27. CHARLOTTE
27
CHARLOTTE
M aybe meeting Alex’s family was a bad idea. It meant that things were serious, didn’t it? It wasn’t just running into his brother on the street and saying, “Oh, have you met Charlotte?”
“It’s going to be fine,” Alex said when he drove through the streets of Newport, where even the air tasted expensive. The houses were nestled along the coastline, with expansive estates and sprawling mansions.
It was both intimidating, and it reminded me in a way of how Gabe and I grew up. Not that my dad had ever had this much money while we’d still been at home.
I didn’t know where my dad was now and what he did—maybe he lived in a mansion now too, or maybe he’d lost it all and lived in a cardboard box—and I didn’t care.
When we stopped in front of the Blackwood family home, we were greeted by an elegant mansion. Colonial with a grand face, towering columns, and intricate details.
“This is where you grew up?” I looked up at the incredible home.
The sweeping driveway led to the main entrance, and a porte cochere offered shelter to arriving guests. We were surrounded by landscaped grounds, with a sprawling lawn and manicured gardens. The trees dotted around the garden were old and cast patches of shade. It made me want to stretch out on the grass beneath them.
“Welcome, welcome,” a woman said when she opened the door, and she was the definition of elegance. Her auburn hair had a gray streak, and she was dressed in a linen suit that made her skin rich and vibrant. Her eyes smiled at me. “You must be Charlotte. I’ve been wondering who Alex was hiding all this time.” A smile played around her mouth, and I liked her immediately.
“I’m Eleanor.” She took my hand with her polished fingers.
“Mom,” Alex said and rolled his eyes before he hugged her.
“You look good, sweetheart. Come in. The boys are out back, building a fire.”
We walked into the house. The house was both warm and elegant. Big rooms with fine furnishings, and the living room had a beautiful chandelier. On the walls, pieces of art rounded it all off with taste.
“You have a beautiful home,” I said.
“Thank you.” Eleanor smiled at me over her shoulder.
“There he is,” an older man said, wearing a cotton button-down shirt and a pair of jeans. He shook Alex’s hand before he looked at me.
“I’m Charlotte.”
“Thomas Blackwood.” The older man shook my hand.
I could see where the Blackwood brothers all got their style and debonair manners. Thomas Blackwood was an upright man exuding confidence and reassurance. His beard was neatly trimmed, his blue eyes sharp. I could see how this man might have been the founder of the business—he looked like someone who could build an empire, but he had the same welcoming smile as his wife, and when he looked me over before he glanced at Alex, his eyes twinkled.
“Come, join us.”
The garden we’d stepped into was just as lavish as the front garden, with a lawn that stretched toward the far perimeter wall.
There was a fire, but it didn’t look like the kind of barbecues I’d been to in college. The fire had been made in a fire pit with seats all around it, and instead of grilling meat on a barbecue, tables had been set up with crisp tablecloths and a selection of food, buffet style.
“This looks a little different from the barbecues I’ve been to,” I whispered to Alex.
He chuckled. “Yeah, my parents like going all out.”
I wasn’t sure Alex was used to anything else. The buffet was a feat, and it looked like no expense had been spared. From canapés and artisanal cheese to fresh oysters and caviar, and that was just the appetizer section.
The main course part of the buffet showed meat and seafood, grilled to perfection, along with sauces and condiments. Vegetables and salads lined the next part. And finally, the desserts seemed to cover everything from pastries, chocolate truffles with edible gold leaf, a chocolate fountain, and fresh fruit and marshmallows.
“Come, meet my brothers,” Alex said.
I swallowed hard, and Alex led me to the Blackwoods, who stood around the fire pit. They all wore the same kinds of clothes, with linen or cotton shirts and khaki pants or jeans with expensive loafers. They all looked as polished and rich as Alex did.
“Benjamin, Christopher, Daniel,” Alex said, pointing to each, and they nodded in turn. “This is Charlotte.”
The Blackwood brothers all looked like they’d stepped from the covers of GQ magazine. They might not have been related, as I now knew, but I wouldn’t have guessed that. They didn’t look alike in any way, but they all had the same air of confidence that Thomas exuded.
There was something about his family—they all seemed self-assured, knowing who they were and where they were headed, and that confidence was intimidating, to say the least.
“Welcome,” Ben said. He had light hair and hazel eyes that scrutinized me. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, trying not to squirm.
“We’ve heard a lot about you,” Chris said. He had darker hair than Ben, but his striking deep blue eyes were what caught my attention. “You’re brave to come out here.”
“Oh, nothing bad, I hope,” I said meekly.
“Nothing worse than what’s in the press,” Daniel said with a wink and grinned at me. He seemed to be the most easygoing of the lot, with rich brown hair and almost-black eyes that seemed to miss nothing.
I glanced at Alex, who rolled his eyes.
“They’re talking shit, trying to scare you off. When you spend a bit of time with them, you realize their bark is worse than their bite.”
I chuckled nervously.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Alex asked.
“Oh,” I said. “Do you have wine?”
“We do,” Alex said with a grin. “Any preference?”
I shook my head. I was a little overwhelmed.
Alex disappeared.
“So, where did you meet?” Daniel asked.
“At a party. My brother’s birthday.”
“Ah,” Chris said. “Gabriel, right?”
I blinked at him. “You know Gabe?”
“We all know Gabe,” Ben said. “He’s Alex’s best friend. He’s been around a while.” Ben frowned. “You’re Gabe’s sister?”
I nodded, and Ben’s gaze was too intense. I glanced around, hoping Alex would come back and rescue me.
As if summoned, he appeared with a glass of wine.
“It’s a vintage Bordeaux. I think you’ll like it.”
“Thank you.” I sipped the wine. I needed a drink if I was going to deal with this. I felt a little out of place. And he was right. I did like it.
“How is your campaign going?” Chris asked.
Of course, they all knew who I was. I’d been in the news. It wasn’t like my face was unrecognizable anymore. I hadn’t thought about what that would mean when I’d started this campaign, but it was different from being a celebrity.
I hoped it was.
“It’s going okay,” I said. “Different to how I thought it would go.”
“What were you expecting?” Ben asked.
I shrugged. “I guess when you study something, the theory doesn’t always match up to the practical side of things.”
“Do they teach you how to riot with signs? Rally and riot 101?” Ben asked with a grin.
“Lay off, Ben.” Alex laughed, but there was a warning in his voice too.
“Hey, I’m just asking. We all have a business background, you know, so we don’t get out to see the rest of the world much.”
Daniel and Chris both snorted, and Alex rolled his eyes.
“Ben is just being a pain,” Alex said apologetically. “They have to give you shit because I’m bringing a girl home for a change.”
Before I could say anything, Thomas called Alex and Ben.
“I’ll be right back,” Alex said, sliding his arm around my waist and planting a kiss on my cheek.
When he walked away, I stayed behind with Daniel and Chris.
“He doesn’t bring girls home?” I asked.
Daniel shook his head. “No one we’ve ever met, anyway.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
“Are you two serious?” Chris asked.
I hesitated. “I’m not sure how to answer that. We’ve been seeing each other for a while, but I guess we’ll still have to see how things go.”
“Maybe I should ask it differently,” Chris said. “Are you serious about him?”
I felt suddenly on the spot. They wanted to know if I was going to break Alex’s heart. There were only two of them now, and they were a lot less intimidating than when all four stood around me, but they were still tall and muscular, and their faces were hard to read.
“I want to see where this goes,” I finally said, choosing my words carefully. “There’s something different about Alex, and when I’m with him… well, he’s not like any guy I’ve been with before.”
Chris and Daniel glanced at each other, a silent conversation passing between them before they looked back at me.
“Well, he actually brought you home, and that counts for something,” Chris said. “And he looks happy. That counts for something, too.” He grinned at me, and the smile changed his features. “If you make him happy, that’s good enough for me.”
“Yeah, that’s a big deal,” Daniel said, and just like that, the atmosphere shifted and relaxed. Suddenly, I was part of the group.
By the time Alex got back, I was laughing as Daniel told me a story of one of his trips, bantering back and forth.
Alex slid his arm around my waist.
“I thought I was throwing you to the wolves,” he whispered. “But it looks like you have them eating out of your hand instead.”
I giggled. “I like your brothers. They’re really nice.”
“They’re not nice to everyone.”
Ben joined us, too. Even he looked a little more relaxed than before.
We talked and laughed, and the family joked back and forth. Eleanor and Thomas came to join us, and it was beautiful to watch them all together. They were very close—it was easy to see that family meant a lot to each and every one of them. They knew a lot about each other’s lives, and they asked about updates that had nothing to do with work.
I’d never had something like this growing up. After my mom had left, it had just been me, Gabe, and my dad, and Dad had never given a damn about us.
Gabe had been the one to look after me most of the time. He’d practically raised me, and after he’d gone off to start his own life, leaving me behind, I hadn’t wanted much to do with my dad, either.
When I saw how these people were with each other, so kind and loving and caring, it made my heart constrict.
Chris came to me while the others stood talking in different groups.
“How are you doing here?” He nodded to the glass of wine I was nursing. It was my third, and my head felt light and airy. “Need a refill?”
“No, thank you. I think I need to slow down a little. But this wine is so good.”
Chris chuckled and glanced to where Alex and Ben stood talking. They were smiling.
“They don’t always get along,” Chris confided.
“No? Why?” They looked fine to me.
Chris shrugged. “We all have a lot to work through. It’s not personal between them, but sometimes when we struggle with something, it can spill onto someone else. You know?”
I knew what he meant in theory, but I didn’t know his family well enough.
“Ben is a great guy, though,” Chris said. “We never say it out loud, of course, but I think he’s all our favorite.”
Alex and Ben were laughing, and it was nice to see the different sibling relationships.
“Speaking of brothers,” Chris said. I knew exactly where he was headed with this. “I don’t have to tell you how close my brother is to yours.”
I nodded. “They’ve been friends for a long time.”
“They have. It doesn’t always work out so well when friends’ little sisters get involved.”
I nodded again, taking another sip of my wine. Chris wasn’t wrong.
“I don’t know exactly what’s going on between you and Alex, and I don’t know everything about their friendship, either. But just… make sure that this doesn’t get ugly when it doesn’t need to. Alex has been through a lot, and he might look strong, but we all have soft spots, even if we hide them well. I don’t want him to get hurt over something as silly as logistics.”
I looked at Chris. “I understand what you mean. I know Alex can be a tough guy, but I know he has a much gentler side, and the last thing I want to do is hurt him.”
Chris nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer.
“Okay, good.”
He walked away to get a refill of his own drink, leaving me close to the buffet table, alone. I walked to the table and took a piece of cheese, nibbling on it. It tasted divine with the wine, an accidental pairing that really worked.
What Chris said stayed in my mind. It often happened that a girl could break up two friends because she was a sibling of one of them. It was the biggest reason I’d been so upset with Alex when I’d found out who he was and why I hadn’t wanted to date him.
But we were past the part where I could push him away and stop this from happening. Not that I wanted to, even if I could. I was falling for him more and more, and the only way to do this was to talk to my brother.
I should have talked to him a while ago. I should have told him about sleeping with Alex when it had happened, but I’d been so worried he would be furious.
I was still worried about that, but now that I knew Alex was as serious about where this was going as I was, I needed to be open with my brother and tell him what was going on.
It just wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to do over the phone, and Gabe would be away on his business trip for a few days longer.
The moment he got back, though, I would arrange to see him and talk to him about it. I wanted him to understand that when I was with Alex, I felt different from what I’d ever felt before.
He made me feel like I could do anything, but he also let me know that it was okay not to be okay and that balance—feeling invincible and still having permission to be vulnerable—was the kind of thing no one found every day.
What I felt when I was around Alex was strong enough for me to want to risk Gabe being angry because I knew it was something worth fighting for.
I’d always known it was important to fight for the right thing. So much so that I’d built a career out of it. But with this, it was personal, and emotional, and that was very different.
But still, it was right, and that was what mattered.
Alex and I were perfect together.
Chris had good reason to be worried, and I would follow through and make it right between me and Gabe. Seeing the Blackwoods together as a family made my heart ache. Not only were they so incredible with each other, but after the guys had given me a tough time, they’d drawn me in, and I’d never felt so at home, like I belonged, with anyone in my life.
This was the kind of family I wanted to be a part of. My own had fallen apart a long time ago, but this family was in the business of adopting and giving people a new lease on life.
Although I wasn’t a child who needed a new home, I wanted a new family, and these people made me feel like they could be there for me and they could be my family, too.