Cinderella Wore Tennis Shoes: A Novella

by Holly Jacobs

  He felt Charlie stir. She looked at him and smiled before she snuggled closer. “Good morning,” she whispered against his chest.

  “Good morning.” What a stupid thing to say. Get out of my bed, out of my life. That’s what he should have said.

  “Would you like some breakfast?” came her muffled question.

  “Are you cooking?” No. That’s what he should have said.

  Why weren’t the proper words coming out?

  “Not yet, but I could be.” Her grin assured him that Charlie wasn’t talking about food.

  Deliberately he misunderstood. “I like my eggs over easy.”

  “How about your women? I’d go over reeeaaalll,” she drew out the word, “easy.”

  “Charlie, we need to talk.” There, that was better, he thought for a split second before he witnessed Charlie’s smile slip a notch. Dan felt the overwhelming urge to grab her and wrap her in his arms and keep her from being hurt, but he didn’t. He couldn’t because he was going to be the one hurting her. He knew that.

  Last night he should have let her leave. Oh, she was hurt, but today, when he spelled things out, she was bound to be even more hurt. And he was the one to cause her that pain.

  The thought was killing him.

  “Okay, so we talk,” she said softly.

  “Not now,” he said, a complete coward. “Later. Right now, I’ll shower while you cook. Then after breakfast you can go back to your place and get ready for work and I’ll clean up breakfast dishes.”

  “Can we ride together today?”

  She expected him to say no, Dan could see it in her eyes, and he wanted to say no, to keep as much distance between them as possible. But, looking in those eyes, at that sad, expectant smile, he found himself shrugging and saying, “Sure.”

  Charlie shot him an assessing look.

  What did she see when she studied him like that?

  Whatever she saw was enough. She whipped back the sheets and stood, looking more glorious in her lack of apparel than she had in her wedding finery that first day. Dan wanted nothing more than to pull her back into bed and keep her there for the rest of the day.

  Who was he kidding? He wanted to keep her there the rest of the week. But, though he might be feeling more like a frog than a prince, he wasn’t toadish enough to keep leading her on.

  It was time for the clock to strike midnight and for Cinderella to leave the ball.

  Yes, he’d drive her to work this one last time. There wouldn’t be a next time. Today was going to be her last day at work, her last day caring about him. One way or another, Dan would see to it.

  “Men.” The word sounded more like a curse as Charlie muttered it.

  “I hope you mean man, specifically Dan, not men in general. I don’t think I want to be included in whatever thoughts you’re thinking.” Con stood in the doorway, smiling.

  “Sorry.” She peered up from dusty files that were stacked in front of her on the floor. “I should have said, Dan.”

  “That’s better.” He entered the small storage closet and leaned against a filing cabinet. “So this is where he’s hidden you away today?”

  “I’ve finished reorganizing his office files and have been banished to the dungeons, organizing old files.” She blew dust off the top file. “As you can see, there’s an urgent need to have them organized. It’s obvious how often you need them.”

  “So, what have you done now to make Dan banish you?”

  “Slept with him.” Charlie felt warmth steal into her cheeks. “I mean . . .” She searched for something to say. “Oh, darn. I mean I slept with him and now he apparently can’t stand the sight of me.”

  “Dan’s a complicated man.”

  “Dan’s a . . . man—period.” She flipped through the pile in her lap and placed the dusty file in the appropriate space.

  J for Jenson and for jerk.

  “Ah, you’re back to condemning the entire gender.” Con looked more amused than insulted.

  Despite her annoyance, Charlie couldn’t help but feel some of her ire slip. “I realize it’s not the gender’s fault that Dan’s a man. It’s that pesky Y chromosome. A friend has a theory. Women have two nice, sturdy X chromosomes. But, men, with that unbalanced Y, they just don’t have a leg to stand on.”

  “So, your Prince Charming is tilting off his pedestal?”

  “Not just tilting, he’s fallen.”

  Charlie grabbed the next file. Robertson. R for rat.

  “Maybe it’s better that he falls now and you wake up to the fact he’s human.”

  “Believe me, I realize his humanness all too well.”

  Stanley. S for stupid to believe there was ever a chance for her and Dan.

  She slammed it into place. “There’s a lot of time for reflection, down here in the dungeon.”

  “Charlotte—”

  “Charlie,” she snapped.

  She might be practically banished to the bowels of Imperial Shipping, but she still wasn’t going back to her old life. She was Charlie Eaton. She might be down—she glanced around the dusty storeroom—really down, but she wasn’t going to be Charlotte ever again.

  “Charlie.” Con crouched, his startling blue eyes holding her gaze. “Dan’s complicated. Believe it or not, I’ve never seen a woman affect him the way you do.”

  “So you’re saying he doesn’t lock all his dates in the dungeon?”

  “I’m saying I’ve never seen a woman really reach Dan. I’ve never seen anyone ever reach Dan. We’re friends, we’re partners, and yet he’s always distant. I know he’d do anything for me, but—”

  “Yeah, I know. Dan’s heart is as big as the walls he’s built around it.”

  Con nodded. “That’s about it.”

  “So what do I do? He’s keeping me at arm’s length. I think he’s already regretting last night.”

  “Are you?” Con asked.

  “Am I what?”

  “Regretting last night?” He paused. “Or are you just using him to salvage your ego? Or is he your rebound fling? Take your pick.”

  “No to all of them. I love him, Con.” There. Now she’d said the words out loud. Somehow, saying she loved Dan made the proclamation more real.

  “I love him,” she said again. “I know it’s too soon and I know that loving Daniel Martin isn’t easy, but there it is.”

  “So why are you down here hiding?” he asked.

  “I was banished, remember?”

  “Last I checked, I was a partner in this business. I’m officially unbanishing you.” He held out his hand.

  “Thank you, kind sir.” Charlie tossed the files onto the floor and took Con’s extended hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

  “Now what?”

  “You might want to go wash up.” Con brushed a finger down her cheek. “You look more like a chimney sweep than a . . .”

  Charlie laughed at his hesitation. “If you figure out just what my job description is, let me know, because I don’t have a clue either.”

  “Go wash up, Charlie. Your prince is waiting, even if he doesn’t know it.”

  Charlie kissed Con’s cheek and smiled at the dusty imprint she left. Now if only she could find a way to imprint herself on Dan’s heart as easily.

  “My place or yours?” Unable to come up with a plan, Charlie decided to simply ignore the fact that Dan was avoiding her. Even after she’d emerged from the hole he’d sentenced her to, he’d simply grunted and left her to Molly’s devices.

  He might be able to hide away from her in his office from nine to five, but there was no way he could escape as they sat in his truck. Of course, even though he couldn’t escape, she hadn’t been able to pull more than monosyllabic responses out of him the entire drive home, so as they pulled into his driveway, she made a desperate move.

 
“Pardon?” he asked.

  Two syllables! She was getting to him. Charlie forced a smile. “Your place or mine?”

  Dan turned the key in the ignition, unbuckled, and turned to face her. “This is what I was afraid of.”

  “What are you afraid of, Dan? I’ve been asking myself that question since you turned to ice this morning.”

  “Charlie, we said last night that we were two adults coming together for mutual pleasure.”

  “And I think we can safely say we accomplished that.” Remembering Dan’s arms around her, Charlie wasn’t sure that she’d never felt such pleasure. “I’d just like to know where we’re going to accomplish it again tonight.”

  “We’re not.” There was finality in his voice, and it cut at her heart.

  “But—”

  “Charlie.” He reached across the seat as if he was going to take her hand, but abruptly pulled back, as if touching her would burn. “Nothing serious can come of this. I’d be more than happy to seek that mutual pleasure again tonight, but we both know that’s not how you see it. You’re looking for a fairy-tale ending. Well, look close, Princess. I’m no prince.

  “I’m a selfish man who likes his life just the way it is. Quiet, uncomplicated. I like my office that way too. Yet since the moment you climbed into my cab, there’s been nothing quiet or uncomplicated about any aspect of my life. I don’t want to be your grand experiment. This frog isn’t looking for some magic fairy-tale kiss that will turn him into a prince. He’s happy being a frog. He revels in being a frog.”

  “You know, Dan,” Charlie whispered, “I just figured out why you’re generally so quiet.” She waited for him to respond but didn’t really expect him to. Dan’s outburst probably used up a full month’s worth of words.

  When his only response was indeed silence, Charlie continued, “You save all those words up until the pressure gets too great and then spew them all over the place. And like tiny lances, they stab and cut and leave the recipient bleeding in their wake.”

  “Charlie, this isn’t going to work.”

  “Who asked you to be my charming prince?” she asked, anger replacing her pain. “Let me assure you it would take a better woman than me to make you charming. You don’t really like your solitude—you’re just a coward. You’re more comfortable in that quiet place where no one can hurt you because no one can touch you. You’re afraid, Dan.”

  “And you?” he shot back. “You think you’re in love, then decide you’re not and leave one man at the altar. Then you realize you’re alone and scared. Right away you have to replace him. You’re so desperate that you’ll settle for whoever is handy. I don’t want anyone settling for me.”

  “You don’t want anyone, period,” she shot back.

  “You can say that again,” he muttered.

  “And the saddest thing is that though you don’t think you want anyone, it’s the one thing you crave the most.”

  Dan’s gray eyes were stone-cold as he pinned Charlie in his gaze. “Run away again, Cinderella. The clock’s struck midnight. You keep trying to make me Prince Charming but I’m just a frog. No amount of kissing is going to change that.”

  “I think you’re mixing your fairy tales,” she whispered. Such an inane thing to say, but it was better than throwing herself at his feet and pleading with him to let her stay. It was better than embarrassing herself by proclaiming a love that was aching to be set free. Saying inane things was better than letting him hear the sound of her heart breaking.

  “Run along, Cinderella. You’re not going to find your Prince Charming here.”

  “If I go, I’m not coming back.” Charlie made the promise more to herself than to Dan.

  “Good. We both know you should never have been here in the first place.”

  “Good-bye, Dan. I never wanted a prince. I just wanted you.” I love you, she added silently as she climbed from the truck and started up the stairs to Doug’s apartment. It was time to go. Dan was right, she didn’t belong here.

  Charlie really didn’t know if she belonged anywhere. And at the moment, she didn’t really care.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Homeless again. Charlie parked her Blazer at the dock. She climbed to the observation deck. She stared across the bay to the peninsula. She watched the sun slowly sink behind it and tried not to think, but couldn’t quite manage it.

  Daniel Martin.

  It was as if his name were branded on her very soul. How had it happened so fast?

  She’d been with Winslow so much longer, and yet he’d never truly touched her. But Dan, a man of few words, spoke to her as clearly as if she’d known him all her life. If he were a different kind of man, she wouldn’t be sitting here. She’d be in his bed, in his arms right now.

  But if he were a different sort of man, she wouldn’t love him.

  And, oh, how she loved him.

  She was homeless and jobless again, but that didn’t bother her at all. Being without Dan did more than bother her, it left a hole in the center of her being, a hole that she’d never be able to repair.

  The sun sank behind the peninsula, turning the sky a brilliant pink, but it didn’t soothe her like it normally would. Erie’s beautiful sunsets could generally settle her most unsettled moments. But the sheer beauty of nature’s evening show didn’t even stir her heart. All she was left with was an overwhelming urge to cry.

  What was she going to do?

  Maybe she’d move to New York. Goodness knows there were enough museums there. She was bound to find a job. And with all those people, she could lose herself in the crowd and never be seen or heard from again.

  New York.

  The idea had as much merit as any.

  She’d move somewhere away from her mother, away from her almost-husband, and away from the man she’d never stop loving.

  She’d start over.

  It wasn’t much of a plan, but as the evening sky grew darker, she hung on to it. Not much of a plan was better than no plan at all.

  “Is this a private party?”

  She whirled around and looked up. “Con? How did you find me?”

  He sank to the ground next to her. “I called your house.”

  “You talked to Harriet?”

  “Well, I talked to her, until she hung up,” he said. “So then I went to her place.”

  “You’re a brave, brave man.” Charlie could just imagine Harriet’s reaction to Con and eyed him suspiciously. “You charmed her, didn’t you?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe just a little.”

  “Is there any woman you can’t sweet-talk?”

  He smiled meaningfully at her. “Only you, sweetheart, only you.”

  She sighed and stared at the good-looking man sitting next to her. No walls with Con. He was gorgeous, open, and accessible, unlike Dan, the unreachable. “It might be easier if I’d fallen for you.”

  “No. Truth is, I’m not the settle-down type. And Charlie, the settle-down type is what you need.”

  “That’s what Dan says too, he’s not ready to commit to any woman. What is it with you guys?”

  “Ah, but Dan just thinks he’s not the type, while I’m sure I’m not. I’ve always thought that one day Dan would find the perfect woman. A woman who could hear past the silences. A woman who could see over the walls he’s built and find the real man.”

  “Well, it’s not me.” Saying it out loud hurt, but it was time to face the truth—she wasn’t the woman who would reach Dan Martin. And she loved him enough to hope someday he found that woman.

  “He cares about you, Charlie.”

  She snorted.

  “He’s spent a lifetime pushing people away. He doesn’t know how to do anything else.”

  “I guess when you’ve mastered a skill it’s hard not to use it.” She stared across the bay. It was dark enough that she could see headl
ights flash on the peninsula.

  “And if he really cared about me, he wouldn’t have let me go.” Even Winslow, who she was sure didn’t love her, had come after her. Dan hadn’t and he wouldn’t.

  “So that’s it? You’re just going to give up?” There was censure in Con’s tone.

  “What else would you have me do?”

  Con stared at her.

  “Don’t look at me that way.” She’d tried and she’d failed. She’d grown up and didn’t believe in fairy tales anymore. There would be no happily-ever-after to this particular story.

  “Come home with me,” Con said, out of the blue.

  “What?”

  “Not like that,” Con said with a laugh. “Do you have any place else to go?”

  “I was thinking about getting a hotel room.”

  “Or you can come back with me.” Before she could protest, he added, “And you can wipe that look of horror off your face. I have a guest room.”

  “You hardly know me.” Who was she kidding? She hardly knew herself. Since that fight with Winslow before her wedding she’d been changing, meeting Dan had just hurried the process, and now she was someone she didn’t even recognize.

  “And what I do know of you, I like, but what really matters is Dan cares about you. That says enough for me.”

  “I don’t know.” Con was a part of Dan’s life, his partner and his friend. She was trying to extricate herself from Dan. Going home with Con would only prolong the process.

  “It’s better than a hotel room,” Con pointed out.

  “Why are you doing this?” she whispered.

  “Because I plan to convince you to try again with Dan.”

  “Oh, no.” She stalked back across the observation deck.

  She wasn’t going to open herself up to another rejection just because Con Estoban thought she might be able to convince Dan to . . . just what did Con hope to prove?

  He grabbed her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. He gently turned her around. “Charlie, just show up, jump his bones, and while you’re jumping, jump that wall he’s built around himself. Once you’re over it, I think you’ll find he’ll thank you for it.”