Chapter Sixteen
“Are you okay?” Harper said as Charlie slid onto the stool at the bar, dragging as though she was about to find out if she was dying.
When Charlie blew out her cheeks and sighed but still didn’t answer, Harper placed her hand on Charlie’s forearm and squeezed.
“What’s going on? Do you want to step into the back and talk?
” She’d never seen her look so forlorn. Not since she’d walked into the bar months ago anyway.
And certainly not in the few weeks since they’d started dating.
Charlie nodded, so Harper looked at Aiden. “I need to step away for a sec. Can you cover?”
He was wiping down a table but grinned at her as he said, “Of course, boss.”
Rather than leading Charlie into her cramped office, she took her out back and up to her apartment where they could sit more comfortably.
“Thank you,” Charlie said as she settled on the couch. “I don’t know why the panic just started to set in.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Harper said as she wrapped her arm around her and pulled her close. “What are you panicking about?”
Charlie’s hand shook as she laid it on Harper’s knee.
“Tomorrow is the big day with my parents. I’ve been so calm, but it just hit me that, tomorrow at this time, I’m going to be with my parents.
For a woman who used to close billion-dollar deals without blinking, it seems ridiculous, but these are my parents.
I’m in such a better place, but the idea of seeing them is…
daunting. What if they hate me?” Her breath was starting to come rapidly again, and Harper rubbed big circles into her back.
“They aren’t going to hate you. They’re just going to be so happy to see you again. How long has it been?”
Charlie shivered before she said, “Um, almost seven years, I think.”
Harper blinked in shock, but she certainly wasn’t going to mention it. Not while Charlie was already so stressed. Instead, she encouraged her to lie down with her head in Harper’s lap so she could give her a scalp massage. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Charlie released a couple of little groans when Harper apparently found the right spots around her temples and forehead.
Franky came over and sat in front of them, laying her head on the couch so her nose was nuzzled under Charlie’s chin.
Charlie scratched her neck for a few seconds before her hand stilled, resting there.
Harper was beginning to wonder if Charlie had fallen asleep when she said, “Would you come with me?”
Harper accidentally froze for a second, and Charlie continued, “You don’t have to. Sorry I asked. We aren’t to the meet the parents stage, for sure.”
“No, no, it’s not that,” Harper said, trying to reassure her. “You just caught me off guard. I’ll be happy to go with you for moral support. I have to take Franky to the vet in the morning for a checkup, but we could leave any time after that.”
Charlie pushed against Harper’s knee as she sat up, and Franky adjusted until she was lying across her feet.
Harper chuckled at how strongly Franky had bonded with her since the night of the thunderstorms a couple of months ago.
It was adorable. “Are you sure? You don’t have to.
” Her eyes were wide even as her brows furrowed.
Harper ran her thumb along Charlie’s forehead, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. “I want to be there for you. If being able to hold my hand or squeeze my knee will help you, I’m there.”
“Are you sure you don’t have to work?” Her face shifted to hopeful, and that change pulled at Harper’s heartstrings. She loved being able to make things a little easier for her.
“I’d already taken the day off for Franky. Can we take her with us? She loves car rides and will be stressed after the appointment, even though it’s just a routine checkup. She’s a very sensitive girl, but the car ride might help her forget the trauma.”
“That should be fine. I’ll make sure that wherever we’re meeting my parents has a dog friendly patio.”
Seeing that smile, Harper knew she’d do pretty much anything Charlie asked. She couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly things had changed. She’d gone from pushing Charlie away to wanting to hold her close. “Okay. Just let me know when you want to leave. Franky will love the road trip.”
Charlie ran her thumb along Harper’s jaw. “Thank you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t think you can know how much this means to me.”
“Of course.” She leaned until she could bring their mouths together.
What started as the lightest of brushes of lips against lips took a life of its own in the span of half a breath.
Before Harper even knew what was happening, Charlie’s fingers were threading through her hair, her ponytail holder tossed somewhere behind the couch.
Harper groaned when Charlie’s tongue swept her own.
Her head spun, and her skin felt tingly everywhere as she tightened her fingers on Charlie’s hips. The thin layer of Lycra separating their skin felt delightfully thin but also cruel as it blocked her from feeling the heated flesh beneath.
But the sudden urge to pull Charlie onto her lap had her pulling back.
The fear that they were moving too fast took hold in her chest, and the need to flee reared its fucking head again.
She somehow managed to hold it together long enough to gentle their kiss until she could pull back.
“I’m sorry, I almost forgot I still have to work. ”
“Of course.” Charlie slid away and ran her hands across her face.
“I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for melting down.
I don’t even know where all that came from.
The only time I’ve ever felt anything like it was when I was driving to Florida months ago.
It was like all of my skin was too tight for my body or something, and I couldn’t breathe.
So, anyway, thank you for talking me down.
And being willing to come with me. Tomorrow feels so much less daunting now.
” Franky, still seemingly attuned to her, climbed onto the couch between them and lay down on Charlie’s lap.
“I’m glad I can help. And Franky too, hopefully.”
“She’s the absolute sweetest dog ever.” Charlie bent and kissed her head, and Harper’s stomach felt mushy. She needed to get back downstairs, but she loved how genuine Charlie was. She hated herself for the tiny burst of panic she’d had earlier.
“She is, right? I would love to stay here with you both, but I do need to go help Aiden.” Charlie started to scoot Franky off her lap, so Harper said, “You don’t have to leave if you want more Franky snuggles. Not that you have to stay, either, I mean. It’s up to you.”
Once Harper made it back down to the bar, she couldn’t help but obsess a little about how awkward she got around Charlie sometimes.
She just wanted things to feel natural without all the weirdness she kept introducing.
She made drinks and smiled as she always did, but all she could think about was, could she get over whatever was making her like this? Was she self-sabotaging?
Clearly, she was, but she wondered if she could stop and hated the idea that she might not be able to find a way out of her own head.
And the idea was devastating because for the first time in three years, she occasionally caught a glimpse of a future that might be happy rather than just getting by.
Charlie had been jittery all morning since waking up just before five.
She needed to work off some excess energy, but a brisk walk around old town Key West, followed by a sixty minute hot yoga power flow class, hadn’t seemed to quell her anxiety.
Neither did her ridiculously long shower or staring at her closet as she agonized over what to wear.
She didn’t want her parents to think she was still pretentious.
She was pretty sure all her pretentiousness had splattered on the floor of her old New York office when her boss had thrown her to the wolves.
Granted, she’d allowed herself to be thrown when she’d signed the NDA and took the fucking payout, though it was hard to see that as anything other than blood money now.
She hadn’t touched it, planned to give it all away to charity, but having the rug yanked out from under her had really changed her outlook on everything.
And she’d finally internalized that someone’s character was much more important than how much money they made and whether they could help advance her career. But would her parents still see her that way?
Why is this so hard?
She finally decided on a pair of light linen pants and a flowy, pale pink blouse. And not a minute too soon as Harper’s knock sounded sharp and precise on her door. She’d expected nothing less. Harper had not been anything later than five minutes early since they’d met.
She pulled open the door, and her breath caught. Harper was standing there with her hair down again, wearing dark gray Bermuda shorts with narrow legs and a white button-up with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms and unbuttoned to the point of being very enticing.
Don’t look at her cleavage. Don’t look at her cleavage. Don’t look at her cleavage. And also, is she really going to wear that to meet my parents?
“Hey, right on time,” Charlie said, trying desperately to seem nonchalant.
“Are you really surprised by my timeliness anymore?” Harper laughed. Her eyes sparkled with amusement, and Charlie’s knees felt a little rubbery, which didn’t seem fair.
“I guess I’m actually impressed that you weren’t, like, fifteen minutes early, based on previous appointments.”
“Appointments, huh?” Harper said as she put her hands on Charlie’s hips and guided her backward into the apartment.
“Well, we’ve only been calling them dates for a couple weeks,” Charlie said as a soft poof of air escaped her lips when her back hit the wall.
“Hmm,” Harper said as she brought her lips so close that only the thickness of a butterfly’s wing separated them.