by Amy Vastine
She smiled at the ring bearer and flower girl dancing their little hearts out. They appeared to be having the time of their lives. Emma remembered being a kid and loving weddings. Simon and Aidan would hopefully have fun at their parents’ reception. Maybe they needed to find someone who could DJ the party instead of a fancy string quartet. Suddenly, the cancellation seemed more like a gift than a problem.
Charlie returned with some ice water but didn’t sit down. He went back on the dance floor and got his groove on with whomever was near. The children thought he was great, and it didn’t take long before all the little kids at the party were begging him to pick them up and twirl them around.
There was no doubt he was going to make an awesome dad someday. That little tingle in Emma’s stomach was back, and she willed it away. Her kids would have a wonderful father, too. Scott was probably excellent with kids. She just hadn’t seen him interact with enough to know.
He’ll never be as good as Charlie. She wanted to kick herself the second the thought crossed her mind, but it was true. Charlie reminded her so much of her own father, who used to let his three daughters give him makeovers and never refused an invitation to a tea party.
The music slowed and she thought he was going to ask her to dance again. She planned to tell him it was time to go. She’d seen enough. Weddings were fun. People had a great time when everything went off without a hitch. What he failed to realize was that Kendall and Max’s wedding had a lot of hitches.
Charlie didn’t come over to her, though. He approached an elderly woman who was dressed to kill in a blue dress with sequins that sparkled on the skirt. The woman looked overjoyed at his request for a dance and took his hand so he could help her up.
The smile on her face was priceless as he led her to the dance floor and then gathered her up in his arms. They waltzed as if they were old-fashioned movie stars, with beautiful grace and fluidity. Emma was jealous of the woman’s dance skills.
“Your boyfriend is quite the dancer.” A woman sat down next to Emma with a full glass of wine in her hand.
“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”
She seemed surprised and leaned in. “I was going to warn you that my mother might steal him away if you aren’t careful.” Nodding at Charlie and the older woman, Emma’s new friend smiled. “She hasn’t had this much fun in years.”
Emma watched the two of them dance. She thought it was sweet that Charlie could make someone’s night with such a simple act of kindness. At the same time, the green-eyed monster reared its head. He makes everyone feel special.
Charlie whispered in the old woman’s ear and they laughed about something that belonged only to them, adding to Emma’s envy. Could she really be jealous of someone old enough to be her grandmother?
The song ended and the woman next to Emma stood back up. Her mother was busy giving Charlie a kiss on the cheek. “I better go back to my table so I can hear all about it from my mother. My dad died three years ago. They used to dance like that. What your friend just did was give her a gift I wish I could repay. Tell him thank-you for that.”
“Sure.”
Charlie was an amazing person who wasn’t even trying to be amazing. His kindness and generous spirit made him more desirable by the second. Emma didn’t like these feelings. She wasn’t supposed to feel anything romantic for Charlie, but he was making it so hard.
He escorted his dance partner to her table before rejoining Emma. He sat down and swallowed down an entire cup of water in one big gulp.
“Your dance partner’s daughter said to thank you for getting her mom out there. You made her night.”
“No one needs to thank me. Marjorie is a great dancer. Did you see her?” His sincerity and modesty were so attractive and annoying at the same time. “Plus, I got all the good gossip. She said the little ring bearer over there took off during the ceremony and had the real rings with him. They had to stop the wedding while his parents chased after him. He ended up crawling under the choir risers and they had to send the kid’s brother in to get him out. It was quite a spectacle.”
Emma giggled. She had heard of a runaway bride before, but a runaway ring bearer was new. “That is too funny.”
“See, every wedding has some hiccups. But you’d never know it now, would you?”
No, everyone was having a blast, especially the bride and groom. They were dancing together in the center of all their friends and family, both of them wearing expressions of pure joy. They had exchanged vows and—luckily—rings, and in the end, that was all that mattered. They were husband and wife, and no one, not even a troublesome ring bearer, could change that.
Emma finally got it. She hadn’t even noticed what the bridesmaids were wearing. She hadn’t tasted the cake. The best parts of this wedding were watching everyone have fun together and listening to their laughter. She loved dancing with Charlie and watching him dance with the young and old. Weddings were about the couple getting married and those they loved being there to celebrate.
“Do you need another drink?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I need to dance.”
Standing up, she offered him her hand this time. He stared up at her curiously before a victorious smile spread across his face. “Whatever you want, Nightingale.”
Dance they did. They danced to “YMCA” and “Cha Cha Slide.” Charlie showed off during Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” while Emma was bent over in hysterics. They jumped up and down to “Shout” and by the time the last song was announced, they were sweaty, tired messes. It was a slow one, and Emma almost told Charlie they should go. One more slow dance with him and she could lose all her self-control.
She didn’t tell him no, though. When he pulled her close, she pressed up against him and let him lead her in a slow, small circle.
“I had a really fun time with you tonight,” he said into her ear. His lips almost touched her lobe and it sent shock waves through her whole body.
“Me, too,” she replied. This was actually the best night she had had in a very long time.
“You’re a really good dance partner.”
Emma pulled back to see his face, doubtful he was being sincere. “Better than Marjorie?”
Charlie pursed his lips as he thought about it. “I don’t know, Marjorie did give me a kiss at the end of our dance. That might give her a slight edge.”
The thought of kissing Charlie made Emma weak in the knees. The challenge was too much to resist, plans or no plans. Emma’s feet stopped moving and she leaned forward, closing her eyes as their lips touched. His were so soft and he was so gentle. Emma wanted to melt into him. She almost thought she could, given the way her body turned to Jell-O in his arms.
It was Charlie who drew back first. That’s when Emma realized there was no more music playing and they were the only ones left on the dance floor. Her cheeks burned as the crowd clapped for them.
What had she done? Without a second thought, she dashed out of the ballroom and skipped the elevators, opting for the wide center staircase. She flew down the steps like Cinderella at midnight. She moved so fast it didn’t even feel as if she was touching the ground.
When she got to the lobby, she made a beeline for the exit, but Charlie was hot on her heels. He snagged her arm and pulled her to a stop.
“Slow down, Nightingale. There’s no fire.”
He was wrong. There was a huge, raging fire inside her that burned for him and needed to be extinguished immediately. She could not fall in love with Charlie. No matter how dashing and charismatic he was.
“They had to know we were wedding crashers when we made a scene like that,” she said to cover up her true feelings.
“I don’t think anyone cared who we were. I think they all thought we were cute.”
Cute. She and Charlie were a cute couple that couldn’t be a couple. “Well,
sorry for freaking out. I’m going to grab my own cab and head home.” She started for the revolving doors again.
“You don’t want to share one?” He sounded dejected. It was worse than when he overheard her ask Dr. Spencer on a date.
“I don’t think we should,” she admitted.
“Why not?” His eyes implored her to tell him the truth. But that was something she couldn’t do.
Because I kissed you. Worse, I liked it. “We’re friends, Charlie.”
“Friends share cabs all the time, Nightingale,” he argued.
“True, but friends don’t make out on the dance floor at a wedding they weren’t invited to. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m not interested in you that way.” The lie sounded better than she expected. She would have believed it herself if she didn’t know the truth.
Charlie’s face fell, but he quickly tried to cover it up. “I took advantage of your competitive spirit. We’ll just forget the whole kiss part happened.”
“Good.” Emma’s face had to be the same color as her dress. There was no way she was ever going to be able to forget that kiss. She’d think about that kiss when she was old and gray.
“Share a cab ride with me,” he pressed.
Emma relented. Blowing him off would only make him think the kiss was a bigger deal than she wanted him to. She needed him to think it didn’t bother or affect her half as much as it really did. The last thing she needed was for Charlie to believe he had a chance. If he tried any harder to get her to like him, she might just crumble. And who knew what kind of disaster would strike.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“SHE KISSED ME.”
He wasn’t going to tell anyone, but when Becca called, Charlie couldn’t stop himself. She asked what was up and that was the only thing he could think to say.
He was sprawled out on his couch, daydreaming about what it would be like if he got a second kiss from Emma instead of doing the laundry that was beginning to overflow into all the rooms of his condo. Tidiness had never been his thing. Being the baby of the family had its perks. Everyone took care of you. Until you moved out and lived on your own, of course.
“Who kissed you? And when did this kissing occur because if you have someone there kissing you right now, I am going to hang up and let you get back to that.”
“It was last night and it was my Nightingale, the woman I’m crazy about but who picked the doctor over me.”
“Why did she kiss you if she picked the doctor?”
That was the million-dollar question. Why had Emma kissed him? She couldn’t have been seriously competing with little old Marjorie. She’d kissed him for the same reason he’d kissed her back. They had chemistry. He felt it whenever they were together, but last night, it was undeniable.
“I think she likes me but doesn’t want to like me.”
“That makes no sense.”
She was right, it didn’t. Emma’s attraction to Dr. Perfect made sense. He was good-looking. He had a medical degree, so he was probably smart. He might not be wealthy now, but he probably would be once he paid off his student loans. There were a bunch of reasons she should choose the doc over Charlie.
“I don’t understand it, I only know she kissed me and I wish I had never stopped kissing her back.” He heard Becca heave a sigh. “Don’t say it,” he implored, knowing she was about to tell him how sad that was.
“I won’t say it. You already know what I would say if you’d let me.”
He was asking for heartbreak. He knew it. His sister knew it. Wanting someone who didn’t want you back was a waste of time. Except she kissed him. A silver-lining kind of guy couldn’t deny that tiny sliver of hope.
“Okay, let’s forget about the kissing,” he said, knowing he would fail miserably. “What’s up with you?”
“Mandy wants to do a family photo on the Friday we all get in to give to Dad as a gift. She told me to call you and tell you to dress nice.”
“Why is it that every phone call I get is either to tell me something someone else said or to ask me to tell someone else something? Why can’t anyone talk to the person they need to talk to themselves?”
“Because our family is nuts. Just come as your casual self and bring something dapper for the picture.”
“Fine, but I’m not wearing a suit. If I wanted to wear a suit, I would have gone into accounting or banking.” Charlie owned one suit and wore it to weddings and funerals, that was it.
Becca laughed on the other end of the line. “I know, little brother. She wants me to wear a dress, but do you hear me complaining?”
That reminded him of his adventures last night—before the kiss. “Remember getting dressed up and crashing weddings together when you lived here?”
“Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about that. I can’t believe we used to do that.”
“I crashed a good one last night.”
“You didn’t!”
“That’s where I was when she kissed me.” The memory of Emma’s lips pressed against his came flooding back. He wasn’t going to be able to stop thinking about it any more than he could stop himself from breathing.
“Charlie,” Becca moaned. “Please be careful.”
“Aren’t you the one who said I should keep my heart open?”
“But don’t hand it over to someone who plans on breaking it.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Gotta go. I’ll be careful and I’ll dress nice for Dad’s party. Talk to you later, Snow Bum.”
“Later, baby bro.”
Charlie hoisted himself off the couch and pulled open the door. It could only be one person. “Groomzilla.”
“Stop calling me that,” Max said, pushing his way into Charlie’s condo. “I need your advice.”
Surprised and curious what kind of wisdom he could possibly impart to Max, Charlie followed him into the living room. “Is this about the wedding?”
“Not really. Let’s hope there’s still going to be a wedding.” Max plopped down on Charlie’s couch and hung his head.
That didn’t sound good. “What’s happened?”
“So, Kendall and I finally had the conversation about where we’re going to live after the wedding. I assumed we would find our own place, a house that’s hers and mine. She, on the other hand, thought I was going to move in with her. She doesn’t want to look for a new place. She loves her house.”
Charlie didn’t see the problem. “Her place is nice, in a good location, there’s plenty of room for when Aidan visits. What more could you want?”
“It’s also owned by him.”
Him was Max’s “father”; they used that term loosely. Max didn’t really get along with his dear old dad. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the guy had abandoned him and his mom before he was even born and raised another family instead. A family that included Kendall’s first husband, the half brother Max never knew existed. That counted as a very good reason to hold a grudge.
“I didn’t realize.”
“Kendall could never afford that place here in Lincoln Park on what she makes. Trevor left her with a ton of debt when he died. He had a thing for fancy cars but forgot he didn’t make as much in the military as his old man made playing in the stock market.”
Charlie couldn’t imagine the resentment Max had built up over his entire lifetime, but he knew that it was crazy to let something like a name on a deed ruin the best thing that had ever happened to him.
“You’ve got to think this through,” Charlie said, taking a seat next to his friend. “Does it really matter who owns the house?”
“Yes,” Max said surely. “I will not live in his house. I can’t do it.”
“Did you tell Special K that?”
Max’s head fell back down into his hands. “I sort of sa
id I’d rather stay single than live in a house owned by Paul Montgomery.”
Charlie cringed. “Something tells me that didn’t go over too well.”
“She said that could be arranged.” He lifted his head. “You don’t think she really meant that, do you?”
Charlie shook his head. “I think you need to figure out what’s most important here. Maybe there’s a compromise. Like you live there until you find somewhere else that makes you both happy. Or maybe you and Special K buy the house from Bad Daddy.”
Max perked up at that idea. “Buy it from him? That’s not a bad idea. I’d have to crunch some numbers. I wouldn’t want him to give it to us, but he’d probably sell to us for a better price than anyone else in the area.”
“There you go. Keep thinking positive.”
Max slapped Charlie’s thigh. “Thanks a lot, man.”
“Anytime, Groomzilla,” Charlie replied, earning him a grimace. “Hey, you should be happy to be called that. It means you’re still getting married.”
“True. I heard there were some other snags in the wedding plans that have nothing to do with my stupid mouth or ridiculous family baggage. Lucy told Kendall that Emma was freaking out, but when Kendall called her this morning, she seemed fine about it all.”
Charlie internally patted himself on the back for that one. He had effectively talked Emma off the ledge. “I may have had something to do with that. I took her out last night to get some perspective.”
Max smirked and leaned back. “Well, well, well. She didn’t mention that when she talked to Kendall. You two went out, like on a date?”
“You could say that. I mean, she did kiss me at the end of the night.”
Max’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “She what? I’m so confused. I thought she only dated doctors. Maybe paramedics make the cut.”
“What do you mean she only dates doctors, like as a rule?”
“I don’t know. I guess Emma’s had her whole life planned out since she was a kid. She does not deter from her plan, ever. Kendall said everything has always worked out exactly how she planned it. Always. Marrying a doctor is supposedly part of the plan.”
