Chapter 36
C harlotte sat cross-legged on a rug, surrounded by some furniture and boxes in her new apartment, Madmartigan nestled into her lap. Since she was trapped and absolutely could not move the precious angel baby, she leaned back and looked around the cozy space. Moving into her own place after her return from Paris and establishing herself as a permanent resident of Lake Sterling felt like the right way to show her aunt and uncle she was committed to Lands. Plus, her mom had needed to assemble her stained-glass triptych for Under the Waves and took over the basement studio as a bigger space for her art. It had only taken Charlotte a day to find her new place too, so it felt as if it was meant to be.
“I’m just glad you got to move with me, Mads,” she whispered to him and stroked his silky head. Her dad had insisted that Charlotte take the cat, who apparently did a lot of yowling at the basement door while Charlotte was away. Charlotte promised Richard he could come and visit Madmartigan anytime.
Charlotte and her cat had officially moved in earlier in the day; her parents had helped her lug the boxes and furniture across town. They’d filled up the one-bedroom apartment quickly and Charlotte didn’t need too much more to make the place her home. In her head, she ran through the miscellaneous items she still wanted to get:
· A giant bookshelf
· Cat tree
· Cozy chair
· A slow cooker
· Probably another throw blanket
· Gregory
Wait, what? Brains always veered off in directions you didn’t want or need them to. Ugh. She leaned back and lay down on the rug; she’d left her legs crossed so she wouldn’t disturb Mads, but he stirred and walked across her torso to loaf on her chest. “What are we going to do about Gregory, bud?”
Madmartigan chirped. Cute, but not at all helpful.
Charlotte had only texted Gregory after the phone call with her family but not since being back. She opened her messages to reread that conversation. She’d gone back to their messages dozens of times in Paris, watching how their texts shifted over time from colleagues to friends, to lovers, then back. A written history of their relationship in letters and emojis.
Charlotte: I heard what happened with Peak Fusion and that you told them off.
Gregory: You tried to warn us.
Charlotte: I’m not messaging to gloat.
Gregory: Didn’t think you were.
Gregory: It felt good to tell them off. Ian, too.
Charlotte: ???
Gregory: Tell you more when you come back.
Gregory: I mean, not that I know you’re coming back.
Charlotte: Surprise!
Gregory: See you soon?
Charlotte: Yes. I’ll let you know when I’m back.
She missed him, but instead of texting him about being back, which felt too pushy for some reason, she’d emailed him. But he was legitimately busy with the Under the Waves grand opening coming up in two weeks, so Charlotte tried not to make up her own story about his lack of response. She didn’t want to corner him, but she did need to see him in person and to talk through everything. Including getting back to work at Lands and what that would look like. So she reached out, but for business reasons this time.
From: [email protected]
Re: An Offer
Gregory,
Hi, I’m back. I know I emailed that already and I know you’re busy but I think I can still be of assistance with the grand opening party for Waves. Would you be available to meet me at Sir Cinna-Swirls tomorrow afternoon? I have an idea to present to you.
Best,
Charlotte
She closed her laptop and made a promise to herself to not check her email again for an hour, even setting a timer to hold herself accountable. To occupy herself, she called Melanie for an overdue catch-up on everything that had happened since Charlotte returned to Lake Sterling. Melanie hadn’t let her off the hook for her decision to return to DreamUs, but she also understood it. She related, even. She sometimes considered going back to the world of fine dining despite it causing her so much stress that it affected her physical well-being. Still, Melanie had a way of being straightforward while also offering reassurance and support. Charlotte was lucky to have Mel in her life.
After they said goodbye and Melanie confirmed she’d be in town for the grand opening of Under the Waves, Charlotte plugged in her phone in the other room and then walked a full lap around her apartment while eyeing her closed laptop on the couch. It had been well over an hour; the timer went off while she was talking to Melanie and Charlotte had dismissed it.
She opened the laptop and then closed her eyes while she waited for her email to refresh. Charlotte finally opened one eye to see what new messages had made her computer ding: a shop drop email from Lost Petal Pottery (which was excellent timing because Charlotte needed some coffee mugs for her new place); a note from Luke asking her to stop by and sample some new pizza flavors; a reminder to go paperless for her new rental insurance.
Still nothing from Gregory. Gregory, who typically fired back email responses so fast that it was almost annoying.
Charlotte left her email open and ordered takeout for dinner. As she was walking out the door to grab her food, her laptop dinged. She raced across her apartment, telling herself it wasn’t an email from Gregory and she needed to pick up her food while it was still warm. But she had to check. Just in case.
She clicked on her email and saw Gregory’s name in her inbox. It made her gut plummet to somewhere around her heels. She opened it.
From: [email protected]
Re: An Offer
Charlotte,
It’s nice to hear from you. Welcome back. You’re right, I’ve been busy and not as on top of things as usual. The plans for the grand opening are coming along, but I want to make it as successful as possible. To that end, I’d like to hear your idea. See you at Cinna-Swirls at 2.
Sincerely,
Gregory
She sent back an immediate confirmation and skipped out of her apartment. Nerves still gripped every single one of her organs, but he answered. She could make things between them right.