He gave her a small smirk, reminding her of when he’d earned his first A in his engineering class freshman year, wanting to spill, but he’d waited until they went out to dinner to tell her. This time he said, “It’s one of the classes I took for my electives in college.”
Mr. ‘I’m a guy and only care about math class’ had signed up for dance lessons? Her eyebrows arched and she believed him as he effortlessly guided her to the music. “Ballroom dancing?”
Soon he’d definitely leave her, but tonight was theirs.
He laughed and that comforting sound brought her right back to feeling easy in his arms. “Yes. I was one of the few guys in the class so I never sat a song out, but I wanted to impress you if I ever had this chance again.”
Other women… Jack had probably had countless dates, not that she knew about any particular girl, besides Donna, a girl he’d dated briefly last year. But she refused to let her mind go down that road and ruin their evening. “I’m impressed, Jack.”
Jack whirled her as the music continued, everything glittery and fabulous, yet slightly blurry.
The song ended and she looked out tall windows where people were all crowded outside on a patio. Folks milled in front of them until a new song came on. Jack pointed to the dance floor to keep dancing, but she shook her head and they went outside. Dancing was fun, but for now she just wanted to steal some time with Jack, and be happy for once.
“Charlotte, I have to say that I was jealous of you and Antonio the second you came back in the store, walking on air.”
No guy had turned her head so fast, but she’d been… fine when it went nowhere. She’d spend the day wondering what had happened to Jack. And now she was here, with him. She squeezed his arm. “I wasn’t trying to make you jealous.” How could she best sum up the past two days? She lifted her chin. “I think I was being silly about Antonio… he never called.”
Maybe it was for the best as he was Jack’s half-brother, so she’d been saved from needless worry. Jack had always been the special one in her heart. They cut through throngs of people, and some were faces she vaguely recognized from when her father had been alive. He led her to a ledge between two ferns as he said, “Because-”
“And I’m glad,” she interrupted him because she needed to get her words right and her skin was jittery and alive. Jack deserved to know what was in her heart. “I’ve always known that you’re amazing and I don’t want to lose you. I was more upset that I didn’t see you today than him not calling me.”
He traced her shoulder and his touch seemed more intimate than usual. “I can’t be just friends anymore with you, Charlotte.”
They were behind the ferns, near the corner of the house with a wall behind them, where no one might see. His mouth was so close that she could feel his warm breath. She closed her eyes as she said, “I’m terrified of change, Jack, especially when you leave me and Pittsburgh behind.”
His fingers on her skin made her nerves jump. “That’s not what I hope for. The truth is I want to be in your corner, for the rest of our lives, if you’d let me.”
Rest? She opened her eyes and pulled back till she hit the cold wooden railing. She tried to make sense of her jumbled heart and soul that had no direction at his words. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
He held her close and her body trembled for Jack when he said, “I could be. Tonight doesn’t need to end at midnight where you turn back into your stepmother’s slave. I’ll do whatever you want to make you mine.”
He sounded serious. Could he be? Even when he’d dated Donna, he’d spent most nights with her as they played board games or watched movies in his basement of his house. She hadn’t dated anyone, ever. She hadn’t wanted to, not really. It would have taken time away from Jack. She fluttered her lashes. “But I’m already yours. I remember that awful kiss when we were fourteen. And yet…” She’d never thought it would their last kiss.
His cheeks turned bright red. “Braces.” He touched her shoulder. “Let’s try that again.”
And his lips met hers. The world around them ceased to exist.
Jack’s kiss was more than she’d ever imagined. His lips were like a spell that captured her entirely. She was his, and never wanted the night to end.
Chapter 9
Jack Morgan held Charlotte in his arms. Her kiss lingered on his lips and her perfume clung to the tuxedo he now owned, and her embrace created a whole new world for him.
They made their way through the crowd all there to meet his siblings, mostly. He now had what he wanted-- Charlotte as his, beside him.
He never wanted this night to end. It wasn’t the money he now had in his bank account.
Or the clothes.
Or the attention of anyone else, from his family to hers. It was that he finally had Charlotte, and he never wanted to let go.
If he lost her in his life, he wasn’t sure what to do. She hadn't answered him about marrying him, not that he’d been clear that it was what he wanted most.
However the crowd thinned out with people who were avoiding the dance floor and stepped onto the veranda. But he was in heaven, with the one woman that ever mattered.
Once the last song ended, the DJ didn’t put another on right away.
He glanced around the nearly empty house and said, “The party is ending.”
“The night always ends.” Charlotte stepped out of his arms. The distance between them formed a huge crater and he feared that he would lose her if she went home, to her family. He reached for her hand and said, “Don’t go home, Charlotte.”
She glanced at his black leather shoes, her cheeks pink with a blush when she asked, “Where should I go?”
Confidence, Jack. He had almost everything now. He took a breath and said, “With me.”
She shook her head and his entire body stilled as she said, “Your mother’s house is…cozy.”
A small, fast laugh escaped his throat. She peered into his eyes and he stepped closer to bask in the warmth of her so near. “I don’t mean there. To my hotel room.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “You have a hotel room?”
He did, and it wasn’t far. He could drive her there in his new car. He nodded. “The Morgans rented out a hotel for the weekend. It’s supposed to be so we all get to know each other at some private functions.”
She trembled. He knew that meant she was interested but afraid. She’d tried to temper her enthusiasm for years because her stepmother had prevented Charlotte from living her own life. Jack had told her many times that Nancy was wrong, but Charlotte was like a soldier, accepting defeats she didn’t need to. “Your brothers-”
“Have their own room.” He held her fingers to his chest, his body on fire for her. “So does my mother and Lucy. I have a room, all to myself, unless you join me.”
Silence stretched for a long moment. He didn’t dare move but his heart picked up speed.
If she said no, he’d have to figure out how to win her another way because he couldn’t give up on Charlotte.
Ever.
Nerves caused perspiration to gather at his shoulders until she finally broke the silence and said, “Then okay, I’d love to go with you and not let this night end when the clock strikes midnight.”
“My car is this way.” He tightened his grip on her hand as they left the party together.
He didn’t see his family around but honestly he wasn’t looking for them. He texted them that he was heading to the hotel and giving Charlotte a ride, and then turned off his phone.
He didn’t need to read commentary on his life tonight.
He handed a ticket to the valet and his new Mercedes convertible was brought around.
Charlotte studied him as he accepted the keys, but didn’t say anything. He walked her to the passenger door and helped her inside.
The valet closed her door and Jack gave the guy a tip before getting behind the driver’s seat. It was all so new, and he was glad to share it with Charlotte.
“Your new car is
a step up from the last Jackmobile.”
“This one doesn’t need a few pushes to get started.” He smiled at her, hoping she liked the car, since he’d chosen it with her in mind. She turned on the radio, like she would have in his old junker.
Familiar was good and he relaxed a bit on the short drive to the hotel.
He pulled up to the front and parked. A valet took his keys and Jack ushered Charlotte inside the white marble lobby to the dark brown wooden front desk. A bright blue sun sculpture covered half the wall near the check-in station.
He already had his key, so they walked right past the desk toward the bank of elevators to the 22nd floor. The other Morgans had requested the presidential, luxury, and executive suites, but he’d been fine with a regular room until he’d been directed toward the one-bedroom suite. As a Morgan he was expected to want the best option.
His body was jumpy as he opened the door with the card and showed Charlotte the room.
She walked inside and whistled. “Wow! This is amazing, Jack. You’re truly blessed.”
As he closed the door, his heart hammered that Charlotte was all that mattered. The blue gown over her slim shoulders glimmered in the light and her lips were still slightly swollen from stolen kisses earlier.
Now she was here. She was the one that he always dreamed of when he drifted off to sleep and needed a pick-me-up during the day. Maybe now he’d see her brown hair billowing on the pillow beside him--not because they'd passed out from a random movie, but because she was actually his.
He probably should have bought a ring, but for now he went down on one knee and her hands fluttered to her chest as he said, “Charlotte… I was serious before when I said I don’t want to do any of this without you. I love you.”
Tears formed in her eyes as she tugged him to stand. “You do?”
He didn’t budge from his kneeling position. Jack nodded. “I want you to marry me. I can get you any ring you want.”
This time she pulled his arm until he stood. Charlotte tapped her lower lip. “We’ll talk about the rest of our lives, later. I don’t want to rush. We have time, right? Let’s enjoy this moment.”
Hardly able to believe his fortune, he led her into the bedroom and the queen bed. The comforter and sheets were pure white except for the brown accessory pillow and the extra blanket folded over the edge.
A bench had been pushed against the foot of the bed for changing clothes. He turned the lights on and said, “We’re here.”
His last sort-of-girlfriend had enjoyed sex, but everything was different with Charlotte. She made him nervous as she traced the bed cover and said, “This is super nice.”
Unlike him, she hadn’t dated anyone else. His last ex had eventually left him because he’d spent more time with Charlotte and he’d refused to change that. Charlotte’s laugh was in his soul and that mattered more than any other woman.
Now that he looked back, it was so obvious. Even then he’d loved her, even if he hadn’t been aware of the exact nature of that love. He left her side and headed into the walk-in closet. “Come here a sec. I actually have a few things for you.”
She followed him and popped her head inside the closet door. “You… bought me things.”
He picked up two bags filled with a dozen boxes of clothes and handed them to her while he grabbed the shoe bags and they headed back to the bench at the foot of the bed. “Of course. You’ve always been my girl, Charlotte. I can’t get myself all of this without picking up a few things for you too.”
She sat down and took out the first of many boxes, like he’d collected years of birthday and Christmas presents to present to her tonight, but her fingers trembled when she opened it. She was clearly more nervous now.
He’d go slow. He’d had twenty-four hours to transform into a Morgan and would help Charlotte adjust. Having the world at his feet would be better with her, or he’d see things with a hole in his heart. He needed to give her space but his stomach was in knots that tonight might be all he had. She unfolded a blue day dress with white trim around the edges. “This is really nice.”
He pointed to the label. “It’s all House of Morgan clothing.”
She folded the dress and her nose turned when she said, “I can see that.”
Charlotte’s brow furrowed. Why was she upset? He hoped he could relax her when he asked, “The shoes fit earlier?”
Her lips pursed and she studied her hands. “Yeah, but I can’t afford-”
“I didn’t pay anything,” he explained fast. The last thing he’d do was hurt her, ever. “It’s a family perk to get whatever I want from the clothing stores.”
She put the box back in the bag. “That’s convenient.”
He patted her knee. “I have access to the family jets so if you want to wake up in Paris on Monday, we can do that.”
She turned toward him but shook her head. “I don’t have a passport.”
A weak answer as he hadn’t had one till a few hours ago and it had arrived within a day. “That can be fixed tomorrow.”
Jack imagined how he’d take her to see the Eiffel Tower just like the couples did in the dozens of romantic comedies she’d made him watch through the years. She curled her arm through his and said, “Jack, just sit with me.”
Adrenaline coursed through him as he admitted, “I’m nervous tonight.”
She glanced at her sparkling silver heels. “Me too. I didn’t know that you’d turned into such a good kisser.”
Wait. Did she want him to kiss her now? He turned but her eyes were still wide open. He squeezed her knee. “You’re the only one I ever wanted to kiss.”
Her lips caught his attention as she said, “I… I don’t know what to say. I’d been so jealous when you and Donna-”
“She’s the past.” He came closer to her and his temperature spiked as his lips wanted another taste of hers. “Just tell me that you want this too.”
Her hands cupped his face and then she ran her fingers through his hair. “I do.”
Her kiss was like rocket fuel, sending him soaring to new heights. And Charlotte wasn’t arguing. As he ended the kiss, she held him tight like she never wanted to let him go.
“Can you love me some day?”
“I’ve always loved you," she said. "I was jealous for years at your various girlfriends but I couldn’t ever tell you. I didn’t understand my own feelings.”
Yet no woman in his life had ever shined as bright as Charlotte. Her lips burned right through to his soul and he never wanted to stop kissing her.
And now she was here. With him.
Chapter 10
Charlotte hadn’t rested so wonderfully in at least a decade—no, she thought as she stretched, she’d never slept so well before.
And it wasn’t just the cotton sheets that kept her body warm.
No, the best part of this morning was the muscle-bound man beside her who still slept. Jack. It was hard to imagine him as anything other than Jack O’Conner. She recalled how she’d glimpsed him naked a few years back when he’d dared her to join him and skinny dip in his backyard pool when she’d come over, uninvited, and Donna had taken off in a huff, mad at her interruption of the quiet night with the rest of the O’Conners gone.
Thinking back, she’d known Donna might be at his house and that had been why she’d gone.
Jack had let her in, like he’d been happy she'd showed up.
His hand went under the sheets, clearly checking to see if she still wore his t-shirt he’d lent her. The slight grin on his face told her he was awake. “Do you want room service?”
The last time she’d had room service was a business trip to Orlando her father had taken her on and he'd wanted coffee before the character breakfast. Now she had this again, here with Jack.
Until he realized she ruined dreams, never lived them. She couldn't think about that now.
He sat up and stared at the sun that blazed through the window and then at the clock that flashed the time. Almost ten in the morning. He
met her gaze and his blue eyes warmed her as he said, “We should get ready to go downstairs. The Morgans are having a family breakfast from nine to eleven.”
His rich family would see she didn't fit into their world. Her body tensed and she turned away to get up from her side of the bed. “I see.”
He stood and stretched, showing off those muscles of his that he’d worked on both at the gym and moving boxes for years. “I don’t know if I’ll be a good Morgan.”
Last night he’d proven that he knew how to press her buttons. Her body relaxed near him. Jack pulled on his pajama pants. She said, “You'll be great.” She didn’t know how she would fit in, though.
With Jack she was happy, but with the rest of the Morgans it would be obvious that she was a fraud.
The idea of marrying Jack played in her mind like a dream in vivid color as she went in to shower. His blue eyes staring at her and his lips kissing her goodnight, for the rest of their lives. She emerged from the bathroom to see him doing push-ups on the floor. His body was in peak performance as she watched him stretch.
She perched on the edge of the unmade bed. “If I said yes to getting married, how do you see our lives?”
He jumped up to standing in a flash and didn’t seem out of breath at all from his routine. “I finish school and get my degree. You and I plan our wedding together. You can go to college for business management, if you want.”
Her lips quivered and she stepped out of the way to let him use the bathroom. She headed back to the boxes he’d left for her as last night’s gown wasn’t a good choice to wear for breakfast.
Dressed in the hotel bathrobe, she went through the gorgeous options he’d chosen for her, trying not to think of how expensive the clothes were.
The prices must be outrageous.
And so was college. No one ever said that was cheap. She’d looked into community college and given that a ‘hold’ until she had a better savings to fall back on in case the worst happened with Nancy.
Secret Cinderella (The House of Morgan Book 16) Page 7
