Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Charlotte
W e laughed and talked and laughed some more. He told me about weird deductions people had tried to take, which doesn’t sound all that funny, but the way he delivered the punchline killed. I told him about the oddest requests people had made during my front desk stints at the hotels, ranging from peculiar to downright shocking.
He’d asked if I’d seen any celebrities, so I’d listed off the dozen or so I’d encountered, including Miss Mayhem in Tokyo years ago and Bri Williamson in Munich last summer. Cody poked fun at my obsession with celebrity gossip magazines and begged for the full story of me seeing either of them, but I refused—in both cases, I’d been generally professional but internally screaming like a thirteen-year-old.
He mentioned Madeline Reynolds was rumored to be staying at the hotel right now. I hadn’t seen her, but she, too, had graced the cover of Forbes more than once as one of the business world’s most powerful women, and it might be cool to see her. The most telling part of celebrities and famous people staying at hotels was how they treated the staff—I’d have to ask around about Reynolds and figure out if she was using a different name for her stay.
The whole night glowed with a light of ease and warmth and a low thrum of anticipation. I’d loved the pre-dinner kiss, but I’d appreciated his willingness to stop and deal with the awkwardness between us even more. The fact that it resulted in his confession of wanting to kiss me and following through in a spectacular, mind-numbing demonstration of that desire? Even better.
And now we walked hand in hand back toward his house, and my mind took in the scatter shot stars above us like a thousand different possibilities. Growing up, I’d always thought of the stars as islands in an ocean I’d never get to explore, destinations I couldn’t reach from this limiting place on Earth. Now they seemed so different—more like dreamy futures to embrace than something to yearn for.
Of course, I’d never visit a giant ball of gas in space. But to me, as a kid, the vastness of the sky had made my small town feel suffocatingly miniscule. A reminder of the big world out there I hadn’t yet tasted. But now I had. I’d seen a lot of the world—lived in some of it, traveled to much of it when I wasn’t working. And in this moment, I couldn’t imagine a place I’d rather be. Only in this place could I ever even see this many stars.
“Are you up for getting lunch together sometime this week?” he asked, jarring me from my thoughts.
“Absolutely. I’ll take lunches at one. You’re welcome to come to the resort and eat with me. I can probably sneak away on Thursday to meet you in town, but I’m trying to stick around most days just so I’m clearly visible and available.”
He squeezed my hand, sending a race of warmth up my arm. “I can come to you. I have it on good authority my job is fairly secure.”
“Uh oh, you’re one of those?” I asked in mock horror.
“Yes. I do whatever I want and know that Daddy will never fire me from the family business.”
I barked out a laugh, both from the entirely understated delivery and hearing him call his father Daddy . I’d never known a man less likely to take advantage of a family connection, so his comfort with being flexible made me happy for him. “I’m glad you’re comfortable at work. And while I don’t think your daddy would fire you for much, we both know if you started slacking, you’d hear about it.”
“Oh, I definitely would.”
We wandered a bit farther and came to the porch of our house. Houses. The fleeting image of us approaching a single door and both going inside sent a thrill through me. Not in the heat of passion, though I could easily say I wouldn’t mind that either, but as a habitual, regular thing. The mental picture came through with the clarity of routine and comfort. It came as an image of us being an established couple, and it made my heart twinge with longing for something I hadn’t ever admitted I wanted.
“So I’ll see you sometime this week?” I asked, wondering if he’d want to make firm plans or leave it open.
He tugged my hand so I stepped closer and he settled his free hand on my waist. “I need to get into the office and see if anything has popped up, but most likely it hasn’t. In that case, I’ll plan to come for lunch on Tuesday, if that works?”
The smile grew on my lips before I could tell it not to. “Perfect.”
Stars flickering overhead and the dim light of the porch made his eyes glitter back at mine. We inched closer, our gazes locked. My stomach tumbled and dropped when he leaned down and gently took my mouth with his. A soft press, then harder and more insistent. Our arms locked around each other—his at my waist and mine at his neck, but I wanted to touch him. His neck, his face, everything I could without crossing a line.
Before I knew it, his hands were in my hair and the kiss had deepened to something suggestive and delicious. He groaned low and anguished, then broke the connection between us and held me close. Our ragged breaths made wispy clouds of warmth billow out from our mouths. The temperature had dropped, and the world smelled like it might snow.
The familiar scent of the wintry air combined with standing in my oldest friend’s embrace after the best kiss I’d ever had sent a feeling of rightness through me so suddenly, I shuddered.
“You’re getting cold. Go inside, and I’ll see you Tuesday.” He dropped a kiss to my forehead, cheek, and a last one to my mouth, and stepped away.
“Thank you for dinner,” I said, my voice raspy.
“My pleasure,” he said, and watched as I unlocked the door and went inside.
I sank against the panel and slid to my butt—not my best idea. The wood floor just inside was cold and hard, but I needed that so I wouldn’t slip away with this moment.
After the awkwardness had faded thanks to his persistence, the night had been one of the best of my life. It hadn’t been on the Seine sipping champagne or eating sushi in Japan or hiking in the Andes. It had been here, in Silverton, with Cody.
And for some unknown reason, that made me feel like crying my guts out. Had I missed out on so much goodness here because I’d insisted on leaving all of this behind? Had this always been a possibility? And would I have been ready for it with Cody if I’d stayed?
In my gut, I knew I wouldn’t have. I’d needed to go and explore and be the cliché girl who had to find herself by leaving. I loved the adventures I’d had, but that image of me and Cody going home together night after night played back through my mind and my heart ached for that. For roots and connection and community that lasted.
I had that here. And better than that, I had a chance to be with the person I loved more than anyone else in the world next to my family. Someone I could fall for with the slightest nudge.
I wouldn’t waste this chance to see what staying here could be like. If Cody wanted to see where things went, where they could really go, then I’d stay. We’d avoided addressing that in front of Chase tonight, and that was the right choice. But if he brought it up, I’d make clear I wanted to stay and try with him.