CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Charley stood in her office, staring into the full-length mirror propped against the wall near her bookshelf.
She smoothed her hand down the front of her red pantsuit.
The rich color was bold and striking. Alyvia had picked it out for her when they were shopping the other day, telling her that she looked absolutely badass in it and that, if she was going to stand in front of donors and the press, she better look like a woman ready to conquer the world.
Charley hadn’t been so sure at the time and was beginning to think her friend was crazy, but now, standing in her office and looking at her reflection, she could see it.
The red popped against her sun-kissed skin, and the black camisole underneath softened the look.
Her blonde hair was down in loose waves, and her makeup was subtly done in neutral tones.
She didn’t just look the part. She felt it.
A woman who had a hand in building something meaningful for a community she cared deeply for.
A woman her dad and brother would’ve been proud of.
Her chest fluttered with a mix of excitement and nervousness, but she smiled. “You’ve got this,” she whispered to her reflection, then turned toward the door. It was time.
She grabbed the sheet of paper off her desk that held the itinerary for the ceremony, then headed down the stairs. Once in the lobby, she made a quick round, checking in with the volunteers and making sure everything was set for when the doors opened immediately after the ribbon-cutting.
Seeing that everyone was in place, Charley smoothed her hands down the front of her suit and started toward the doors, her black heels clicking softly against the polished tile floor.
As she approached the entrance, the doors swung open from the outside. On instinct, she stepped back, and when she focused, she saw it was Pierce standing there, the sunlight spilling in behind his broad frame. For a second, she forgot how to breathe.
She had seen him in his uniform, where he looked rugged, handsome, and commanding, every inch the Navy SEAL he was. She’d seen him in shorts and a T-shirt, and then jeans and a button-up, casual and devastatingly unfair. But this? This was new.
Khaki pants that fit him a little too well. A navy polo stretched across his chest and shoulders, showing just how fit he was. The fabric pulled just enough across his toned biceps when he moved, and the color made his light brown eyes look richer, warmer.
Her brain began cataloging all the versions of Pierce Hutchinson she had witnessed.
Uniform Pierce.
Shorts Pierce.
Jeans Pierce.
Dress Pants Pierce
Khaki Pierce.
Which left only…. Her cheeks heated instantly as she pictured Pierce in underwear.
The thought popped into her head uninvited and fully formed, and she nearly choked on air. Lord help her.
Pierce stepped inside and walked toward her, that slow, knowing grin spreading across his face like he could read her mind. His gaze swept over her once, not in a way that made her uncomfortable, but in a way that made her feel seen.
Ever since their date the other night, Charley had felt lighter somehow, like talking to Pierce had cracked open something inside her that had been locked down for far too long.
The conversation had gone deeper than she ever would’ve expected on a first date.
But instead of scaring her, it had left her feeling freer, as if she could finally breathe without so much weight pressing on her chest. She had kept everything from her past bottled up for so long and so tightly that she had not realized how badly she needed to let some of it out.
And now that she had Pierce, someone she trusted, someone she knew she could be honest with, she couldn’t help but feel a little lucky.
“Why are you blushing?” he asked casually as he stopped in front of her. “Should I be worried about what’s going on in that head of yours?”
She pressed her hands against her cheeks, wishing they were ice packs to cool her off.
Jesus, if he only knew what was going through my mind right now.
“You don’t want to know.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Now I definitely want to know.”
She shook her head quickly as she felt the heat spreading through her whole body. Screw the icepacks. What she needed was an ice bath.
Pierce stepped closer, lowering his voice just enough that it wrapped around her. “Later,” he murmured, eyes dancing with amusement. “You can tell me all about it later.”
Her heart did a small, dangerous somersault.
He glanced around the lobby, then back at her, his expression a bit more serious. “I just wanted to come in and make sure you were good before this thing kicks off.”
Her chest tightened in a way that had nothing to do with nerves or her earlier embarrassment.
He reached out and gently caressed her cheek. “You look beautiful,” he added quietly.
She smiled, looking up into his brown eyes. “Thank you.” She swallowed hard. “I’m so nervous,” she admitted, finally letting the truth slip. “Are there a lot of people out there?” she asked. She hadn’t looked yet.
Pierce hesitated just long enough to make her suspicious.
“How many is a lot?” he asked carefully.
She narrowed her eyes. “Pierce.”
He huffed a small laugh. “What? I don’t know what you consider a lot.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Like, fifty?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Umm.”
Her eyes widened. “Pierce! How many people are out there?”
He gave her that grin again, the one that made his dimple pop. “A couple of hundred.”
“What!” she exclaimed, catching the looks from some of the volunteers.
He laughed, catching her before she could spin away. “Hey, you’ll be fine.”
“You don’t understand. I get stage fright easily.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Yeah? Go ask my kindergarten class. I was so nervous during show-and-tell one time that I passed out. And that was only like fifteen kids. I never did get to show off my Zhu Zhu Hamster,” she grumbled, thinking about that time years ago.
She glanced back up at him. “Now you’re telling me that there are a couple of hundred people out there. ”
He tilted his head. “Okay. Hold up. Before we address the crowd size. What in the hell is a Zhu Zhu Hamster?”
“It was this little motorized hamster that ran around in plastic tunnels,” she explained quickly. “You could buy different houses and little accessories for them. You could even build whole cities for them.”
He squinted at her. “So, it’s not a real hamster?”
“No.”
“Does it bite?”
“No.”
“Does it explode?”
“Pierce! This isn’t helping,” she said, trying to hide the smile that was trying to force its way onto her face.
“He watched her for a second, that slow grin settling in as if he had just accomplished something.
“Look at you,” he said quietly.
She blinked. “What?”
“You forgot about the two hundred people.”
Her mouth opened, then closed.
He stepped a little closer, lowering his voice. “You were just passionately defending a robotic hamster like it was a thesis presentation and completely forgot about all those people waiting outside to hear about the wonderful thing you had a hand in helping come alive.”
She groaned softly, realizing that he was right. “I did, didn’t I?”
He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You’re not that little girl anymore,” he continued, eyes steady on hers. “I believe in you,” he said simply. “And those couple of hundred people? They’re not here to judge you. They’re here because of you.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.
She sank into it without thinking, pressing her cheek briefly against his chest. She could smell his cologne, something clean and beachy like. Whatever it was, it smelled good.
“You’re going to do great,” he said against her hair. “You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be you.”
She leaned back just enough to look at him. “Thank you. For being here.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d be.”
Damn, he’s perfect, she thought to herself. She needed to put some distance between them before she dragged him into one of the conference rooms nearby and devoured him.
She straightened her shoulders and took a step back. She smiled up at him. “Let’s do this.”
He smirked. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
She started walking towards the door, and Pierce fell into step beside her, his hand pressed against her lower back.
As she approached the glass double doors, she took a deep breath before pushing them open and walking out.
The crowd was definitely larger than Charley had expected, and she felt her heart begin to beat faster.
It looked as if the entire community had come out to support the event.
Rows of chairs lined the front lawn of the building, with even more people standing in clusters along the sidewalk.
Local media, military families, active-duty service members, and veterans filled the space, their conversations buzzing with anticipation.
She even spotted Ray and Jessica, along with her Aunt and Uncle.
Her eyes widened, and she glanced up at Pierce. “You weren’t lying.”
He grinned. “I’d never lie to you.”
Alyvia spotted her first and let out a low whistle. “Look at you! Power Suit Barbie. You’re officially the hottest nonprofit boss in the zip code.”
Charley laughed, trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach. “You’re the one who made me buy this outfit.”
“And I was right. It suits you perfectly,” Alyvia stated, looking like she wanted to give herself a pat on the back.
She then leaned closer to Charley, just enough that no one else would hear her.
“I’m going to assume the very tall, unfairly good-looking man next to you is Pierce?
” she murmured, keeping her expression carefully neutral.
Charley bit back a smile and glanced up at Pierce. Judging from the smirk on his face, he had heard Alyvia.
She did the introductions. “Alyvia, this is Pierce. Pierce, this is Alyvia Jackson.”