Terms of Agreement

20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Aiden

‘ W here are we going?’

Heart hammering and chest tight, I ignored Charlotte’s question, not trusting myself to speak as I pushed past a group of people and led her from the ballroom. I could feel waves of nervous energy emanating from her, waves that were almost as strong as my own. I tried to rein them in, use the pragmatism and logic that had been my constant companion since I’d first laid eyes on her. But every time I thought I had my emotions in check, images of a doe-eyed Charlotte desperately searching the ballroom popped back into my head and my pulse quickened.

I’d lost sight of her in the time it took me to make my way across the ballroom. Louise had told me where she’d gone and I’d planned to go after her, but Louise’s light touch on my forearm had brought me to heel. I grit my teeth as frustration simmered beneath my skin. I should have gone after her. Never had I expected something like this, but I knew Charlotte, knew her well enough to know how uneasy she must have felt in this room full of strangers—hell, she’d told as much when I’d first approached her about being my date.

And that’s what I’d realised, ruminating in the garden as the photographer bullied us into a variety of poses; the relationship might be fake and the affection for show, but tonight she was my date. And I’d planned to treat her as such. I’d spent the whole of her trip to the bathroom only half listening to what Louise had to say, my eyes scanning the ballroom in a repetitive loop until they found her. And the sight of those searching eyes had been enough to urge me towards the bar without even taking time to excuse myself from the conversation I’d been part of.

Charlotte’s creamy skin had taken on an ashen hue by the time I made it within six feet of her and, from the look of the smug smile on that prick’s face, I’d known he was the cause of it. That they worked together was enough to cause bile to curdle in my stomach, and the idea of him being even remotely within her vicinity was enough to set my teeth on edge. I took a deep breath, working to unclench my jaw and control my thoughts.

Turning left at the staircase, I led us into the darkened library, not bothering to flick on the lights. Charlotte stumbled forward into the room, the toe of her shoe catching on something, and my breath caught in my chest as I flung out a hand to catch her, jerking her into my arms.

‘Are you okay?’ My voice came out tight as I took a couple of measured breaths, forcing my heart into a steadier rhythm. Beneath my thumb, I could feel her pulse hammering against the skin of her wrist. Charlotte blinked once, peering up at me. It was only then, with her mouth only inches from mine, that I realised how close she was. But even as anxiety rippled across my skin, I couldn’t convince myself to move away. ‘Charlotte?’

She inhaled sharply, her shoulders shaking as she bent forward to press her forehead to my chest. Fuck. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she trembled, holding her close to me as my free hand fumbled along the wall in search of the light. It came on suddenly, the light so blinding that I flinched. ‘Charlotte, baby.’ Baby? Where had that come from? I set the question aside, crouching to try to get her to look at me.

It was then that a quiet giggle slipped past her lips, her laughter spilling into the room, and I jerked back in surprise.

What?

‘I’m sorry,’ Charlotte whispered, her eyes glassy with the effort to control herself. ‘But you should see your face.’

‘My face?’ I lay the back of my hand against her forehead. It was cool—if a little clammy. Was this what hysteria looked like? I watched as her quiet laughter wracked her slender frame. Better than tears.

‘It’s really only strengthening my serial killer hypothesis.’

I frowned as the memory of our earlier conversation came flooding back.

‘See!’ Charlotte said, pointing at my face. ‘That is not the face of a non-murderer.’ I exhaled, rubbing a hand across my face to force it into a more neutral expression. She wasn’t wrong, exactly. But it hadn’t been her murder I’d been envisioning.

‘So, what?’ I arched a brow in an attempt at light-heartedness, my shoulders relaxing as I forced myself to let her go and move to the sofa in front of the fire. ‘You thought I’d mapped out the perfect spot to get rid of a body while I was out getting photos done?’

‘Exactly!’ Charlotte’s smile grew, and she walked over to join me. ‘I’d imagine you’re highly efficient in all things.’

My gaze snapped to her and her cheeks flooded with heat.

‘That’s not what I meant,’ she mumbled, her gaze dropping. She was embarrassed, sure. But the stiffness in her shoulders had eased a little, so it looked like she’d come away from the interaction better off than I had.

I shut my eyes, inhaling deeply and drawing an odd sense of comfort when the sofa dipped and she settled beside me, not touching but close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her body.

‘I’m sorry,’ Charlotte mumbled at last. I rolled my head to one side, opening my eyes. What did she have to be sorry for? ‘I saw that Ben was here just after the ceremony and I’ve been trying to avoid him but…’ Something pinched in my chest as I watched her twist and pull the fabric of her skirt. I looked from her hands to her face. Her pretty mouth was pulled into a thin line and her gaze was unfocused as she watched the fireplace.

Without thinking, I reached out a hand. Covering both of hers and stilling their assault on her skirts. She started a little, surprised by my touch, and when her startled green eyes swivelled in my direction, I squeezed her hands softly beneath my own. ‘Are you okay?’

‘He’s someone I work with,’ Charlotte said in a quiet voice, her mouth twisting in thought as she considered her reply. ‘He’s a bit of a pig actually, but he’s on my team, so he’s not really avoidable.’ Her gaze drifted back to the flames as she continued. ‘I’m usually better equipped to deal with him, but he’s never actually touched me before.’ She huffed out a humourless laugh, and I stiffened in my seat. ‘I guess I wasn’t prepared.’

My thumb never stilled, even as my mind reeled at her words. Wondering what the fuck she’d had to deal with before today, I continued rubbing small circles across her hands. The memory of him pawing at her skin pushed to the surface, and that tether that I’d used to bind my anger snapped.

‘I didn’t like it.’

Charlotte bristled beside me. Shit. That came out wrong.

‘I didn’t like it either,’ she bit out, trying to extricate her hand from my grasp, ‘but Benjamin Burrows is the type of man who thinks he’s God’s gift to women. The type who doesn’t believe it when a woman says “no,” but has no problem believing it when her boyfriend ,’ she said, thrusting a finger in my direction, ‘tells him the same thing.’

I ignored the way my chest swelled when her finger pointed at me and focused on her words. I knew her anger and words had nothing to do with me, but I was happy to be the outlet she needed. My fingers itched against her skin, no longer contented with the few points of contact between us. With every crackle of the fireplace, the contact that had initially soothed the more turbulent of my emotions became less and less effective.

‘I assumed that that was why you made a point of calling me your Charlotte when we left,’ she continued hotly, oblivious to my inner torment.

To be honest, I’d barely even registered what I’d said. But it seemed that, in my haste to get her away from that prick, I’d opened my mouth and a caveman had lumbered out. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said sheepishly.

‘Don’t be,’ she said, her voice softer now. ‘It’s part of what fuelled my lie in the first place… it’s a necessary evil with buttholes like Ben.’ I would have smiled at that, at what I’d come to realise was Charlotte’s refusal to cuss, had it not been for the way her shoulders sagged in defeat. My heart clenched uncomfortably at the sight. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to help her. All I wanted to do was to go back there and deck the prick, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate that, and that was the only thing that had kept me in my seat for the past ten minutes.

My eyes trailed over her face, the sad tilt to her lips and the bleakness in her eyes as she watched the flames. I held out, waiting for her to say something. But the seconds stretched into minutes and neither of us moved.

‘Charlotte?’ I straightened in my seat, folding my leg onto the sofa so that I could face her. But she was lost to the flames as they licked and danced in the grate. ‘Charlotte?’ I repeated in a whisper. She huffed, squeezing her eyes shut. Her jaw was tight as her fingers furled and unfurled in her lap. My chest ached in the face of her distress, and I straightened, refusing to be helpless. Without stopping to think, my hands darted out to grab hers. That was enough of a shock to get her attention.

‘What are you doing?’ Charlotte’s voice came out in a choked whisper and her eyes darted across my face.

‘You’re lucky I’m not a jealous man,’ I teased—it was a lie, but she didn’t need to know that. ‘Or I’d have been put out that you were sitting next to me and thinking about someone else.’ She flushed, shaking her head as a bemused smile tugged at her lips. That’s better. I shifted my hands, twining our fingers together and lifting one arm across her chest to pull her into my side. She came willingly, settling into my side so perfectly that it could have made me question everything—had I allowed it.

I settled more comfortably against the sofa and, with every inhalation, I drank in a little more of her scent. She always smelled delicious, but this close, the combination of jasmine and citrus was intoxicating. Tilting my head to one side, I rested my chin atop her curls, letting out a quiet hum of satisfaction as I took another self-indulgent breath.

***

And that was where Louise found us. I wasn’t sure how long it’d been, if the minutes had stretched into hours. And, if I were completely honest, I didn’t care. I didn’t care that there was a party happening just outside of the library doors or that the fire had long since burned down to embers. Nothing seemed to matter but this moment and this woman in my arms. And I’d wanted to hold on to it, and her, for as long as I could.

‘There you two are!’ An exasperated Louise followed her voice into the library. She marched into the room and stood between us and the fire, looking down at our clasped hands. I let out an inaudible sigh.

‘What do you want, Lou?’

‘Ed and Tilly are about to make their grand entrance,’ Louise said, waving a hand in the general direction of the party. ‘Hugo is doing the rounds and corralling the guests.’

‘And you’ve been roped into it?’ Reluctantly, I lifted my forehead from where it had been resting against Charlotte’s curls.

‘Please.’ Louise gave an exaggerated eye roll. ‘I volunteered! You never know what you might find at a wedding, or who.’ She waggled her eyebrows at us, a devious smile tugging at her mouth. I narrowed my eyes at her, about to tell her to shove off, when Charlotte shifted beside me, extracting her hands from mine as she pushed herself to stand. I missed her closeness immediately, and I scowled at my sister.

‘We’d better go,’ she whispered, as the sound of clapping and a male’s voice—fucking Hugo—called for the guests’ attention. Begrudgingly, I stood up, allowing my hand to slip down her arm and my fingers to intertwine with hers. Charlotte looked down at our hands in surprise and part of me wondered if I had overstepped, if the intimacy we had shared was restricted to the bubble my sister had popped.

This kind of thing was covered by our contract and the new clause, but it was just the two of us here—well, the two of us and Louise—and the clause only covered PDA if the situation called for it. I was about to apologise when Charlotte looked up at me and smiled.

The air staggered from my lungs and I raised our hands to my mouth and pressed a soft kiss against the back of her hand. What kind of chance did I stand against a smile like that?

‘Lead the way, Lou,’ I said, and together we followed Louise out of the library. We had one night. I could allow myself one night of this. Of her.

***

‘You’re at table two with the rest of them,’ Louise said, pointing to one of the round tables positioned close to the Ed and Tilly’s. From the looks of it, Hugo had been fairly successful in herding the guests back to the main room, and people were slowly moving to their assigned seats. I felt my mouth stretch into a smile as I took in the other guests at our table.

Glancing over to a miserable-looking Pippa and Sarah, I made a mental note to thank Ed for convincing Tilly to allow the groomsmen to sit with our partners, and not at table one, where both sets of parents were now mooning over the happy couple. As Charlotte and I wove our way towards our seats, six pairs of eyes turned to face us. One of our party jumped to their feet, a grin spreading across her face, and before there was even time for introductions, Erin had pulled Charlotte into a hug.

‘It’s about time!’ Erin squealed into Charlotte’s hair, squeezing her tightly.

‘Easy Erin,’ I said sternly, offering a wide-eyed Charlotte an encouraging smile, only just managing to hold back a laugh as Charlotte raised a hand to pat Erin awkwardly on the back.

‘Oh, you hush up.’ She glared up at me. I’d already received several texts and a shouting voicemail—all of which I’d responded to—from an outraged Erin in the weeks following Louise’s little announcement. So, I just rolled my eyes in the face of her annoyance and, ignoring me, she turned to Charlotte and said, ‘I can’t believe he’s kept you from us all this time!’

Charlotte opened her mouth and then closed it, clearly unsure of what to say. Gently, I pried her from Erin’s clutches and pulled her into my side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, rubbing a hand up and down her shoulders in reassurance. ‘Everyone,’ I said, clearing my throat and drawing the eyes of the table, ‘this is Charlotte.’ And then, remembering our earlier conversation from the car, I added: ‘My Cupcake.’

Charlotte’s eyes snapped to mine. And, ignoring Erin’s groan of disgust and the way someone, Micah, I think, guffawed from behind me, I winked down at her. Leaning forward, I did the thing I’d been imagining for weeks and pressed a soft kiss to the frown forming between her brows.