I snorted. “That’s what you learned from me? Come on, I showed you that one move the other night, when I had your leg above my head and…” She didn’t look impressed with my deflection. I sighed and pulled up to the ex’s house. “Yeah, I know. Let’s just get this over with.”
“Seriously, you have nothing to be worried about.”
“That’s what every woman in history has said right before she introduced her lover to her ex.”
“Really?” She cocked her head to the side and grinned. “They have records of that?”
I snorted, nodding over and over. Yeah, I was completely freaking out. I opened the door and stepped out, walking around to Charlie’s side of the truck. My legs were shaking. Actually shaking. I took a deep breath and grabbed her hand as we headed for the front door.
“I don’t understand what you’re so worked up over,” she said nonchalantly.
“Really? You don’t get it? Charlie, this is the guy you married first. That’s a lot to live up to.”
She stopped me, forcing me to look at her. “Will, he’s the first man I married, but we both know that we never should have gotten married. He’s Oliver’s father. That’s how I see him now. Believe me, a few weeks ago, he made it pretty clear what he thought about our marriage and it really shed some light on what our marriage actually was. And honestly, a lot of that was my fault. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, now that I know those things, hopefully, it won’t happen again.”
I frowned, trying to figure out what she was saying. “So, what you really mean is that he was your test husband and now you’re ready for the real thing.”
“Sure,” she smiled. “If you want to look at it that way.”
We walked up to the door and rang the bell. Some of the tension eased out of my shoulders. I felt like the pressure had lessened slightly. Still, I needed him to like me. He was Oliver’s father and I didn’t want to be on his bad side.
When he opened the door, I almost snorted. This was the guy she married? He looked like an accountant or something, not at all Charlie’s type.
“Hi, Kyle. This is Will.”
He held out his hand for me to shake. “Nice to meet you, Will. So, you’re the new man. I gotta say, I never thought I would see the day that Charlie actually considered settling down.”
“Me neither,” I laughed. “Trust me, it hasn’t been an easy road.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Charlie cut in.
“That’s what she thinks about our marriage also,” Kyle grinned. “Just make sure you don’t sleep too long in the morning and you should be good.”
He waved us inside and I followed. “Oh, I already know that. I’m doing my best to make sure my ass is out of bed well before her.”
“Well,” Charlie smiled tightly. “It’s nice to see you have something to talk about.”
Kyle relaxed back into the couch, tossing one arm on the back of the couch.“You know, this is really a good thing. I can tell you all the ways not to fuck up so you actually have a shot.”
What a toolbag. I didn’t need pointers from him. I already knew how to keep my woman happy. But I smiled and played along. It was best if he and I were on the same side, at least for appearance sake. I slipped my hand through Charlie’s, squeezing it tightly, hoping she understood what I was doing.
“Well, you know, it wasn’t easy going at first. Trust me, she did everything possible to shove me away. But I wouldn’t let her. I’m too damn persistent.”
“You mean you stalked me,” Charlie said irritatedly.
“Well, it got me what I wanted, didn’t it?”
“And how was it that you came up with the idea to stalk her?” Kyle asked.
“Well, I have some crazy brothers and when I told them how reluctant Charlie was to have a relationship, they helped me come up with a plan.”
“And that plan included stalking?” he asked, almost like he thought I was an idiot.
“Yeah, well, I pretended not to need her. See, a woman like Charlie wants to be chased, but not know it. She wants someone that consumes her, but doesn’t make it obvious that he needs her. I just made it so that I was always in her thoughts. I left her always needing more.”
I turned and grinned at Charlie, winking when I knew I won that round. The problem with Kyle was that he never bothered to try and figure out how to keep a woman like Charlie. That just proved he was never right for her. And I couldn’t blame the guy. He didn’t realize what he was up against. Like she said, they were never meant to be together. But Charlie was mine now, and I knew that she was made for me. That’s why my plan worked. With anyone else, she would have been irritated.
“So, Oliver tells me that you used to play baseball,” Kyle said, changing the subject.
“Yeah, I did in college.”
“And he said you almost went pro.”
I nodded. “I threw out my arm in my last season. I never made it to the big leagues. But it all worked out for the best.”
“How’s that?”
“Well, I have my brothers here. I can’t imagine not living close to them. Baseball would have taken me away from them. And had I not been injured, I would have never met Charlie. So, I’d say things turned out exactly as they were supposed to.”
“And Oliver?”
“What about him?” I asked, not sure what he was getting at.
“How do you see Oliver in this whole thing?”
“Well, he’s your son. I like him. I haven’t gotten to know him very well, but I plan on changing that. But I don’t plan on trying to take him away, if that’s what you’re getting at. It would be nice if he didn’t hate me,” I chuckled.
“He’s definitely got the attitude of a teenager. I think it’s all those video games. I was telling Charlie, I’d like to get him involved in sports.”
I nodded. “He asked if I could teach him to play baseball. There’s a little league in the area.”
“Yeah, I wanted to get him signed up for this spring.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I actually coach one of the summer leagues. It would give him something to do over the summer.”
“Would he play for your team?”
“Not necessarily. The teams are divided based on where you live, but since Charlie and I are moving in together, all that would take is putting down that he lives at my address on the registration forms. If you’re comfortable with that, of course.”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I didn’t realize that this had gone that far.”
“Well,” I grinned. “It wouldn’t have, but Charlie convinced me that we should give it a try.”
“How’d she do that?”
“She sang to me.”
Kyle winced and Charlie made it clear that she wasn’t happy with his opinion.
“Yeah, she has a terrible voice, but that’s what made me trust that it was real. No sane person with such a terrible voice would get up on stage in front of all those people and sing unless it was true love.”
Kyle watched us for a moment. I could tell he was trying to figure it all out. Oliver ran into the room, his eyes lighting up when he saw me, and I had to admit, that felt pretty damn good.
“Will! Hey, you want to play catch?”
“Sure.”
I stood, nodding to Kyle and smiling at Charlie as I headed outside with Oliver. I had a feeling the two of them needed to talk, and now was as good a time as any.
Charlie
I heard the door snick shut and waited for the onslaught, but it never came. Kyle just stared at me, like he didn’t know who I was.
“Look, I know this all seems strange given our history.”
“No…no, this isn’t strange. Strange would be if you were going to be in a relationship with him. But moving in together? Charlie, this sounds serious.”
“Because it is.”
He ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward, obviously frustrated with our conversation. “I just don’t get it. How did this even happe
n? Why him?”
“Kyle, you told me yourself that our marriage was never meant to be.”
“Yeah, I know that, but…I didn’t think you thought that too.”
I laughed at how hypocritical that sounded. “You know, I really have to thank you. If it weren’t for you telling me all that stuff, I never would have truly understood what went wrong in our marriage. All these years, I’ve been blaming you for everything that happened, but now I can see my part in all of it.”
“You can?”
“Of course. I didn’t realize how miserable you were. I didn’t realize that all those years, you were just sticking it out with me because you thought I was emotionally defective or something. I know that’s how I appeared, but now I know that we just weren’t right for each other. How can anyone be truly happy when their heart just isn’t in it?”
He sighed heavily, shaking his head. “I gotta be honest, Charlie. This is a pretty big change of heart and it’s coming really fast. I have to look out for Oliver here. I can’t just have him hang out with Will whenever he’s with you if you’re not serious about this. It’s not fair to him.”
“I would never do that to Oliver.”
“Haven’t you already? You introduced him to Will when things were just casual between the two of you. How am I supposed to trust that you won’t change your mind in two weeks when things get hard? I don’t know, Charlie. I want to believe you, but I’m worried about this.”
I could understand that. After the way our marriage ended, I couldn’t pretend like I hadn’t totally shredded our marriage. I was angry over stupid shit. But I could see now what our marriage really was.
“I know I can’t make you believe that things are going to be different with Will. I can only prove that. The difference is, Will seems to understand what I need and when I’m just being a pain in the ass. He truly understands me and what I need. I’m not trying to say that you were a bad husband. I didn’t try to make things better when we were together. But with Will, it doesn’t feel like work. I feel like I’ve met the man I was meant to be with. Just like you feel with your fiancé. I want you to be happy, and I hope you can do the same for me. I know that we can work this out. And I know Oliver is going to be fine. He’ll get the best of us now that we’re both with the people we want to be with, and when he realizes that, everything is going to be easier.”
“I hope you’re right.”
I knew I was. Will had sparked something inside of me that I never knew I wanted or needed. This was the right choice, but I would never regret my first marriage. I had Oliver because of it. But now I had a chance at something even better, and I was taking it and running.
* * *
“Don’t get in your pajamas,” Will said as he walked into his bedroom, tossing down his briefcase as he tore his shirt over his head.
I groaned. “I had a long day. Can we skip sex tonight?”
“We’re not having sex,” he said, taking my hand and dragging me to the shower.
“This doesn’t look like we’re not having sex.”
“Relax, we’re just taking a shower. I promise at no time to charge you like a bull and fuck you into submission.”
He turned on the water and cranked up the warm water. It immediately relaxed my sore muscles. I groaned, loving the feel of it. I just wanted to stay here under the water for like a half hour. But then I felt Will washing me and I opened my eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“Washing you.”
“I see that, but why are you doing it?”
“Because we have places to go.”
It was Saturday night, but the last thing I wanted to do was go somewhere. “How about you go to your brother’s house by yourself and I snuggle under the comforter and wait for you to get home?”
“How about you finish washing up and then get your ass out of the shower? We’re leaving in an hour.”
My jaw dropped. “What? You can’t just order me to get dressed and go out.”
“I promise, it’ll be fun.”
“Will, this is one of those things we talked about-“
“Have I ever made you do anything yet that I knew you wouldn’t like?”
I pouted slightly, knowing he was right. That didn’t mean I had to like it though. I washed my hair quickly and towel-dried it after stepping out of the shower. Sighing, I stepped into the bedroom and stopped when I saw that he had a dress laid out on the bed for me.
“What is this?”
“Well, it’s a dress, but I thought you already knew that.”
“I know, but what are we doing that I would need a dress?”
“If I told you that, it would ruin the surprise.”
A flutter of excitement thrummed through me. Not ten minutes ago, I had been dreading whatever it was he was planning. But now I was excited. He was going to surprise me with something, and it involved a dress. This was going to be good.
I hurried up and got ready, drying my hair and putting on my makeup. It was probably nothing too fancy. After all, Will was a school teacher. It wasn’t like he was raking in the big bucks, but whatever he had planned, he obviously put in a lot of thought, and that made it even more special.
When I stepped out of the bedroom ten minutes later, heels and everything, I was shocked to see Will standing there in a suit and tie. He looked amazing. Suddenly, I was a little nervous.
“You look nice.”
“Thank you,” he grinned at me, pulling at his suit jacket. “You look beautiful.”
I fidgeted with my purse, feeling uneasy right now. “What is this about? You’re not going to ask me to marry you, are you? Because we just decided to move in together. I don’t even have all my stuff here. And Oliver’s dad is still getting used to all this. I think he might need more time to get used to the idea.”
I was so nervous and blabbering on about Oliver’s dad, like he mattered at all. But right now, my brain wasn’t functioning properly.
He slowly started walking toward me, one hand in his pocket. He had this sexy swagger that I only noticed now that he was all dressed up. He was so hot in just regular clothes, but in a suit, he blew me away. I got nervous and started rambling.
“You know, marriage is a big commitment, and I want to make sure that I don’t mess it up this time.” He grinned and kept coming at me, so I took a step back. “So, if that’s what this is, maybe we should just save you the embarrassment. Going to a restaurant to propose would be a very bad idea.” His grin widened and he reached out for me, but I skittered away from him. I felt like my throat was closing up. “This is all happening too fast. I think we should take a break, maybe see other people for a few days or…”
He jerked me against him, his grin still in place. He knew I was going crazy here and he was taunting me. “You’re so adorable when you’re backed into a corner.”
“I’m not-“
He pressed a finger to my lips to shush me. “Would you mind letting me speak now?” I nodded against his finger. “I’m taking you out to dinner, where I promise I won’t be proposing to you. We’ll eat good food, drink some wine, and maybe even share dessert, but there will be no ring hidden in the chocolate cake. That’s just disgusting. And when we’re done with dinner, I’m taking you to the theater to see My Fair Lady, just like I promised you. Again, I will not be asking you to marry me there. I’m just taking you to the theater, something I know you want, so that you’re happy. So, now that you know there will be no marriage proposals, can we go? Or should I cancel the whole thing in case you’re still thinking I have some other plot in mind?”
I smiled at him and took his hand, allowing him to lead me out the door. There was a very good chance that this man was perfect. And like an idiot, I almost ruined it. But Will didn’t seem to care. In fact, he took most things in stride, doing everything possible to reassure me when I had my freak outs. And the truth was, as nervous as I was about him wanting to get married, I knew that when he did ask me, my answer would be yes.
Will
It was terrible. This was the worst idea of my life. Why the hell had I ever offered to take the bet? That’s right, because I wanted to fuck her, and this seemed like a small price to pay. I should have looked up what this was first. I should have realized that this was some outdated play that I would have to sit through for hours. No excitement. No fun dancing. Only things about rain in Spain. It was torture.
I slipped my wireless earbud in my ear and discreetly pulled out my phone, trying to keep the light low as I looked up the radio station that was playing the hockey game. I needed something to drown out the crap I was listening to right now. The Blackhawks were playing the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it was going to be a good game, and instead of watching it at home, I was sitting in a fucking theater, in a monkey suit, all to please my woman. I was an idiot.
“What are you doing?” Charlie asked, leaning over to whisper in my ear when she saw my phone light up.
“Sorry, my brother just needs to know something.”
“You’re supposed to shut that off during the performance.”
“Sorry,” I whispered, giving her a kiss that would hopefully get her off my back while I found the game. It only took me a few seconds to pull it up and then I heard the roar of the crowd in my ear and peace settled over me. I kept my eyes on the stage, giving away nothing as the show went on.
Then the curtain closed and the lights came on, and I thought for sure that it was all over. I could get out of here and maybe catch the end of the game at home. I stood and grinned, but Charlie just looked at me funny.
“That’s only intermission.”
“Inter-what?” I knew what the hell intermission was, I just hadn’t been expecting it.
“That was the end of the first act. There’s still one more.”
“Oh.” I stretched out my back and tried to figure out what the hell to do now. I hadn’t planned on it taking so long to get through all this.
Textbook Approach: A Small Town Romance Page 28