The Carol Wyatt Collection

by Carol Wyatt

  When the taxi pulled up outside, Charlie wondered if she was crazy for coming here. She took the elevator up to Erica’s floor and knocked firmly on her door.

  She was about to turn and leave, thinking no one was home, when the door opened, and Charlie saw Jenny standing there in a hoodie and sweatpants.

  “Hi… Is Erica home?”

  “No. She went home for Christmas. She didn’t tell you?” Jenny asked, leaning against the door.

  “She did… But I think she broke up with me…”

  Charlie felt like she was watching someone else’s life happening. This couldn’t possibly be her own. She’d been so happy these last few weeks.

  “What?” Jenny asked, her jaw dropping slightly.

  “Yeah…”

  “Come in,” Jenny said, stepping aside to let her pass.

  “I think I’ll go crazy if I don’t talk to her. She’s not answering her phone.”

  “Do you want the address to her parent’s place? She’ll be there for at least a week. That’s a long time to wait.”

  “Would you?”

  “She’ll probably kill me when she gets back but I think you guys are good together,” Jenny said as Charlie followed her inside. “She’s so worried about all of these external factors: money, work, social circles… And she’s not even a worrier.”

  Charlie took her phone out of her bag and brought up the maps app, handing Jenny her phone so that she could type in the address.

  “Thank you,” Charlie said as Jenny entered in the address. “I know this is crazy, but I can’t wait until she comes back.”

  “You should get going. There’s supposed to be at least half a foot of snow before midnight.”

  “I will… Thank you,” Charlie said, wrapping her arm around Jenny to give her a quick hug. “Merry Christmas.”

  “You too,” Jenny said as she walked her to the door. “Good luck,” Jenny called after her.

  Chapter 47

  Erica poured her and her sister, Kelly, a glass of wine while her mother finished making dessert.

  She was finally starting to relax and forget about the scene she’d witnessed in Charlie’s office.

  She believed Charlie, that it was Lara who’d kissed her, but it just brought all of Erica’s fears and insecurities back.

  We’re just too different.

  “Here you go,” Erica said, handing Kelly her glass.

  The snow was piling up and there was already five or six inches covering the ground. Erica was glad that she came home early. It was nice to be back and inside in front of the warm fire.

  Erica sat down next to Kelly and took a sip of wine. She wished she had more time with her family. She wasn’t as far away from home as Kelly was but her busy schedule meant that it was hard to get away for more than a day or two.

  Kelly had just listened to Erica tell her all about Charlie, from the beginning, and Erica already felt so much better. She needed to talk to someone.

  The doorbell rang, taking Erica away from her thoughts.

  “I’ll get it,” Kelly said.

  Erica got up to put another log on the fire, wondering who it could be at the door. Maybe one of the neighbors were stopping by with a present for her parents.

  When Erica finished stoking up the fire, she turned to sit down again but she stopped in her tracks. There was Charlie standing in front of her, in her parent’s living room.

  Erica was speechless. She didn’t know how to feel. She wasn’t angry. If she was honest with herself, she was happy to see Charlie and she knew that she shouldn’t be.

  “I couldn’t wait until you got back to New York,” Charlie said, standing at the edge of the living room in her winter coat, her hair slightly damp from the snowflakes that had melted into her blond locks.

  “How did you find me?”

  “Jenny.”

  Erica nodded. She wanted to take a drink, but she knew that her hand would shake if she brought her glass up to her lips and she didn’t want Charlie to see how emotional she was.

  Charlie crossed the room to stand beside her, in front of the fire, and Erica turned to face her.

  “I’ve been so scared of screwing this up,” Charlie said, meeting Erica’s eyes. “You know… After the whole marriage thing… I should have let you know that I was serious sooner… But I guess, I didn’t want to scare you off, for you to think that this was all about me getting control of my company… I know we moved kind of fast, but it had nothing to do with that.”

  Erica willed herself to hold Charlie’s gaze. She could see Charlie’s eyes tearing up as she finished.

  “I’m just mad about you,” Charlie said softly.

  “It’s not that easy,” Erica said, her voice wavering slightly.

  “You’re right to be worried about our age difference… Our living situations, careers… All of it. I’m not naïve. I just don’t think it’s a reason to quit on us before we’ve even started.”

  Erica felt a smile tugging at her lips. “This is something that I’d never thought I’d see…”

  “What?”

  “You asking me to give this a chance… When I first met you, I thought I’d be the one begging you to give me a chance. The young waitress with roommates and no career prospects.”

  Charlie smiled back at her. “Where did all this pressure come from? No one’s proposing… We’re just dating… Or we were, anyway.”

  Erica nodded. “We were.”

  “Let’s keep going as we were. No pressure. See where this goes and accept that we’re different. That doesn’t mean that it can’t work.”

  Erica sighed softly as she took a step closer to Charlie. “Okay.”

  “Okay? We’re giving this another shot?”

  “Yes… You’re very persuasive,” Erica said with a smile.

  Charlie reached up to lightly caress Erica’s cheek as she leaned in to find her lips in a gentle kiss that sent a shiver down Erica’s spine.

  “This is crazy,” Erica said when they broke the kiss.

  “What is?”

  “You being here, in my house.”

  “I can leave… I just had to see you. I know you wanted to spend Christmas with your parents.”

  “How did you get here?” Erica asked.

  “Taxi.”

  “From New York?” Erica asked in disbelief. She couldn’t imagine how much that must have cost. “Come meet my parents,” Erica said, reaching for Charlie’s hand. “We’ll figure out the rest later.”

  Chapter 48

  Charlie glanced over at Erica as they drove back to the city. She looked relaxed, her fingers tapping the steering wheel in time with the music on the radio.

  They were on their way back to New York to hopefully be in time for dinner with her mother.

  Charlie was ready to head back last night but Erica’s family insisted that she stay. She met Erica’s sister, Kelly, and got to know her parents. It was a surreal day and not at all how she had imagined it would go.

  And now Erica was going to be spending the rest of Christmas day with Charlie and her mother.

  Charlie was still a little anxious about their future. She never thought she’d have to plead with a woman like that to give her another chance. There was never anyone who she’d cared about that much.

  Jules would be coming over for dinner too. He’d always spent Christmas day with Charlie and her dad. Jules’s wife had died almost fifteen years ago, and he didn’t have any children.

  Even though her father was gone, this Christmas was shaping up to be one of the best that Charlie had ever had, and she had to put it all down to Erica.

  “So, what did you think of my family?” Erica asked as they got closer to the city. “Too normal?”

  “They’re lovely and I like that they’re normal. You’re lucky to have them… I have no idea if my mother can cook by the way. I mean, she made me a curry the other night that was nice, but I don’t know how she’ll do with Christmas dinner for four.”

  “I
’m sure it’ll be fine. You don’t remember her cooking when you were younger?” Erica asked.

  “No… My dad liked to cook so I assume he would have spent more time in the kitchen than she did, but I don’t really remember.”

  “Today has already been amazing,” Erica said, reaching for Charlie’s hand to give it a gentle squeeze, “No matter what happens this evening.”

  “It really has been,” Charlie said, smiling over at her.

  The snow had stopped overnight but everywhere was blanketed in snow, covering the trees, and creating a beautiful, picturesque backdrop for their journey back to the city.

  Chapter 49

  Erica laughed as Jules finished another story about Charlie getting up to some mischief as a child in the office. She glanced over at her, surprised that her cheeks weren’t bright red.

  They’d had a lovely dinner and Erica was happy to see Charlie and her mother getting along so well. She could see their interactions becoming warmer, their conversations becoming more personal.

  Jules was also a sweet guy and Erica wished that she’d had a chance to get to know Charlie’s father. Yes, she’d seen him at The Mezz dozens of times, but they’d never spoken, and she could see how much he was missed this year.

  She hoped Charlie was having as good a night as she was. Erica was surprised how easily she fit in considering that she hadn’t been invited and had hardly spoken to Charlie’s mother before today.

  Erica watched Jules get up to get another bottle of wine and Charlie’s mother, Marianne, followed him into the kitchen.

  “Are you okay?” Charlie asked her, leaning in so that they weren’t overheard.

  “Yes. Are you? You’re getting a pretty good roasting tonight,” Erica said with a smirk.

  “I’m used to it. Jules loves trying to embarrass me, but I’ve heard all those stories before. My mother probably hadn’t though…”

  “She seems happy.”

  “She does,” Charlie said as she took a sip of whiskey from her tumbler. “Are you? I know you planned on spending the rest of today with your family.”

  “I’m having a great time,” Erica said, her hand lightly covering Charlie’s. “You’re mom’s great. So is Jules. You’re really lucky,” she said with a warm smile as they came back into the room.

  Erica felt lucky too. She knew they would face some challenges but so do every other couple. She’d almost thrown it all away because she didn’t want to get hurt. She didn’t want to put herself in a vulnerable situation, but she was starting to realize that it was a necessary risk.

  She was crazy about Charlie and she’d take her chances. Erica felt like today might have been a glimpse into her future.

  Epilogue

  Three Years Later

  Erica stood back and admired her work. She’d moved in with Charlie in February and they’d talked about doing up her rooftop terrace but so far, they hadn’t gotten around to it.

  Erica hadn’t done too much with it, but she wanted it to have a bit of atmosphere tonight. She had soft jazz music playing and fairy lights draped all along the perimeter.

  She found some lanterns when she went shopping today and had them dotted around the seating area. The rooftop looked lived in now.

  It was mild spring evening and the sun had just set. Erica wished she had a jacket, but she knew she was probably shivering more from nerves than the chilly air.

  Charlie should be home any minute now, unless of course she got delayed. Erica had left a note to meet her up here when she got in.

  She had a bottle of white wine chilled and although she’d said that she wouldn’t have any until Charlie arrived, Erica couldn’t wait any longer. She poured herself a glass and took a seat on the gray sofa, waiting for Charlie to get home.

  *****

  Charlie turned her key in the door and thought she heard music drifting through her apartment, although she didn’t know where it was coming from.

  Maybe it’s one of the neighbors?

  Charlie left her bag down on the couch and went to pour herself a glass of whiskey when she noticed a note left on the coffee table.

  She picked it up and was intrigued. Erica said to meet her upstairs on the rooftop terrace.

  When Charlie got outside, she was amazed by what Erica had done with the place. It looked so different from how she left it when she went to bed two nights ago, after having a night cap out here with Jules.

  The lights and candles made the terrace seem so cozy and welcoming and there was Erica, sitting on the sofa, relaxing with a glass of wine.

  Sometimes, Charlie still had to pinch herself. This was her life, and Erica was still in it. Charlie hadn’t screwed things up and they overcame the obstacles that both of them had thought might end their relationship before it even started.

  “Hey babe,” Charlie said as she took a seat next to Erica. “I like what you’ve done,” she said, looking around the terrace again. “It’s beautiful.”

  Erica leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips as she reached for an empty glass and poured out some wine for her.

  “I hope you don’t mind that I went ahead and got a few things,” Erica said as she watched Charlie take a drink.

  “Not at all. It looks amazing.”

  “How was your day?”

  “It was okay, stressful at times. I had a meeting with a difficult buyer. He can’t understand why no one’s bidding on his apartment but we’ve been telling him all along that it’s over priced… But other than that, it was okay. How was yours?”

  “Good. I played for a while up here when I finished my shift. When I had the lights up and everything, I don’t know… I kind of felt inspired.”

  “I can see why.”

  “Do you feel like dancing?” Erica asked as she took a sip of wine.

  “Sure. As long as I can take off my heels,” Charlie said as she stood up, reaching for Erica’s hand as she kicked off her shoes.

  Charlie took the lead, with Erica draping her left arm over Charlie’s shoulder, as they swayed to the music.

  Charlie closed her eyes, feeling her lips move into a smile. She wondered how she got this lucky.

  She opened her eyes again as she felt Erica slip from her arms a few minutes later. She looked down to see Erica kneeling in front of her, reaching for something in the pocket of her jeans.

  Charlie’s heart skipped a beat when Erica held out a ring, a beautiful diamond ring that was simple yet elegant.

  “Charlie… I know we’ve never really talked about this since, but I know this is what I want, and I think you want it to… You might just be a little apprehensive, you know… Since this nearly ended things before they even started… Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I love you, Charlie. I’ve been happier than I’ve ever been in the last three years. I hope you have been too… Will you marry me, Charlie?”

  A tear escaped down Charlie’s cheek before she could get her lips to form words. She saw a flash of fear cross Erica’s face and Charlie wanted to banish those worries as quickly as possible.

  “Yes,” Charlie said, her voice full of emotion. “Yes.”

  “Really?” Erica asked as she stood up.

  “Yes,” Charlie answered, a huge smile on her face.

  Erica tore her eyes away from Charlie’s as she slid the ring onto her left hand. Charlie wiped away another tear as she put her arms around Erica.

  “I hope this isn’t too soon,” Erica said as they held each other.

  “No. Not at all,” Charlie said as she pulled away, glancing down at the ring again. “I’ve wanted this for a long time… But you’re right. I didn’t know when the right time would be, considering how things went at the start. I’m so glad that you asked me… This is right,” Charlie said, her voice cracking.

  “It is.”

  Erica’s smile was contagious and the two of them stood there in the middle of the rooftop terrace, back in each other’s arms again, swaying to the music, ready to start their lives together.


  Reckless Love

  by Carol Wyatt

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