28. Chapter 29
Chapter 29
CHRIS
I check my reflection in the mirror one last time, rolling the sleeves of my shirt to the elbows before I hit myself with a spritz of cologne. Any minute now, Charlotte will be here, and somehow, I’m nervous as fuck, which is ridiculous. After spending the week at her mother’s house and squeezing in time with her when I could, she’s back on campus. I’ve got the girl; things are returning to normal, and we’ve fallen into a rhythm. But when it comes to love, Charlotte is like a feral animal?skittish and scared. I can see in her eyes how much she wants to feel loved and how willing she is to give it, but I can’t help but fear that if I make one wrong move, I’ll scare her off.
I exhale and step away from the mirror, bending to pull on my shoes when there’s a rap on my door. “Your girlfriend is here!” Jace yells.
Grinning, I hurry through my room into the living room, wondering if the sound of him calling Charlotte my girlfriend will ever get old.
I pause, raking in the sight of her in a black dress and knee-high boots with a heavy sweater wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the chilly autumn air. Seems a shame it’ll be wasted on dinner with our parents when I’d rather it just be us.
Beside her, Brynn is talking her ear off; some story about the resident adviser at Hyde Hall that has the both of them in stitches.
I settle in, enjoying the view of Lettie’s head tipped back in laughter and looking deliriously happy, when she catches sight of me from across the room. Our eyes lock, and my insides melt.
Ignoring Jace’s snicker, I close the gap between us in two long strides and scoop her up, wrapping her legs around my waist like a baby koala.
With a sigh, I sink my face into the side of her hair and breathe her in like it’s my last dying breath?getting my Lettie fix?before I put her back on her feet. “Damn, I missed you.”
She chuckles, giving me one last squeeze. “You just saw me at lunch.”
“That was forever ago.” I grin, brushing her hair from her eyes. “You ready for this?”
The soft clink of silverware on china blends with the low hum of conversation around us. Our candlelit table sits in the corner of the restaurant. It’s the type of place with twenty pieces of flatware that you have no idea what to do with, and serves five courses before your meal; the kind of place where kids stay home and adults come to celebrate.
Beside me, Charlotte’s dark eyes sparkle like onyx under the gentle glow of the overhead chandelier as they lock on mine, then quickly flicker away again. When we accepted the dinner invitation from our parents, we both agreed we’d put off telling them about our relationship for the time being. Mostly because it will complicate things, particularly where her mother is concerned, and the last thing I want are complications when things are going so well.
The way I see it, Lettie and I are in uncharted waters. The only people who know about us are our friends, and even they’ve given us hell for it. Still, knowing our silence is for the best doesn’t make it any easier not to reach out and touch her. My fingers twitch to sweep her hair from her face. My arms ache to pull her into my side. My lips yearn to brush a soft kiss over her temple, the back of her hand, the top of her head?anywhere and everywhere. Charlotte’s lips curve as she takes a sip of her water, as if she can read my thoughts. What can I say? I’m a man addicted to a hot little brunette with a whip-smart mouth.
I grunt and focus back on my plate, taking a bite of steak when her foot finds mine beneath the table while her hands drifts up my thigh. I swallow, arching a brow at her with a look that tells her she’s playing with fire. If she even had half an idea of how much I want her, she wouldn’t play with me like this.
Clearing my throat, I shift in my seat, trying to ease the tent in my pants when I glance over to find Charlotte’s father watching me, and my dick shrivels to dust. His hazel eyes tighten on my face as my mother starts in on the topic of seating arrangements, wanting our opinion. “Of course, normally you and Lettie would both be seated on either side of us, but since you’re the only ones in the wedding party, I convinced Garry to seat us with the boys and the two of you at a table together. Does that suit you?”
“Sure, whatever you want,” I say, not really listening.
“As for the bridal party dance, are you and Lettie fine with dancing together?” she asks. “If you’d prefer not to?”
“Nope. That’s fine,” I interrupt, sounding a little too eager.
Beneath the table, Lettie releases my leg to squeeze my hand, a reminder I need to relax, so I wince, then try again, “I mean, if you want to do a bridal party dance, we’ll do one. Whatever you want.”
“Well, someone’s in an amenable mood.” Mom chuckles. “Do you hear that, Garry? Whatever we want, we get.”
Garry hums under his breath, staring at me like he has x-ray vision and can see inside my thoughts.
Charlotte drops her foot from my leg and clears her throat. “Have you decided on a venue yet?” she asks, and I have to give her props. With everything going on, she couldn’t give a shit less about the wedding, but she’s making an effort all the same.
“We’re considering The Inn,” Garry says, referring to the stately manor just outside Ann Arbor.
“Oh,” Charlotte says in a way that conveys her surprise, “that’s fancy.”
Garry’s smile fizzles. “You don’t think it’s a good choice?”
Charlotte shakes her head, looking slightly flustered as she says, “No. It’s not that. I’m sure it’ll be great. It’s beautiful and intimate. It’s just . . . really upscale. Kind of hard to imagine Chris’s little brothers there.”
I know what she means. It’s the first thought that popped into my head. Hell, getting my brothers to wear a suit for more than five minutes will be a challenge. Asking them to sit in a formal ballroom with tons of glass, china, and breakables, is asking for trouble. Not to mention having to endure an instrumental live band, and waiters in tuxedos handing out canapés on trays. They’ll die of boredom.
But I also know how her words sound. As far as Garry’s concerned, she’s never met my brothers, but her words say otherwise. It’s a clear implication that not only has she met them, she knows them well enough to make a judgment call based on that knowledge.
Garry’s gaze bounces between us, a quiet tension simmering in the silence, a boiling pot ready to spill over. “Speaking of Chris,” he says with a nod, turning a tight smile on me. “Barb tells me you and Charlotte have been seeing each other a lot recently.”
I purse my lips, trying not to shrink under his gaze. I’ve never been good at hiding things from my mother. I’m not surprised she’s noticed Charlotte and I are getting closer, but the ice in Garry’s tone tells me he might not be happy about it.
My gaze bounces to Charlotte and back, unsure of how much I should say since we agreed not to tell them, when she interjects. “Uh, yeah. We’ve been spending some time together,” she says, like it’s no big deal. “We’re both in the same circle of friends, so it’s not a surprise. It kind of just happened.”
Garry’s eyes narrow. “‘Kind of just happened,’” he repeats slowly, like he’s savoring the meaning. “Interesting.”
“Aren’t you the one that told us it would be nice if we spent some time together, got to know each other?” I remind him.
His mouth shuts, a menacing curl to his lips while his gaze cuts between us as though he’s piecing it together. “He’s the boy that fixed your car, isn’t he?”
The memory of his warning to Charlotte about boys wanting something in exchange for a favor rings like a bell loudly inside my head, and I swallow.
“So what if he was,” Charlotte challenges.
My mother, either completely oblivious or trying to ease the rising tension, lifts her wine glass and says, “Well, I for one, think it’s great. I love that you’re building on your friendship.” She flashes me a wink and I wince.
Wrong move, Mom. Wrong move.
Garry’s fingers tighten around his water glass, his knuckles white, and when he tosses his napkin on the table and pushes back from his seat, my stomach drops. “Charlotte, a word, please?”
With a lift of the chin, Charlotte’s dark eyes harden. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it here.”
Garry hesitates before dropping back into his seat. “Fine.” He smooths his tie, his expression tight. “I’m a smart man, and I’m not blind. I see what’s happening here. You could barely be in the same room as him a little over a month ago,” he says, waving in my direction.
“I don’t know what you’re getting at, but?”
“Stop lying!” Garry brings his palm down over the tabletop, rattling the ice in our glasses.
Lettie jumps, and across from me, my mother gapes. “Garry,” she admonishes.
“I’m sorry,” he says, turning toward her, “but I can’t stand all the secrecy.”
Beside me, Charlotte snorts and mutters, “That’s rich, coming from you.
“I see the eyes you’ve been giving each other since we walked in,” Garry says with a subtle pause, “and all I want to know is why? Are you doing this to get even with me?”
Lettie’s brows rise, a strangled laugh spilling from her chest. “You think I’m seeing Chris as revenge?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know what to think. All I know is how upset you were when we told you we were getting married. I also know this has made”?he clears his throat?“certain aspects of your life harder. It wouldn’t surprise me if you lashed out.”
“Unbelievable.” Charlotte shakes her head, eyes blazing with the heat of her anger. “I’m so glad my own father thinks I’m cheap enough to sell myself to a boy just to get back at him.”
“That’s not what I . . .” He pauses, his cheeks turning a dark shade of red. “I know you have a lot on your plate right now, and I just question whether this might be some kind of emotional manipulation.”
The muscle in Lettie’s jaw twitches, and I know he’s hit a nerve. “Like Mom?” She arches a brow, waiting, but he drops his gaze to the table and says nothing. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that to me, like you said it to Mom for years, and if you must know, I’m not falling for Chris to get even.” She glares at him. “I’m falling for him because he’s actually pretty fucking amazing,” she says, mimicking my words from the night at her mother’s place. “And I’m sorry if that somehow inconveniences you, but quite frankly, I don’t really give a shit if it does.”
Stunned into silence, Garry’s lips part while I give myself a mental high-five for being fucking awesome, all while sliding a hand beneath the table and intertwining Lettie’s fingers with mine.
“Okay,” my mother says through a breath. “Why doesn’t everybody take a deep breath, and we can talk this out. Garry, darling, let’s have another glass of wine, shall we?” She raises a hand, motioning for the waiter. But Garry turns, his expression thunderous, and she drops her arm.
“What the hell will people think when they find out our kids are dating?”
My mother grins. “They’ll think my son has good taste. Just like his mama.” She takes his hand and gives it a little squeeze. “Is it really the worst thing?”
Unable to sit by and watch anymore, I push back my chair and rise to my feet. “Garry, can I speak to you outside for a moment? Man-to-man?”
Garry turns to me, his gaze questioning before he answers with a curt nod.
“Chris,” Charlotte reaches out, “you don’t have to?”
“I’ll be right back,” I say into Charlotte’s ear before I press a kiss on the side of her face, not giving a shit if Garry’s watching or whether he likes it or not.
Straightening, I cross the wide expanse of the restaurant’s dining room and make a beeline for the doors where I step outside into the chilly evening air. Behind me, Lettie’s father follows, the sound of his feet at my back.
I whirl around to face him. “Sir, I think there’s something we should get straight.”
Garry raises a hand to stop me. “Chris, I was out of line. It’s ok?”
“I’m in love with your daughter.”
Garry’s words die in his throat, his expression shell-shocked as he stares at me unblinking, mouth slightly agape. A bomb could go off and I doubt he’d budge an inch.
“I’m in love with your daughter,” I repeat, in the hopes it’ll sink in. “And I know that probably seems fast, but it didn’t happen overnight, and I don’t have any ulterior motives. I’ve wanted Lettie since freshman year, and though I can’t speak for her, I know she feels the same. Though I understand how this might be a little weird, considering you’re engaged to my mother, our intentions are pure, and I just want you to know that as a man, I’ll treat her right.”
Garry blinks, saying nothing for a moment, and instead, tucks his hands into his pockets, his breath forming a plume out in front of him on an exhale. “You mean that, don’t you?”
I nod, allowing my emotions to play over my face, because I’ve never meant anything more. “Yes, sir.”
“And you’re telling me all of this because . . .?”
“I’m telling you this because I have zero intentions of hurting her.” I step forward and slap a hand over his shoulder. I respect Garry, like him even, but I’m also not going to be his little bitch and stand down when I need to stand up for my girl. “And I know your relationship with Lettie is a little complicated, but you should know that accusing her of emotionally manipulating others around her when all she wants and needs most is love and support, is probably a shitty way to repair your relationship, and a good way to force the wedge deeper.”