Chapter 6 #2
“Want to tell me about your first time? Um—drinking coffee, that is,” I add, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt.
Charlie smiles. “It was pretty memorable, too, although I was a little older. Coffee never interested me much in high school. Don’t laugh—but I was really into chocolate milk.”
“Your sweet tooth,” I say matter-of-factly, like I’ve known him for years. The more time we spend together, the more it feels like I have.
“Exactly,” he says, his cheeks now the rosiest I’ve seen them. His skin is the most beautiful bronze color, mixed with the pink hue that deepens when he looks at me—and I have the sudden urge to paint him. His coffee-colored eyes make me feel as warm inside as my all-time favorite drink.
Charlie’s so gorgeous, he takes my breath away.
“Maybe it’s fitting that I had my first cup of coffee on the day I got into college. I really did feel like I became a man, that day.” He chuckles. “I’d just found out I was going to follow in my father’s footsteps and go to Dartmouth…and I knew he’d be proud.”
This time, I nod with a knowing smile.
“So, I get my acceptance letter, and of course he’s the first person I want to tell. But he was on a business trip and wouldn’t be home until later that night. That’s when I decided to pick him up from the airport. Which was basically pointless…because he had his own driver.”
“A driver? That’s fancy,” I say before taking another sip of my iced latte.
Charlie laughs. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. My dad runs his own business, and he’s pretty successful.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask, intrigued. “What kind of business?”
“Have you heard of Sutton’s? The?—”
“Grocery store?”
Charlie nods. “That’s the one.”
“It’s my favorite place to shop. Your dad owns Sutton’s?” I ask, my eyes wide.
“Yep.” He lets out a wry laugh, then puts his iced latte down on the pavement beside him. “I guess I didn’t properly introduce myself,” he says, extending his hand. “Charles Sutton.”
“Jenna Andersen,” I say. And when I put my hand in his, he holds it for several seconds, smoothing his thumb over my skin before he lets go, leaving the spot he touched warm and tingly.
“Thank you for your patronage, Jenna Andersen,” he says with a wink that gives me butterflies.
Now blazing hot, I take another sip of my cool drink. “So, you decide to pick your dad up at the airport,” I say, trying to steer my mind away from thoughts of bringing Charlie back to my apartment.
“Right. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he found out, so I called his driver and told him I’d pick Dad up myself,” he continues.
“Well, it turned out his flight got majorly delayed. I was waiting for him at the airport for three hours, and I’d been up late the night before studying for an exam.
I didn’t want to make my dad drive us home, because?—
“You were a man now,” I finish for him.
“Exactly.” He laughs. “So I bought myself a large cup of airport coffee. It was awful . Basically brown water. But when my dad finally arrived, and I told him the news…” Charlie sighs.
“I’d never seen him so happy. He had tears in his eyes, and he’s not an emotional guy.
When we got in the car, I took another sip of that coffee and, let me tell you—it tasted pretty damn good. ”
I’m fighting the urge to reach for Charlie’s hand when thunder cracks between us.
“Speak of the devil,” he says, pulling his phone out of his pocket and frowning at the screen.
“Your dad?” I ask, perplexed. “I thought you only used that ringtone for your boss.”
He sighs. “My dad and my boss are one and the same. Unfortunately.”
“Ah,” I say, putting the pieces together. “Sounds complicated.”
Charlie runs a hand over his short hair. “It is,” he says, then pockets his phone.
I nod, sensing that he doesn’t want to get into the details. “Want to keep walking?”
Charlie gets up and offers his hand to help me. I take it, and when we’re both standing and facing each other, I keep my palm connected to his, waiting to see if he’ll let go. He doesn’t.
He steps closer to me, and I know he’s searching my face for a sign.
He wants to kiss me. But he’s not sure if I’m ready.
Neither am I.
I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anyone—that’s not the problem.
The problem is, I think I could fall in love with this man. He sees me in a way no one else ever has. And when our eyes meet, we connect on a different plane. There’s something so familiar and safe about him.
But when I moved to Chicago for another fresh start, falling in love wasn’t part of the plan.
Neither was painting. I guess plans change.
I wasn’t prepared for Charlie Sutton to come into my life, but here he is. And now I have a decision to make. Can I put my past behind me and finally move on?
I’m frozen, staring into his sexy, deep brown eyes, when something—or someone—pushes me forward into his waiting arms.
“Oops! Sorry!” a runner yells as she continues past us down the trail. She’s staring at her phone, and I suspect she accidentally elbowed me because she was distracted. If she’d pushed me any harder, Charlie could have fallen backward into the lake.
But he’s standing steady, with his arms around my waist, just like I’ve craved. Maybe this runner gave me the nudge I needed.
I should thank her.
I tilt my head up, ready for my lips to meet Charlie’s, when I feel something fall down the side of my neck.
“Oh no, my earring,” I say with a frown when I check my lobes and notice one’s missing. The clasp on the hoop must have opened when the runner bumped into me.
I glance down at the pavement, but don’t immediately see it.
I’d be so upset if I lost it. These earrings are the most expensive purchase I’ve made for something nonessential.
They’re two-carat diamond drop earrings I bought after I broke up with Scott.
I figured they’d be the only diamonds I’d ever own.
I turn around to look behind me, but don’t see anything there either. When I spin back to face Charlie, he’s on one knee, carefully examining the ground. Then he looks up with a smile.
“Got it,” he says.
But the sight of him kneeling with a sparkling diamond between his fingers sends shockwaves through me.
Hunter .
I’m in my college apartment. It’s the night after we graduated.
From outside the window, I hear a song …
“Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
My boyfriend of four years and his frat brothers are serenading me.
I run downstairs, and Hunter gives me the biggest bouquet of red roses I’ve ever seen. “A rose for every month I’ve known and loved you,” he tells me, his ocean-blue eyes sparkling.
And then he gets down on his knee.
“Jenna? Are you okay?” Charlie stands, and I look at the earring in my hand.
I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I um—I just realized I have to go. I’m meeting with a client a few blocks west of here, and if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late.”
It’s a total lie of course.
But seeing Charlie on one knee, with a diamond in his hand, reminded me why I vowed never to love again.
It’s not only to protect my heart. It’s to protect his.
I had a wonderful man like Charlie once. And I’ll never forgive myself for letting him down. Hunter Reed deserved so much better than me.
And so does Charlie Sutton.
“Oh,” he says, nodding. “Yeah, of course. I don’t want you to be late for your meeting.”
He’s so sweet, so polite, I almost can’t tell he’s disappointed. Almost.
“I had so much fun with you, I lost track of time,” I say, because seeing him sad breaks my already-broken heart. And also because it’s true.
“Me, too,” he says with a nod .
“Thanks for the coffee and croissant.” I give him a quick hug, because if I let him hold me longer, I’ll change my mind.
And then I run away.
Just like I always do.