Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Hope
I gazed at the demure blue dress I’d chosen and finished pinning my red hair into a bun. The person staring back at me in the mirror felt like a different person entirely.
I forced myself to smile, though my body was tense. Even in grammar school, when other girls had friends and went to one another’s houses, I’d been alone with Grandpa.
Only after he was gone had I made my friends and not been entirely alone. However, family was much different from friendship, and I was adrift and unsure how to approach the situation.
I walked down the aisle, which had no bride and groom yet, and joined Charlie, who waved.
I mumbled "Hello" as I passed people who said it to me, but I was focused on the man in the tailored suit that made his muscular body somehow even hotter.
When I joined him, he placed his hand on my back and kissed my cheek.
I kissed his cheek in return. “There you are.” I then flicked his tie as I stood straight. “You changed too.”
We shuffled to our seats among the white folding chairs that faced the fresh flower wedding arch and the waiting minister. He said, “I saw you picked blue, so I wanted to match.”
Charlie introduced the couple seated next to us as Warren and Kerry.
I waved. “Nice to meet you both.”
Kerry wore Dolce and Gabbana, and her blond hair had little circles with flowers pinned in. “You too," she said. "We’re happy you’re actually an item and that gossip blog didn’t ruin your life.”
My eyes widened. They’d seen the blog where I was naked and in my locked hotel room on a third floor. My only covering was Charlie. My heart beat a mile a second, and I asked, “What?”
Kerry blinked. “You must have seen the photos of yourself.”
Heat rose to my face, and I wrung my hands. “Oh no, you saw that?”
Kerry sucked in her lip but then whispered as the music began, “We weren’t quite so exposed as you, but that site almost ruined my life too.”
We stood as I asked, “Did Charlie’s parents see those pictures?”
“We all did,” Kerry said. “Don’t worry about it, though. That blog almost had me sent to a mental health clinic that could have stopped my divorce, so we know it’s run by someone completely mean-spirited.”
The groom was on the stage next to the minister. We turned to watch for the bride’s entrance as Kerry said, “Being in the Norouzi family has more benefits than problems.”
Charlie smiled like Kerry was right.
“Good to know,” I said, but I wasn’t so sure. I hated the idea that everyone here had seen such intimate pictures of me. At least now I knew everyone here had already seen me at my worst.
Then the dark-haired woman in a mermaid dress turned the corner. She walked alone. My heart thundered—if I ever did get married, I would be the same, not that I would ever get so lucky.
We took our seats, and the minister spoke in a language I didn’t understand for part of it. I gazed around and saw Charlie's family was beaming with happiness.
Then the minister said, "You may kiss the bride," and they both were lost in each other. I sighed, and tears formed in my eyes.
The bride and groom walked back into the house, and we all followed. The small group of twenty still felt like a crowd, but then Charlie placed his hand around my waist, making me forget where I was. “So, you were getting along with my sister-in-law.”
I gazed up at him. “She’s nice.”
“Not as nice as you and your friends.”
We were directed to the formal room and offered appetizers and champagne. He laughed, and we took our flutes. Then Ali and Gerard made their entrance, and everyone cheered.
I grabbed Charlie’s arm. “That dress is gorgeous.”
He smiled. “How come you chose one of the older-lady dresses and not something backless?”
His little dares in Paris were naughty but fun to act out when I understood no one was around, but I shook my head. “Because I’m trying to be classy now.”
He shrugged. “You don’t need to try to be anything.”
I pressed my hand to my heart then calmed down and sipped my wine. I needed to remember to not take his words to heart. I held his arm and scanned the room. “You don’t either. It seems to me your family loves you, no matter what, and your mom clearly knows you. You really don’t need a fake date.”
We saluted her from across the room, and she laughed as Charlie said, “They do. She does. And I do. We’ll talk about it at home.”
“Fine.”
He took me to the center of the room, where couples were starting to sway. We placed our champagne glasses on a tray and stayed close. For a few minutes, I let myself feel like I was entirely his, but then I asked, “So why are you stressing about Kir and your job?”
He looked down, and it was like our hearts beat as one. He smiled. “Because I want to make them proud.”
I went on my tiptoes. “I understand. My grandfather would have liked you.”
He spun me around. “What was he like?”
Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned my family. I swallowed and realized I wanted to talk about him. “He was old-school about a lot of things and couldn’t talk to me about growing up to be a girl. I learned most things secondhand.”
He held me tightly. “If I had a daughter?—"
“You want to have children?” I asked with my eyes wide open. I had no memory of any guy ever mentioning children to me.
He shrugged. “I am blessed, so I suppose I do. You?”
My life had no real room for family or a husband, even.
Most married people I knew were high-up management types juggling family and work, so they were usually super focused on tasks.
I knew nothing about their lives beyond that.
I tilted my head. “I… never thought about it. I never had anything like you did.”
“Your grandfather clearly cared about you.”
And he'd been the typical New Yorker until the day he died, dabbling in the stock market and eating out. He'd only had my mom because he wanted to pass on something. I sighed. “He did. I’ve been lost since he was gone.”
“Well, you have me if you need anything.”
Believing in him was easy. It was probably because I knew sex was great with him. I sighed. “Thanks Charlie.”
The balcony doors opened, and the party headed outside. Charlie took my hand. “Let’s sit.”
He led me to a long table outdoors. It was covered with white lace and small flowers down the middle, like the setups I'd only ever seen in wedding magazines. We found our seat near Warren and Kerry again, and I asked, “So, if you weren’t a Norouzi, what would you see yourself doing?”
He shrugged and put his napkin on his lap. “I don’t know. I loved flying, but I hated the hours and someone else controlling my life.”
Waiters were bringing in food as I said, “With your money, you could start your own airline and set your own schedule.”
He picked up his fork. “I… That’s not a bad idea.”
Maybe that was the best way to help Charlie, to offer alternative ideas. I cut my salad. “But you’re into finance.”
He blinked and stared at me like I'd butchered the spinach. “Numbers are safe.”
I lifted my chin. In the end, I didn’t need to wonder what he would think of me later, which was almost freeing. I whispered, “You’re not a guy who likes safe.”
He puffed out his chest but sealed his lips. I let it go. We ate and ate and ate. The salad was fresh, then the appetizers were delicious and just enough to stave off hunger. Finally, we had kabob. Every woman at the table ate with gusto, and I decided to not care that Charlie was next to me.
Then we watched the bride and groom cut the cake. Everyone clapped with a look of happiness. Clearly everyone cared about one another here, like in one of those movies I’d seen a million times.
Then we ate the cake, and I sighed, since it was strawberry. Today was perfect.
After we finished our slices and music started back in the house grand room, half the table headed in.
Charlie put his napkin on his empty plate. “Come, time to charm my father.”
I jumped to go with him. “Why?”
We headed in, and while the air conditioning on the balcony was nice, the blast of cold air as we walked back in made it easier to breathe.
Charlie didn’t seem to notice, though. “I want to ask him if he talked to anyone about you as promised.”
I tensed. I hadn’t expected him to care about me. My heart beat fast we joined his father, who was getting a champagne.
He smiled at us as we approached. “Hello again. Your mother is planning an engagement party for you both.”
I shook my head. Britney had already jumped at the chance to plan one for me. “That’s not necessary.”
Parvis Norouzi patted his son on the back. “Charlie should have warned you that you’re joining our family, and just getting the family together is a party these days.”
So we would be the center soon. I lifted my chin and wished I weren't shaking. “I see.”
He smiled brightly. “So what can I do for you both?”
“Pedar, I told you Hope was fired after being photographed with me.”
His lips thinned. “Yes. I’m looking for a new ad agency now.”
I wrung my hands. I wasn’t sure what to say. “Oh, you don’t have to.”
Then he said, “I don’t like to be in business with any company that hurts its own people, and besides, it seems soon you’ll be in our family, and family matters more than anything else.”
I pressed my hand to my heart under a pretense to make his family to believe us. “You’re proposing, Charlie?”
“I… I already ran it by you, and you said yes. We’ll just make it official later, sweetheart.”
We needed to sell this, since we were in the middle of the room. I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure you were serious, but you spoke to your dad.”
“He did, and we’re fine.” Then he said, “He’s happy he made the right call about your company.”
My eyes widened, and my feet felt like I was walking on clouds.
I even believed him or wanted to. Family wasn’t something I was ever in.
I’d always had a vision of rich men being super greedy and more interested in the space race than the rest of humanity.
I sighed. “That’s really nice of you to say. ”
Parvis then told Charlie, “I should go, but Maman and I are excited to see the ring when we throw you both a party.”
I trembled, though Charlie held me. I hadn’t asked my question about the interview. I supposed I would ask later, but I let it go. Part of me wished I was part of a family like this, where caring about one another was natural. “I… You were right—you have a great family.”
Charlie handed me a champagne. “He made a fortune on backing those he believed have brilliant ideas and avoiding anyone who didn’t live up to their values.”
From my experience, most people chased getting the deal more than keeping their values. I sighed as another one of his brothers passed him. “Charlie, you are the luckiest guy I've ever met.”
He clinked glasses with me. “Luck isn’t a thing, but I like how your eyes had that gleam right now.”
The bride and groom were set to dance. His family waved for us to head to the dance floor to watch their first dance. As we walked over, I said, “We’ll talk about luck later. It seems it’s time to join the others.”
I wasn’t sure what would happen next, but I liked being with Charlie and his family.