Chapter Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Seven
CHARLIE WOKE UP WITH THE scent of Grayson’s soap and the memory of his touch warming her, making her smile.
It took her a second to realize what she wasn’t waking up with was him.
She rolled over in the bed; his side was empty.
Shit. Shit. Shit. She’d meant to tell him everything, but the moments had spun away and they’d gotten lost in each other.
And truthfully, she’d wanted to get lost in him, to push everything else away.
She wanted to drown in the way he made her feel: strong and desired.
Vital. She was really starting to wonder if she’d be able to leave him. Or if she wanted to.
With the sun peeking through the blinds, she was hit by the realization that she’d made it worse by not telling him the truth.
The bubble of happiness they’d created around themselves the night before would be sharply popped very soon.
Possibly right this second. She hopped out of bed, pulled on her clothes from the night before, finger-combed her hair and used a bit of his toothpaste.
Uncertainty and no small amount of fear churned in her stomach. She didn’t trust Isaiah to keep his word.
She hurried to the dining room, pulling up short when she saw all the people around the table, including her ex and his friend.
As long as neither of them said anything, she could get through this, talk to Gray and then meet with Isaiah and tell him to leave.
She could mitigate the damage until she could get Gray alone.
His entire face brightened when he saw her and it created a feeling of warmth in her chest so strong that she wondered if he could tell.
Forcing herself to act as normally as she could, she smiled at Ollie, who’d left a spot between herself and Bernie.
“Morning, dear,” Bernie said.
“Good morning, Charlie,” Ollie said, already digging into a sandwich.
It seemed too big for her hands and scrambled eggs tumbled out of the bread, landing on her plate.
The dining room wasn’t the busiest she’d seen it, but it felt crowded, too full.
Jenning and Isaiah sat next to each other, across from where Charlie took a seat next to her uncle.
Aside from her ex and his sidekick, there were two other couples and a single guy who Gray said came every two weeks for a couple of days each time, to fish.
“Incoming,” Levi called through the swinging door. Gray grabbed it and held it open so his chef could walk through with platters of eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, and bagels.
“Hey, Charlie,” Levi said, setting his platter down in front of Isaiah.
“You all seem to know each other very well. You been here that long?” Isaiah said, his gaze holding hers.
An unpleasant shiver ran over Charlie’s skin. Before she could respond or think of what to say, Ollie reached for a bagel and said it all.
“Charlie’s been here for weeks. It’s like she lives here, like me and my mom used to. But now we live in my grandma’s old house with Levi and Mom’s having a baby and they’re getting married.”
Isaiah’s eyes widened and Jenning set his fork down and grinned. He fidgeted with his phone, making Charlie more on edge.
Ollie continued. “Uncle Beck is getting married this weekend. And Bernie’s doing the officiating. That means he’s making them married. Charlie doesn’t live here, though. She just stays with Bernie ’cause he’s her uncle. But she and my uncle have crushes on each other.”
She took a huge bite of her bagel, tearing off almost too much to close her mouth around.
“Smaller bites, Ollie,” Levi said, amusement shining in his gaze.
Grayson stared, like he was in shock.
Charlie’s heart seized painfully. Like something hard and heavy had rammed into her from behind, dislodging it. Oh, God. She had no doubt Isaiah would tuck away any tidbit he could to use against her and now, possibly, Bernie.
Isaiah looked at Bernie and Charlie leaned closer to him, protectiveness welling up inside of her for this man who’d become so important to her. She’d come here because he was family, but now, it felt like more than just a name or label.
“Your uncle?” Isaiah said.
“Hey, Ol, maybe we don’t need to tell guests every detail, huh?” Grayson said, his voice tight, coming around to pat Ollie’s shoulder and putting his other hand on Charlie’s.
“Sorry,” Ollie said sheepishly.
“Great-uncle, actually,” Bernie said, piling eggs onto his toast. “Her grandfather was my brother.”
Isaiah’s eyes lit up at the same time as Jenning’s. In almost the exact same way.
“And your nephew was…” Jenning said.
Bernie stiffened belatedly beside her.
“Who’s your nephew, Bernie?” Ollie asked.
Grayson was clearly picking up on the tension. It would be impossible not to, unless you were a child who hadn’t yet realized all of the ways people could hurt each other in this world. “Charlie’s dad, honey,” Grayson said. “But he passed away when Charlie was little.”
“Holy shit,” Isaiah said.
“Hey. Watch it. Kid present,” Levi said, glaring at Isaiah.
Isaiah didn’t even acknowledge him. Jenning smiled in a way that turned Charlie’s stomach.
“You’re Bryce Colter’s uncle?” Jenning asked.
The reverence in his tone sickened Charlie because she knew the difference between someone being in awe out of admiration for her dad and a vulture circling.
Levi, who’d started to sit down, paused. “Wait, what? Bryce Colter, the famous singer?”
Everyone looked at Charlie.
“Your daddy is a singer, Charlie?”
“And how did this happy little family reunion come about?” Jenning asked.
Grayson’s hand squeezed her shoulder softly. She felt the restrained tension in his touch. It coursed through her bloodstream. “I think maybe the question-and-answer period is over,” he said.
Charlie turned her head. He’d just had a fairly significant detail dropped in his lap; she’d withheld information and stolen his boat, and he was protecting her.
“You two shouldn’t be here,” Charlie said firmly.
Isaiah smiled. “We had a deal, Charlotte.”
“Who’s Charlotte?” Ollie said around a mouth full of bagel.
“Quit interrupting, kid,” Jenning said, adjusting his phone again.
“Excuse me?” Levi stood up. “You don’t get to talk to my kid that way.”
Charlie’s heart rate sped up. She looked at Gray.
“What deal, Charlie?”
“How’s Vivica taking the distance between you two?” Isaiah said, leaning back in his chair like they were having a friendly conversation.
The moment was rife with growing tension. Charlie didn’t know how to back up, rewind, escape, undo everything that had happened in the last five minutes.
“Wait,” one of the women from the two couples said. She was probably about Charlie’s age and until now, that end of the table had been quietly observing. “That’s why you look familiar. Your mom is Vivica Colter, the award-nominated actress who sometimes sang backup for Bryce.”
The other guests stared. No one was eating.
Jenning looked like he’d just uncovered a twenty-pound diamond.
The woman didn’t stop there. “Your video went viral.”
It was like Charlie had entered a tunnel that was already being hit by a tornado. Everything swirled quicker and quicker, her heartbeat pulsing in too many spots on her skin, her vision blurring and her breath coming too fast.
“Holy fuck, this is great,” Jenning said. He’d lifted the phone into his hand and was recording.
Levi was beside him in one step. “Are you taping this?” He grabbed the phone.
Jenning jumped up, shoved Levi. “Screw you, man.”
Levi was obviously searching for a way to stop the recording, his fingers tapping over the phone. Ollie froze beside Charlie and Isaiah stood up, making Gray stand up as well.
Jenning shoved Levi again. Levi whirled, leaned right into his space. “Don’t touch me again. You have no right, absolutely none, to tape anything that happens here.”
“I’m a guest. You took my phone. That’s not okay. And for your information, my boy, Isaiah, got permission from the reality-star wannabe over there.” He grinned at Charlie. “Everyone has a price, right?”
Grayson grabbed Isaiah by the back of his shirt. “Both of you are out, now.”
“We paid for two nights,” Isaiah said, panic slipping into his tone. “I hadn’t fully cleared it yet, Jen.” He muttered the last part under his breath, avoiding Charlie’s gaze.
Levi stepped into Jenning, making the other man shrink back. “You can leave a bad review, but both of you are leaving right this second.” Charlie could see Grayson’s body shaking and wondered if it was from anger and who that anger was mostly directed toward.
Ollie sniffled beside her, and Charlie turned to her, felt her heart tearing at the edges. “Ollie, I’m so sorry.”
“Dad and Uncle Gray are really mad,” she said.
Bernie put his arm around the little girl. “That happens sometimes. When people love you, they’ll do anything to protect you.”
Grayson returned, a mask of disbelief on his face. He pulled in a couple of quick breaths. “Levi is calling a water taxi. I apologize for the drama, everyone. Please, finish your meals and enjoy them. All of you will receive a twenty percent discount on your stay.”
He looked at Ollie, pain flashing over his features. “Sweetie, everything is okay.” Ollie got up and went around the table. Grayson pulled her into a hug. “Mom is coming up from cabin three. Go meet her by check-in, okay?”
She sniffled and ran off. Finally, his eyes came to Charlie. But it wasn’t Grayson staring at her. It was a stranger because that’s what she’d let herself be to him by not telling him everything. The other guests slipped away from the tables and out of the room.
“Grayson,” she whispered.
“A reality show? Are you kidding me? This is my home. My family.”
She started to speak again as she stood, but he pointed at her. “Don’t,” he snapped, then stormed out of the room.
Bernie reached out, covered Charlie’s hand with his own. “Breathe, Charlotte. It’ll be okay.”
She’d said those useless words to so many people in her life, and now she wished she could take them back. They made her feel like a fraud because if this is what they felt like in the moment she said them, then she was a goddamn liar. Because absolutely nothing felt like it would be okay.