He flung the door open and was greeted by a petite blonde woman carrying a designer suitcase.
"Oh, Snuggle Bear! I've missed you so much." She dropped the suitcase and flew into his arms.
Her touch felt nice, but he was too confused to enjoy it. "Ashlee?" He almost didn't believe it. "What are you doing here?"
"I—I missed you so much. Aren't you happy to see me?" She released him from the hug and stared up at him with teary eyes—teary eyes that glistened, but didn't sparkle. Not like Charlie's.
When he hesitated, she burst into a lengthy explanation.
"Things didn't work out with Axel. And, of course, I realized what a big mistake I made leaving you. I never should have left, Snuggle Bear. You were so good to me, and I should've appreciated you more. Anyway, I'm back now, and we can start over. We can have our happy life together. Everything will be perfect."
She smiled from cheek to cheek and then stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips.
The past several days had gone by with zero word from Will. What, just because Charlie didn't pick up that one night, meant he'd never call her again? And he'd seemed so interested in her—had she misread his signals?
Throughout the week, she'd gone back and forth on whether or not she was ready to pursue a real-life adult relationship. While her grandma’s call had helped, one didn't go from being completely against the idea of a commitment to running after it full tilt. Perhaps the transition would've been easier if she'd been able to talk to Will. Assuming he wanted her as much as she wanted him might be a bit off-base. She wouldn't know until they talked. Seeing him again would clear everything up. Maybe the butterflies would be gone, and she'd think of him like she thought of every other man she'd ever been with—nice enough, but not for her.
If only he'd call and make everything clear....
Oh, goodness. Who had she become? It's not like she was some high school girl in the 50s. She could call him just as well as he could call her. She sighed and picked up the phone.
Nothing. Straight to voicemail. Had he blocked her number? No, he wouldn't do something so ridiculous.
A quick glance at the clock above her mantle revealed it was only eight o'clock. Heck, she'd just drive over to his house and apologize for not returning his calls. What would a phone call reveal anyway? It was so hard to understand context without the added visual cues of a face-to-face conversation.
"C'mon, Rugby. Let's go visit Will."
Rugby's head popped up, followed by the rest of his body. He gave a woof of excitement and went to grab his leash from the laundry room.
Well, Rugby definitely knew how he felt. Now if Charlie could only figure it out for herself. Part of her wanted to take the dog because she didn't quite trust him alone in the house yet. The other part anticipated spending the night at Will's, and she didn't want Rugby to be by himself all night.
She'd heard of women who let their pets decide the future of their relationships. If their cats didn't like a particular suitor—that was it—the relationship was over. Was it a sign that Rugby had taken to Will so quickly? She'd never believed in signs or fate before, but it had to mean something that she'd impulsively adopted the dog who then led her straight to Will. That couldn't be a fluke, could it?
Whoa.
She was getting way ahead of herself. First she had to see Will again to find out for sure how she felt about him, and how he felt about her. They'd have to take things slowly if they wanted to try doing the whole relationship thing. More than likely things wouldn't work out.
Only one way to find out....
She and Rugby drove the three miles to Will's house. When they arrived, she parked in the circular drive, grabbed her dog by the leash, and made her way up to the front door—hardly noticing the unfamiliar sedan parked on the other end of the driveway. She focused far more on figuring out what she'd say when he opened the door.
Sorry I missed your calls, thought I'd come by and return them in person. Yeah, that would work. She took a deep breath and knocked.
Mumbling came from inside, and Charlie thought about turning around and going back home. He probably had company. This would put him in an awkward situation.
But then he opened the door and smiled at her. Her heart melted as Rugby yipped and pushed his way through the door.
Will's smile dimmed. "Ch-Charlie, what are you doing here?"
Before she could answer, a blonde woman wearing a sterile, button-up shirt came up behind Will and placed a hand over his shoulder. "Who's this, Snuggle Bear?"
Rugby woofed and sniffed the woman's thigh.
"Eew, gross. Mind getting a handle on your dog?"
"I'm sorry. He gets a little excited." She glanced down at the floor, unwilling to make eye contact with either Will or the woman who'd taken possession of him in her absence. "I shouldn't have come." She tightened her hold on Rugby's leash and turned back toward the door.
"Charlie, wait," Will called, but didn't make any move to follow her.
"It's okay. I understand," Charlie shot over her shoulder. She didn't want to turn to look at him—seeing his face would only break her heart, for the second she'd laid eyes on him tonight, she realized all the emotions she'd been fighting were, in fact, very real. One day, she might have even grown to love Will, but they wouldn’t get that chance, seeing as he'd already chosen somebody else.
She wanted to get back home as fast as possible and never have to think about this again. Unfortunately, Rugby didn't want to leave so soon. He strained against her, and she had to use all her strength to drag him back down the driveway.
Fate, she'd told herself. How ridiculous. Served her right for even thinking about changing anything about herself. Served her right for opening herself up to the possibility of love.
Chapter 12
Will stood in place as he watched Charlie flee. Ashlee's hand weighed heavily on his shoulder. Not only had his ex refused to love him, but now she wouldn't let anyone else take a chance with him either. Now that he knew better, he refused to take orders from her or from anybody else. He was his own man now.
He never should've let her in to talk. He should've slammed the door in her face the moment he caught a glimpse of her standing outside with her stupid Coach suitcase, which assumed so much. Didn't he deserve a say in whether or not they got back together? Sure, she laid out a logical list of arguments, and he'd always admired her matter-of-factness. But were similar career goals enough to justify an entire life spent together? Could he just forgive the infidelity and make her his wife?
Ashlee pulled him closer for her own selfish needs, while Charlie pushed him away to protect his feelings. Seeing them side-by-side standing in the entryway of his house highlighted their differences more than ever before. Charlie exuded warmth; whereas Ashlee's hug made him shiver. Even when she tried, it came across as cold. Everything about her was fake—her smile, her affections, heck, even her boobs. Why had he ever fallen for her in the first place? That's what he wanted to know.
"Awkward. You okay?" she cooed and leaned in for another kiss.
Will stood still, his lips pressed firmly together, denying her access.
Another kiss. This one at the hollow of his neck. "Snuggle Bear? What's wrong? Let Ashee-Washee make it better, huh?"
Another thing he hated—her baby voice. It was so condescending. He wondered for the second time in the space of a few seconds how he had ever found this woman attractive.
"I need you to leave," he growled.
"No, Baby, you don't mean that." She grabbed his hand and gave a gentle tug. "We belong together, don't you see? We have so much in common. We both look at life the same way, and we were happy together. We could be happy again."
"You need to leave," he repeated. "Now."
Ashlee's fake smile dissipated. She dropped his hand and crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought you loved me."
He didn't even try to stop himself from laughing in her face. She was the one who'd left. She wa
s the one who'd cheated, who'd ended things between them. Something for which he was incredibly thankful in hindsight.
"I did love you, but you walked out on that when you slept with another guy in our bed."
"I told you, Axel and I are through. That was a huge mistake. I never meant to hurt you."
"No!" His blood pressure rose, and he took a deep breath to regain his center. "You didn't mean to, because you didn't even think about how I would feel. You did whatever you wanted, whatever suited you best. Just like always."
"But I've changed, Will." She took a few tentative steps forward and attempted to wrap her arms around him once again.
He shook her off. "Maybe you have changed. But I've changed, too. I'm sorry, but you really need to go now."
"Is it her? That other woman?"
"Yes, it's her. But mostly it's me. I need something different now, and I think she might be it. That is, if it's not too late."
"There's no chance for us? No chance we could go upstairs and make up, go back to how things were?" She drew close to him again and traced a finger along his jawline.
Clearly words weren't going to work with Ashlee. She'd always been determined to get exactly what she wanted. Probably didn't even understand what the word no meant.
Actions had always spoken louder with her, so Will crossed the room to grab Ashlee's suitcase.
"Will? Snuggle Bear? What are you doing?" Her voice was laced with panic. Finally he was getting through.
"Escorting you back to your vehicle." He marched up the driveway, popped her trunk open, and shoved the suitcase inside.
She followed after, spewing one platitude after the next, demanding he reconsider, promising they could be so happy together.
He ignored her. No need to say anything else. He grabbed his keys from the hook by the door, locked the deadbolt, and got in his car. "Goodbye, Ashlee. Please be gone by the time I get back."
Charlie peeked through the window as the large green SUV parked at the curb.
Rugby noticed him pull up, too, and started barking with enthusiasm while running back and forth from one window to another and wagging his stub.
She sighed and clenched the curtains closed. Who cares if he saw her? She refused to talk to him tonight—or ever again, for that matter. What more needed to be said? She'd blown him off, and he'd moved on. Why had he even bothered coming over here in the first place? To gloat, to further push her face into this harsh, new reality? She didn't need anyone to explain it to her; she needed to be left alone.
A series of knocks sounded at the door—one short and tentative followed by two longer, firmer knocks.
Rugby yipped, barked, and whined, but Charlie refused to answer.
He knocked again.
She peeked out the window as Will pressed the side of his face to the door and begged, "Charlie, please." A legitimate sadness glistened behind his eyes. Had she misunderstood? She felt too stupid now to open the door now, not after resisting.
"Please," he repeated.
She sighed and walked over to the door, pressing her cheek against the hard wood as Will had done.
Rugby stood close by, still wagging his stub. Poor guy. He really did miss Will. Well, he'd like whoever else came into her life just as well. She needed more women friends. Rugby would like that.
"Charlie, I...." His voice trailed off, and she worried he wouldn't speak again, and would instead turn around and walk out of her life once and for all. But then he spoke again—louder, more clearly. "What you walked in on, it was nothing. My ex wanted to get back together, but I sent her away. I want you, Charlie. In case you haven't noticed, I'm crazy about you."
So he did care about her, did want her.
She held back the urge to fling the door open and jump into his arms. They weren't even in a relationship yet, and already so much drama had passed between them. What would things be like if they actually got together? They'd probably fight all the time, over every little thing. What kind of life would that be?
An interesting one, Charlie answered her own internal question. A good one.
"Please, Charlie. I know you're there." He knocked again so softly she almost couldn't hear.
Rugby whined and looked up at her with those pitiful puppy eyes.
She shook her head and remained silent.
"I've only known you for two weeks—exactly two weeks, actually—and I'm already falling head over heels for you. I don't know what it is, but I know I want to find out. Please, Char, give me the chance. Please."
A tear fell from her eye. Should she? Shouldn't she? She'd almost convinced herself to open the door, when he spoke again.
"Look, I know we got off to a rough start, and things have been both wonderful and horrible in turns. But I only want things to be wonderful from here on out. Let's start over. Meet me at Flattop tomorrow afternoon at two. Bring Rugby. I'll pack a picnic. It will be just like our first time there. Only this time the day will be about us instead of the dogs, the way it should've been from the start. I'll wait for you all day if I need to. Please come."
Before Charlie could figure out what she wanted to say, he turned around and left. Now she had to decide whether or not they should give their relationship a second chance—a real chance. Not even together yet, and already so much drama. Was it worth a try? Was he?
Chapter 13
Will pushed his palms into the old wooden bench near the trailhead, while Tuck lay at his heels, watching ducks and geese dive into the surf. His watch indicated it was already 2:15. They'd been waiting for Charlie and Rugby to arrive for close to an hour now. He couldn't bring himself to go into work, nor could he hang out at home knowing today would decide the fate of his relationship with Charlie. He'd stay here until sundown if he had to. Tuck was a good dog; he didn't mind.
While enormously inconvenient and the clear cause of the current misunderstanding with Charlie, Will was glad Ashlee had decided to surprise him with a visit. Seeing her again left zero doubt in his mind that Charlie was the one he wanted—the one he needed.
Now, if only she'd show up....
Another ten minutes passed, and Will's heart clenched within his chest. Running over all the what-ifs in his head didn't help to pass the time. He decided to distract himself by attempting to count the blades of grass stretching out from beneath his feet. Somewhere around 593, Tuck let out a boisterous bark and jumped to his feet with a low whine.
Will jerked his head up just in time to see the giant Rottweiler bounding toward him. His heart swelled when Charlie slammed the car door and popped into view.
"Good boy. Go play," he told Tuck, who continued to sit in place and whine until Will released him from his stay.
Then Will got to his feet and closed the small distance between him and the woman of his dreams. Gravel tore into the bottom of his sneakers, but he didn't care. All that mattered was she had come, she wanted him.
"Sorry I'm late," she said, reaching to brush a stray curl aside.
He might have said, "It's okay. I'm just glad you came. Thank you for giving me another shot," but he didn't need words in this moment. He needed Charlie's lips on his as quickly as possible. He pulled her in close and gave her a sweet, spirited kiss.
Never again did he want to fight with her. From now on, he'd only be fighting for her. And he'd give whatever it took to make things work. Oh, how desperately he wanted to make things work.
She brought her hands up to his chest and pushed him back. A small smile played at the corners of her lips. "Hey, none of that. You said we were starting over, and I don't think this is how we began our last time here."
He laughed and shook his head. "You're right. You're right."
"If memory serves, this is the part where you yell at me for letting Rugby run around off leash."
"Right, then I jump into my lecture about the importance of the 'heel' command."
"And we go over to the trailhead."
"Okay, so put your dog on his leash, and let's get to our
training lessons."
They called the dogs over and snapped them in for the hike.
"I'm ready, teacher. Show me what you’ve got."
Charlie snapped back on the leash. "Heel."
Rugby immediately fell into place next to her side.
"Impressive." Will smiled and bumped Charlie's shoulder with his own. How long would they have to play this game of starting over? While it was sweet, he'd come here to discuss their future, not their past.
He cleared his throat and stuck a hand in his pocket to keep himself from reaching out to her. "So, tell me, what do you do for a living?"
"Hey! That's my line."
"We're starting over, which means I can work hard on making a good first impression this time, right?"
"Sure thing." She choked back a giggle. "Well, I'm a high school English teacher. I love to share the joy of reading with others. Yada, yada. Travel. Adventure. If you want something, just go for it."
He nodded, removing his hand from his pocket and reaching out to grab Charlie's.
"Yup. Just like that." She smiled and laced her fingers between his.
He pulled her toward him, raked his free hand through her curls, and crushed his lips to hers.
She inched away, her eyes sparkling as brightly as ever. "So we've already moved onto day number two, have we?"
"Yeah, and now we're at day number three." He gave her another kiss.
"Uh-oh. Day three means...." This time, she kissed him.
It took everything he had to pull away.
"Starting over doesn't mean we have to do everything the same. This time I want to get to know each other better, the way things should have been.”
You Belong with Me (Cupid's Bow Book 5) Page 6
