Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Hope
Adrenaline still skyrocketed through me as I heard Charlie say, " I love you. " Never in a million years had I expected he would feel that way about me.
I hadn’t even processed my own feelings about him at all, but leaving was impossible. He was so far above me socially that I just never accepted a possibility of forever. Loving him was easy, but I had to prove somehow, he’d made the right choice and that I was on the same level.
The thought floored me. We walked out of the airport, but as we neared the limo my friend stepped back and pointed at another car. “Kir is taking me back to the hotel. You two have fun.”
I stopped and hugged her. I wouldn’t have a chance with Charlie if she didn't come. “Thanks for everything, Avril.”
Then we were alone, and Charlie led me to the backseat.
He joined me, and as we left the airport, I sat on my hands. He broke the silence. “So, our engagement party was uneventful.”
My lips curved higher, and I nodded. “That’s cute. What did your parents think?”
He scooted closer and dug my buried hand out to hold.
“That I needed to come and make things right with you. My mother said she liked you, though Kir was more upset he bet on me when I was lying. Your friends all told Avril to calm him down, but I think we should focus on us and let my mother calm him down.”
Another wonderful thing about Charlie was his family. Heat rose to my face as I said, “I like her too. She’s who I would want as a mother. Now where are we going?”
We took the turn back to the beachfront hotels as he said, “We’ll have to go back first as I promise my entire family won’t leave until they know I found you.”
I nodded, and my heart was still beating fast. Charlie was wonderful. It was me that needed to process. “My friends are still there too, but we have to talk.”
We settled into a silence as we drove into the hotel. The driver opened our doors, and Charlie said, “Let’s walk on the beach.”
Now that sounded romantic, and I needed to stop being so fearful. I held his hand still as we circled around. “Sounds perfect," I said. "How will your brother want to work with us and not hate me for lying?”
“Kir?” With the water lapping against the white sand in the background, he focused entirely on me. “Is that what’s holding you back?”
Heat rushed to my face. I glanced down at the boardwalk we walked on. “You have everything. Money, a perfect family, a perfect life?—"
“My life wasn’t perfect until you. And he’s my brother. He wants me to be happy and settled, which means I need you.”
I swallowed and met his stare. “That’s a lot of pressure, since you’re not much of a settler.”
His eyes widened. “I misspoke.”
I took a deep breath. I absolutely didn’t want him to take his words back. I squeezed his palm. “But you didn’t answer the question. I’m not in your class, and that bugs me.”
His look bore right to my soul. “So do a good job with this airline venture, because honestly, I’m not sure I’m as dedicated to anything without you right at my side.”
I laughed. He'd summed it up so easily—accept my place and do an amazing job launching an airline. But I also saw I was the one getting in my own way. “You’re sweet, Charlie.”
We walked, and his smile grew. “Only you think that.”
We were getting closer as I said, “That’s not true. Your family all thinks that.”
He let out a breath. “I don’t want to go to bed and wake up next to any of them.”
All was okay. I needed to start remembering that good things could happen too. I swung our hands. “Charlie, somehow you make everything easier when I’m near you.”
He tugged me closer to the wall. “That’s good.”
I heard a whistle above me and saw my friends and his family. “They are waving at us.”
We went farther behind the wall enclave, where they couldn’t see us. I curled into him as he said, “They can wait a few more minutes. Money doesn’t matter as a reason not to be together. What matters is your feelings.”
A giggle rushed through me. “My feelings?”
He met my gaze. “Yeah. You’ve not said. I love you enough to wait if you need time.”
Once again, I wasn’t easy. I opened my lips, cupping his face. “I don’t need time. I think I fell knee-deep in love with you in Paris.”
He kissed my thumb. “Yeah?”
My breasts were pressed against him. “Then when you asked me to be your date, I said yes, not because of the deal you offered but because I loved you then too.”
His eyes widened. “Loved?”
My heart thundered with all my truths. “And the reason I was leaving was because I loved you and thought I’d ruined your wonderful life and family.”
His grip on my hip tightened. “And now?”
I tilted my face up and closed my eyes. “And now I want to marry you, for real, because I love you and only you.”
Then his kiss made me forget everything else. We were together, and there was nothing fake about us.
As the kiss ended, he asked, “You’re not going to take it back?”
I held up a hand like I would swear in court. “No. Final answer. I love you, Charlie.”
“I love you too, Hope.” Then he kissed me again.
I wished we would never stop, because this whole real-relationship thing was pretty awesome.