Chapter Thirteen #2
William narrowed his cool brown eyes at me, raising one eyebrow in a perfect expression of privileged disdain before saying, "Why don't you go back home and let me talk to Charlie in private? You're not needed here."
Charlotte's face flushed red. Before she could speak, I said with a casual shrug of one shoulder, "So . . . no coffee then? Charlie? More coffee?"
Not needing an answer—I knew damn well she needed more coffee—I plucked her mug from her hand and crossed the room to refill it.
"Uncle William," Charlie said evenly, "Lucas is my neighbor and my friend. There's nothing you can't say in front of him. And it's completely inappropriate for you to ask him to leave when we are in my house. Just because you're upset doesn't mean you can forget your manners."
She finished with her chin up, looking down her nose at William even though he was taller than her. I kept my eyes on the coffeemaker, hiding my grin. On William Davis, privileged disdain was irritating. On Charlie, it was adorable.
William let out a sigh. In a low voice, he said, "Charlie, surely, you know you can do better than this."
William's eyes slid to me. It wasn't hard to read that he knew I'd heard and didn't care. I didn't care either. If anything, I needed this kind of in my face reminder that Charlie and I were worlds apart.
I thought about leaving. I didn't need to put up with this bullshit. But I didn't want either of them to think this douche-bag could run me off. I added a splash of half-and-half to Charlie's coffee the way she liked it and handed her the mug.
She took it, shooting me an apologetic look. I gave her a small shake of my head. It wasn't Charlie's fault this guy was an ass.
"Uncle William, I don't want to be rude, but if you say anything like that again, I'm going to ask you to leave." She took a deep breath, as if bolstering herself. Then she said, "Jacob is still upset with you after the things you said to him about Abigail. Please don't put me in that position."
William gave her a hard stare, not appreciating being put in his place by a woman he still considered a child. But even he couldn't argue with her logic. I wondered what he'd said to Jacob Winters about Abigail.
I could guess. Abigail had had a sterling reputation until she'd married Big John's son.
William Davis probably hadn't considered her good enough for Jacob.
It made me wonder exactly who was good enough for the Winters children.
Did he have a crown prince lined up for Charlie? I wouldn't be surprised.
William huffed out an exasperated breath. "You always were a handful, Charlie. You and Annalise both. Will you at least go see your brother? It's not right to hold a grudge."
"I saw him yesterday."
"And did you apologize?"
"No." Charlotte's eyes narrowed dangerously, the blue of her eyes a dancing flame. "No, I did not apologize to Aiden for firing me, without cause, from my job."
"He was only doing what was best for you, Charlie."
William's placating words set my teeth on edge. Based on the tight muscles of her jaw, he was doing the same to Charlie.
"Newsflash, Uncle William. This is a whole new century where women are allowed to decide what's best for themselves instead of letting the men in the family figure everything out for them."
William shook his head sadly. "All this feminism stuff just complicates things. I don't know why you girls can't see that."
Charlie made a sound that was half laugh and half sigh. "You know you're a dinosaur, right? You're letting the world leave you behind."
"I like my world just how it is, young lady.
" William was at least self-aware enough to give her a gentle smile.
Still ignoring me, he said, "So, is this your new business?
You're going to rehab houses and sell them?
There's good investment value in the Highlands.
But you really should live in Winters House.
This place looks like it's going to fall down around your ears. And it's in the Highlands. So urban."
He shook his head again. I bit back a laugh. Only a man like this, clearly born with a platinum spoon in his mouth, would call the Virginia Highlands area of Atlanta 'urban' in that snotty tone.
Most of the houses around us were well over a million dollars. Both Charlotte's and mine had originally been under the million-dollar mark, but when they were done, they too would be worth a lot more. The neighborhood was diverse and the location was ideal, but it was expensive. Very expensive.
"You think anything that's not an estate in Buckhead is urban," Charlie said and sipped her coffee. "You're such a snob, Uncle William."
I don't know how she managed to be both exasperated and affectionate. I wanted to shove the guy right out the back door.
"Do you want a tour?" she asked.
William let his eyes roam the house, stepping out into the hall so he could see the front rooms. His gaze lingered on the pile of drop cloths, the heater, the scrapers we'd been using in the living room, and the caution tape Charlie had tacked across the front door. He shook his head.
"You can show me around when it's finished, sweetheart."
"Okay," she agreed. "Are you seeing Aiden today?"
"For lunch. Yes."
"You going to give him a lecture about getting me in hand?" Charlie asked with a cheeky smile.
William shook his head with the same mixture of exasperation and affection I'd seen on Charlie's face a minute before. Stepping forward to kiss the top of her head, he said, "I was planning on it, yes."
"Why don't you tell Aiden to find himself a real girlfriend so he can get his own hostess?" she asked.
William turned for the back door as he said, "That's also on my list."
"Good, then you can bug him instead of me."
Standing in the open doorway, William faced Charlie. His eyes flicked to mine and back to her. Quietly, he said, "I know I annoy you children with my out-of-date expectations and my nagging. But your parents are gone, and I'm only trying to stand in for them as best I can."
He left, firmly shutting the door behind himself. Charlie stared after him, the gleam of tears in her ocean blue eyes and a bereft expression on her face. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.
"I'm sorry he was so rude," she said, not meeting my eyes.
"He really is a dinosaur. He doesn't seem to get that it's not okay to be such a snob.
Jacob is so mad at him. If William doesn't apologize soon, Jacob may never speak to him again.
He's crazy in love with Abigail, and from what I heard, William said some things. Abigail overheard . . ."
She shook her head. "I wasn't there, but everyone said it was ugly. Anyway, he was our parents’ best friend. My parents’ and my aunt and uncle's. He's been there for us our whole lives. It was bad enough when Uncle James and Aunt Anna died, but when my parents . . ."
She trailed off again before finishing. "Aiden was just in college and it was so much, between the company and the press. Annalise and Holden and Tate and I were so young. We couldn't have gotten through it without William. But I'm sorry he was such a dick."
"Don't worry about it, Princess. He didn't bother me. Once he realizes I'm not going to be around long-term, he won't bother being rude."
Charlie's back went stiff and she looked away. She didn't like the reminder that we weren't really together.
If I were being honest, my gut clenched a little when I said it.
We both needed to remember this was temporary, especially after that little scene with William.
I wasn't her kind of people. If William had been an asshole to Abigail, who had a sterling pedigree until she married John Jordan, he would go completely ape shit if he thought there was any possibility of a real relationship between Charlie and me, so it was a good thing there wasn't.
She was convenient sex and that was it.
That didn't mean I liked the hurt look on her face.
Before I could open my mouth and say something to take that look away, something that would erase my earlier words and make us forget reality, I made an excuse about work, reminded her to set the alarm behind me, and left.