression bemused. “If I’ve ever eye-banged you, please forgive me.”

“Likewise, Marine,” I shoot back, winking as I sip my champagne, trying to calm the flush creeping up my neck.

We talk. We drink. The champagne goes to my head and I can’t stop touching his arm. Don’t want to stop touching his arm. I lean close, breathing in his cologne, the musk of his skin, laughing and laughing and laughing at his jokes. We linger in the driveway, long after everyone else has left, the palms bending in the breeze, the ocean stretching out wide and wonderful behind the house.

“When do you leave?” he asks, leaning against his truck, looking so damn gorgeous I don’t know what to do.

“I’m here for a week,” I say, my cheeks heating at the implications. Let’s be honest… I came for him.

A slow smile brightens his face. “Can I see you?”

“I mean,” I tease, my voice light but my heart pounding, “I flew to Florida specifically for your welcome home party and decided to stay an extra week, so, you know, I’d be pretty disappointed if you didn’t.”

The way his gaze locks on mine definitely feels like eye-banging.

Neither one of us complains.