The Carol Wyatt Collection

by Carol Wyatt

  That’s definitely him.

  She sent Kevin a text saying that Lucas was here, and he was better looking in person. Less than five minutes later, Kevin arrived, and Charlie saw him take a seat on a barstool beside Lucas.

  That’s my job done.

  Charlie was debating ordering another drink when she heard a familiar voice to her right.

  “Jenny, you know this place is not my idea of a good night out.”

  “Yes, but you have done well here before so…”

  “That doesn’t count.”

  Charlie knew that the voices coming from a few feet away were Erica and her friend Jenny. Her hand was shaking slightly as she brought her tumbler to her lips, trying to decide what to do.

  She could stay where she was, alone, sitting at the bar, and there was a chance that Erica wouldn’t see her, or she could take charge of the situation and offer to buy her a drink.

  Charlie downed her whiskey and stood up without thinking about it anymore.

  The scent of Erica’s perfume hit her as she got closer. “And why didn’t it count?” she said, knowing that she’d more than likely startle Erica.

  Erica turned to meet Charlie’s blue eyes, not as shocked as Charlie thought she’d be to see her. “Because we didn’t go on a second date…”

  Charlie watched Erica hit Jenny lightly on the arm and say something to her in a hushed voice.

  Charlie could only catch a few words.

  “I knew you were up to something… should have just told me…”

  Charlie leaned over, lightly resting her hand on Erica’s back. “I had nothing to do with this. I’m just here to support Kevin,” Charlie said, glancing over at Lucas and Kevin sitting a few seats over.

  Erica took a step back so that all three could be in the conversation. “Jenny… Do you know Kevin?”

  Jenny shrugged and got the bartender’s attention to order them drinks.

  Erica cursed on her breath.

  “What?” Charlie asked, her eyes flickering between them.

  “Charlie, we’ve been set up.”

  “No…”

  Erica nodded. “Kevin and Jenny must know each other… Right, Jen?”

  Jenny handed them each a whiskey and took a drink from her bottle of beer. “We don’t really know each other… I might have done some Facebook stalking on your behalf,” Jenny admitted, looking at Erica.

  “I’m so sorry about this,” Erica said to Charlie, her cheeks darkening. “I had no idea this was going on.”

  “I recognized him here a few weeks ago and explained who I was, and he was so happy to find someone else to vent with. You guys… Why are you ignoring this?” Jenny asked, motioning between the two of them.

  “Oh my God,” Charlie said, running a hand through her hair. “That’s why he was so excited to go out tonight.”

  Erica nodded. “Jenny, this is ridiculous. We’re adults…”

  “Really?” Jenny asked as she took another drink. “I’m hitting the dance floor. You two should, you know, talk.”

  Erica shook her head as Jenny walked away. “I can’t believe she did this…,” Erica said, meeting Charlie’s blue eyes.

  “So, our best friends think we’re a good match?”

  “Apparently.”

  Charlie could still sense Erica’s distaste. The last time they’d spoken, Charlie confessed that she was thinking of proposing to Lara just so that she could get control of her father’s company.

  “So, how’s Lara?” Erica asked as she pulled out a barstool and sat down.

  “We, uh… We broke up two weeks ago.”

  “Why?”

  “You know why…”

  “You ended it?” Erica asked.

  “Yeah… I kind of had an epiphany that night, after you left the bar… And I had a few more drinks…. Anyway… I realized that I was going about this all wrong. The man who is running my father’s company right now, Jules, is an old family friend who I love and trust. There’s no reason to take it away from him.”

  “So, no urgent need to find a wife,” Erica said with a smirk.

  “Right… And things were okay with Lara but not anything… I don’t know… Special.”

  Chapter 26

  Erica took another drink as she listened to Charlie tell her about her father. She loved the way her sea blue eyes lit up when she spoke about him. The last time they’d met here, seven months ago, Charlie had just lost him.

  “So, you’re not mad at him anymore?” Erica asked.

  “He just wanted what was best for me and he didn’t want me to make the same mistakes he did. And Jules is like a second father to me. I’m happy he’s getting his chance.”

  Erica nodded. “So, what was your life like before everything happened? You weren’t seeing anyone?”

  "Work has always been my life," Charlie said with a sad smile.

  "What do you do?"

  "Real estate."

  "In Manhattan?"

  "Yes. My father started our company and I grew up with him, so I was always going to open houses with him on the weekends... I don't think I ever wanted to do anything else."

  "Are you more into commercial real estate or residential?" Erica asked.

  "Residential. Have you heard anything about Diamond Plaza?"

  "The name sounds familiar."

  "We sold out that building before it was finished. This is what real estate in New York is like now. You've got to be there, ready to sell these apartments before they're even built."

  "How? Just with drawings and mock ups?"

  Charlie nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes we hire someone to do a three-D model of the entire building. We'll find someone to do renderings of the interiors."

  "And people buy apartments like that? Without ever seeing the finished product?"

  "Yes. And we're not talking about three-hundred thousand-dollar apartments here. Nearly everything we sell goes for at least a million, usually more."

  "Wow. High stress job?" Erica asked.

  "Definitely... I'm starting to see where my Dad was coming from when he wrote his will. It can get lonely sometimes... It's easy when you love what you do to just... Get so consumed by it. He wanted me to take a step back and have more than just a good career."

  "He sounds like he was incredibly wise."

  "He was… Can I get you another drink?" Charlie asked.

  "Sure."

  Erica turned around while Charlie ordered, and her eyes easily found Jenny dancing with two women in the middle of the dance floor.

  She was surprised that Jenny had done this. It wasn't like her to interfere, but she was probably sick of seeing Erica moping around for the last few months, wondering what she'd done wrong.

  Who knows how long it would've have taken for them to run into each other again. It might never have happened.

  Erica glanced over at Charlie as she chatted with the bartender while he got their drinks. She was so confident but somehow, she didn't come across as cocky.

  So, she sells million-dollar apartments. That explains the penthouse and the fancy whiskey.

  I think I might be out of my league here.

  Yes, there was a spark between them and she loved being around Charlie, but they were clearly on opposite ends of the spectrum.

  Erica shared a very average apartment with two roommates and Charlie lived in a beautifully designed penthouse. They lived around the corner from each other, but they were worlds apart.

  Maybe that's what Charlie thought when Erica told her that she was a waitress at The Mezz.

  "Here you go," Charlie said, handing her a tumbler as she turned back around.

  "Thanks."

  Charlie wouldn't still be here if she thought that, right? She would have found an excuse to leave.

  "Do you want to move upstairs?" Charlie asked.

  "I didn't know here was an upstairs... Sure," Erica said as they both made their way across the room to a staircase that Erica had never noticed.

  Upstairs
had a completely different vibe. The dance music from downstairs was inaudible and jazz music played on the sound system upstairs. It was like they’d stumbled upon the VIP section.

  “Will we sit over there?” Charlie asked, pointing to a sofa in the far corner of the room, near an electric fireplace.

  “Lead the way,” Erica said, her hand lightly resting on Charlie’s back before they crossed the room.

  Charlie draped her winter coat across the back of the sofa and did the same for Erica.

  Erica sat down first, wondering how close Charlie would sit. She was still having that internal debate that she’d started downstairs, wondering what they were really doing here and how Charlie could be interested in someone like her.

  Erica crossed her legs and angled her body slightly towards Charlie as she sat down. Charlie was just an inch or two away and when she leaned forward to leave down her tumbler, Erica caught a glimpse of her cleavage when her v-neck black dress shifted slightly.

  Erica darted her eyes away. At least Jenny had encouraged her to look her best tonight, blaming it on the fact that they were coming here, to a club that had a certain dress code.

  She felt confident in a black pencil skirt and cream top, glad that she’d put in the extra effort. She would have gone out in black pants or even jeans if they were going to one of their usual bars tonight.

  "So, do you think you'll go back to your old ways?" Erica asked. "All business and no pleasure?"

  "I think I would have been tempted to... If I hadn't bumped into you again... I was ready to throw myself back into work even though I wasn't in charge of the company. Now... I could see myself getting distracted."

  Erica felt her lips tug into a smile. "We should be thanking our friends..."

  "We should... I had no idea that Kevin would do something like this. I mean, he was always encouraging me to go out with him but this..."

  "I was just thinking the same about Jenny. I didn't think she'd get up to something like that... But I'm glad she did."

  "Would you have gotten in touch with me?" Charlie asked her.

  "I don't know... Probably not," Erica said honestly. "I would have thought that you were completely out of my league and you were... you know... In a weird position with needing to get married and everything... I don't think I would have contacted you again. Unless we bumped into each other at The Mezz."

  "Metaphorically, of course," Charlie said with a smile.

  "Of course. I think I did enough damage to your wardrobe that night. Would you?"

  "Would I have got in touch with you?" Charlie asked, and Erica nodded. "Probably... I think I would have gone back to working twelve hours a day and realized that there might be more to life. Then, I would have gone on a few miserable dates... And a few months later, I think I'd have sent you a drunken text in the middle of the night asking for another chance," Charlie said with a sad smile.

  "Really?"

  "Yeah... I really made a mess of the last few months. I think it would have been crazy to tell you what was going on with me that first night we met. I don't know if I could think of a bigger turn off... I would have been like a caveman looking for a woman to drag back to my cave."

  Erica couldn't help laughing out loud. "It would have gotten weird fast," she agreed.

  "But I shouldn't have been so obsessed with fulfilling that stipulation of being married. I should have been able to realize that it was a crazy way to go about things," Charlie said. "I just want to be clear... I have completely forgotten about that. It's honestly the furthest thing from my mind."

  "So, you're looking to date with no intention of marrying?"

  "Right... Well, maybe not 'date' in the general sense... I was kind of hoping that maybe it would be you that I was dating," Charlie said with a smile. "I see what you mean about whiskey being a truth serum," she said with a soft laugh and Erica was glad that she was already sitting down.

  Charlie's smile did something to her and when she laughed, in that gentle way that she did sometimes, Erica felt a sea of butterflies take flight in her stomach.

  Erica met Charlie's blue eyes, wondering how she wanted this night to go. Part of her was warning her to proceed with caution. Charlie was ready to get married two weeks ago. That should be sending Erica running but for some reason it wasn't.

  Erica understood that she was just trying to fulfil the terms of her father's will.

  But what if that had been me? What if I had been Lara?

  What if we'd been dating for five or six months and Charlie had got down on one knee?

  I would have thought that she genuinely loved me and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me. Instead she would have more than likely just been ticking off another box, ready to become the CEO of her father's company.

  And it easily could have been her instead of Lara. That had to count for something, right?

  But Erica wasn't in the mood for analyzing every detail of the situation. Charlie was sitting inches away from her, the desire in her eyes evident, and all Erica wanted to do was lean in and kiss her.

  Before she had a chance to do just that, Charlie's hand moved to cup Erica's cheek as she dipped her head, their lips being drawn together until they met in a soft kiss that left a trail of goosebumps down her arms.

  Erica’s lips parted against hers, forgetting that they were in a bar, just wanting to taste Charlie’s lips again.

  There was just something about Charlie...

  Erica's hand rested on side of Charlie's neck as their lips met again and Erica's mind already started to wander, thinking ahead to later tonight, to falling into bed with Charlie.

  Erica pulled away, her mind reeling at the thought of Charlie seeing her apartment and her tiny room, of Charlie running into her roommate who wasn't exactly the tidiest.

  Erica's cheeks were flushed. She didn't know if it was the kiss or the sudden panic that had just come over her.

  "I'm glad our friends went behind our backs," Charlie said as she leaned back into the sofa, her hand now holding her tumbler instead of lightly caressing Erica's cheek.

  Erica's eyes flickered down to Charlie's lips again, reliving the way they seemed to know just how to kiss Erica, how to make her heart race.

  But how could they see each other if Erica was ashamed of her apartment and ideally would never bring Charlie there?

  Erica thought of the places she'd met Charlie and how different they were to the bars that Jenny and her would normally go to.

  I don't know how this could work. And what about our friends? Mine aren't long out of college. They're musicians, artists, bartenders like me. Charlie's friends are probably millionaires, business people, maybe even celebrities or sports stars.

  "Me too," Erica said with a smile that was slightly forced.

  Was there any point in continuing with this is it wasn't going to go anywhere, when it was more than likely going to end in disaster?

  Then there was their age difference. Charlie didn't even know how much younger Erica was. She wouldn't have said that nine years was a big deal but when you added in all these other things, it just looked like one too many differences.

  Erica was torn. She didn’t want to walk away from this before it even started just because they were different but at the same time, she didn’t think they really had a chance.

  But… She’s stunning and I think I’ve already fallen for her.

  Chapter 27

  Charlie sunk back into the cushions on the sofa, her heart still racing after that kiss. It was like no time had passed, like they’d just picked up where they left off after the first time they met.

  The only thing Charlie was really worried about was whether Erica could take her seriously after finding out that she’d been anxious to get married.

  She’d put it out there, that she was over it now and it wasn’t something that she was concerned about anymore, but she didn’t know if Erica would buy it.

  She probably thought Charlie was a little crazy and s
till thinking about business when she was actually falling for Erica.

  “So how do you know Jenny?” Charlie asked.

  “She’s my roommate and we’ve worked together for years. She was one of the first people I met when I moved here.”