Chapter 8 #2
The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile that seemed strangely relieved. “I was worried you might think that it’s silly. Most people seem to.”
I let out a low chuckle. “Maybe I did think that at first, but I’ve learned that I was wrong.”
“You’re willing to admit that?”
I shrugged. “Why not? If it’s true, it’s true.
Sadie, my sister, and Jameson’s wife, which I guess makes her, like, your cousin-in-law now.
God, that’s weird to think about, but anyway, Sadie has completely devoted her life to her foundation.
It benefits animals and not kids, but yeah, I still admire the hell out of her for it. ”
“I’ve heard about that,” Charlotte said softly, her eyes practically glued to mine like she was still trying to figure out if I was about to start laughing. “Do you really support her, then?”
I nodded. “Now? Absolutely.”
“Only now?”
“Yep.” I sighed, absently scratching the side of my neck as some of that old shame rolled back in.
“I wish I could say I always have, but at first, I really thought it was foolish. Just some hobby gone wrong that also happened to be a black hole for money, but after she and Jameson got together, we talked about it a lot. Eventually, I realized I was the fool.”
“So you get it?” she asked almost hopefully.
“Yeah, I think I do.”
I looked back at her, wondering why this seemed so difficult for her to understand.
It made me wonder what she put up with from her family.
Maybe even her friends. I knew what Sadie had gone through and I wasn’t proud to have been part of it, but if there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that asking her about the organizations she worked with would draw her out of her shell.
“So, tell me about this program of yours. It sounds really cool, getting to be there for kids. What are they like? What kinds of things do you help them with?”
“They’re awesome and I help them with everything they need me for,” she said, then started talking about what she did and about the girls in the program, and it was like watching her come alive.
I practically felt the ice between us melt and I realized, for the first time, she wasn’t just a Westwood heir or a rich Chicago princess. Somewhere between the piano recitals, the braces, and now, the boobs, she’d become an honest-to-God woman.
A beautiful, strong, witty woman with a heart of gold and, from what I’d seen with her and Alex the other night, a backbone of steel. She was also so passionate that even I was halfway convinced to sign up to become a mentor by the time our first cup of coffee was done.
We paused for a few minutes while I got up to order another round. When I got back, she was giggling at something on her phone. She turned the screen to show me. “That’s Emily. She’s only ten, but she wants to be a comedian when she grows up. Check her out. She’s actually pretty good.”
She hit play, and a few seconds later, I was laughing too, surprised that someone so young could have such a huge personality. After we’d watched the video together, Charlotte replied with a string of cheering emojis. Then she turned back to me with a huge grin on her face.
“Oh, my gosh. You should also see Tahlia. She took part in a talent show the other day and she decided to be a mime. It’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.”
Immediately picking her phone up again, she scrolled through her gallery and proceeded to show me more videos of the girls. Charlotte herself was in some of them, chasing after them during a fun day or posing with them after getting them ready for prom or some other event.
I learned more about her in a couple hours than I’d ever known, and I’d known this girl for a damn long time. We finally left the coffee shop together, walking side by side. Charlotte’s hands were wrapped around her coffee cup and she was still talking a mile a minute.
She had a way of filling the air with her stories and little observations about the people around us, and I found myself listening without interrupting, letting her voice pull me along.
“You know,” she said after a story about one of the girls in her Big Sister program. “It’s exhausting, but it’s so worth it. Even when they’re driving me completely insane.”
I shook my head slightly, grinning. “Keep talking at your own risk. Your energy is so contagious that you’re making me feel like I should be doing something productive with my life instead of just managing bulls and pasture schedules.”
She laughed, glancing up at me. “Bulls and pastures? That sounds epic. You’ve got some real cowboy stuff going on, huh?”
“Except for the part where the rugged cowboy now also has to deal with corporate finance and shipping logistics.”
She tilted her head, studying me. “Wait, so is that why you’re in Chicago?”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. I’d rather keep hearing about your stuff. I just thought I should warn you that if you keep talking, I might show up there tomorrow.”
Suddenly, she stopped walking. “Shit, I’ve been talking your ear off and I just realized I haven’t even asked what you’re doing here. What are you doing here?”
Before I could give her some brief version of what Alex and I were planning, her phone rang. As if his ears had been burning, I saw his name on her screen. She winced slightly. “I should go.”
“I understand,” I said. “It was good talking to you, Charlotte.”
“Yeah, you too, Trent.” She slid her thumb across the screen and turned, ducking into the flow of pedestrians and disappearing.
As the city swallowed her up, I felt my chest tighten and I wondered why my heart was pounding faster than it had for a long time. Finally turning to go in the opposite direction, I shook my head at myself.
This was ridiculous. I barely knew her, and on top of that, she was Alex’s little sister and Jameson’s baby cousin. There was absolutely no way anything could ever happen between us, and yet, somehow, I already couldn’t get her out of my head.