Finally

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Sounds perfect,” she said, accepting the money that he pulled out of his pocket and found an empty spot at the bar.

  “I’ll be right with you, Charlie,” T.J.’s father promised her with a smile as he grabbed another bottle of champagne to prepare for the countdown.

  “No rush,” Charlie said, forcing a smile as she stood there, wondering how everything had gone to hell so quickly.

  A week ago, she’d realized how close she was to falling in love with Devin and today…today, all she wanted to do was cry. This wasn’t the right time, she told herself, giving herself the excuse that she needed to pretend that-

  “There you are!” came the enthusiastic greeting from the woman that had been glaring at her all night.

  Nodding, Charlie said, “Here I am,” with a forced smile.

  “We’ve really missed you upstairs,” Kelly said with one of those over-the-top pouts that had Charlie signaling for another drink.

  “I’m sure that you have,” Charlie said, glancing at the clock and noted that there was only fifteen more minutes until she could officially pretend that this year never happened.

  “We really have. It must be difficult to get any work done downstairs,” Kelly said with a pitying look as she absently reached over and plucked a glass of champagne off a passing tray.

  “Why’s that?” Charlie asked, unable to help but wonder what was taking Ben so long.

  Instead of answering her, Kelly asked, “How’s the foot?” with a smile that could only be described as smug as she took a sip of champagne while she took in the small crowd around them.

  “Healed,” Charlie said, deciding to take that smirk as confirmation that she’d kicked her foot on purpose.

  “That’s nice,” Kelly murmured before asking, “And where’s your date?”

  Charlie would have told her that he’d probably gotten distracted by the old pinball game by the coatroom, but at the moment she was busy wondering what Devin was doing here.

  Besides caging her in against the bar, she amended a few seconds later when the incredibly handsome man that had made it crystal clear that nothing was ever going to happen between them, placed his hands on the bar on either side of her and leaned in.

  “What did you mean?” Devin demanded as he leaned in closer so that she could see that he’d shaved as the scent of his aftershave reached her over the scents of cheap perfume, beer, and the sweet scent of the mixed drinks that the bar had been making all night.

  “Where are the kids?” Charlie asked even as she couldn’t help herself and reached up to run her fingertips over his jaw.

  “My cousin’s watching them. Now tell me what you meant when you said that I was breaking your heart,” he demanded as his eyes searched hers for an answer that she really wasn’t in the mood to give him right now.

  “This isn’t the time or the place,” she said, shaking her head as she moved to push his arm away so that she could get out of here before she said something that she would regret.

  “I told you that I’m in love with you and-”

  “And then you immediately followed that up by telling me that nothing was ever going to happen, so drop it,” she said, only to remember too late that they had an audience.

  Ignoring Kelly’s stunned expression because she honestly couldn’t deal with her right now, Charlie ducked beneath Devin’s arm and headed towards the door, deciding that she’d rather risk hypothermia than do this. She barely made it two feet before Devin was taking her hand in his and leading her to the dance floor.

  “Devin, I-”

  “Dance with me,” he said as he pulled her into his arms.

  “I don’t want to dance with you,” Charlie said, moving to step away only to reluctantly stop and let him pull her into his arms when he said, “Please.”

  “I’m sorry,” Devin said as she wrapped her arms around him.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Charlie said as she found herself pulled closer.

  “And I don’t want to hurt you,” he said softly as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

  “Too late,” she mumbled as she closed her eyes and-

  God, she couldn’t do this.

  If he hadn’t said anything, she could have kept pretending that everything was fine. She could have told herself that she didn’t have time for anything more, focused on getting her life together, and pretended that she didn’t want him, that she didn’t find herself thinking about him, and that-

  “Ten!” came the loud cheer that had her realizing that they’d stopped moving as she opened her eyes to find Devin watching her.

  “Nine!”

  “Eight!”

  “I love you, Charlie,” he whispered softly.

  “Seven!”

  “Then don’t do this,” she said as he cupped her face in his hands.

  “Six!”

  “God, you’re beautiful,” came the hoarsely whispered words as he moved closer.

  “Five!”

  “Devin,” she said, putting everything she had into that one word as she watched his expression soften.

  “Four!”

  “Three!” came the loud cheer as his gaze dropped to her lips.

  “Two!”

  He moved closer and-

  “One!”

  “Happy New Year, brat,” came the unexpected words as she found herself pulled away from Devin and into her best friend’s arms. As she wrapped her arms around Ben, she watched as Devin’s expression turned to regret as he turned around and walked away.

  She was still thinking about that look on his face sometime later when she walked into her apartment. She should have taken Ben up on his offer, Charlie thought, only to smile when she spotted the reason that she wanted to come home sitting on her bed, reading a book.

  “Did you miss me?” Dustin asked with a shy smile that was just too damn adorable for words.

  “I really did,” she promised him as she pulled off her coat and dropped it on the chair by the door.

  “We should have a sleepover,” he said with a firm nod, already climbing off her bed to go get his stuff.

  “We really should. Why don’t you go grab a stuffed animal and a book and I’ll make us a special snack?” Charlie said as she headed towards the patio doors, needing a minute to clear her head.

  “Okay!” Dustin said, making her smile as he rushed to go do that.

  Thankful for the small reprieve, Charlie stepped outside and slowly exhaled as the crisp winter air enveloped her as she closed the door behind her. She walked over to the railing and wondered how she was supposed to handle this. As much as she wanted to leave right now and start over somewhere else, she wasn’t ready yet. She also couldn’t do that to Abbi and Dustin. She loved them and there was no way in hell that she would ever be able to walk out on them.

  “I should have kissed you,” came the softly spoken words letting her know that she wasn’t alone, drawing her attention to her right to find Devin sitting on the other deck, staring out into the backyard.

  For a moment, Charlie simply stood there watching him until she’d decided that she’d had enough for one night. She paused by the patio door and said, “Yes, you should have,” before she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

  Closing her eyes, she stood there for a moment, slowly exhaling and-

  “Oh, god, what now?” she muttered pathetically when a knock came from her front door.

  Really hoping that wasn’t Ben checking up on her to make sure that she was okay, Charlie walked over to her front door, opened it, and found herself pulled into Devin’s arms as his mouth closed over hers. She felt her eyes close as he moved his lips against hers, brushing them in teasing strokes, coaxing her to kiss him back as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer so that every inch of her body was pressed against his and she had no idea where he started and she ended.

  He cupped her face in his hands as he took his time kissing her, brushing his lips against hers, teasing her lips
to move against his as he slowly deepened the kiss. As his tongue slid against hers a slow groan was torn from him and-

  “Charlie?”

  -she found herself back inside, trying to catch her breath as the door closed quietly behind her and she…and she…

  “Are you okay?” Dustin asked, hugging the stuffed dinosaur that she gave him for Christmas against his chest as he stared up at her.

  “I think so?” Charlie said, not really sure why that came out as a question.

  Chapter 24

  “Good morning, Daddy,” came the sweetly spoken words that met Devin when he opened his bedroom door.

  “Good morning, baby. Where’s your brother?” he asked absently as he glanced at Dustin’s closed bedroom door, hoping that his son was in Charlie’s room so that he had the excuse that he needed to see her, which was probably why he missed the devious smile that would have normally terrified him.

  “I made you breakfast, Daddy,” Abbi said as she reached over and took his hand in hers.

  “You did?” Devin asked, unable to help but smile as she led him downstairs.

  “Uh-huh,” she said, nodding as they made their way through the living room towards their play table where a plate and what appeared to be a homemade menu waited.

  “What’s this?” he asked, picking up the menu that appeared to have all his favorites listed.

  “Your menu so that you can order what you want for breakfast,” Abbi said as she picked up a small notebook and a red crayon.

  “I see,” he said, feeling his lips twitch as he sat down, more than willing to spend some time with his baby girl playing restaurant this morning. “Is Dustin and Charlie joining us?” Devin asked as he glanced back at Charlie’s door.

  He’d been tempted, more than fucking tempted, to visit Charlie in the middle of the night and lure her away so that they could finish that kiss. He’d made it halfway down the stairs before he’d realized that he was already fucking this up.

  In his defense, he didn’t have much experience when it came to women. Besides the obvious, that was. He’d never had to put much effort into dating because he honestly hadn’t fucking cared if a woman said yes. He’d never been interested in anything more than just sex simply because he hadn’t been looking for anything more. Even Heather had been nothing more than a fuck buddy. Neither one of them had been interested in anything more than sex and even after two years, he never saw her as anything more than just a good friend, but Charlie…

  He wanted so much more with her.

  He couldn’t rush this, not if he wanted to make this work, and he was damn well going to make this work. That meant doing this right, he reminded himself when his baby girl cleared her throat, reminding him that she was waiting.

  “What would you like?” Abbi said with her crayon pressed against the notepad, ready to take his order.

  “I’ll start with coffee,” he said, only to frown when she winced.

  “I’m sorry, but we don’t have coffee this morning.”

  “How about orange juice?” he asked, moving onto the next item on the menu.

  “Yeah, no, umm, I’m afraid we ran out of orange juice an hour ago,” she murmured with an apologetic smile.

  “Apple juice?”

  “We’re out of that, too.”

  “Chocolate milk?”

  “I can get an ice-cold glass of water for you,” she offered with a hopeful smile.

  “Perfect,” he said, moving onto the breakfast menu. “How are the pancakes?”

  “They’re delicious,” Abbi said with an approving nod as she started writing down his order.

  “Great. I’ll take an order of pancakes and-”

  “We’re out,” she said with a sympathetic wince that had his eyes narrowing.

  “You’re out of pancakes?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Abbi said with a sad shake of her head.

  “French toast?”

  “Nope.”

  “Eggs?”

  “Yeah, umm, it might be better if we discussed the cereal menu,” she said, gesturing to the bottom of the page.

  “Fine. I’ll have-”

  “We’re out of that, too,” she said, cutting him off before he could finish.

  “Then what do you have?” Devin asked only to get ignored when the worst waitress that he’d ever had mumbled, “I’ll be right back,” as she walked over to greet Charlie and Dustin as they walked into the living room.

  “Welcome to Abbi’s Diner,” she said with a warm smile that he couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t get. “How many are in your party?”

  “Two,” Charlie said with a warm smile for Abbi as Devin sat there, waiting for her to look at him and-

  God, he was fucking pathetic.

  “Right this way. I have a table with a lovely view of the garden that I think you’ll enjoy,” Abbi said as she gestured towards the woman that barely spared him a glance to follow her to the kitchen.

  With a mumbled, “I’ll be right back,” to him, Abbi headed into the kitchen to show them to their seats, leaving him sitting there, debating his next move.

  Maybe he should run out and get her flowers, Devin thought as he absently drummed his fingertips against the table as he waited for Abbi to come back. He should see if his mother could babysit, Devin decided. He pulled out his phone and started to text his mother only to rethink the move since his mother would only end up wondering why he needed a babysitter on a Friday night.

  Hoping that Jane was available, Devin texted the college kid that lived down the street to see if she was available this Friday. A few minutes later, Devin was trying to decide where he should bring Charlie when he realized that his baby girl hadn’t come back yet. Wondering if she’d grown bored playing restaurant, Devin headed for the kitchen and-

  “Oh, my god…” he choked out when he opened the kitchen door.

  “I’m sorry, but you can’t be in here. This is a private event,” Abbi said with a pitying look as she dropped the muffin that she’d been nibbling on back on her plate and walked over to usher Devin out of the kitchen.

  “You said there were no pancakes,” he bit out as he took in the platter of pancakes, French toast, eggs, hash browns, bacon, and all the other shit the little traitor said they were out of.

  “I’m really sorry about this,” Abbi said, sending an apologetic smile to Charlie and Dustin as they helped themselves to all the delicious food that he’d been denied.

  “No need to apologize,” Charlie said, waving it off as he stood there, watching as his son took the last piece of bacon and-

  “That’s it,” Devin said, shaking his head in disgust as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m leaving a bad review for this place.”

  “Would you like to speak with the manager?” Abbi asked with a put-out sigh that he did not appreciate, not one fucking bit!

  “Yes, yes, I would like to speak with the manager,” he said, opening up Facebook only to end up glaring at the little traitor when she said, “I’m sorry, but he’s not here right now. I can take a message if you’d like to speak with him later.”

  Feeling his right eye twitch, Devin narrowed his eyes on his baby girl one last time before focusing on Facebook and-

  “What the hell?” he demanded, shaking his head in disbelief as he clicked on the post that Charlie tagged him in.

  She’d fucking review-blocked his ass!

  “You gave her a five-star review?” Devin demanded as he leveled an accusing glare at the woman that should have taken his side on this.

  “Of course,” Charlie said as she took a sip of chocolate milk, the same fucking chocolate milk that he’d been told that they were out of.

  Another chime drew his attention back down to his phone and-

  “You put in your review to ignore my review because I’m too damn demanding?” he snapped.

  “I mean, you really didn’t leave me with much of a choice,” Charlie said with a sad shake of her head as she helped herself t
o another pancake.

  Narrowing his eyes on the woman that he loved more than anything, Devin shoved his phone back in his pocket, stormed over to the table, snatched the muffin that Abbi abandoned before he stole Charlie’s plate and the bacon off Dustin’s plate before he turned around and stormed off as he bit out, “This is the worst service I have ever had!”

  Chapter 25

  “Why is Daddy glaring at you?”

  “Because he wishes he was as cool as we are,” Charlie said with a sad shake of her head, not bothering to look up from the marketing book that she was reading on her phone.

  “That does make sense,” Dustin said as he selected another book off the coffee table before settling back next to her.

  “Doesn’t it, though?” she murmured absently as she tapped the screen so that she could see what time it was.

  She should really get to bed early, but she wanted to give the man that had been glaring at her all day a chance to ask her out. It was the considerate thing to do after all, Charlie thought as she risked a glance towards the other end of the couch to find Devin sitting there, seething with rage. Not that she could blame him…

  “Can we do a movie day tomorrow?” Abbi asked as she grabbed a book off the large stack that Charlie kept on the coffee table and climbed onto the couch next to her brother.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. I can’t tomorrow. I have to get up early and go to a convention,” Charlie said, wishing that she’d splurged for a hotel room since she really wasn’t looking forward to the two-hour drive in the morning.

  “What about tomorrow night? We could camp out in the living room and watch movies,” Dustin said.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie, but I have plans tomorrow night,” she said, only to add, “We could have a movie day this weekend and maybe play outside?”