A flicker of uncertainty crosses her eyes, but it only lasts a moment. The corners of her mouth begin to lift into a slow smile. “One condition,” she says.
“Anything.”
“A quick ceremony. In a court room, preferably.”
“But—”
“You can give me the best honeymoon in the world, Max. That’s my condition.”
I don’t like this. I wanted to give her the best fucking wedding money could buy. I remind myself that it’s not about a wedding though. This is about more than that.
“All I want is you,” I say, giving in. “However you want to let me express that is fine with me.”
“Then, yes, I’ll marry you, Max Archer.”
As soon as she says the words, I pull her into my arms, squeezing her tightly. The happiness is overwhelming. I didn’t expect that either.
Charlotte laughs. “I can’t breathe, you crazy man.”
“Holy shit,” Trevor mutters. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
When I glance over Charlotte’s shoulder I notice both Steph and Fee wiping their eyes. Everyone rushes us all at once.
“Congratulations, guys,” Lucas says, hugging us both. “Just to warn you though, Mom’s going to be pissed she doesn’t get to plan her only daughter’s wedding.”
Charlotte waves that aside. “She’ll get over it.”
Fee squeals happily. “This is amazing. I’ve gone from having no siblings to having two of them.”
“Two siblings, and a cousin,” Trevor corrects her.
“Nobody wants to claim you, Trev,” I tell him jokingly.
I feel so relieved. This time when I breathe, it’s easier. I look at Charlotte. “So when do you want to do it? Today?”
She rolls her eyes, still smiling. “You need a license first.”
“We can hop on the first plane to Vegas,” I suggest.
“No way,” Stephanie complains. “Unless you plan on taking all of us with you, you’re doing it here.”
“That won’t work. Who would be here to run the Gritty Voice?”
I know we’re all thinking the same thing. The three of us went years without caring about the Gritty Voice, and now we all treat it as our baby. Since we all started taking work seriously, the company has tripled in growth. Revenue has exploded. Dividing it up into equal ownership between us was the best decision I’ve ever made.
Charlotte wraps her arms around me. “There’s no rush. Don’t I get to enjoy wearing that ring for a while?”
“Oh yeah,” I say sheepishly. Taking her hand in mine, I slip the ring on her finger. The brilliant blue matches her eyes just as I’d hoped.
“It’s gorgeous, Max. Thank you.” She kisses me on the cheek. “Now should we tell them about the baby?”
“What baby?” Trevor roars, holding his hands up.
“Is she serious?” Lucas says.
Charlotte laughs, ruining her own joke. “Just kidding, guys. Calm down.”
After everyone leaves, the two of us sit on the beach, stargazing. Charlotte plays with her ring, twisting it around her finger while I throw a ball for Batman and our new golden retriever puppy. “So what made you change your mind about all this?” she asks, contemplative.
“Not any one thing, specifically.”
She glances over at me. “You have to give me a better answer than that.”
Batman drops his ball at my feet, and I throw it across the beach. The puppy bounces after him. “Honestly? Since Fee came back into my life, I’ve been thinking about that day a lot. I hate that one person ruined something that was supposed to be beautiful. It was supposed to be about love, commitment, joy…I feel like he shouldn’t be able to steal that from us too.” My words drift off, and I shrug, not knowing how to explain it any better than that.
Charlotte scoots closer, dusting sand off her legs. She nuzzles against me, sighing. “I love that you said that.”
I grin. “Why’s that?”
“Because if you would’ve said it was all for me, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
“You’re the bigger reason behind it all, kid.”
“Well, I know, but I’m glad a much better reason caused you to see things differently. Because I wasn’t going anywhere whether or not you put this,” she pauses to flash me her ring, “huge, giant, over the top, incredible rock on my finger.”
“You never let me spend money on you,” I say without remorse. “And it matches your eyes.”
“Oh ho, very charming, Mr. Archer,” she says, laughing. She looks down at her hand, still admiring it. “This, surprisingly, I’m okay with. We’re going to have to donate a fortune to charity to balance out our karma—but I’m still okay with it.”
Eyeing Batman, I say, “I have a feeling I know exactly which one you’ll choose.”
“Pet Pals?”
“That’s the one. Speaking of dogs, it still amazes me that both Batman and Elektra found their way to my front porch. Especially since there are no other houses around for miles.”
“Um, yeah.” Charlotte coughs. “Funny how that happened.”
“Maybe this house is listed on a map for homeless dogs.”
She changes the subject quickly. “Do you think Elektra will be a good therapist?”
“Of course she will. You’re going to train her.”
“Me?”
“That’s right.”
“I don’t know the first thing about training dogs.”
“You’ll figure it out. I’ll help you.”
Elektra crawls into her lap, panting heavily. Charlotte strokes her fur, adoringly. “Fine, I suppose I can try.”
We’re silent for a long time, staring up at the sky, listening to the waves crash against the shore. “You know something, Max? I just realized you gave me everything I wanted when I first came here. I have friends, real ones. I have you, and a career, and I actually have time to breathe and enjoy life. We’re totally even on the whole saving each other’s lives thing.”
The way she says that makes me smile. “What you gave me could never begin to even the score.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t save someone’s shitty fucked up life when they don’t care about living it. Whoever I was before, you helped me kill him. He’s dead, and I’m glad. Because the only person I want to be is who I am right now. With you.”
Charlotte brushes her lips against mine. I kiss her back, trying to show her without words how much she means to me.
“I’m glad he’s dead too,” she says, breathless. “Because you’re perfect just like this.”
Thank you for reading! You can visit me at:
http://www.shannaclayton.com
Facebook
Goodreads
Instagram: @shannaclaytonbooks
Twitter: @shannaclayton
Rebounding Page 24
