The Husband Maker Boxed Set

by White, Karey

  Nice of Charles to decide she loves me after I’m committed to a program that will put me two-thousand miles away from San Francisco.

  There was no way out now. I had already given up my residency spot at Alameda County Medical Center. I couldn’t back out of Kansas City unless I wanted my entire career left in ruins. Chuck and I had always had bad timing, but she’d really stepped up her game this time.

  The guy on the other side of the wall banged back so hard I was surprised his fist didn’t appear through the wall. He said a few words I was glad Chuck wasn’t still around to hear, then he cranked the volume up even higher. Nice. Thanks for nothing. My thin-walled apartment was one thing I wouldn’t miss when I moved to Kansas City. Hopefully my new apartment would have quiet neighbors. Maybe a bookworm or a mathematician. Anything but the gangsta rap and metal-crushing action movies that dominated this guy’s life.

  I needed to get out of this apartment. I needed to think. I grabbed my keys and headed for the car.

  I didn’t have a destination in mind when I started driving. I just turned off the radio and drove, letting my thoughts keep me company.

  I hadn’t wanted to see Chuck standing outside my door. I didn’t even know she was back from Scotland. If she hadn’t seen me through the glass, I’m not sure I’d have let her in. I was trying to get her out of my system, and standing there, a nervous smile on her face, she’d looked good. Too good.

  Chuck is one of those girls that doesn’t know how gorgeous she is. She looks like a supermodel, but better, because she never looks like she’s trying too hard. She has these incredible eyes that look brown until you get closer, and then you get lost in the green and gold flecks. And her eyes can speak. I can always tell how she’s feeling by looking in her eyes. I love how they shine when she’s excited or twinkle when she finds something funny. Too many times over the last few years, they’ve been sad. For a long time I thought I could be the one to put the light back in them, but she’s never given me the chance.

  Until now. When it’s too late.

  Oh, Charles. Why did you have to throw me such a curveball? I thought I’d stepped off the Charlotte roller coaster. Why did you have to drag me back on?

  I pulled up to the curb and put the car in park. I was a little stunned to discover I was sitting in front of Will’s house. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Will has always been the guy I go to when a girl has my mind in a muddle.

  Will was mowing his lawn, mouthing the words to whatever song was playing through his earbuds. I turned off the car and watched a boy down the block as he practiced flipping his skateboard. He’d mastered the skateboard part. It twisted through the air and landed on its wheels every time. The part he struggled with was landing on top of the board. He hit the side twice and then nearly face planted when he hit the front of the board. I winced and wished he was wearing a helmet.

  Suddenly the passenger door flew open, startling me.

  “Hey, man. What’s up?” Will leaned down to look at me inside the car.

  “Not much. Just out for a drive to clear my head, and I ended up here.”

  “It’s about time. You’ve been AWOL for weeks.” My face must have given away my mood because his tone changed. “Hey, you okay?”

  I didn’t answer, just shrugged.

  Will slapped the roof of the car. “You want to spill it here or go somewhere?”

  I sighed. It was good to have a friend who knew when something was up. “Is Gina home?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You good if we go for a drive?”

  “Sure. Just let me tell her I’m leaving.” Will pushed the lawn mower up by the porch and hollered through the front door. “Hey babe, I’m going for a drive with Angus.”

  Gina followed Will to the car, smiling. Will scored big time when he met her. I’d have been resentful that it had all come so easily to Will, but I loved him too much to hate him for his good fortune.

  “Hi, Angus.”

  My smile must have been unsuccessful because Gina’s smile quickly changed to an expression of concern. “Is something wrong?”

  “Not really. Just a lot going on right now. Is it okay if I borrow your husband for a while?”

  “Of course.”

  “Need anything while we’re out?” Will asked.

  “I don’t think so.” She turned back to me. “Are you busy later? You could eat with us when you come back.”

  “I wish I could, but I’ve got to be at the hospital.”

  “Too bad. Maybe another time,” Gina said.

  “Yeah. Sounds good.”

  We didn’t have anywhere to go and I only had an hour before I would need to head back, so I pulled into the parking lot of a Target and parked in a nearly empty corner. Now that I was here with Will, I wasn’t even sure what to tell him. Charlotte was his twin sister, after all.

  “Where ya been?” Will asked. “I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks.”

  I looked out the windshield, my hands resting on the bottom of the steering wheel. “I’ve been figuring out a few things.”

  “Did you break up with Charlotte’s friend?”

  “Yeah. It sucked. She was pretty upset. She cried and cried.”

  “That’s rough.”

  “I should never have let Chuck set us up in the first place. It was a mistake.”

  “Is that why you disappeared, or is something else going on?”

  I squared my shoulders. “I’m leaving.”

  “What are you talking about?” Will turned in his seat to face me, but I kept my eyes fixed on the smiley faced star of the Carl’s Jr. logo across the street.

  “I’m moving to Kansas City.”

  “Kansas City? What’s in Kansas City?”

  “Dr. Fickland heard about a hip fellowship there. I’m taking it.”

  “What about Alameda? And your residency?”

  “I’ll be doing the fellowship and my residency simultaneously.”

  “I didn’t know you could leave. I thought you’d be here at least until you finished.”

  “It doesn’t happen often, and if Fickland wasn’t behind it, it wouldn’t work. But it’s a great opportunity. I’m lucky I was chosen.”

  Will sunk back in his seat and we both stared at a Little League team piling out of two minivans, laughing and shoving their way into the restaurant. “Whoa. I can’t believe you’re moving.” Will sighed. “I guess that makes Charlotte a no-go, right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Will folded his arms. “You said a while back... I thought you were going to ask her out.”

  “That was before she took off to visit Braveheart.”

  “Dude, you’re sounding a little bitter.”

  “Maybe I feel a little bitter. It’ll be good to get away from that whole mess.”

  “I’m not sure where Charlotte’s head is when it comes to you, but I think you’ve got the wrong idea about the guy from Scotland. They’re just friends. Chuck even set him up with a girl she met while she was there.”

  I shook my head. “Let’s hope he fares better from her matchmaking efforts than I did. Or Aleena. Maybe Chuck should stick to drawing roller coasters.”

  Will didn’t respond and a little guilt tugged at my conscience. Will was Charlotte’s brother before he was my friend. I needed to be careful not to push his loyalty too far.

  Will shook his head. “Kansas City. Charles will be shocked.”

  “She already knows.” Will looked surprised. “She came by this afternoon.”

  “She did? How did she take it?”

  I shrugged.

  Will’s eyes searched my face. “Why did she stop by?”

  “Aleena told her we broke up and that I was moving. She came to see if it was true.”

  “I’ll bet she wasn’t happy that she had to find out from someone else. Did she read you the riot act?”

  I didn’t answer. I leaned my head back on the headrest and closed my eyes.

  “Ang
us? What happened today?”

  I didn’t answer immediately. Will waited, and I could feel his eyes boring into me.

  “She came to tell me she loves me.”

  “Dude. You’re kidding. That’s great. Maybe the two of you can stop dancing around each other like blind fools.”

  “Don’t get too excited, Will. Nothing’s happening.”

  “Why not? I thought this was what you wanted.”

  “It was.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “I’m leaving. I’ll be gone for four years. Four years. Do you know how long that is?” I sighed. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”

  “Oh, come on. When did you become such a pessimist?”

  “I’m serious, man. If we ever had a chance, it’s gone now. I was the patient, lovesick puppy for long enough. Now I’m moving to Kansas City and starting over.” I lowered my voice. “I tried. And I’m not interested in being Chuck’s consolation prize.”

  “What do you mean you tried? It sounds like she was the one who finally tried.” There was an edge in Will’s voice and I could tell his stick-up-for-my-sister hackles were appearing.

  “She knew how I felt before she went chasing halfway around the world after some guy she barely knew. That told me everything I needed to know.”

  “Are you sure she knew how you felt?”

  I gave a short nod. “I told her. On your birthday.”

  Will thought for a second and then a look of understanding passed over his face. “Is that why she was so flustered that day? And why you left early? Man, what did you say?”

  “I kissed her. I told her how I felt.” Will looked like he might choke. “And then she left the country.”

  Will whistled. “That’s rough.”

  “I’m done, man. This is a great chance for me to further my career, and I’ve got to get out of this rut.” I shook my head. “I’ve been waiting for way too long. Every time she had her heart broken, I was there. It was me she came to when she found out people were calling her the husband maker. I wanted to be the one to fix things for her, but she never let me.”

  Even as I said it, I felt horrible. I’d been loyal to Charles for so long that even saying this to Will made me feel uncomfortable.

  “But she loves you.”

  “Too bad she didn’t realize that before I changed the whole course of my life.”

  I was proud of myself for sounding so self-assured, so certain that I knew what I was doing. I knew if I said it often enough, I could get past my feelings for Charlotte. Moving away was the best thing I could do. I needed a clean break. Maybe there was a reason Charles and I had always had bad timing. This would give us both a chance to clear our heads and move on with our lives.

  Charlotte

  “Let’s get double use out of these drawings and put them on both the postcards and the mugs.” I had just presented a proposal for the Sunset Safari Wild Animal Park to Bryce Cardell. He’d liked the proposal, but I could tell by his questions that he was worried about the cost. “That would save you some money.”

  Bryce moved a few of the sketches to the side. “I like all of this, but we’re on a tight budget and our top priority is the map of the park.”

  “I understand. But if we multi-purpose some of these, it’ll save you money and you’ll have a better selection in the gift shop. You might also consider printing the map in two sizes—the smaller one to give visitors as they come through the park and a larger, poster-sized one to sell in the gift shop.”

  “Ah, that’s a great idea.”

  Mr. Cardell chose the rough sketches he wanted me to create, signed a contract, and I walked him to the elevator.

  “Sunset Safari Park is going with us.” I paused at the door of Jayne’s office on my way back to gather my things in the conference room.

  “That’s good news.” Jayne took a deep breath. “Charlotte, can you come in here for a minute? And close the door.”

  Was this serious? I couldn’t remember Jayne ever asking me to close the door. She’d even told me about Kyle’s engagement with the door open.

  “Congratulations on the new account. Of course he liked your proposal. I did a smart thing when I put you over souvenirs.”

  I smiled. I had been creating promotional tourism materials and souvenirs for more than four years now, and I loved it. I got paid to draw and color. I probably had the best job in the world. “We trimmed it back a bit. He was worried about money, so we eliminated a few things, but he seems happy.”

  “We like happy clients.” Jayne clasped her hands and rested her chin on her knuckles. “Charlotte, is everything okay?”

  “Sure. This just closed and I have a meeting next Monday with Rent and Ride, that bicycle company. They have over twenty locations, so that might be a good account.”

  “I’m not talking about work.”

  “Oh.” I sat back in my chair. I hadn’t told anyone about what was happening—or not happening—in my life. Of course there was Angus, but he hadn’t come after me and probably wouldn’t, which meant there wasn’t much to tell. To be honest, I was sick of talking about dating and romance and love. I was tired of talking about guys period.

  “Maybe I’m imagining things, but you haven’t seemed quite yourself since you got back from Scotland.”

  So much for trying to put up a good front. “Everything is fine.”

  “You had a good time?”

  “It was the best trip of my life.”

  “Are you sad to be back? Are you missing your Scotsman?”

  If only it were that simple. “The first few days I was pretty jetlagged, but I’m good now.” I had been home for nearly three weeks, so the jetlag was long gone. “I loved Scotland and Flynn is great, but I’m not sad to be back and he’s not my Scotsman.”

  “You’re not still sad about Kyle, are you?”

  “No. Not at all. I’m really okay. I’m sorry if I’ve worried you.”

  Jayne shook her head and waved me off. “Oh please. Don’t be sorry about me. I just want to be sure you’re all right.”

  “I’m great. Really. I’d better get that proposal out of the conference room before Keith spills his lunch on it.” I walked to the door.

  Jayne smiled. “Good job on Safari.”

  “Thanks.” I paused. “And thanks for checking on me.”

  I’d just lied to my boss and friend. Things weren’t good at all. Aleena still wouldn’t take my calls. And Angus wanted nothing to do with me. This had happened in the past with guys I’d dated, but this was different. This was Angus. He was the one who had helped me get over those other guys. Who was going to help me get over Angus?

  I felt sick. I couldn’t even imagine going on without him. He had been there for almost every important event in my life. How could he not be there anymore?

  It still surprised me how sure I was about my feelings for Angus. It’s a little like when I saw The Sixth Sense. I had been completely blown away at the end when I learned that Bruce Willis’s character had been dead the whole movie. And then it was like, “Duh! Of course. It all makes sense now. Why didn’t I figure that out earlier?”

  After Angus kissed me, I knew. I just had to be willing to admit it. And once I admitted it, I had to figure out what to do about it. If I’d minded my own business, he and Aleena wouldn’t have been dating and everything would have been different. Instead of filling me with guilt and confusion, that kiss would have been the best birthday present of my life. But I had run away and left Angus standing there. Now he was leaving me and I didn’t know how to make him stay.

  My plan had been to tell Angus how I felt, kiss him senseless, and then plan our future together. Simplistic, I know, but I really thought it would be as easy as that. Now I was facing four years of a long-distance relationship and that was only if I somehow convinced Angus that we should actually be in a relationship. At this point, he seemed pretty set on hating me.

  But no matter how long it took me to convince Angus that
he shouldn’t give up on us, I needed to snap out of my funk. No way did I want to be a glum Gladys for the next four years, sucking the fun and energy out of the room whenever I was there. If I was going to patiently wait out the next four years, I needed to do it cheerfully.

  It was hard to put my despondent mood behind me when I knew I had hurt my two best friends. Mending things with Angus was tricky because I wanted to be more than friends. Since I had no idea how I was going to accomplish that, I decided to focus my energy on making peace with Aleena. I’d texted her at least a dozen times in the last three weeks, but she hadn’t responded. I had called her cell phone twice, but she hadn’t picked up. I decided I’d have to be brave and risk seeing Aleena’s father. The last time I’d spoken to him, he had scolded me like I was a little child. I knew he usually took Thursdays off, so when Thursday rolled around, I went to their restaurant for lunch.

  I was disappointed to see a girl I didn’t know working the front of the restaurant. I had hoped it would be Aleena there.

  “How many in your party?” she asked.

  “Just me.”

  “Right this way.”

  I followed the girl to a small table by the window. I opened the menu even though I didn’t need it.

  “Charlotte. I thought that was you.” John, a waiter I’d met several times, smiled down at me.

  “Hi, John.”

  “What can I get for you?”

  “I’d like the cashew chicken.”

  John wrote on his pad. “Is Aleena eating with you?”

  I felt a surge of relief that my betrayal of Aleena wasn’t common knowledge among the staff. “Is she working?”

  “Yeah. She’s back in the office. I’ll tell her you’re here.”

  Too bad John was already married when he started working in the Li’s restaurant. He had a nice smile that would look good next to Aleena’s. I shook my head. I needed to stop worrying about my friend’s love life. Wasn’t that why I was in this mess in the first place?

  I wiped my hands on my skirt. What a pathetic position I’d put myself in. I loved Aleena. We’d been friends for years, but here I sat about to hyperventilate, I was so nervous to face her.