by Amanda Uhl
“I thought you said she was with Charlie?
“She was. She must have come back.”
“Val, you don’t think he’s changed his mind about marrying her, do you?”
“It’s possible, but…”
“Shh. She’s coming over.”
Clarissa had spotted us in the corner. “Why, hello. Fancy meeting you here. Shopping for wedding dresses, are we?”
“She is.” I pointed at Bernie. The last thing I needed circulating in the office was a rumor I was getting hitched.
“Oh that’s right. To the gentleman who’s responsible for damaging Charlie’s face. The face of an angel. It may not ever be the same again.”
As much as I hated it, on this we could agree. I would give my left foot to see and touch his face again. Why hadn’t I insisted on going to New York with him? Why was I so darn afraid to tell him how I felt? Afraid he didn’t want me. That he’d reject my offer. Now here I was in front of the woman who wasn’t afraid to go after Charlie. She’d flown to New York to be by his side. What a fool I was.
“It was an accident,” Bernie said. “George and Jim both apologized.”
“Yes, I know, I was there, remember?” Clarissa said.
I sucked in a breath. It was now or never. I needed to know. “How are Charlie and his father? Have you seen them…? I mean… Are they okay?”
Clarissa studied me with cool eyes. For a moment I thought she wasn’t going to answer. “Yes, I’ve seen them. Mr. Solanger is recovering nicely. I’m surprised Charlie didn’t tell you. They moved him to our family home in Alexandria Bay. I just got in last night. After all, I do have a company to run. Reynolds doesn’t run itself no matter what some might think.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply… I mean, of course it doesn’t run itself. We’re glad you’re back.” Where had that come from?
“How nice of you to say so. Well, I’ll leave you two to your shopping. I have a few gowns to try on myself.” Clarissa turned to follow the sales lady who had several wedding dresses draped over her arm. But then she stopped and turned around, pointing at Bernie. “Ivory is not the best color on you. Go with the white.”
For once, Bernie was speechless. Clarissa gave us a small smile and went off in the direction of the changing room.
“She’s right! I knew white was the better color,” Bernie said, frowning. “George will just have to deal.”
“You have George wrapped around your little finger. I don’t think he’ll care what color you wear as long as you walk down the aisle and say ‘I do.’”
“Who’s she marrying, ya think?”
“I don’t know,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest and a queasy feeling in my stomach.
“If it were Charlie, she would have said so. Don’t you think?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. And I didn’t know.
Two more days passed with another cryptic message from Charlie.
2:37 p.m. Cell phone reception terrible here. Everything’s okay. Don’t worry.
Don’t worry? Of course I worried. I slept, got up, fed Mitzi, dressed for work, drove myself to the office, printed countless spreadsheets for Julie, came home, watched reruns of Little House on the Prairie on The Hallmark Channel, went to bed, got up again. So went the cycle of my days. Through it all, I thought constantly of my last moments with Charlie. Why had he kissed me? Who was the mysterious woman he wanted to marry? I must confess, when he’d admitted there was only one woman he wanted, I figured it was me. But a man didn’t ignore the woman he wanted to marry for weeks. Not if he wanted the relationship to continue. Did he?
About the only relief I got from my nagging thoughts came in the form of numbers. I added, subtracted, and calculated them constantly in my head. Two weeks, three hours, and twenty-two minutes since I’d last spoken to Charlie, I thought as I sat in my cube and studied the latest sales numbers. My cell buzzed, and I jerked for the gazillionth time, wondering if it were him. It was my father.
“Hello, Princess. You’ll never guess where I am.”
“Um…at home with your phone stuck to your ear.”
“Very funny. You’re wrong. I’m in Cleveland. At the airport.”
“You…you are?”
“Well, don’t act so surprised. I told you I’d get here for a visit. It just took me a little while to find time in my schedule. Now I’m anxious to get to know your young man a bit better.”
“Uh…George and I broke up, Dad.”
“You what?”
“We broke up. I didn’t love him. He loved Bernie. And she loves him. Remember? I told you this months ago. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“I don’t see what’s so wonderful about it.” My father sounded cranky. “I mean I rearrange my schedule and come all this way to find out he’s changed his mind.”
“Well, gosh, Dad. I’m sorry. I mean, I had no idea you wanted to meet George that badly. We haven’t been together for months now. You can still meet him though. I’ll ask Bernie if she and George want to come to lunch with us. It will be a nice little foursome.”
“I’m not interested in a nice little foursome. I thought you were engaged. Ah well, don’t fret. I’m disappointed. I was told it was a love match. I should have known better than to listen to your mother. Your young man seemed pretty convincing though.”
“Wait, you’ve talked to him?”
“Yes, on the phone. A nice young man. Said he loved you and asked for your hand in marriage. Convinced me to fly all the way down here, too, so he could do it.”
“Dad, how long ago was this?”
“Oh, I don’t know. It wasn’t yesterday. I’d remember that. Well, listen. How about I pick you up? It’s eleven now. By the time I get there, it’ll be lunchtime. I’ll treat you to lunch.”
“Okay. Call me when you get here. Do you need directions? We’re right on Public Square.”
“No, no, I’ll find it.”
We hung up. For a moment, the pain in my chest was a physical ache. Like someone had opened my chest cavity and left my heart exposed to the cool air. George was old-fashioned. How had he known how much it would mean to me to ask my father for my hand in marriage? Except it was no longer my hand he would hold. And it certainly wasn’t my father he needed to ask.
I studied the spreadsheet in front of me and fought to read the numbers that swam beneath the tears seeping from my eyes. Why was I crying? Perhaps it was the sweetness of the gesture for something which would never come to be. Don’t think about it, my alter ego warned. Study the numbers. I did.
Sales were up by twenty percent, and if I calculated correctly, we would end the year with $4.5637 million in profit in the fourth quarter. Not bad.
“Who’s the new guy, Val?”
I looked up and blinked at Bernie. She stood in the doorway. Her hair was its usual wind-blown mess, but the smile on her face registered joy. “Huh?”
“The guy in the cube next door. Have you seen him?”
I went back to studying the numbers. “No. Didn’t know anyone was over there. It’s been empty ever since Char…Charlie left. Julie didn’t say anything about hiring anyone. Probably the new merchandiser, though.”
“He’s cute. Why don’t you go say hi? Introduce yourself.”
“No. I’ve had enough of cute men. The next man I kiss is going to be ugly as sin.”
“Well, you may not have a choice in the matter. Looks like he’s coming this way.”
I groaned. The last thing I needed was some new guy poking around asking questions. “Seriously? Head him off.”
Bernie laughed. “All right. I’ll see what I can do.”
She stepped outside and must have met the new guy square in his path. “Hi! Are you looking for someone?”
“Yes, a petite girl with light brown hair. About five foot five inches and full of attitude. Sound like anyone you know?”
I sat straight in my chair, automatically brushing my brown hair to the side so it covered my cheek.
&nbs
p; “Hmm…as a matter of fact, I do,” Bernie said. “Her name’s Val. She’s in here.”
My stomach churned and palms sweated. I stared at the keyboard in front of me, afraid to turn around. Afraid I would look over my shoulder only to see some stranger with strange eyes staring back at me.
“Please tell me you missed me as much as I missed you.” The smell of Dark Water permeated my senses, causing my hands to tremble. I turned slowly to see a familiar pair of charming blue eyes gazing down at me.
“Oh God.” I covered one hand over my mouth, muffling a sob. Tears I didn’t know I possessed raced down my cheeks. He had returned. Charming Charlie was back.
He grabbed both my hands, pulling me into his arms. “Do I take that as a yes?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and ran my hand over his nose. “How…how does it feel?” I blubbered. Charlie wiped my tears with the pad of his thumb.
“Wonderful,” he said, pulling my hands to his mouth. The feel of his lips on my fingers sent shivers down my spine.
“You…how’s your dad?” I asked. “Why didn’t you call me?” Now anger filled my body, and I stepped out of his arms lest I do something I’d regret.
“I tried. I was…busy.”
“So busy you couldn’t spare a phone call?”
“Please don’t be angry. You know how bad the service is on the island. My dad is an important guy with a lot of business interests. He’s not the most organized though. Uncle Bob and Clarissa and I had to work night and day to make sure all his investments got taken care of and the bills were paid.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You were with Clarissa on the island?”
“Yes.”
“Oh boy.” I fought the wave of jealousy clawing at my insides. For a moment, the Val of old raised her suspicious head, ready to send a zinger his way and scram. Had he slept with her? My alter ego came to my rescue with some good advice. Don’t panic. Tell him how you feel. You’ve waited two long weeks to see him. Now’s your chance.
“What’s wrong?”
“You should have called me, Charlie. I sat here day after day, adding numbers in my head, worrying about your father, calculating the size of Jim’s fist and the angle he hit you. I could only imagine the damage to your face.”
“Val…”
I held up a hand to silence him, fighting the tears trembling in the back of my throat. “I agonized about the woman you wanted to marry. The one who has someone else. Who could she be? Why did you kiss me if you wanted someone else? Why were you kissing Clarissa the night Bernie saw you two at the wine bar? Did you ask me to go to New York just to have a fling and get it out of your system?”
“Val, that’s not…”
“I wondered, ‘Could the woman he loves possibly be me?’ And I knew she couldn’t be me, because if a man loved me, he’d know how worried I’d be, and he’d stay in touch.”
“I tried to get in touch. Many times. I was crazy with worry, and once we arrived on the island, I couldn’t get a signal.” Charlie’s voice cracked. “You must understand. I nearly lost him. My father.”
I stared open-mouthed in shock. “God…Charlie. I’m sorry. What…what happened?”
“Clarissa told my parents about the fiasco with George and my getting punched in the face. They panicked, of course. I’m their only child and they’re a bit…protective. They insisted on getting on a plane and flying to the Cleveland Clinic. He…he had a heart attack en route to the airport. I blame myself. I should have called and told them I was fine. But I was preoccupied thinking of you and what a royal mess I made of everything and trying to convince you to come away with me so I could wine and dine you and make you so crazy in love with me you’d forget George.”
“You were?”
“He had another massive heart attack while we were in the hospital. We thought we lost him for sure. The doctors had to shock his heart. It was touch and go for a while. We didn’t think he was going to make it. But he made a remarkable recovery and the doctors released him after ten days. We took him to the island to recuperate. He’s doing much better. I came as soon as I could get away.”
“I’m glad. I mean about your dad. How’s your mom coping?
“My mom’s a bit of a mess. My dad has a lot of business concerns. It was all I could do to keep up. I worked my tail off day and night. Didn’t Julie tell you?”
“No! She didn’t say a word. I didn’t know. I was so worried. I thought you took off. Maybe there was…was someone else. Someone you hadn’t told me about. That’s what you were trying to tell me that last night…in the car.”
“Oh Val. Honey, there’s never been anyone else. Not from the moment I met you. I swear it. That kiss Bernie saw. That’s all it was. Clarissa had told me she and Norris were getting married. We danced and talked, and I gave her a quick kiss. It didn’t mean anything. I promise. It’s you I want. It always has been. Haven’t you been able to tell? I can hardly keep my hands off you. When I suspected you were getting back with George, I thought I was going to lose my mind. I had bought a ring after our trip to New York and was waiting for the right time to give it to you.”
“You…you did?”
“Yes, I did. But…you didn’t trust me. And that threw me into a quandary. I was hurt. How could I marry someone who didn’t believe in me? Marriage is for keeps in my book. I didn’t want to make a mistake. Turns out I nearly made the biggest mistake of my life.”
I took a deep breath. This was it. The moment I had been waiting for. I could fling myself from the tallest precipice. I would either land on the soft spot of ground at the bottom or I’d impale myself on the jagged rocks on the way down. There was only one way to know for sure, and that was to make the leap.
I leapt.
“Charlie, I’ve been fighting it. This attraction between us. Forever. I’m so sorry I didn’t trust you. It’s… The thing with Seth threw me for a loop. And George felt safe. And it was easier to stay with him, even though I knew in my heart he wasn’t right for me. And you and I are from two different worlds. And I’m ashamed to admit it now, but I…I worried you might be like Seth. I panicked. I didn’t want to be hurt again. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Shh.” Charlie placed two fingers on my lips. “There’s nothing to forgive.” He replaced his fingers with his mouth and threaded his hands through my hair, and all my insecurities and petty concerns fell away. There remained only Charlie and me, like twin mirrors, our faces reflecting the joy and love we found in one another. We had scaled the dangerous heights together and learned the key to our hearts’ survival was trusting each other enough to cushion the fall. My cup overflowed with love.
Chapter Thirty-seven
It was the buzzing of my cell phone that broke us apart. “My dad! I totally forgot. He wants to take me out to lunch.”
I answered. “Dad, are you here?”
“I am, Princess. Impressive building. You want me to come in?”
“Oh, no, no. I’ll meet you out there. Give me a minute. Oh, and I may have company.”
“I’m parked right in front. A silver Chevy Impala.”
“Got it. See ya soon.” I set my cell phone down. “You wanna meet my father?”
Charlie smoothed my hair from my eyes and smiled. His blue eyes glinted with laughter. “I wouldn’t miss it. But that reminds me. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“You have another girlfriend you forgot to tell me about?”
“No, no hidden girlfriends.”
“You brought donuts?”
“Ah, the guessing game. I invented it, remember? This is much better than donuts.”
“Hmm… Shish kebab?”
Charlie laughed, the rich, happy sound warming my insides. “I called your father. Asked him to fly out here.”
“You did?” The way he was looking at me…like I was the most beautiful woman in the universe, and he’d do whatever it took to ensure my happiness. My heart stopped beating momentarily and picked up a r
apid pace. “No way. How did you get his number?”
“Your mother. I told her and your father both I wanted to marry you. I talked to your mom the day we got back from our New York trip. Told her my intentions and asked for your dad’s cell. I made her promise not to say anything to you. Then all hell broke loose with Reynolds, and it took me a while to recognize how foolish I was behaving. That you’d had reasons not to trust me, and I didn’t make it easy for you by not sharing my motives. And none of it mattered anyway, because I loved you and was going crazy thinking of you getting back with George. I was going to steal you away to New York and, if all went well, ask you there. Then I got the call about Pops, and was distracted for a while. I finally was able to call your dad on the way to the island. I love you so much, sweetheart. Don’t ever doubt it.”
Charlie’s blue eyes never left mine as he pulled the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever seen from his pocket and got down on bended knee in the middle of my cubicle. “Valerie Wilson, will you accept this ring as a symbol of my great love and admiration for you? Will you forgive my foolish pride and make me the happiest man on earth?”
“Yes, oh yes!” I said. “I will.” I was laughing and crying, and suddenly, all of Reynolds was there in my cube, offering their well wishes and sharing in our excitement. Even Clarissa un-bended enough to wish us well. Perhaps she wasn’t as cold as I’d imagined. The only person I didn’t see was Julie. She remained in her office sulking, pretending she didn’t hear the cheers in the hallway.
“I told you the new guy was hot,” Bernie said, squealing and hugging us both. “Glad to see you listened to me.”
“Uh…as I recall, I told you George was a catch,” I said. “Good thing you listened to me.”
“Have you all gone crazy?” Julie asked, coming out of her office, her face stern. “Valerie, your father’s waiting downstairs for you. Says he’s been calling your cell, and you weren’t answering, so the receptionist put him through to me.”
“Thanks, Jules,” Charlie said before I could respond. “I’m taking Val and her dad out to lunch, and she won’t be back the rest of the day. We have some celebrating to do.”
