‘You know I never… we never… you know…’
Charlie nodded. ‘I do. I wondered about that.’
I pulled a face.
‘Not like that. It’s just not like Alex to wait very long.’
‘We didn’t really get a lot of time together with one thing and another.’
‘Normally, Alex makes time. Believe me.’
‘Well, maybe he wasn’t as keen on me as he thought he was.’
‘Nope. Not that.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I asked him.’
‘What?’
‘I asked him.’
‘I see. And what did he say?’
‘The same as you. That you didn’t really get a lot of time, yada yada.’
‘We didn’t. And it may be old-fashioned but I have to be seeing someone for a little while before I go that far.’
Charlie made a dismissive noise. ‘Alex could charm a nun to throw her knickers in the air if he wanted to. If he’d wanted to, you’d have been toast.’
I moved and thumped him on the arm. ‘I would not! I have principles. Thank you.’
He grinned and rubbed his arm. ‘Ow, by the way. Anyway, it turned out there was more to it.’
‘There was?’
Charlie dragged a hand across his unshaven jaw. ‘Yeah. We kind of had a bit of a bust-up over it?’
‘Oh no! Oh, Charlie. I’m so sorry. I never meant any of this to come between you and Alex!’
He caught hold of one of my flapping hands and gently caressed the back of it with his thumb.
‘It’s OK. We’re good now. To be honest, it’s been building up for a while, I just don’t think either of us wanted to face it. You might have been the catalyst, but you weren’t the cause.’
‘What was the cause?’ I asked, feeling my heart rate slow at Charlie’s gentle, rhythmic touch on my skin.
‘Male ego. Too much testosterone and everything that circumstance brings along with it.’ He shook his head. ‘Ridiculous really. I was jealous of him being so capable of talking to anyone, being able to charm anyone he wanted when it’s something I’ve always struggled with. Alex, in turn, was feeling like he was second best because of the difference in our salaries, and what goes along with that. We’d both gone to the same school, had the same privileges but had just chosen different paths, which led to different things.’
‘But he loves his job!’
‘He does. But a while back there was a girl who showed interest in him when we were out together somewhere. He really liked her but part way through the evening, something came up, I don’t even remember what it was now, and she obviously realised that, as much as she thought Alex was hot and charming, he wouldn’t be able to provide her with the trinkets someone on a higher salary might. At that point, she switched allegiances.’
‘And you let her?’ I raised an eyebrow.
‘Aww, don’t look at me like that. You know me and women. I’m not exactly fluent in them. Besides, we’d all had a couple of drinks by then and, to start with, I didn’t even realise what she was doing. When I did, I made a polite excuse and extracted myself.’
‘And Alex was mad at you?’
‘We talked it over briefly and he said it didn’t matter. That he hadn’t particularly liked her anyway. He was just passing the time.’
‘And you believed him?’
‘Honestly, I’m not sure. But it was easier if I did.’
‘But? I assume there is a but?’
‘Yes. Things seemed OK and most of the time they were. But it felt like there was always this slight undercurrent of wariness. I hated it, if I’m honest. But I didn’t know how to fix things. Alex says now that he felt the same.’
‘So, what happened?’
‘You happened.’
I shifted position on the sofa, my internal feeling of being suddenly uncomfortable translating itself to my body. Charlie patiently waited for me to stop fidgeting before he continued.
‘I’d told Alex that I was helping you with your accounts and he asked about you. I kind of kept it all rather non-committal and tried to be blasé. I wasn’t even allowing myself to admit I liked you, so telling someone else? That just wasn’t going to happen.’
‘Full state of denial, then.’
‘Oh, absolutely. But the moment Alex saw you at Mum and Dad’s party, he knew. He can probably read me better than anyone. And, like he said, I’d left out the part about you being gorgeous, so really that was all the confirmation he needed.’
‘So, he asked me out to get back at you for feeling somehow less than you?’
‘Yes and no.’
I frowned at him.
‘Despite what I’d said, once he saw you and saw me with you, he knew what I felt for you was way past just liking you as a friend. But Alex really did like you too. I don’t want you thinking he was just using you to get back at me for something.’
‘But he kind of was…’
Charlie let out a deep sigh. ‘Yes. I suppose so, in a way. But if I hadn’t been on the scene he would have still asked you out. But, once it came to it, as much as he liked you, he couldn’t go through with it. He knew, probably even better than I did, what you meant, and do mean, to me. When extra shifts came up, he’d take them, just so that he’d have a valid excuse for not seeing you. Like I said earlier, normally Alex is pretty charming as regards to sex but he couldn’t go through with it with you. He cared about you too much… and he knew that once he went there, our friendship would never be the same.’
Shaking my head, I blew my fringe up out of my eyes. ‘Why don’t men just talk about things?’
Charlie let out a breath that contained a laugh. ‘God knows. It would probably make things a lot less complicated.’
‘It really would.’
‘When I found out he’d stood you up that night, I was so angry with him! I hated to think of you just sat there alone. I stormed round to see him the next morning and everything kind of blew up! We were both yelling at each other and every insecurity we each had came shooting out.’
‘Oh, Charlie.’
‘No! Don’t look like that. Honestly, it was the best thing that could have happened. It totally cleared the air and by the time we had finished I think we both understood each other a lot better.’
He ran a hand down my hair. ‘I hate that you ended up being a pawn in all this, though.’
‘It’s OK. He didn’t hurt me. I felt a bit of an idiot in that restaurant but apart from that I was OK. Although I will say seeing the look of abject horror on his face when I opened the door to him whilst wearing a wedding gown didn’t do all that much for my ego either!’
Charlie grinned. ‘Yeah, I think he was suddenly panicking that things might have got a little out of hand.’
I rolled my eyes.
‘You kind of did both our heads in with that.’
‘You too? But you knew it was all pretend. All just for the blog.’
‘I did. But, God, Libby, you looked so… incredibly beautiful. You took my breath away. I had to keep myself busy so that I couldn’t focus on the thought that one day some unbelievably lucky guy was going to see you like that for real. I didn’t want it to be anyone else. I wanted it to be me and the thought of it being someone else just drove me nuts.’
‘Charlie,’ I whispered, as he rested his forehead against mine.
‘I know you’ve said you might not want to get married, and if that’s what you want, I can live with that. As long as you’re only not getting married with me.’
‘I’ve had some long talks with my dad over the past few weeks and I might have changed my mind on that…’
His smile said more than words ever could.
‘But you and Alex?’
‘We’re good. I promise. He’s been brilliant these last few weeks. I was going crazy and he kept me mostly sane.’
‘I’m sorry I caused you pain, Charlie. I really am.’
‘Don’t even think about it
now. If I’d been more brave and just admitted I was head over heels with you in the first place, it probably would have saved everyone a lot of heartache.’
Charlie twiddled the ring I always wore on my right hand. My mum’s emerald engagement ring.
‘I thought if I just packed it all away and concentrated on being a friend to you, the rest of the feelings would go away. And I convinced myself that they had.’
He sat back a little, his intense blue gaze focusing on me.
‘Until you were nearly taken out by a king prawn and blurted something about being in love in the middle of a London street. Then everything came tumbling back.’
‘So why not tell me then? Why make me feel like it was the worst thing I could have possibly done? Why say what you did?’
‘Because I’m about to leave the country and because I thought I’d already dealt with my feelings towards you. I thought they were all nicely packaged away and labelled as “Past Crush”. The fact that I’d never picked up any inkling of encouragement made it easier to deal with in a way. And then there you were saying that and ripping off the Band-Aid. I’ve never felt like this, Libs. I’ve never been surprised or swept up by someone before and you keep surprising the hell out of me, usually in a good way. I didn’t know what to do. How to handle it. And I didn’t react well, for which I apologise.’
Charlie turned towards me and scratched the back of his head. ‘I was going crazy trying to get hold of you.’
‘I didn’t really want to talk to anyone.’
‘I know. And I understand. But, please, please, never do that again. Please, just talk to me. Even if it means you’re going to scream and shout at me. I’d rather that than not know where you are, not know if you were safe.’
‘That’s why I told Amy that I was OK.’
‘Yes, but you could have been anywhere. On your own. You know the sort of statistics that would have been going through my head. Especially after I saw that video on your blog.’
‘You and your statistics.’
‘I know. Which is why I need you and your irrationality to balance me out.’
‘I am not irrational.’
‘You are sometimes.’
I opened my mouth to protest again but Charlie cut me off.
‘It’s one of the many things I love about you.’
I closed my mouth. Charlie’s gaze dropped to my lips momentarily before it lifted back to lock with mine. Heat seared through me at the look of unrestrained longing in his eyes. His hands moved, releasing my fingers and sliding up my arms, brushing the straps on my shoulders, softly tracing along my neck until he held my face in his hands. Desire engulfed me as Charlie bent his head towards mine.
After the softest of kisses, Charlie pulled me towards him, holding me close, and I laid my head on his strong, solid chest and knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
40
‘So, does this mean we’re officially going out?’ Charlie said, one leg draped lazily across me, the expensive white cotton sheet contrasting with his tanned skin.
Whatever I had expected to happen when Alex dropped me off at Charlie’s house this morning, not once had I thought that it would be me ending up in Charlie Richmond’s bed, by way of his kitchen sofa, not to mention the second-floor landing. He might not be comfortable with chatting up women, but it would seem once he got over that hurdle then the whole shy, retiring thing most definitely wasn’t a problem any more. Charlie Richmond had skills. Boy, did he have skills! And then some.
‘What are you smiling at?’
I scooted back in the bed so that I could tip my head back a little on his chest and meet his eyes.
‘How did you know I was smiling?’
‘I could feel it on my chest.’
I grinned again.
He caught a hand under my chin and moved to kiss me.
‘You didn’t answer.’
‘About going out together?’
‘Mm hmm.’
I looked back up at him. ‘I don’t know. You haven’t actually asked me yet. You know. Formally.’
He made a face, considering it.
‘That’s true. We got a little carried away before I could get to that bit.’ He flashed his eyes at me and my body responded.
‘It’s probably a good thing you didn’t say anything that first time you came over, you know.’
Charlie traced a finger along my shoulder. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘Because I’m not sure we would have got much done.’
He followed his finger with his lips, dropping tiny butterfly kisses along my skin, following it up my neck before moving lower. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I think we might have got plenty done.’ He gave me a look under his lashes and I caught my fingers in his hair.
‘I once said that you only had the body of a bad boy. I’m beginning to reassess that. In fact, I think you may actually be a very bad influence indeed.’
He gave me a look that confirmed I might well be right.
‘Would it make you feel better if I asked you out? Formally?’
I smiled. ‘Maybe.’
‘All right.’ He pushed himself up onto his elbows and rolled so that he was on his side, propped up on one elbow. Reaching over, he took my hand. ‘Libby Cartright, would you go out with me?’
I pulled a face as if I were thinking about it.
‘Although, it’s funny. I heard that you had this thing about never sleeping with a man on the first date…’
He ran his eyes over me, teasing.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and he waggled his eyebrows.
‘Not quite so principled after all, then?’
‘You know you’re going to pay for that, don’t you?’
He reached over and ran an arm underneath my body, flipping me so that I was on my back, looking up at him now supported on muscular arms above me.
‘Oh, I hope so.’
Acknowledgments
As ever, thank you to James. This is my ninth book, and my eighth novel. Without your belief and support, it’s unlikely there would ever have even been one.
A huge thank you to the amazing team at Boldwood Books for choosing me to be a part of their inaugural launch list, and for the belief that they have shown in me and my writing. Special thanks go to Sarah Ritherdon, my editor, for loving Libby and Charlie’s story so much and for helping me make it the best it can be. Extra thanks also go to Nia Beynon for answering all my random, pondery questions, and for her incredible energy and enthusiasm.
Thanks to copy editor, Sue Smith, and proof reader, Susan Lamprell, who worked their magic in cleaning up the gaffes.
Of course, a shout out goes to my writer-y pals – I’m wary to accidentally leave anyone out in a list but you know who you are. Thank you, lovelies!
A big thank you to Jo P for listening, laughing and for the Afternoon Teas.
I’d also like to thank the bloggers who help spread the word about my books. Your help, reviews and support are always appreciated and I’m extremely grateful to every single one of you.
And last, but not least, thank you to everyone who has ever read and loved one of my books. Without these fabulous readers, we are just dropping words into a void, so hearing that my book has made someone smile, laugh, cry and hopefully want to read another one fills my heart to the brim. Thank you.
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About the Author
Maxine Morrey is a bestselling romantic comedy author with eight books to her name including Winter’s Fairytale and the top ten hit The Christmas Project. She lives in West Sussex.
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First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Boldwood Books Ltd.
Copyright © Maxine Morrey, 2019
Cover Design by Charlotte Abrams-Simpson
Cover Photography: Shutterstock
The moral right of Maxine Morrey to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologise for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-83889-032-2
Ebook ISBN 978-1-83889-030-8
Kindle ISBN 978-1-83889-031-5
Audio CD ISBN 978-1-83889-033-9
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