Epilogue
Isaac
Tip #31: The best way to seduce a workaholic is through impeccable scheduling, but don’t be afraid to use your appearance to your advantage.
“W e’re going to need more buns.” Charlotte furrowed her brow as she surveyed the kitchen island’s granite countertop.
We’d planned for a day of sunshine out on the lake, so Charlotte was in a white lace sundress, the black straps of her swimming suit occasionally peeking through the neckline. Her silken hair was pulled back in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes, and her kiss-worthy lips were puckered in thought.
She was so beautiful. And she was all mine.
I was so absorbed with admiring her, it took me a moment to realize she was talking to me. “Sorry, what?”
“We’re going to need more buns,” she repeated. “And burgers—oh, and we’ll need brats for your grandfather.”
“Right,” I said, my warm feelings fading fast as I was faced with reality. I turned so I could scowl through the glass back door that led directly from my house’s kitchen to the expansive back deck, which overlooked the lake I’d been planning to take Charlotte out on.
That would not be happening, as my family—Samuel, Natalie, Logan, Jenna, Owen, Grandfather, Mother, Aunt Jamie, Uncle Charles, and my wayward cousin Connor, who was visiting Fox Creek for the weekend—crowded around the deck, laughing, chatting, and generally being in the way.
“I’ll make a list,” Charlotte announced, “and head into town.”
“Nonsense,” I said. “We can use a grocery delivery service.”
“On a Saturday? For a rush delivery? It’s going to be ridiculously expensive,” Charlotte said.
I casually edged around the island so I could stand next to her. “Then it’s a good thing you make a lot of money, Ms. CFO, and that I’m a trust fund baby.” I lowered my voice as I leaned closer to her.
Charlotte smiled radiantly at me—she was so gorgeous it was hard to breathe—before our lips brushed in the start of what I was hoping was going to be a lengthy kiss.
Unfortunately, my family had other plans.
“So this is what you two are up to!” Samuel obnoxiously shouted. “A little romantic rendezvous, eh?”
Charlotte—having all the manners I didn’t—immediately broke our kiss so she could chuckle at Samuel. “Actually, we were pondering all the extra food we’ll have to order.”
“Uh-huh, yeah it totally looked like you two were talking, with your mouths planted together like that,” Samuel said.
I groaned. “Would you at least pretend to grow more mature with age?”
“No,” Samuel said. “At least not when it’s finally my turn to tease you. Do you know all the crap jokes I had to hear when Nat and I finally got together?”
“You deserved every last one of them,” I sourly said.
Charlotte patted my chest. “I’ll go check with the rest of your family and see if we need anything else.”
“OK,” I agreed.
Samuel and I watched her leave, ducking out through the door to join our relatives on the sunny deck, while I contemplated my life choices.
I had made a huge mistake.
I’d confessed to my mother that I planned to propose to Charlotte tonight. That had been all my family needed to assemble, and the entire meddling Warner clan had shown up, uninvited—and unwanted—at my house, anxious to be present for the event.
“So, are you going to show me the ring?” Samuel prompted.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Charlotte is going to be the first person to see her own engagement ring,” I said.
Samuel sighed and sounded generally put out. “I guess that’s reasonable.” He leaned against the island, his tone and expression growing serious. “Let me know when you want to slip away and ask her, and I’ll do my best to run interference with our family.”
“You could all just go home, and then I’d be free to ask her whenever the moment felt right,” I pointed out.
Samuel scoffed. “Now where would the fun be in that for the rest of us?”
I narrowed my eyes at my twin as the deck door creaked open and my cousin Connor joined us in the kitchen.
“Hey, Isaac,” Connor said. “Why haven’t you popped the question yet?”
“I haven’t had a chance with you lot loitering around my house,” I grumbled.
“He’s cross,” Samuel announced. “He doesn’t like that we’re here to watch.”
“Ahhh,” Connor said. “Cut us a break, Isaac. This is a historic moment. Max and I have been betting for years that you’d end up with Charlotte. That moment is about to be a reality.”
“Only if you all leave so I get the chance to ask her,” I said. “Why are you here anyway? You don’t even live in Wisconsin anymore.”
“I’m considering moving to Fox Creek,” Connor said.
I paused, surprised. Connor had never actually lived in Fox Creek, or Wisconsin for that matter. He and his brother, Max, had come for summer break every year from grade school up through our university years, but they and their mother—my Aunt Regina Warner—had never settled down in the area, unlike our father and Uncle Charles.
“Really? You’d move? I assume it’s so you can work for Warner Print?” I asked.
“I said I’m considering it.” Connor said. “I’m still not happy enough with where my career is to commit to it, yet. Although … since you quit, I can finally join Warner Print without worrying about being worked to death. Plus, your replacement is way easier to work with.”
“I’m suddenly feeling inspired to invest your trust portfolio in some risky ventures with high losses,” I said.
While I would be employed by Warner Print as a consultant to Charlotte for the foreseeable future, by the end of the year she’d be more than capable of holding down the CFO position herself, so I would move into managing the various Warner family investments—Mad Picnic Party included—full time. (Of course, I’d already promised to return to Warner Print as a consultant/contractor during tax season, but between our family’s expanding real estate investments and other ventures, I had more than enough to keep me busy. I’d already been in charge of overseeing our investments before I retired as CFO, and I hadn’t been able to spend as much time on our wealth management as I’d liked due to Warner Print’s being my priority.)
“The important thing here,” Samuel said, taking over the conversation, “is that no one can give me a hard time anymore about pining over Natalie for years and being so bad at communicating, since Isaac here was essentially doing build-a-bear, except he was building a boss whom he then fell in love with, because, of course he would—he’d never stand a chance against anyone so competent.”
Connor nodded. “He’s got you there. You made Charlotte get how many extra degrees and credentials when her role was executive assistant?”
“She was already a certified public accountant before I got to her,” I argued. “And it all worked out, didn’t it?”
“It did,” Samuel agreed. “And good luck tonight. We’re all cheering you on—both of you.”
Connor nodded.
“Thanks, but I’d rather you didn’t,” I wryly said.
“You brought this on yourself when you asked Nat for dating advice,” Samuel said. “She sees things through.”
“Great. Fantastic wisdom. Thanks,” I said, raising an eyebrow.
Samuel copied the move so we were mirror images of each other—I’d eschewed my glasses in anticipation of a lake day with Charlotte.
Samuel broke the stare down with a grin. “Seriously, Isaac. Good luck—we can’t wait to hear the good news, and as I said, I’ll try to distract everyone as much as possible.”
“Yeah, but you better go intercept her now,” Connor said. “Aunt Jamie and Aunt Estelle aren’t exactly subtle when it comes to any of us cousins and our romantic lives.”
“True. Thanks.” I turned away from my twin and cousin and headed out to the deck, stepping from the cool, shaded house into the warm sunlight.
Charlotte had completed the rounds of my family members, taking food orders and—miracle of miracles—stood by herself under the shade of a giant umbrella as she typed away on her phone.
I approached her from behind, sliding my arms around her waist and pulling her against me in a back hug. “Do you want me to make the order?”
“No, I’ve already got everything entered in the app, I’m just finishing it.” Charlotte leaned back into my shoulder so she could smile up at me.
I rested my chin on the top of her head and patiently waited.
“OK. All done!” Charlotte announced.
“Good.” I kissed the side of her head. “Since we have some time before the necessary groceries show up, why don’t we ditch my family?”
“And do what?” Charlotte asked.
I shifted, being careful to angle the pocket that held the velvet jewelry box with our engagement ring in it away from her so she wouldn’t feel it as she leaned back into me. “We could head out on a boat ride.” I glanced to make sure a boat was indeed parked at my dock.
(Since much of our family lived on this side of the lake, we shared a flotilla. As far as I knew, Sam and Nat had the jet skis, Mother had the pontoon boat, and I had custody of the jet boat, but that could change at any time.)
“The moment we set foot on the dock, your Aunt Jamie will want to come with us,” Charlotte predicted.
“True,” I agreed, rethinking my plan.
Maybe it would be better to propose to her while everyone was eating? They’d hopefully be too preoccupied to notice our absence.
“I’m happy to stay here for now,” Charlotte said, resting her hand on my arms.
“Oh?”
“Yes. I love your family.” She twisted in my arms so she faced me and planted her hands on my chest. “And I love you.”
“A lucky thing, since I don’t deserve you,” I said, honesty.
Charlotte scowled at me, and I could tell she was about to launch into a rebuttal.
I chuckled and cut her off by kissing her forehead. “I love you too, Charlotte.”
Charlotte smiled at me, slightly crinkling her honey-brown eyes I could stare into forever.
It took everything in me not to go down on one knee and propose to her right then and there. She was so beautiful, so fantastic, and she was all mine.
Unable to resist all my impulses, I bent down and kissed her, long and slow, savoring the feel of her soft lips on mine.
Charlotte started to slide her arms around my neck until a loud clearing of the throat interrupted us.
We parted to see Logan staring at us.
“What?” I said. “Don’t pretend you aren’t thrilled with this. I heard all about the celebration you and your little legal posse threw when you found out I wasn’t the CFO anymore.”
“That’s because the chances of us getting sued by an irate client drastically declined with your exit, even if it was a severe loss of intellect to the company,” Logan dryly said. “But I wasn’t judging you, rather, warning.” Logan tilted his head.
I followed the motion, then sighed when I saw my mother with her phone out, clearly filming us.
“Don’t mind me, darling,” Mother said. “I’m just recording this for posterity.”
“Mother,” I said.
Charlotte laughed as she slipped an arm around my back. “I think it’s great,” she said.
“While I am undoubtedly pleased you think it’s great to have pictures of us making out plastered who-knows-where by the time my mother gets off the internet, I have to wonder why,” I said.
“Maybe it’s because I’m proud of myself,” Charlotte suggested. “After all, I did manage to seduce the work-obsessed Isaac Warner.”
“True,” I agreed. “You should be proud of yourself, as it is quite the feat.”
“Oh, yes!” Natalie waved a hand at us to get our attention. “In fact, you should write a book about it! You could call it, A Guide to Bantering With Your Boss !”
The End