Not So Charming: A Hate to Lovers Romance (Carlisle Cellars Book 1)

by Fabiola Francisco

  June laughs awkwardly. “Uh, I guess Belle because she likes to read as much as I do.”

  Charlie nods. “Yeah, you were at the bookstore. I’m not that good at reading,” she looks down at her hands in shame.

  “Hey, that’s not true,” I interject. “You’re plenty good and get better each day.” Charlie struggles with reading, and it’s caused some stress at school and to her self-esteem.

  “You have plenty of time to get better. Plus, I like to read slowly, so I can really enjoy the story. Don’t feel rushed.” I look at June and meet her gaze over Charlie’s head. I smile gratefully at her words.

  Charlie’s smile is half-hearted, but thankfully she shrugs it off and then asks June a million questions I can’t keep track of. When the front door opens, Ms. Sullivan pauses, looking at the scene in front of her. She smiles and then jolts when Charlie calls out her name and jumps into her arms.

  I watch June and Ms. Sullivan say their goodbyes to Charlie and wave them off as they pull out of the driveway. I cross my ankle over my knee and grab my beer, almost spitting out the drink I took when Charlie says, “If you want her to be your girlfriend, I’d be okay with it.”

  Beer trickles down my chin as I laugh, stunned at her comment. Goodness, when did she start talking so much about girlfriends? How the hell does she even know what that is? I’m going to have to talk to Brett about this when he gets here tonight.

  “Let’s go have dinner, crazy girl.” I put my arm around her shoulder and walk inside.

  My mom’s gaze lifts when she sees me. “You’re staying for dinner,” she states.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I salute her with exaggerated movements that cause Charlie to giggle. I wink over at her with a smile.

  “Smart-aleck,” My mom shakes her head, grabbing a water pitcher from the fridge and setting it at the table.

  “Where’s Daddy?” Chloe asks.

  “He’s running late. He said he’d eat when he gets here,” my mom explains, which causes the girls to frown.

  “He’s always late,” Charlie whispers to herself, but we all hear it.

  With my dad’s retirement around the corner, Brett is preparing to take over the winery. He’s going to have a lot more responsibilities, but I need to talk to him about delegating. The point isn’t for him to drown in work. My dad never did, and he shouldn’t either. We have a competent staff to do their work.

  “He won’t take too long,” my mom tells them. “We’ll eat so the food doesn’t get cold, and we’ll save him some.”

  My dad walks into the kitchen as the girls are sitting at the dining table, and they rush to him, giving him hugs and kisses. “My favorite girls.”

  “You cut work early.” He looks my way.

  “My boss said it was okay. Besides, I had a date with these two beauties,” I wink at my nieces, who giggle.

  “You are your own boss,” my dad deadpans.

  “Exactly,” I smile.

  “And any excuse to spend time with these girls is worth it,” he adds.

  As we eat, the girls tell my parents about our afternoon—the books I bought them, the muffins and ice cream they ate. I almost choke when Charlie tells them I asked her to give June a note.

  Shaking my head, I try to come up with an explanation, but nothing I conjure makes sense. My dad eyes me, and my mom’s eyebrows lift.

  “But she’s not his girlfriend, although she’s very nice and could be,” Charlie’s innocence misses the awkward tension at the table, and she continues talking. If she were older, I’d kick her under the table.

  “Well, June is a very nice girl,” my mom, bless her, adds in and breaks up the conversation. “Tell me about your camp.”

  I don’t look at my dad and focus on my meal. Suddenly, I feel like a child who’s about to get reprimanded. My parents like June, but now she works for us. I’m sure that’s what my dad is thinking while his eyes burn a hole on the side of my face.

  Chapter 11

  June

  Seeing Miles with his nieces was surprising. I never took him for the kind of guy to hang out with two little girls and actually enjoy it. He seemed totally in love with them and they with him. I guess I never saw Miles beyond the popular jock that was praised by everyone kissing his ass, teachers included.

  The Miles I observed earlier this week is a different version of the boy I remembered and resented. All because of those two little girls. Goodness, I must be losing my mind. Miles Carlisle is not a guy I’d date. We come from two different worlds—one where mine serves his. The best plan of action is to continue to keep my distance.

  I’m rinsing a set of glasses that a couple just used for a tasting and placing them in the dishwasher. The more time I spend here, the more I like this job. It’s still taking me some time to open up and warm up to the public, but I enjoy telling them about the wines, watching their eyes widen in wonder when they go through the tours, and their curious questions. Showing them the vineyards is my favorite part. It’s so peaceful out there.

  Loud giggles draw my attention, and I walk out to the tasting room to find two blonde heads running in my direction. I stumble back when they crash into me, and my hands go to their backs. Charlie and Chloe laugh, and I look around the tasting room. Thankfully the few people here are smiling at the girls and not annoyed by the interruption.

  “What’re… What’s going on?” I step back and look at them.

  “Nothing, we’re spending the day here with Daddy. We just wanted to say hi.” Charlie leans around me and waves at someone. I turn around and find Carla with an amused grin. She waves at the girls as she guides her group on a tour, moving out of the tasting room through the door that leads to the production area.

  I look around, wondering what to do with the girls so I can work. “How about you sit at that table?”

  They nod and whisper to each other as they take a seat, looking at me with goofy smiles. I chuckle and make sure the guests don’t need anything else. Carla and I alternate, so when one of us has a tour, the other tends to the tasting room. I see now why they needed an extra person. Usually, people will come just for a tasting and not a tour. The afternoons and weekends get pretty busy, but it makes time go by faster.

  “What are you girls doing here?” I turn to see Brett, Miles's brother, standing by the table, looking down at his daughters.

  “We came to see June.” Charlie shrugs as if it were normal and smiles at me.

  I head over his way to explain as Brett asks, “How do you know her?”

  “We met her when we were with Uncle Miles. She’s not his girlfriend, but she’s really nice and could be.”

  I don’t miss the way Brett’s eyebrows lift in surprise and look at me. I’m horrified by the comment, and heat rushes up my neck and settles on my cheeks.

  “I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure where to take them,” I quickly say before Brett questions me about Miles. I have a feeling these girls are sneaky.

  “It’s okay. Thank you for keeping them here.” He runs a hand through his long strands of hair. It’s not quite long-long, more like Blake Shelton when he was with Miranda Lambert long. “They gave me dad guilt and begged me to come to work, promising they’d be on their best behavior,” he narrows his eyes at them.

  “We are,” Charlie whines, and Chloe nods in agreement.

  “Mmhmm… We’ll talk later.” He looks at me. “How are you adjusting? Everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” I nod. “It’s great, thank you. And the girls are fine. They’ve only been here a few minutes.” I try my best to defend them and ease his mind. When I picked my mom up from work earlier this week, the same day I met the girls, she told me Brett’s wife passed a couple years ago. Apparently, it was hard on the entire family. She was very loved in the Carlisle home, and her death came as a shock.

  “Thank you. Come on, girls. Let’s go and let June work.” They wave at me with innocent smiles full of pure joy. It’s contagious, and I wave in return before getting back to work.
<
br />   There are only a couple of more hours before my day is over, and I plan to take a shower, sit on the patio, and read until the sun sets and mosquitos bite. I also need to shop for a car. My mom and I can only share hers for so long. I’m hoping to find a used car that won’t cost me too much, so I can still save money from my paycheck for my own place once I figure out exactly where I want to be in my life—to settle down in Willow Creek or to move somewhere else.

  “How’s work?” Lucy asks as we sit at a table in Last Call. She sent me a message when I was almost done with my shift, asking if I wanted to get together for drinks. Lucy reminds me of myself, and maybe that’s why I get along with her. She doesn’t fit into the puzzle of memories I have about the people from here, so I swapped the idea of reading outside with having a glass of wine with her.

  “Good. We have a big group tour tomorrow, and I’m kinda nervous about that since I haven’t had to deal with so many people at once. Fortunately, Carla will be there as well, but I’m doing the tour. Something about diving headfirst into a real experience.” I roll my eyes but smile. I’m surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed learning about wine and telling others about it.

  “I’m glad. People love the winery, and Mr. Carlisle is a celebrity here. I mean, he was a quarterback for the Cowboys,” she leans forward and whispers this last part in awe.

  I shake my head. “I know.”

  “Do you not care?” Her eyebrows lift, hiding behind her bangs. I shrug in response. I was too young when Mr. Carlisle played football, and then he became my mother’s employer. He’s had that role longer than the professional athlete in the years I’ve known him. I suspect Lucy’s admiration is inherited from her parents and the town as she’s even younger than I am.

  “You surprise me, June,” she says on a light chuckle, curiosity and kindness lacing her words.

  “Thanks, I guess.” I press my lips together indifferently.

  We change subjects and start talking about books. Then, Lucy tells me about a customer that drives her crazy and comes almost daily into the coffee shop when she’s working. She swears she does it on purpose to annoy her. I’m mid-laugh, holding my mouth to not spit my sip of wine when a voice interrupts us.

  “Ladies.”

  I turn and look up, removing my hand and wiping it as I swallow the drink of wine. I narrow my eyes when I meet Miles's gaze. He smiles carefully, watching me. Then, he looks at Lucy, his smile freer.

  My eyebrows quirk at that reaction, but I ignore the confusion and wash it down with more wine.

  “Hey, Miles,” Lucy speaks up when I don’t. Then she widens her eyes at me as if to say, Aren’t you going to speak?

  “How are you?” He turns his attention back to me, holding the top of an empty chair at our table.

  “Good.”

  “I’m glad.” He nods mindlessly, the conversation painfully awkward and stunted. Lucy’s eyes ping pong between us with raised eyebrows. Awkward, she mouths.

  “Anyway,” Miles claps the back of the chair. “Just wanted to say hi.” He waves and nods before turning around and walking toward two guys we went to high school with, the same ones he was with the last time I saw him here.

  “What in the…” Lucy stares at me with wide eyes and her nose scrunched up. “What was that?” Her voice lowers.

  “I don’t know,” I shrug. She doesn’t know that he asked me out or that I turned him down.

  “That was something, and you know what it is,” she drawls. “What are you hidin’ from me?” She leans back on her chair and crosses her arms, glaring at me.

  “Nothing,” I say quickly.

  “I’m sorry, but that is definitely something. Did you… Oh my goodness,” her eyes grow wide. “Did you two…Did you…” She doesn’t finish the sentence, but she continues waving her finger between me and where Miles is sitting. I grab her hand with mine and lower it, keeping it wrapped around her finger in case she’s not done waving it around.

  “Did you sleep with him?” she sounds incredulous.

  “What?” I screech, sitting back and releasing her finger. “No!” I shake my head. “Why the hell would you think that?”

  “Uh, because it was painful to watch you two, and it looked like two people who knew what the other looked in their birthday suit and didn’t know what to do with that information now.”

  “No, we didn’t…” My nose scrunches.

  “Don’t look so disgusted.” Lucy rolls her eyes and shakes her head, likely thinking I’m insane. “Miles is hot.”

  I roll my eyes. “There’s more to a person than looks.”

  “I know,” she nods, agreeing with me. “He’s also nice and adorable with his nieces. He’s funny and smart, too. At least he looks like it. I don’t know him very well, but everyone knows of him.”

  “He asked me out,” I blurt out. Lucy stares at me, stunned. “I said no,” I add immediately.

  “Why would you do that?” She throws her hands in the air, shaking her head in disappointment.

  “Because,” I cross my arms like a petulant child, and even I’m annoyed with myself. Ugh. I drop my arms and look at Lucy. “He’s probably just… I don’t know.” I shake my head while I search for the right words.

  Lucy takes my silence as a green light to impart her opinion. “What? Wanting to spend time with you. Goodness, what an ass!” She slaps the table to add to her sarcastic remark.

  “Has anyone told you that sarcasm is your main language?”

  “Uh, duh.” I close my eyes but smile. “Listen to me, June,” she eyes me seriously. “Miles Carlisle is the best damn catch in this town, hell in the state. We all wonder why the hell he’s still single. Honestly, it’s like he walks around this town tempting all the single ladies and some married ones. And he asks you out, and you say no.” She’s back to screeching and looking at me incredulously.

  “Sure, he’s good-looking, but he isn’t my type.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized your type wasn’t tall, ginger, and handsome. Not to mention, great with kids, kind-hearted,” at this I snort, but she glares and continues, “and family-oriented. Jesus, I’d go out with him for you.”

  At that, I snort and laugh. “I’m sure you would.”

  “Serious now, June. Why did you turn him down? Is this because of high school?”

  Lucy doesn’t know everything I went through, but she knows I didn’t have the best experience growing up here. I shrug because I don’t want to talk about it here.

  “Oh, honey, you need to let that go.” Her eyes soften, and I feel uncomfortable with the pity reflecting in them.

  “I am.”

  “No, I mean really move on. You’re a great person, you’re super smart, read a ton, and you’re sweet. Who cares what people thought when you were younger? They’re assholes, but don’t let their bitterness and mean heart control you. If Miles Carlisle wants to go out with you, then hell, go out with him. I bet it’d be great to see the reaction of all those who were rude to you growing up.” Her smile is devilish now, and I’m afraid.

  “You should shut them down by dating him,” she adds on a snicker.

  I scoff at her suggestion. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.”

  “Fine,” she huffs with annoyance and leans back in her chair, draining the rest of her beer.

  If I were to date him as she says, I risk it all being some kind of joke and getting hurt beyond repair.

  “Can we change the subject now?” I lift my brows pleadingly.

  “Sure, but I still can’t believe you said no.

  I shake my head and ask her about her online classes so we can focus on something that isn’t my love life, specifically my love life in relation to Miles.

  I look his way out of pure curiosity while Lucy tells me about her math class and freeze when I see he’s watching me. One side of his mouth lifts when his eyes stare into mine. I roll my eyes slowly, so he doesn’t miss my reaction, and thank the Lord he can’t
see the racing heart nestled between my ribs.

  Chapter 12

  Miles

  I’m going over some numbers from last quarter and comparing them to this quarter’s current gains when my dad walks in. He sits across from me in silence. I lift my eyes and wait for him to speak. He holds my gaze but remains quiet.

  Unnerved by his silence, I finally give in. “What’s going on?”

  I haven’t spoken to him much since I had dinner at their house the other day. The few words we’ve exchanged have been related to work. The way he eyed me when Charlie mentioned June at the dinner table left me feeling uncomfortable, and I sense that’s why he’s here today.

  As if determined to prove me right, he says, “Please tell me you hired June because she’s qualified and not because you’re chasing her.” He doesn’t waver, keeping his eyes on mine. I try to wrap my head around what he said, my jaw tightening. I’ve never given him a reason to believe I’d do such a thing.

  “What?” I look at my dad in disbelief. “Do you really think I’d do that? I take my job seriously, and I never allow my personal life to get mixed in it.” I keep very clear lines between the two.

  “But now you are,” he points out with an air of superiority. His smugness is pissing me off.

  I grit my teeth and fist my hands by my side. “I can’t believe you’re asking this.”

  “Miles,” his tone is a warning. “June works here, and I’m sure she’s capable of doing the job. She’s a smart woman, always was, and Carla has assured me she’s done a great job. The guests are happy with her as well.”

  “Have you been questioning my decision to other employees and customers?” I see red. If he and Brett gave me the responsibility of hiring someone, then I don’t expect it to be questioned. Feelings aside, June was the best candidate, and she’s proven that with the work she’s done these last few weeks.

  “If you want, I’ll fire her and hire one of the women who showed up in a mini-skirt barely hiding her…” I trail off because I’m not about to use the word pussy with my dad. He gets the point.