chapter 30 #3
He could only hope that his family was guiding him in the right direction—and that it wasn’t too late.
She’d finished her book, and she was only three weeks late. Charlotte could hardly believe she’d managed to write an entire
manuscript—a story she was very happy with—despite everything that’d happened since Cliff first kicked her out, including
meeting the man who’d supplied half her genetic information. She’d gone to San Diego last weekend and enjoyed having dinner
with him and his wife. He seemed like a decent person, despite what she’d thought of him in the beginning. She liked his wife,
Cindy, too. She was intelligent, kind and beautiful. They fit together well; Charlotte was glad their marriage had managed
to survive what’d happened with Sabrina.
She was relieved about Cliff, too. Last she’d heard, he wasn’t going to try to break the prenup and leave her with nothing, as he’d threatened—probably because his attorney had told him it’d be a waste of time and money.
He was going to pay her the eight hundred thousand dollars he owed her in a few months, when their divorce was final.
Then she’d be able to move out of her parents’ house and get a place of her own—although she wasn’t in too much of a hurry to do that.
Lilly was thriving right where she was. Don and Penny doted on her, so she had the love and support of three adults.
After submitting her finished manuscript, she wanted to go to bed and sleep off the effects of the last several months—this
week particularly, during which she’d worked almost nonstop to reach “the end.” But her parents and Lilly were looking forward
to taking her out to dinner to celebrate, so, telling herself she had to hang in there for one more night, she closed her
laptop and headed to the bathroom to get ready.
“What’re you wearing?” her mother asked as she stopped by the bathroom where Charlotte was putting on makeup.
Charlotte found that an odd question. Her mother typically didn’t ask her what she was going to wear when they went out, not
since she was a lot younger, anyway. “What do you want me to wear?”
“Something nice. A dress? We’re going to Fleming’s.”
Now she had to dress up, too? Charlotte wasn’t in the mood. But her parents had been so good about helping out since she and
Lilly got back from Italy that she bit back her initial response. “Sure, I can wear a dress.”
“That would be wonderful,” Penny responded before moving on down the hall.
Her mother seemed more excited about this dinner than she did, but at least Penny had been feeling better. She claimed that
having Lilly around helped keep her mind off her aches and pains.
Don and Penny had already taken Lilly to Disneyland twice, once while Charlotte was visiting her birth father in San Diego. They’d purchased a season pass, so Charlotte knew she’d be going quite often, too, now that her book was done.
“Charlotte?” Lilly knocked on the bathroom door, which already stood partway open.
“Come on in,” Charlotte told her.
Lilly came in and sat on the closed lid of the toilet. “Do you think you could put a little makeup on me?”
Charlotte considered her younger sister’s beautiful, earnest face. “I remember asking at your age, too. I guess I don’t see
anything wrong with letting you wear a little blush and lip gloss, like you sometimes did in Italy. How about that? You can
wear eye shadow and the rest once you turn thirteen.”
“Okay,” Lilly said, and Charlotte tilted her face up while using a makeup brush on her soft cheeks.
“Are you looking forward to dinner?” Lilly asked when Charlotte went back to her own face.
Like Penny, Lilly seemed to be very excited about tonight, which was a bit strange. Fleming’s was a nice place. But Charlotte wasn’t sure any dinner warranted
as much anticipation as the rest of her family seemed to be feeling.
“I am,” she replied absently since she was trying to put on mascara.
“I think you’re going to like it,” Lilly said.
Charlotte lowered the mascara applicator. “Why?”
Looking a little startled, Lilly shifted her gaze to the tile floor. “The food’s good, isn’t it?”
“It is, but this isn’t like Disneyland, Lil. It’s just . . . food.”
“I know. I’m happy you finished your book—that’s all.”
“So am I,” Charlotte said and felt a smile creep over her face. She was relieved, but the full sense of accomplishment hadn’t
hit her quite yet. She supposed that would come later, after she’d had a chance to recover and had heard from Megan.
“We’re leaving in fifteen minutes!” Don called from downstairs. “Can’t be late or we’ll miss our reservation!”
Lilly jumped to her feet. “I’d better go put on my dress.”
“You’re wearing a dress, too?” Charlotte asked.
“Yeah. I want to look nice,” she replied as she hurried out.
Apparently, her parents had Lilly believing that tonight was going to be something special. Charlotte couldn’t imagine why—until
they arrived at the restaurant.
Julian paced back and forth in the private room he’d requested at the restaurant. He was wearing slacks, loafers and a golf
shirt—nothing too heavy—and yet sweat dampened his collar.
That was nerves, he realized. He was terrified to put his heart on the line. And yet . . . that was exactly what Charlotte
deserved. He wanted her; he just didn’t want her to accept him back into her life out of pity or obligation.
Would he know the difference?
He hoped so.
He heard voices—one he recognized as Lilly’s—and stiffened, his heart in his throat. His future happiness hung in the balance . . .
The others let Charlotte enter the room first. The moment she saw him, she stopped abruptly before gathering herself enough
to say, “Jules.”
He came toward her, but stopped a few feet away. He didn’t want to crowd her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I . . .I don’t know what
else to tell you, except I love you. That’s why I was trying to live without you. But . . .” He wanted to say his life was
empty without her. Except he couldn’t. He was afraid that kind of statement would only guilt her into responding the way he
hoped, and he desperately needed her to accept him for no other reason than that she loved him, too.
“But . . .?” she prompted.
The others came into the room and stood behind her, quietly waiting.
“Living without you isn’t easy,” he admitted. “But I’d rather do that than be a burden.”
“Jules!” She said his name as an emphatic whisper right before launching herself into his arms. “You could never be a burden!
You’re what I think about every moment, what I dream about at night, the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. Why
can’t you understand that?”
“Because you’ll be settling for so much less than you deserve!”
Pulling back, she took his face in both hands. “I’m not settling. If you’d let all that go, I’d be the luckiest girl in the world. We’ll just make the best of whatever we’re given!”
The hope he’d been feeling since he left Iceland rose inside him again. “Do you mean it, Char?”
“At least trust me enough to know what I really want,” she said.
He grinned at her. “Even if it doesn’t make any practical sense?”
“Since when has love ever been practical?” she said with a laugh, and then he kissed her.