by Olivia Miles
“You can just tell that sitter of yours that I’ll take over,” she said as she bent down to pick up a rag doll that Audrey had dropped on the floor. Charlotte didn’t have the heart to tell her it was a fruitless exercise. Audrey loved to throw that toy on the ground more than she enjoyed cuddling with it.
“I’d love to do just that, but I’m afraid she’d find another client and I’ll be needing her again come the first of the year.”
She frowned. Even after what had transpired between her and Greg, there was no denying the fact that she needed to find her own place to live soon.
“Just because you have a fake engagement doesn’t mean you can’t have a real marriage,” Marlene teased, and Charlotte gave a hearty laugh to show just how ridiculous that joke was, but her cheeks flushed with heat at the thought. Marlene had tapped in on her one secret wish. A dream she hadn’t even dared to admit to herself.
All this time she’d been happy enough on her own. Even convinced herself she was better off on her own. But now…now it would be hard to leave all this behind. And not just the house.
Would she ever have it again? And did Greg even want it?
The doorbell chimed, and Charlotte sighed. “That’s probably my cousin Bree,” she explained to Marlene. “She wanted to get a feel for the space before she commits to a vase. She’s a florist,” she explained, and then hesitated. “Well, she took over her grandmother’s flower shop.”
Marlene nodded. “I’ll make some coffee.”
Charlotte had mostly lost the taste for it after having Audrey, but she knew Bree would appreciate it. She smoothed her hair as she walked to the door and pulled it open. Bree stared at her with round eyes. “Here, I thought a butler would answer, not the lady of the manor!” She laughed, and after a beat Charlotte did, too.
Bree wasn’t here to make trouble. Bree was here to help. Really, she needed to settle down and stop reading into every little thing, looking for problems that might not even be there.
“How does it look?”
Bree said nothing as she walked around the hall and into the adjacent living room, where Charlotte explained that the majority of the party would be taking place. Both rooms were huge and spacious, and with the furniture cleared out could easily accommodate the guests.
Bree frowned as she walked over to the tree. “Are these ornaments—”
“Frost originals,” Charlotte said quickly, omitting the fact that she’d shattered half of them.
“My grandmother had this one! I found it in the attic the other day.” Bree shook her head. “I just realized that I don’t even have a tree this year. What does that say about me?”
“You can still put one up,” Charlotte said.
“But why bother?” Bree frowned. “A tree just for me?”
Charlotte understood. Last year in Boston, she hadn’t bothered. She couldn’t have afforded one, and she hadn’t wanted any reminders of all the joy and happiness she was missing. But this year…She looked around the room. This year was so different.
“Everyone will be back for Christmas,” Charlotte said, thinking of her parents. “We always have fun.”
“I know. It’s just…sometimes I’m tired of being the single girl,” Bree admitted, and to Charlotte’s horror, her eyes filled with tears. “I can’t help it. I want what Kate has. What Elizabeth has. Don’t you?”
Charlotte considered this for a moment. Not long ago she would have stood firm, said she was fine on her own, that it was better this way. But was it better? Forget having someone there to help with midnight feedings or splitting the bills. What about sharing memories, holidays, keeping special moments alive forever? She’d tried to tell herself she’d be fine. Audrey would be fine. That they weren’t missing out on anything at all. But she couldn’t deny that wish anymore. She swallowed hard, and nodded. “I do. Of course I do.”
* * *
After Bree left, Charlotte did another sweep of the front hall, envisioning where the bar table would go, and then paused to adjust the heavy garland that was wrapped around the banister. Outside, a crew was finishing attaching thousands of lights to the large stone house and the bare branches of the dozens of trees that lined the long stretch from the road. At the gate, two large wreaths had been hung by thick velvet ribbons, the very same that now anchored the front door from which guests would enter.
There were still so many more little details to attend to, and she should just continue to plow through her list—and she would—if she didn’t have to keep stopping, and thinking, and smiling…It seemed no sooner did she finish a task and allow her focus to break than her mind was wandering, and all at once, Greg’s lips were on hers, his hands skimming over her waist, touching her in a way she thought no man ever would again.
The doorbell chimed loudly, jarring her from her thoughts. Charlotte set down her notebook and quickened her pace to the door before the bell rang again. She needed Audrey to sleep for at least another hour so she could get a few last-minute things accomplished. The party was only three days away. It was a flat-out miracle she had even pulled together what she had in such a short period of time.
God, wouldn’t Kate be impressed!
Unlocking the door and pulling it open, Charlotte was expecting to see one of the crew working on the lighting, but instead she came eye to eye with a tall blonde with ice-blue eyes.
“Oh,” she said. She could feel her brow knit even as she mustered a pleasant smile. “Can I help you?”
The woman brought a hand up to a large diamond earring and stared at Charlotte stonily. “I’m Rebecca,” she said coolly. “Greg’s fiancée.”
Charlotte felt her breath hitch. She knew it wasn’t true. The relationship was over; Greg had told her so with no uncertainty. He wouldn’t have lied…
Her heart began to pound when she considered the possibility of breaking up another engagement, of sleeping with another engaged man, falling for his charms. She pressed a hand to her stomach, thinking of Kate and the hurt she had caused her. The selfish, foolish act that had turned all their lives upside down.
But no, this was different. Rebecca was not wearing the ring. Greg had said it was over. And she believed him.
“Greg’s at work,” she replied evenly. She hadn’t gotten this far in life by being intimidated by rich women like Rebecca. She wouldn’t be stopped now.
“Are you the new help?” Rebecca asked with a delicate tip of her head, and Charlotte balled a fist to keep from reacting. “I don’t remember seeing you here before.”
“I’m…a friend of Greg’s, actually,” Charlotte replied. She hesitated, wondering why she hadn’t just explained that she was the event planner.
Because she no longer saw herself in that role, did she? She’d crossed a line. The one she’d drawn for herself.
Uncertainty began to gnaw at her. Greg was charming and smooth, and he made her feel special. Wasn’t that how it always was? A flirtation, a few gifts, a few amazing nights, and then…
Rebecca’s eyes narrowed slightly as she gave Charlotte more notice. She swept her eyes casually over Charlotte, no doubt calculating the worth of Charlotte’s clothes, and then rested her gaze on her hand.
“Greg had mentioned he had a new…friend.” Rebecca swept past her and into the hall, glancing around. She unbuttoned her camel cashmere coat and flung it on a nearby chair. Her neck was draped with a triple rope of pearls. She was taller than Charlotte, and the black pencil skirt she wore brought a curl to Charlotte’s lip. Thinner, too.
Wait. She’d spoken with Greg?
“I didn’t realize you two were still in touch.”
“I just saw him yesterday,” Rebecca replied.
Charlotte froze. There was nothing she could say to that without looking like a bigger fool. Heat warmed her cheeks as she stood facing the other woman. Greg had said he was going to Boston for a business meeting. And she’d believed him.
Charlotte glanced around the room, at the piles of paperwork she still needed to go
through, the orders she needed to confirm, the invoices she needed to process. The living room, where the bulk of the party would take place, was in a state of disarray. Stacks of boxes filled with decorations waited to be opened. Extra seating was being brought in, and the front half of the massive room would be cleared out for the buffet table.
The deadline was pressing in on her, the enormity of the task she had taken on. Up until now, she felt she had a handle on it, but standing here, listening to this woman, she felt shaken and weary. Just this morning, her future had never felt so bright. But now, the heavyhearted feeling of dread was taking over, reminding her of all she stood to lose. And this time, it was more than she had gambled on.
Greg was never supposed to be part of the mix. This was supposed to be an opportunity to provide security, not uncertainty. She had Audrey to think about. First and foremost. Always.
“As you can see, we’re in the middle of planning a party, and it’s not the best time,” Charlotte said firmly. “If you’d like to speak with Greg, he’s at his office.”
Rebecca cocked her head and plucked a leather glove from her hand, finger by finger. “Actually, I think I’m learning all I need to know by talking with you.” She paused, holding the gloves in her hand, absentmindedly slapping them against her palm until Charlotte’s teeth were set on edge. She hooked her gaze on Charlotte. “He mentioned his new friend.” She pursed her lips. “And here I thought he was making you up as some…excuse.”
She looked sharply away, and all at once Charlotte saw herself in the woman. As icy and cold as she may be, Charlotte recognized heartache when she saw it. And she could imagine that losing a man like Greg would be very hard to accept.
From the monitor on the table, she heard the rustling of fabric. She hoped Audrey was just stirring, that she would find her way back to a nice, deep sleep, but she knew it was useless. A soft whimper followed by a small cry pierced the silence. So much for getting much more done today. Though it was a convenient excuse to end this conversation.
Rebecca was looking at her in alarm, her gray eyes wide. “What’s that sound?”
“It’s my daughter, and I really must tend to her,” Charlotte explained, walking toward the stairs.
“Your daughter?” Rebecca repeated, and Charlotte paused.
“Yes, my daughter.” After a beat, she added, “Why?”
The expression of shock had not yet left Rebecca’s face. She blinked twice and then, inexplicably, threw her head back in laughter.
Rebecca was still chuckling as she reached for her coat. She shrugged it on and, setting a hand on Charlotte’s arm, said, “Enjoy it while it lasts. I might not know Greg as well as I thought these days, but I know one thing with him stands the test of time.”
“And what’s that?” Charlotte asked, pulling her arm free and folding her arms protectively against her chest.
Rebecca’s heels clicked across the polished floorboards as she swayed to the door. She gripped the handle and whirled around, nailing Charlotte with a hundred-watt smile. “The man hates kids!” she said gaily, and with one last chuckle, slammed the door closed behind her.
Charlotte stood in the massive foyer, frozen to the spot. Her daughter’s cries filled the room, as if she, too, were aching from those harsh words, begging to know how anyone could deny her. How yet another man could struggle to find a place for her in his heart.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Twenty minutes after leaving the office, Greg could still feel the painful knots in his shoulders and upper back. He reached a hand behind his back and tried to rub out the tension, but it was no use. He was wound up, his mind still at work as he drove back to Misty Point on autopilot. Gripping the steering wheel with both hands, he maneuvered the car over a hill and down around a bend, noticing the ice that had gathered on the guardrail. He preferred the scenic route, even if the highway was sometimes faster. It usually calmed his nerves, grounded him. But not today.
It was already Wednesday, and Burke’s would be making their decision Monday. Saturday night’s event was the last chance Greg had to impress them, and the tension was especially high today. The proposal was in their hands, and the meetings were behind them, but the party could sway them in one direction or the other if they were on the fence. And Greg was starting to suspect they were.
His mind trailed to Charlotte as he neared the last few turns into the town of Misty Point. He’d been so focused on the job today, he hadn’t allowed himself to even think about last night, but now as he pulled up to the house, he realized he couldn’t wait to kiss her again.
Charlotte was disarming, with that magnetic smile and those bright green eyes. She was easy to talk to in a way that Rebecca and the host of women before her hadn’t been. She wasn’t about pretense or show.
She’d charm the pants off the Burke’s team, he decided with a grin. She’d managed to win him over, hadn’t she?
By the time Greg pulled up the long drive, under the arched glow of twinkling lights wrapped with precision around every branch and tree trunk, he was already feeling more relaxed. Hurrying to the door, he turned the key and let himself in. But as his eyes scanned the foyer and fell to the heap of Charlotte’s things at the base of the stairs, his grin faded.
“What’s this?” he asked Charlotte as she appeared in the doorway of the living room. That giant car seat was dangling from her arm. Audrey was already strapped in, sound asleep and tucked under a pale pink blanket.
“I’m leaving.” She looked at him flatly, but the words were a punch to the gut.
He stepped toward her, but she held up a hand.
“Rebecca stopped by today.”
Rebecca. Greg opened his mouth and closed it shut. He should have known she might stop by. Rebecca was used to having her way, and she hadn’t reacted well when he told her their breakup was for the best. They weren’t right for each other. He knew that now.
“If she upset you, I’m sorry. But you don’t have to leave,” Greg said. He pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call her. She shouldn’t have come here. It’s over with us. I told you that.”
Charlotte folded her arms across her chest, and Greg realized with an uneasy stir that she was wearing her coat. Had he caught her just before she’d slipped out? Or had she been waiting for him to get home?
“This was a mistake, Greg,” Charlotte said.
Now wait a minute. “Are you talking about our arrangement?”
Her look turned withering, and…wonderful. He’d messed up again.
“I should have known that’s all you care about.”
“It’s not all I care about,” he said firmly. He took a step toward her, but she took one back. He stopped. “I care…I care about you.”
And he did. More than he wanted to. More than he cared to admit. She was a single mother with a baby. She loved Christmas. She was everything he wasn’t, and God help him, he loved that about her.
Charlotte looked away. “We agreed to play a part, and we should have kept it that way. I don’t know you at all, Greg. And you don’t know me, either.”
Now here Greg disagreed. “This isn’t a fake relationship to me anymore, Charlotte. My feelings for you are real. You’re the first person I’ve ever been myself around. The first person who cared to know the real me. You saw me as more than the heir to Frost Greeting Cards.”
She pinched her lips, shaking her head. But there was hesitation in her eyes. He clung to it.
“No,” she said. “No. You’re passing through town, looking for a little fun, and I was convenient. Once this ruse is over, you and I will be over.”
He hadn’t wanted to think that far ahead. Now he did. And he didn’t like the empty future he saw. “I’m not like the men who hurt you before.”
Charlotte was shaking her head. “You belong with a woman in your circle. A woman who doesn’t need too much. A woman who is fine with a surface-level relationship and doesn’t need anything more. You obviously saw something in Rebecca, and s
he and I couldn’t be more different.”
“Don’t I know it!” he nearly shouted. He stepped toward her, but she stiffened. “I broke up with her for a reason. I’m with you now because—”
“With me?” Charlotte’s eyes were wide. “We’re pretending, Greg. We got caught up in…playing house.”
“You’re overthinking this,” he countered. “We’re two people who spent time together and who realized we had a true connection.” He tipped his head, locking his gaze with hers, searching for understanding. “Didn’t you feel something?”
She lifted her chin at that. “I liked who I was in your eyes. But I’m not that person any more than you’re the person I thought you were. Don’t you see? We fell for our own sham.”
“You’re exactly the person I think you are, Charlotte,” he said softly.
She snorted and slid her eyes to his. “You think I’m someone you’re not. You think I’m this great mother? I can’t even buy my kid a Christmas gift. You think I’m some great cook? I usually eat crackers or toast for dinner,” she added. “You wonder why I’m staying here and not with my sister? Because I stole her fiancé from her. I got pregnant, and the guy bailed on me. I broke my sister’s heart. That’s the person I am. And you know why I did it? Because I wanted to feel important. Just once, I wanted to feel special.”
“I don’t believe that,” he said. There was more to it; he could sense the hesitation in her eyes.
“Look,” she said. “You needed me to help you get this business deal. I needed you so I could make things up to my sister. That’s all this was.”
“There’s more to it now.”
She was shaking her head. “All of this…it wasn’t supposed to go this far.” A single tear rolled down her cheek and she pushed it away. “This became about me, and it was never supposed to. This was about my sister. Helping her out. About proving to her that I’m not the screwup she thinks I am.”
“You’re not a screwup,” he said softly. He didn’t care about her past or where she had been, what she had done. The woman standing before him was honest, real, and loyal. “You’re special to me. You are exactly the person I think you are, Charlotte,” he repeated, more certain this time. “You’re passionate, and kind, and caring.”