by Haley Cass
She sent Sutton a smirk and a wink. “Got it.”
She took a minute to gather herself. Working the room with Sutton had felt natural. She’d networked with Dean and sometimes with other co-workers, but they were always just peripheral fixtures. Sutton had been a main event. Her eyes flickered to where Sutton now stood with her friends, laughing easily with them.
She’d already admitted to herself that she was out of her depth here. But she only allowed this weakness for the few moments it took to finish her water. She made eye contact with Caleb, who seemed to be having the time of his life dancing, before she took a deep breath. Working the room by herself was what she’d expected and it was what she was used to.
It wasn’t lonely.
Drawing her spine up straight, she fixed a smile on her face, and went to work.
***
Less than ten minutes to midnight, with the crowd increasingly inebriated, Charlotte let herself grab a glass of champagne.
It had been a successful evening, she thought, as she let out a deep breath. She had plans for future meetings with so many people she’d never have connected to without tonight.
It was difficult to hide her smirk.
She’d even managed quite well to resolutely not look at Sutton, for the most part, in the last few hours. And certainly to not feel any sort of jealousy as she had indeed looked like she’d been enjoying herself on the dance floor.
She was mid-sip when she saw out of the corner of her eye that she wasn’t alone any longer. The moment she’d allowed herself to relax disappeared, even as she lowered her glass as normal.
Katherine held her own glass of champagne, but if Charlotte were a betting woman, she would gamble that she only drank the smallest bit. Much like herself.
There was a look in her eyes that made Charlotte’s spine straighten. “Ms. Thompson, I was hoping we’d have another moment to chat this evening.”
She gave a slightly apologetic grin. “I apologize; I’ve been somewhat on the move,” she offered, even as she steeled herself and tried to clamp down on nerves.
Something told her this wasn’t about politics.
“The party has been lovely. Thank you, again, for inviting me,” she took a small sip of her champagne. Very small, because she couldn’t afford to lose any of her guard in front of Katherine Spencer.
She angled her head slightly in acknowledgement. “Frankly, it’s given me the opportunity to observe you a bit. And by all accounts, you seem to be an accomplished, charming, and intelligent woman. I can see why my daughter enjoys your company.”
It was difficult, really, to school her features in the way that was usually second nature to her, with the rush of surprise she got – followed by the suspicion curling low in her stomach.
Words should sound like a compliment sounded like anything but.
“Ah, thank you?” The look in Katherine’s eyes was making her increasingly uneasy.
Katherine’s mouth drew into a firm line. “And while I told Sutton that I wasn’t going to discuss this, I would be remiss if I neglected this opportunity to have an actual conversation with you. While you seem admirable, Ms. Thompson, I know that you have ambitions, and that those ambitions will lead you down certain paths with your personal life.”
Charlotte swore her entire stomach dropped with dread. Her voice was even, though, as she tilted her head. “What exactly do you want to discuss, Mrs. Spencer?”
She supposed if there was something about Katherine that she liked, it was that she was direct. “Your sexuality and who you choose to share it with is private; I wouldn’t dare take that from you. But I want you to know that you are not the only person your decisions affect. Sutton cares for you, very much, and she cares for your . . . friendship. And when my daughter cares for someone, she is extremely selfless. Which can often be taken advantage of – even inadvertently – by those who are more selfish.”
The words pierced low in her stomach. “I can assure you, hurting Sutton is the last thing I want. There’s nothing between us that she has misconceptions about.”
Charlotte had been honest with Sutton about everything in their relationship, no matter what, from the beginning.
Katherine’s eyebrows lifted as she hmm’d. “I’m not trying to imply that you’re a bad person or that you shouldn’t have your wants and ambitions. I’m merely saying that I know you’re in a difficult position but I would very much advise you to be careful with your footing. I’ve seen my daughter be hurt far too many times.”
Charlotte very deliberately took a sip of her champagne, even as her heart hammered, her thoughts moving a bit too fast for comfort. “I do care for Sutton,” she spoke slowly, her throat burning with the truth of it. “And I don’t want to hurt her.”
Was this that traditional parental warning when one was dating their child? Dating, the word wrapped tightly around Charlotte’s throat and pulled painfully, blood rushing in her ears.
Katherine regarded her with a frighteningly knowing look. “I’m glad.”
It was too much. It was all just too much, because she and Sutton weren’t together. She didn’t even plan to give a name to the feelings she had regarding Sutton.
Clearing her throat, she delicately placed her glass down. “If you’ll excuse me, I need some fresh air.” For the first time in her life, Charlotte fled a conversation.
She reached the double doors that led out to the well-lit balcony in what had to have been record timing, especially given that she hadn’t let herself run.
The cold air was again like a slap without a jacket, but as she shut the door and leaned back against the siding of the house, it felt like clarity.
It helped her slow down and tell herself that Katherine hadn’t said anything she didn’t really know; it just confirmed that she knew she and Sutton were more than just friends. And that perhaps she was more in-tune to Charlotte’s feelings than even her daughter was.
A frightening thought on its own, but not unbearable. She tilted her head back and took in a breath of icy air deep into her lungs, eyes closed.
Her eyes snapped open, her posture righting itself, when she heard the door open again.
It was Sutton.
The door stayed cracked open behind her, filtering out some sounds of music and chatter from inside, and illuminating Sutton’s face.
That open concern and those wide eyes tracking over Charlotte’s features. “I . . . I saw you talking to my mom.” She worried at her bottom lip, drawing Charlotte’s gaze. “Did she – she told me she wasn’t going to say anything. Did she say anything to upset you?”
The sheer concern in her voice was almost enough to bring Charlotte to her knees.
Anything to upset her? Like bring up Charlotte’s feelings for Sutton? Like give her some version of the family-threat? Like make Charlotte really think about what a dangerous line she was walking, doing this with Sutton Spencer, whose family had so much influence in her professional world?
Like make her think all over again that these feelings alone were enough to jeopardize her entire world and she had no idea what to do with them?
She let out a slow deep breath that she hoped masked the shudder that wanted to escape, and she shook her head. “No. Your mother loves you very much. It’s nice.”
It was nice, abstractly, to think about that. To know how much Sutton loved her family and to see that it was mirrored right back at her. Charlotte never cared much that she wasn’t close to her parents but it was . . . nice.
“Are you sure?” Sutton asked, dubiously. “Because you can tell me. I know my family can sometimes be intrusive, and I can blackmail my siblings into minding their own business, but my mom – well.”
She shrugged, adorably, looking so nervous that there was something in her expression that worked to calm Charlotte somehow.
“I’m sure. Your mother is a formidable woman, but I just needed a moment to breathe,” she told her, leaning back against the wall.
She could rela
x like this around Sutton. Sutton could see her without her perfect posture and professionalism.
“Okay, good.” Sutton flickered her eyes back inside, where there was a hush that Charlotte only just noticed, before there was a startling collection of ten! Called out.
Sutton took a deep breath as she shut her eyes for a moment, her chest rising and falling as she seemed to collect herself. “That’s not the only reason I came out here.”
Nine. Oh. It was the countdown.
“No?” Her whisper was carried on the wind to Sutton, and she quirked an eyebrow.
Eight.
Sutton shook her head, her hands tangling in front of her, as she took a step away from the door and closer to Charlotte.
Seven.
Her heart hammered in anticipation even as her thoughts came to a halt. Sutton was going to do it again. On a non-benefits night, there was going to be a kiss. Against the rules. Charlotte’s lips tingled already. Damn it.
Six.
“I know it’s not – I know we aren’t having a benefits night,” Sutton began, taking another step closer and Charlotte’s body already got goosebumps thinking about having Sutton’s warmth close enough to feel.
Five.
“But it is a holiday tradition and all, so I thought . . .” Another step closer, and her hands pressed against her thighs.
Four.
“We could, um,” her breath washed over Charlotte’s jaw with how close they were.
Three.
“Because of . . .” Sutton trailed off, her eyes dipping to Charlotte’s lips, and she licked them without thinking, enjoying the way Sutton’s breath hitched. “Tradition.”
Two.
“Tradition,” Charlotte repeated, and her thoughts had landed on a resounding no. Every logical thought she had told her to let Sutton down and stick to the rules.
One.
Her hands didn’t listen, though, and she reached out to stroke her hands along Sutton’s waist, feeling her, as the cheers erupted from inside.
Their lips met slowly at first, Charlotte leaning up off the wall as she tasted Sutton for the first time in weeks. Their breaths mingled, so warm in the freezing air, enticing, with just the whisper of their lips touching.
Then Sutton pushed forward a bit more, pressing Charlotte back against the cold wall, making her mouth drop in a gasp as she felt Sutton’s hands stroke down her sides. She tugged at Charlotte’s suit as Sutton’s soft lips encased her bottom one and sucked in a way that made Charlotte’s toes curl.
Not to be outdone, she dug her nails in just a bit, enough to feel Sutton’s quickening of breath against her, as she flicked her tongue up along Sutton’s top lip, and –
“Charlotte,” Sutton sighed so softly into her mouth that she felt it more than heard it, sending shivers down her spine.
God, she wanted this woman. There never seemed to be enough of her, and Charlotte didn’t have any clue what to do with that. It was a sobering thought. Sobering enough to have her press a soft, chaste kiss to the corner of Sutton’s mouth as she drew back.
Heavily lidded eyes blinked back at her, but didn’t move away. Not yet.
Her conversation with her brother earlier seemed to echo in her ears. Her life goals meant she had to make sacrifices along the way, and she held Sutton’s bright blue gaze with her own.
Charlotte had never minded having to make that sacrifice. She’d never let herself feel enough for anyone that it really felt like a sacrifice. Until now.
Chapter 19
By the time Sutton arrived at the Guggenheim for Elizabeth Thompson’s inauguration anniversary gala, she was over half an hour late. Which was totally and completely out of character for her, but in all fairness, she felt like there was more at stake here than there had ever been at any other event she’d gone to.
No matter what their romantic non-relationship status was, it was extremely special to be invited to Charlotte’s grandmother’s annual party. After all, it was Elizabeth Thompson – not only was she one of the most influential women on the planet, but she was the grandmother and idol of the woman she had feelings for.
It didn’t matter that family members of past dates and all of her friends liked her; this felt bigger. At the very least it meant Charlotte thought Sutton wouldn’t be out of place and that she wanted her to meet the woman who shaped her life so much. Which was already a pretty big thing for Charlotte.
Plus, it hadn’t helped that on her way out the door, Regan had given her a softly disapproving look. She’d given up on explicitly trying to warn Sutton away from Charlotte. Instead, all she’d said in the last few weeks since New Year’s Eve was, “Just, be careful. Charlotte has made it pretty clear that she isn’t going to see beyond herself to notice how good you are and what an amazing girlfriend you would be.”
Regan’s protectiveness was unstoppable, always had been, and Sutton, overall, loved that about her.
She just couldn’t explain to Regan all of the little things about Charlotte that made her want to sigh while she was sure little hearts exploded over her eyes.
The way she would concentrate on Sutton when it was just the two of them as if nothing else existed. The look where she smiled so unguardedly, so differently than the one she gave to the rest of the world. The moments where she held onto Sutton, clutching even as she fell asleep. The moments that Sutton was sure Charlotte wasn’t truly able to let herself accept – yet.
Like the way Charlotte had kissed the breath from her last week when she’d returned to New York and stroked her cheek so tenderly. How she’d stayed in bed five minutes later than her alarm – which she knew by now never happened – and when she had gotten up, she’d murmured to Sutton that she could stay if she wanted, despite the fact that Charlotte had to go to work.
No, Charlotte wasn’t professing feelings, but . . . it was something. Something different than what it had been at first. And she was patient, very much willing to let Charlotte come to terms with these things on her own time.
The entrance was swarmed with photographers and journalists, and in combination with the sheer volume of guests, Sutton had to pause to take it all in.
She fumbled her phone out of her clutch and felt a rush of warmth when she read the messages from Charlotte that she hadn’t had time to check in her rush to arrive.
Charlotte – 7:54PM
Your name is on the list at the door. You’ll
have no trouble getting in
Charlotte – 8:02PM
Let me know when you arrive? I’m excited
to see you.
God, she barely held back the groan under her breath. These were the things Charlotte did that made her heart skip a beat.
Sutton – 8:25PM
Sorry! I didn’t realize how crazy it was
going to be to get here.
Sutton – 8:26PM
But I’m here now.
She paused, looking at the building for a long moment. She was relatively familiar with the museum but she’d never seen it looking as glammed up as it did right now. But she supposed when you had the sort of power and influence that Elizabeth Thompson had, you could throw your party wherever you wanted.
Pushing through the crowd near the entrance, managing to slip behind the majority of the guests and out of the way of the media, she jumped when she felt a hand skim over the back of her jacket.
Then shivered at Charlotte’s voice teasingly whispering, “You were taking so long I was worried you’d gotten lost.”
She spun on the step to face her and felt her throat go dry instantly. Charlotte was wearing a white dress with an intricately embroidered snug body that then loosely fell at her hips. Her arms and shoulders were bare, save for the perfectly styled brown curls.
“I – hi! You came outside to get me?” She cringed as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Because clearly, that’s what had happened.
Somehow, even after months, she could still make a fool of herself in front of Charlotte. Whose
smirk widened into a genuine smile that . . . almost looked uncharacteristically sheepish, just for a few moments before that confident look was back.
“Well, it did take you a while to get here and you’re not one to typically run late, so . . .” she trailed off, waving her hand and pursing her lips.
Sutton ran her eyes over Charlotte’s face carefully, taking in those subtle nuances of her expression, before it dawned on her. “You were worried about me?”
It was so odd, seeing Charlotte look even a little bit flustered, but it was also so incredibly appealing and Sutton swore she could feel it all over.
A smile stole over her face. Charlotte was at a networking event, hosted by her cherished grandmother, and she was thinking about her.
Charlotte swayed a bit closer, her arm sliding around Sutton’s waist as she leaned in close enough that her warm breath glided over Sutton’s cheek. She shivered even before she felt Charlotte’s warm breath wash over her. “Enough with that teasing smile, darling. Perhaps I was worried about you. Perhaps I just felt like coming outside.”
There was just enough space between them for their eyes to meet and the grin Charlotte wore was meant just for her.
The moment shattered as a light flashed in their direction. A camera flash, she realized with a start, when it happened again. She started in surprise as she turned to face it.
She hadn’t noticed anyone even near them, but only a step down was a photographer with a badge hanging around his neck.
By the time she blinked enough for her eyes to adjust a few seconds later, Charlotte’s hand had slid up to her waist, the touch casual and light. The look on her face wasn’t at all the same as the one they’d shared, but one of her easily disarming grins.
She was able to smile herself after the shock wore off. It wasn’t her first time at an event with photographers, but she did think back to the many times her parents had done much throughout her childhood to shield their kids from this aspect of their relatively high-profile life.
It wasn’t until another photographer called Charlotte’s name that Sutton turned and realized – okay, well, she supposed it shouldn’t be shocking that there were a few others now facing their direction.
