Chapter 49 Charlie
CHARLIE
I am Charlie Savage Forrester. I am loved. I am wanted. I belong. I’ll never forget that again.
—from the journal of Charlie Forrester
“Where were we?” Bennett backed me up against the wall again, bracketing me in with his arms. Exactly where I wanted to be forever.
“Thank you.” I moved a strand of hair that had gotten tangled in his eyelashes, marveling that I could touch him so casually like this. And by the heat that flared in his eyes, I not only could do it; Bennett wanted me to do it.
“For what?” He lowered his mouth and dropped a breath-stealing kiss to my jaw.
“For including me, just now.”
“Charlie.” His voice was low and rumbly as he continued to kiss down my neck. “I never want to be in any circle that doesn’t include you.”
I gripped the wall behind me to keep my knees from buckling, and I let out small gasps. “Same. But that’s the Forrester sibling circle. A tight group.”
To my disappointment, he pulled away from my neck to look at me. “It’s exactly where you belong.” He hesitated a moment. “If you want to be.”
“Yes, I do.” Why would he even ask that?
“I love you more than I could ever imagine loving someone.” The expression on his face was sad, almost regretful. “But now that we’re home … I’m just …”
It wasn’t like Bennett to stumble over his words, and my heart raced with fear.
“I’d understand if you …”
“If I what, Bennett? You’re scaring me.”
“If you didn’t want this anymore. Us.” He motioned at himself. “Me.”
He went to step back, but I latched onto this shirt and pulled him forward, into me. He wasn’t going anywhere. “Why would you even say that?”
“You can do so much better than me.”
“Nope.”
“Yes,” he said emphatically. “Someone who’s as smart as you. And not so old. With much less baggage.”
“I’ve had not-you, Bennett. And it was so horrible, I didn’t even realize how horrible it was until it was nearly too late.
You’re intelligent. And kind. And generous.
And lucky for you, I’ve always liked this particular older man.
” I let my hands run down his chest and stomach, feeling the muscles grow taut beneath my touch, not taking my eyes from his.
He needed to know exactly how serious I was about this.
“I don’t want torso privileges with anyone else. ”
“I don’t want anyone else to have them,” he said, his voice throaty. “Only you. Only ever you.” He linked his fingers with mine and pressed our clasped hands to the wall above my head.
“You are everything I want, Bennett. I’ve loved you since I was eighteen years old, and I have no plans of stopping at this point.”
A smile curved across his lips, and my heart raced for a different reason as he stepped even closer to me, our bodies pressed together.
“I don’t know how I got lucky enough to be with you, but I’ll never take you for granted, Charlie.
Wherever I am, there’s always a place for you by my side. As long as you want it.”
“I’ll want it forever,” I breathed right before he kissed me.
We kissed under the moonlit sky until time disappeared, and the sounds of our friends celebrating us faded into the background. We’d have the rest of our lives to hang out with everyone.
This moment was just for the two of us, a kiss to seal the rest of our lives together.