The Husband Maker Boxed Set

by White, Karey

  “If you’re sure.”

  “I am.”

  I’d never been to Cashmere before, had never even entertained the thought of eating there. It was the kind of place the wealthy went to be seen and people like us went to propose or to celebrate a huge promotion. The place was wasted on an evening like ours, and it became even clearer what Charlotte was trying to accomplish tonight. I should have found an excuse to cancel. This wasn’t fair to her.

  I thought I might be underdressed, but when we arrived, I saw a few others in khakis and button-down shirts so I wasn’t out of place. And Charles fit in just fine. She may not have looked quite as made up as some of the other women in the restaurant, but she was definitely the prettiest.

  Charlotte’s eyes grew large when she opened the menu, but she recovered quickly. “Get whatever you want.”

  I ordered a chicken salad. There was one other meal that cost less, but I didn’t want to make it obvious that I was trying to go cheap. A waiter delivered a steak to the next table that made my mouth water, but no way was I going to let Chuck spend as much on dinner as I’d spend on gas all the way to Missouri.

  Chuck ordered an appetizer because “she wasn’t all that hungry and wanted to save room for dessert.”

  I had to admit my chicken salad was good. There was some kind of spice on the meat that I didn’t recognize, but I wished I could have seconds.

  I interrupted when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert. I know Charles. She likes dessert, but I didn’t want her to blow her next week’s food budget on a credit card-sized piece of cheesecake. “Hey, you treated me to dinner. Let’s go to Marigold’s. I’ll treat you to the chocolate chip cookie pie.”

  One word about that pie and Charlotte’s stubborn streak was tamed. “Mmm, that does sound good.” She turned to the waiter. “I think we’re finished. Thank you.”

  He bowed as he stepped away from the table, and Charlotte smiled at me. Why did she have to be so cute?

  Marigold’s was much more comfortable, and Chuck was in a good mood. It probably had something to do with the pie. Up until now we’d been actively avoiding the reason for our dinner, but now Charles wanted to know everything.

  “What’s a hip fellowship, anyway?”

  “It means I’ll be getting some focused experience working with hips. By the time I’m finished, I’ll be a specialist, so other orthopedists will consult with me when they have a patient having problems with their hips.”

  We took a few bites of dessert. “Are you nervous?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “I guess a little. But mostly I’m excited. There’s finally an end in sight.”

  “Four years sounds like a lot to me. Sorry, that wasn’t a very encouraging thing to say.”

  “I get it. But after nine years, four doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “I guess it’s all about perspective.”

  A toddler in the booth behind Charlotte was throwing a temper tantrum. He cried and kicked the back of Charlotte’s seat. He got more and more upset until finally, the father put him over his shoulder and carried him outside. The mom put a few bills on the table and followed him, stopping at our table.

  “I’m so sorry about that.”

  Charles waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. Even throwing a fit, he’s adorable.” She had always been good at making people feel more comfortable.

  A few years ago, I had a professor whose wife had multiple sclerosis and he’d offered extra credit to any student who ran an MS 5K. Never being one to let an extra credit opportunity pass me by, of course I entered the race. Chuck had offered to run it with me to keep me company. Right after we crossed the finish line, when she was hot and winded and bent over, propping herself up on her knees, some guy had come up to her.

  “Hi, Charlotte.”

  She’d looked up at him, sideways. “Pete. How’s it going?”

  “Good.” He’d shuffled his feet and barely lifted his eyes from the ground. “Listen, sorry I was such a jerk. I should have called you to let you know where things stood.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “It was a lousy thing to do. Liz said she wanted to give us another chance, and I just... I don’t know. I should have told you.”

  “Pete. Really, it’s not a big deal. We weren’t going to happen anyway, so you probably did us both a favor. No hard feelings.”

  Pete looked like he’d been cured of a terminal illness. He finally lifted his eyes to look at Chuck. “Well, it’s good to see you.”

  “You, too.”

  “I’m glad I saw you today. I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time.”

  “Well now you have, so go be happy and don’t worry about me.”

  “Thanks, Charlotte. Take care.”

  “Bye, Pete.”

  “I thought you liked him,” I said when he was gone.

  “I did.”

  “So what was that?”

  “It’s over. There’s no need for him to beat himself up over it for the next ten years.”

  I felt a little twinge of guilt that I’d been so hard on Charles the last few months. She may have let me down, but she was a great person. I’d seen her kindness many times over the years.

  Our dessert was gone but we didn’t immediately get up to leave. Charles slid her plate to the end of the table, clasped her hands, and leaned forward. “Angus, I want you to know I’m sorry.”

  I turned my fork over and over on the table, trying not to make eye contact. “For what?”

  “For a lot of things. I’m sorry I set you up with Aleena. I thought I was doing a good thing, but I wasn’t. I didn’t mean for it to be hard for either of you.”

  I nodded, and she continued. “I’m sorry about the way I handled everything after my birthday. I wish I could go back and do things differently, but I can’t.”

  “Don’t feel bad. Things happen for a reason.” She sighed and leaned back against the booth. It was hard for me not to think about all the times we’d sat in a similar booth at Luigi’s, helping each other through the ups and downs of dating. “You’ll be okay, Chuck.”

  She bit the side of her mouth. “You think?”

  “Don’t feel bad that I’m leaving. This is a good thing.”

  “Maybe for you.”

  “For both of us. It will make it easier for us to move on and find the right thing.” I ignored the frustrated look that passed over Charlotte’s face. “You were a good friend, Chuck.”

  Charlotte’s shoulders stiffened. “Why are you saying that in past tense? It’s like one of us is dying or something.”

  I smiled but she didn’t smile back. “Not dying. Just leaving.”

  “I don’t want you to talk in past tense.” She looked like she might start crying and I knew that would be a disaster. I always get protective when Chuck cries, and how could I protect her from me?

  “Okay.” I wouldn’t upset her, even though tonight would soon be over and everything about us would become past tense.

  “Let’s go,” she said. I could tell she was flustered.

  We walked around the corner to my car. Chuck’s arms were folded tightly, like she was trying to ward off a chill even though it wasn’t cold.

  I couldn’t find a parking place on Charlotte’s street and I wasn’t about to drop her off and wave goodbye when this was it. The end. Sure, we’d see each other again, but I knew our circumstances would probably be much different then. Chuck would probably be married by the time I moved back. If I moved back. Maybe I would be, too. I parked the car and we walked slowly back to her door.

  “Thanks for dinner, Chuck. I thought I’d die before I ever ate at Cashmere.”

  “Sure.”

  Charles looked nervous. I wasn’t sure what else to say, so I lifted my hand to wave goodbye. The next thing I knew, Charlotte’s arms were around me. I loosely hugged her back. “Be safe,” she said into my shoulder.

  “I will.” Her hair smelled good and I took a deep breath.

  Char
lotte was the first to pull back, and I felt a moment of relief. And then her hands were on my jaws and her lips were pressed against mine. I stiffened. I don’t know why I hadn’t seen this coming. She kissed me twice and then a third time, soft gentle kisses that ate away at my resolve.

  “Don’t, Chuck.” I took a small step back, but she didn’t let go. She held me there with her hands, shaking her head, which only made it so her lips brushed over mine several times, softly at first and then a little more insistent.

  If she was trying to wear me down, it was working. Boy was it working.

  I wrapped one arm around her waist and buried the other hand under her hair at her neck and kissed her back, hungry for everything I’d wanted with her. Rational thoughts tried to get through to my brain. “This is a mistake.” “What are you doing?” “This won’t help you get her out of your system.” “She’s going to level you again.” I shoved them aside and allowed myself to be lost in Charlotte. Lost in her kiss, the way her hair felt on the back of my hand, the feel of her hands on my face and her body in my arms. For a few minutes, I forgot about all the times she’d cut me off at the knees. I forgot about the ache I had felt every time she started dating someone new instead of me. I ignored the memory of her turning her back on me and fleeing to Scotland.

  But no matter how much I wanted to stay lost in the moment, I couldn’t ignore the warning voices that were clamoring in my head, refusing to be silenced. I took a slow step back. Charlotte was a fire too dangerous to play with. Whether she’d meant to or not, she’d burned me too many times. I’d barely started to put myself back together. I couldn’t let it happen again. What if I let her in and she left me the way she’d left Kyle and Braveheart?

  “I’ve got to go.”

  Charlotte nodded.

  “I hope someday you find someone who’s perfect for you, Chuck.”

  She looked like I’d slapped her, and I felt horrible. I couldn’t stand the look of disappointment in her eyes, so I turned and walked away.

  “I already have,” she whispered.

  I groaned as I walked to my car. With each step I picked up a piece of the wall I’d just allowed Charlotte to demolish, and carefully began rebuilding it. It didn’t matter how much I loved her. It didn’t matter how many times she said she was sorry.

  Monday couldn’t come fast enough. I needed to be on the interstate heading east, driving toward safety, going somewhere far away, where my heart could heal and where Charlotte didn’t have the power to destroy me.

  Charlotte

  Angus was gone and even though I had only seen him a few times since my return from Scotland, I still felt the loss. It was like the argon had been removed from the atmosphere. Nothing looked different, but everything felt different.

  I knew Angus’s apartment in Kansas City was small but nicer than he’d expected and that it had a swimming pool he probably wouldn’t have time to use. I knew he’d met some of the people he’d be working with and that he didn’t know if he could get used to the heat and humidity.

  I wished I knew these things because he’d told me, but all my information had come from Will, who told the family at a Labor Day barbecue.

  “Does he sound happy?” I asked Will as I dished up potato salad.

  “Yeah. He’s busy but he sounds good.” Will jostled me with his elbow. “Call him, Charles. Or send him an email.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t think he wants to hear from me.”

  “Of course he wants to hear from you. Stop being dramatic and get in touch with him.”

  It was easy for Will to say that Angus would want to hear from me. He didn’t know about the monumental brushoff Angus had given me. Every time I thought about that night, I wanted a do-over. Things had been good. We’d finally put the awkwardness behind us and Angus had talked to me like we were friends again. And then I’d ruined it. It didn’t matter that he’d kissed me back. What mattered was that he’d never felt further from me when he left. I wanted to go back and hug Angus goodbye and then walk into my apartment with my head held high. If I’d done that, I wouldn’t have to cringe at the memory. I wouldn’t feel so awkward about making a “friendly” phone call or sending a “friendly” text. It felt like that kiss had lit the “friend” ship on fire and shoved it out to burn at sea.

  I needed someone to talk to, someone who would let me talk and vent and figure things out. It needed to be someone who wouldn’t feel guilty about my situation (Jayne), someone who wasn’t best friends with Angus (Will and probably the rest of my family), and someone I hadn’t hurt (Aleena and Angus and probably Flynn). I was with my family, people who cared about me and loved me, but I’d never felt so isolated. I could talk to Mia, but I refused to rain on her long-awaited parade.

  I smiled and joined in the conversation, but the only time I forgot about my loneliness was when I played with Emily and held Simon while he slept.

  Mom hugged me tightly when I left, and I knew she could tell I wasn’t okay, but didn’t know how to help me. That made it worse. When you think your mother finds your situation hopeless, what have you got left?

  Tears flowed as I pulled onto the freeway. I cried all the way home and was glad Mia wasn’t there when I arrived. I brushed my teeth and went to bed so I wouldn’t risk having to talk to her or Graham. As I lay in bed, I pictured Scarlett O’Hara sitting on the steps, tears in her eyes. I fell asleep to the words, “After all, tomorrow is another day.” I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

  It had been nearly three months since I’d talked to Aleena. I was starting to think the damage I’d done to our friendship was irreparable, but I was determined to try one more time before I gave up. Somehow I needed to see her face to face.

  I felt like Veronica Mars as I watched the door to Aleena’s building. I’d been there more than twenty minutes when a man walked out with a twitchy Chihuahua and headed north. I hurried to the door and caught it before it closed, narrowly escaping a couple of smashed fingers. Once inside the building, I rode the elevator up to the third floor and sat cross-legged against the wall outside her door and waited.

  I sat there nearly an hour before the doors to the elevator at the end of the hall opened and Aleena stepped off. When she saw me, she took a step backward and put her hand up to keep the door from closing. I was afraid she might get back on and leave.

  I scrambled to my feet and looked at her, my eyes pleading her to stay and talk to me. She held the door until it started beeping and she had to make a choice. Finally, a look of resignation crossed her face and she walked toward me.

  I spoke first. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” She brushed past me and unlocked her door. I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to follow her, uninvited, into her apartment, but I didn’t want her to go in and leave me out in the hall either.

  She walked inside and I stood there while the door swung closed in front of me. It clicked shut and I waited, wondering if this meant she wanted me to leave. I was about to knock when the door opened wide. “Well, get in here if you’re coming.”

  I quickly stepped inside.

  “Hi.” It was difficult to keep my voice from quivering.

  “Yeah. You said that.”

  “Aleena, can we please talk?”

  She sighed and her voice changed from cross to sad. “I let you in, didn’t I? Come in and sit down.”

  I sat on her purple, crushed velvet couch. Aleena sat in the farthest chair. I didn’t know if that was intentional or not, but it made me even more nervous. When it became clear that she wasn’t going to start the conversation, I finally spoke.

  “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

  Aleena sat with perfect posture, her hands in her lap, her face unreadable. “You really didn’t know he was in love with you?”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Do you love him?”

  I nodded.

  Aleena sighed. “I don’t mean like a friend. I mean are you in love with him?”

&n
bsp; “I am. But I didn’t know that either.”

  Aleena smiled a sad smile, and her shoulders relaxed a little. “For a girl who’s dated as much as you have, you’re not very perceptive.”

  I was so relieved to see her smile, even if it didn’t look happy. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, Charlotte. You were right. He’s amazing. He’s such a good guy that I fell for him in spite of everything.”

  I was confused. “In spite of what?”

  “I could tell you two had a thing. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but... I don’t know.” I wanted to ask her what she meant, but I didn’t want to upset her, so I stayed quiet. Then she continued. “He was always talking about you.”

  “He was?”

  Aleena rolled her eyes. “I mean, I get it. You’re good friends, but enough about Chuck already.”

  I felt a little thrill at the thought of Angus talking about me, but then I remembered things had changed, and right now it didn’t matter how much he’d said about me then.

  “And then there was that time when we were at your brother’s and you were watching Emily and you got all weird when I kissed him, and even though he’d been fine kissing me other times, he seemed embarrassed that you’d seen it.” She sighed. “And there were other things, too, but I tried to ignore them.”

  “I was so clueless. I knew things were awkward sometimes, but I didn’t understand why.”

  Aleena laughed a little. “You really are ridiculous. I’ve always had to point out the obvious to you.”

  “Yeah. I guess I am.”

  “You know what they say. ‘It’s a foolish, foolish girl who refuses to see what’s right in front of her.’”

  “Who says that?”

  Aleena shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sure someone has said it. Maybe it was Confucius.”

  I shook my head. “Aleena, please forgive me. I don’t know how I can survive without your made up proverbs and fortunes.”

  Aleena smiled. “I forgive you. I was just so disappointed. But I guess I should be glad at least one of us can have him.”