Chapter 24
Charlotte
“Let’s get more chairs around each fire pit,” I point with my pen as I walk through the courtyard. “The Adirondacks, not the white ones. We’re saving those for the event hall where we will have the bulk of the engagement party and most likely the reception.”
After arriving at the resort, Gavin and I went separate ways. He had a string of phone calls and I got started on all the moving parts as soon as I got out of his truck. It’s also given me time to work on what I needed. It’s like my brain and my heart seem to be a little conflicted right now.
“You don’t think your partner in crime will want to move the whole party outside?” Josie asks. “With the turkey legs and live band, which I heard has a fiddle, it’ll be a real hoedown.”
“You know, I think he might trust my judgement on this one,” I say as we walk towards the brewery for something to drink. A mocktail for me, of course.
“Oh, really?” she asks. “Was there a truce?”
“You could say that,” I tell her. I look around before going on. “He kissed me.”
“Who kissed you?” she asks, and I roll my eyes, mouthing his name.
“Gavin. On the way here.”
“Okay? I don’t get it. You guys have kissed before.
You’ve done a lot of other things before from what you’ve told me.
Why is a kiss a big deal?” she asks. I wait until the bartender takes our drink order and walks away before going on.
Everyone here works for Gavin, which means every ear could be bugged, so to speak.
“It was different. At least I think it was? I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure that out,” I say, plopping down on a barstool.
Josie follows suit. She really is a true best friend. “So what about it was different?”
“I don’t know. Usually when things get heated between us, it’s like a side effect of, you know, things being heated between us. We are either teasing each other or arguing or getting in each other’s way, and all that pent-up tension and friction leads to—”
“Another kind of friction.” Josie smiles and nods.
“Right,” I say, grabbing one of the coaster napkins and tearing it in half.
My hands need something to do because my brain feels like it’s full of bees right now.
“But it wasn’t like that this time. We were talking about music and life and marriage,” I say and then I elaborate on the last part.
“In general. Marriage in general. And we just…kissed.”
“Did it lead to anything else?” she asks, too engrossed in the romance arc of the story to care about the plot.
“It might have, but people were honking at us,” I say as our drinks arrive, a hard cider for her and a Cherry Cola for me.
“Oh, my god I love this,” she says.
“I don’t,” I say.
“Why not? It’s not every day a one-night stand turns into something more,” she giggles, sipping on her drink.
“But that’s the thing, Jo. It can’t turn into anything. He’s my ex’s–” I stop, looking around and lowering my voice. “He’s my ex’s dad.”
“And?”
“And! That’s a pretty big problem. Imagine what Ben would say if he found out,” I whisper his name. “Imagine what Gavin would think if he knew Ben is my ex?”
“Yeah, I guess that is pretty Jerry Springer,” she says as she nurses her cider. “Even so, they’d have to get over it if you two really had feelings for each other.”
“That’s the other thing. I don’t know if I do. Or if I want to. It’s complicated.”
“It is,” she says empathetically. “I bet your little sobriety checker in there doesn’t make it any less complicated.”
I look down at my belly, which still looks and mostly feels the same.
“Still pretending you’re growing a watermelon in your belly and not a baby?” she asks.
“I’m not pretending anything,” I say. “I’m just focused on other things. Besides, I’m not showing. I don’t have any symptoms other than a strange craving for breakfast food. Nothing’s really changed yet.”
“You’ve heard the heartbeat,” she says. “I was there with you, and you have an ultrasound photo.”
“I don’t…I don’t remember what I did with it,” I say, focusing on popping the bubbles in my soda with the straw.
“I do. You shoved it in your purse. The blue one with the gold latch,” she says. I know exactly what she’s talking about. It’s the purse I have with me in my cabin. When I don’t say anything, she goes on.
“It’s okay to be nervous. At some point you’re going to have to not worry about what other people think and just live your life. The way you want.”
The doors to the brewery open, and my stomach does a little backflip.
Gavin walks in with a grin on his face that meets his eyes.
He’s wearing a black hooded flannel and jeans, a look that I don’t hate.
In Denver, he’s a city guy, slacks and button downs.
Here, he’s a mountain man. It’s the best of both worlds.
He’s with a man who looks like a slightly younger, lankier version of him. If I had to guess–
“Charlotte,” Gavin calls as he heads our way. “Charlotte, I want you to meet Elias, my–”
“Brother,” I say, hopping off the stool, holding my hand out.
“Is it that obvious?” Elias asks.
“The men in your family have very defining traits,” I say.
“You would know,” Josie mumbles into her cider, and thank God no one hears her.
“Well, one of those traits is that we aren’t hand shakers,” Elias says before pulling me into a hug so warm I have to laugh.
“Charlotte is the wedding planner,” Gavin says.
“I know who she is,” Elias grins, winking at his brother. They share a look that is spoken in a language only they can decipher, and I wonder what Gavin told him.
“And this,” Elias says. “Is my wife Bethany and our kids Brody and Evie.” He gestures to a lovely woman with a bundle in her arms and two adorable little kids, both of them blonde like their mother and shy as can be.
“And Oliver,” Evie says, tugging at the blanket in her mom’s arms. “Don’t forget about the baby.”
“He’s always forgetting the baby,” Brody informs me.
“I could never forget about Oliver,” Elias says, tugging the blanket back to reveal a tiny, sleeping bundle.
“Oh my, how old is he?” I ask. “You must have just had him.”
“A week yesterday,” Bethany answers as if it’s nothing.
“A week old and you traveled up here for the wedding?” I ask, touching the baby’s hand.
“We’re a bit adventurous,” Elias says.
“It runs in the family,” Gavin grins, side-hugging his brother.
“You can say that again,” Bethany says, but I can tell by her smile that she’s just as fearless as they are. Add Holly and Ben to the mix and they really are a wild bunch.
“Dad, look,” Brody says. “They have ladder ball. I wanna play!”
“Awesome idea, bud,” Gavin says, scooping up his nephew. “I think we should all play, and I want you on my team.”
“Well, I am a pretty good ball thrower,” Brody says.
“You hear that, brother?” Gavin asks. “He’s a good ball thrower. You’re toast.”
Ben and Holly arrive, and then several other people arrive; clearly, they are all family or close friends up for the wedding.
They are all hanging around the sets of ladder ball and it turns into a regular tournament.
Even Josie, who is on her third cider, gets in on the action, leaving me, Bethany, and Evie on the side.
“Are you going to play?” Bethany asks me.
“Oh no, I’m not very good at sports,” I say.
“Ladder ball is easy, though. Fun too,” she says. Then she looks down at Evie. “Sweetie, are you going to play?”
I can tell Evie is the quietest one in the bunch. I feel for her. “Not unless you do,” she says.
“Mommy can’t really play right now, baby. I have to hold Oliver.”
“But you’re always on my team at home,” she whines, and I can tell Bethany is aching to get in on the action. Then she turns to me.
“Any chance you have baby fever?” she asks, and it catches me completely off guard.
“I…what? I mean, I–”
“Do you wanna hold the baby?” she asks with a smile.
“Oh,” I say and something in me tugs me closer to her. “Sure. I’d love to.”
Bethany passes the baby to me, and instinctively, I start swaying back and forth. He’s fast asleep, but I can feel him repositioning himself in my arms. He’s so very small. He’s a complete little person.
He snuggles into my arms, and I feel his warmth against me.
He smells like warm milk and baby powder; it is the most delicious scent in the world.
I’ve held babies before, but something about it is different this time.
Something is stirring inside of me, like a warm flutter of emotions I’ve never felt before, and yet it’s the most natural thing I’ve ever known.
His lips flicker as he dreams, and he lets out a small soft coo.
I pat his back, rocking him back and forth, quietly hushing him until he settles again.
I don’t even realize it until I blink, but my eyes are hot with tears. All these new emotions are overwhelming. I’m not upset, but I don’t know what to do with them.
I’m pulled back into the room when I hear everyone cheering and clapping. Brody scored a winning point for him and Gavin’s team, and Brody is joyfully leaping in the air. I watch as Gavin picks him up, launching him into the air and catching him again.
It looks so natural to him, probably because he is a father. Even with his brother’s kids, his love is paternal. My eyes are no longer just stinging. Hot tears stream down my cheeks as I wonder if maybe, just maybe, he could ever possibly feel that way for my baby. For our baby.