Chapter 6
SIX
JUDE
“Char?” I ask, propping my shoulder against my open doorway as I meet Charlotte’s wide-eyed gaze.
“Jude,” she exclaims, my name coming out shocked. She blinks a few times, as if she can’t believe that she’s running into me in my own driveway.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, my lips forming a smile. “Wasn’t expecting to find you talking to yourself on my doorstep.”
Charlotte’s head rears back as her lips form the smallest frown. “I don’t talk to myself.”
My smile gets even wider. “Char, you’re always talking to yourself. What are you doing here?”
I was sitting in my home office, going through some emails that my assistant had flagged, when a notification on my phone caught my attention. I opened up my security app and was surprised to see Charlotte standing at my front door through the phone screen.
Charlotte gives me a sad smile before lifting up a bottle of wine. Now that she’s in the light, I’m able to see that her eyes are red. Has she been crying? My chest feels weirdly tight at that thought. I can’t stand the thought of her crying.
I hate the unsure look on her face as she looks at me. It makes my chest hurt to see her upset and unsure. “I brought wine, but if we’re being honest, it’s cheap wine, and you’ll probably hate it. Maybe we can trade it out with one of your nice ones from your wine room.”
I’m quiet for a moment as I try to figure out if there’s sadness in her tone. She doesn’t necessarily sound upset, but there also isn’t the typical bubbliness to her personality either. Something’s off, and I want to know what.
“Any reason we’re drinking?” I ask, holding my hand out to take the bottle from her. She can have any wine from my collection that she wants. I just want to know what’s bothering her enough to lead her to my doorstep tonight.
Charlotte takes a step closer to me, and I know I should move out of the doorway to give her more room, but the look in her eyes when she meets my gaze makes my entire body freeze.
She bites her lip, and she doesn’t have to say a word for me to know that something’s happened.
I’ve gotten to know her so well and have spent so much time watching her that I can tell just by the way she works her bottom lip between her teeth and stares at her feet that something’s bothering her.
“Devin got renters for the summer.” Her voice breaks slightly at the end, showing the crack in the composure she’s trying to keep.
“Fuck, Char,” I mutter with a sigh. Without putting any thought into it, I wrap my arms around her and pull her in for a hug.
Her body is stiff against mine for a moment.
We’ve never hugged like this. I’ve put my arm around her neck more times than I could ever count.
We’ve done plenty of the quick, one-armed hugs in the last year, but we’ve never done this.
This is more of an embrace, but I don’t want to overthink it.
It seems like she needs a hug, and I want to be the one to give it to her.
She’s obviously here for a reason, and while I don’t know how to fix her problem yet, I can hold her for a moment to hopefully bring some sort of comfort.
It takes a few moments, but her body relaxes against mine as she accepts that it’s okay for me to hold her like this.
The hug is strictly platonic. Even though we don’t have the kind of friendship where we hug like this often, it feels nice to have her body pressed against mine.
There is comfort in it. I’ve never seen sadness in her eyes until tonight, and it’s something I never want to see again.
I want to find a way to strike all sense of sadness from her demeanor until she’s back to being the bubbly Charlotte I’m used to.
I keep a tight grip on the neck of the wine bottle but use my free hand to softly pat between her shoulders. “So he won’t let you stay there for the summer, even though you’re paying rent?”
I’ve only met Devin a handful of times, but I thought I liked him. He seemed to have a soft spot for Charlotte. He was kind to her. But knowing he’s the reason she looks so defeated makes me second-guess whether I should like the guy or not.
Charlotte slides out of my grasp and takes a step back.
I miss the feeling of her body against mine the moment she’s gone, and I try not to put much thought into why.
Charlotte lets out a long, sad sigh. “I was paying rent, but the off-season rate. Now that the summer season is about to begin and he found renters able to pay full price, he had to do what’s best for him and his family and accept their rental request. They could pay more than what I was giving him, and I can’t blame him for that.
I knew there was a chance this would happen. ”
I cock my head in the direction of the house. “Let’s get inside, and we can talk more.”
Charlotte nods and steps inside. She looks over her shoulder, giving me what I know is a fake smile. “Don’t forget, we’re drinking your wine, not mine.”
I look down at the bottle of wine she brought. It’s a little dusty, making me wonder how long she’s had it. “Want me to pick out a bottle, or do you want to?”
I follow closely behind her as she makes her way to my kitchen. She slides into one of the counter stools and aims her gaze at me. “You’re the wine snob. Pick something good.”
Her comment makes me smile. It’s not my fault I enjoy a good wine.
I normally opt for red, but I know Charlotte prefers white, so I walk over to the wine fridge on the other side of the island.
I keep white wine chilled there, just in case she ever wants a glass when we spend time together at my house, but I don’t need to tell her that.
“I have a bottle I bet you’ll like, and it’s already chilling.
” I lean down, open the fridge, and pull one out. “How’s this look?”
Char pretends to inspect the bottle from where she sits, but at the last minute, she smiles—a real one—and lifts her shoulder in a shrug. “I’m deferring to you. If you think I’ll like it, let’s get that baby opened already. I need a drink.”
I nod. I’ll do anything she wants right now if it means she won’t be so sad. “Want me to talk to Devin?” I ask her, setting the bottle on the counter. I watch her closely as I reach into the drawer next to me and pull out a wine opener.
Charlotte shakes her head. “I don’t think there’s anything you can say that’ll change his mind.
He’s already signed a rental agreement with the new renters, and my rental agreement has a clause that if he finds tenants willing to pay full price, then I’m out of a place to live.
You can’t flirt your way out of this one for me, Jude.
Plus—” She lets out the smallest giggle as she leans back.
“—I don’t think your charm would even work on Devin anyway. ”
My mouth falls open as I pretend to be hurt by her comment that I wouldn’t be able to sweet-talk him. “Don’t count my charm out yet. I’m known to be very persuasive.”
I’m busy grabbing two wineglasses, but I don’t miss the way Charlotte rolls her eyes. “Your charm won’t work for this one. I’m just fucked and have nowhere to live for the summer.”
“You’re not fucked. We’ll find you somewhere to live for the summer.”
“You have to remember that I can only afford so much. Any place still open is probably way out of my budget.”
“Like I said, we’ll find you somewhere to live. I don’t want you to stress about this.”
Charlotte looks up for a moment, and it breaks my heart to see her like this. She’s trying to put on a brave face and not show me she’s upset, but in between her fake smiles and jokes, it’s obvious how stressed she is about this.
My eyes scan my kitchen for a moment before focusing on Char once again. “Why don’t you just live with me for the summer?”