I frowned. If he missed me so much and wanted to say how sorry he was, he sure had a funny way of showing it. I hadn’t received one phone call or text from him.
Why in the hell am I hiding out here in my place? I’m young, single, and free to date anyone I chose.
“Fuck it!” I said as I jumped up and rushed to my bedroom. “Everyone is so desperate to see me, then they are going to see me.”
I had never changed and put makeup on so fast in my life. Forty minutes later I walked into Tucker’s bar. My eyes widened in shock. It was packed with people. Turning to the left, I spotted my friends. Nash sat between Lily and Terri. Jim was next to Terri and next to him sat someone I didn’t know. It was a woman with dark hair. My heart pounded in my chest. It had to be Noelle. She turned, and sure enough, it was her.
Fucking great. This was a stupid idea.
Turning to get the hell away from this place, I ran into someone.
“Excuse me,” I mumbled.
“Charleston?”
Startled, I took a step back and looked up at a gorgeous guy smiling down at me. His blond hair looked like he had been pushing his fingers through it all night. His bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he gazed down at me. He looked familiar, but damn if I could place him.
“Do we know each other?” I asked, forcing myself to smile politely.
He placed his hand over his heart as if I had wounded him. “I’m hurt you don’t remember me. I must not have left a very good impression. Darrell Adams. Your father and mine were good friends. We played a few rounds of golf together and talked about how we both wanted to sail around the world and leave work behind.”
The memory hit me.
“Oh my gosh! Yes! You had dark hair, though.”
He laughed. “I did. Went for a change.”
“How are you?” I asked. Darrell and I had spent hours on and off the golf course talking about life in general. He was in the same situation as me. He had a father with his own business who was hell bent on the heir apparent taking it over.
“CMI is doing some work for us; I was hoping I’d get to see you.”
My eyes lit up. “Yes, we’re helping y’all redesign your call center. George doing a good job so far?”
“Very much so.” He nodded. “Were you leaving?” he asked, turning to the two guys he had walked in with. “I’ll catch up with y’all in a bit.”
I glanced back over to the table and chewed on my lip.
“Let me guess, ex-boyfriend here with a new girl?”
My head turned back to Darrell and I laughed. “Something like that. Ex owns this bar, we all hung together in college, and it was stupid of me to come here tonight.”
He lifted a brow. “Because of the ex?” Darrell turned in the direction I had been looking.
“Because of the little dark-haired beauty sitting in that large booth at the very end. I think they’re dating now.”
Darrell smiled. “Then let’s go say hi.”
He placed his hand on my lower back and guided me toward my small group of friends. I frantically searched for Tucker but didn’t see him.
“No … honestly, I’d rather just …”
“Charlie!”
My body sank. “Damn,” I whispered as Darrell wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him.
What in the hell was he doing?
“Hey … Terri.”
God, my voice sounded weak and unsure.
All eyes went to Darrell. Terri and Lily gave him a once-over, Nash looked like he wanted to rip off Darrell’s head, Jim showed no emotion, and Blake … Well, Blake looked like he wanted to punch the living shit out of poor Darrell. This guy had no idea what he’d just walked into.
“How are you doing, Lily?” I asked.
Pulling her eyes off Darrell, she forced a smile. “I’m doing okay. You got my message?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
She sat back and stared at Darrell, giving him a look like she wanted him to explode on the spot.
“Who’s this? A new friend of yours?” Nash asked, his voice thick with sarcasm.
I froze, which was so not like me. At all.
When I finally found my voice, I replied, “Darrell Adams, he’s a friend of mine.”
With a huge grin on his face, Darrell reached out his hand to Nash. “Our fathers were good friends. Charlie and I are …” He trailed off and looked at me. “Hanging out.”
I groaned internally. Darrell had made it seem like we were doing more than hanging out. Before I knew it, Darrell shook each person’s hands and introduced himself. Then he got to Noelle.
“I’m Noelle, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I snarled my lip at the way she openly flirted with Darrell. What a bitch.
Lily looked pissed, as did the rest of the table. The only person who seemed happy was Noelle. Lily’s eyes darted to her and then back to me as she spoke in a gruff voice. “It’s not what you think.”
I shrugged. “Not my business.”
“Charlie mentioned y’all would be here tonight, so we just stopped in to say hello. So if you’ll excuse us.”
My eyes widened in shock. Darrell wasn’t messing around.
“Wait, you’re not going to sit here with us? We haven’t seen you in weeks, Charlie,” Terri said, her eyes sad and hurt.
I let my eyes drift over to Noelle. They lingered on her for a few seconds since she was busy typing something out on her phone. Focusing back on Terri, I replied, “Not tonight, table seems crowded already.”
“Nice meeting y’all,” Darrell said and we went to turn. Oh my God, I felt him before I even realized where he was.
As I turned around to join Darrell, there he was.
Gasping, I threw my hand over my chest. “You scared me to death, Tucker.”
Darrell stood taller when he realized this was the ex.
Tucker stared at me with a hard look. “Finally decide to hang out with your friends?”
I lifted my chin. “Actually, I only came over to say hello. Looks like you’ve got a full house at your friends’ table.”
Tucker’s eyes looked past me and to Noelle. His eyes were back on mine and he smirked.
“Jealous?”
Darrell’s fingers pressed into my hip.
“Hardly. You always were the type to jump from one to the next.”
Tucker’s smirk slid off his face. “Same old Charlie. Runs when the shit gets real.”
The smell of booze practically dripped off Tucker.
Darrell cleared his throat. “Okay, I’m not sure what happened between you two, but we’re going to be leaving now.”
Poor Darrell. I really should have warned him what he was getting himself into. Tucker faced him.
“Who are you? The new flunky she tricked into falling for her? Y’all getting married? Dude, you better watch out with this one. She likes to play games.”
“Me?” I shouted, taking a step closer to Tucker. “What about you? You knew from the very beginning, and you never said a word. How long were you going to play me, Tucker? Maybe your intentions were to leave me at the altar. Ultimate payback, right?”
His jaw was locked tight, and I barely understood the words that came from his mouth. “It wasn’t a game.”
“It never was for me either.”
Tucker tossed his head back and laughed. “That’s classic, Charlie. How much time you got left? A month? You pay this guy or something?”
Darrell took a step closer to Tucker. “Listen here. I don’t know what in the fuck is going on, but Charlie is a friend of mine, and I don’t like how you’re talking to her.”
Tucker smiled wide now. Normally his smiles made my lower stomach pull, but this one did the opposite. It frightened me. A look of evil moved into his eyes.
“Friends with benefits. Is that the type of arrangement you got with him? Is that what we had Charlie? Because I thought it was a hell of a lot more than that.”
“Stop it,” I hissed,
glancing around the bar. “You’re drunk and you need to stop now.”
“Why? Truth hurt? Is that all we were, Charlie?”
Burning in the back of my eyes had me blinking fast. I took a step closer to Tucker. “I’m not the one who hooked up with an ex at my father’s funeral.”
His smile dropped, and he looked at Noelle and then back to me. He didn’t say a word at first, which only led me to believe my suspicions were right.
He’s with Noelle.
My heart felt like someone had stabbed me right in the middle of it.
“Think what you want. I don’t care anymore. Enjoy your fake marriage. I hope you get everything you’ve ever wanted, Charlie.”
And with that, he turned and walked off toward his office.
Lily appeared in front of me. “Charlie, you’ve got things all wrong.” Her eyes looked at me, pleading.
I scoffed. “No, for the first time in my life, I think I’m actually thinking clearly. It was good seeing you, Lily.”
Darrell took my cue and guided me away.
“Holy shit Charleston, what was that about?” he asked, his mouth against my ear.
My breaths came fast and shallow.
“I need to get out of here.”
With a nod, Darrell gave a quick chin up to his friends who flashed him a smile that suggested they were happy he was about to hook up.
“Your friends,” I started to say.
“Are fine without me. Come on, let’s go grab some coffee.”
For the first time in weeks, I actually felt myself relax and smile while in Darrell’s presence. We sat at a coffee shop for almost two hours talking. I told him everything. The whole stupid plan to get Tucker to marry me, how I felt about Tucker, and how he knew about the plan from the very beginning. How lost I felt with my father gone. My doubts about my future. And he was equally open with me. He’d just broken off an engagement his parents forced him into, and things weren’t so great on the home front right now.
Looking at my empty coffee cup, I sighed. “I should get home. It’s late.”
“Let me take you home.”
“I drove, but if you want to walk me to my car, I won’t argue.”
Darrell smiled and it made my chest flutter. Not like how it did with Tucker, but in a different way. A nice, comfortable way. A way that said I needed a friend.
We stopped at my car, and I took in a deep breath. “Thanks for tonight and letting me spill my guts to you.”
He laughed. “No worries. That’s some crazy shit with your grandfather.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, it is. So, I guess I’ll be seeing you on the golf course?”
Darrell grinned wider. “I have a better idea. There’s a dinner that my father’s company is hosting. It’s to help raise money to build a school in Africa. It’s really my mother’s passion, but Dad’s sponsoring the trip. I’m sure if your … well …”
He looked away.
“If my parents were here?”
When he glanced back at me, I could see the regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry, that’s what I was going to say. If your parents were here, I know he’d invite them.”
“I already RSVP’d to the invite a few weeks back.”
He quirked a brow. “With a plus-one?”
With a pout, I shook my head, causing him to chuckle again. I was beginning to really like the sound of his laughter. It eased the ache in my chest.
“Go with me? Friends only. I’m honestly not interested in going down the relationship road anytime soon.”
“I’d like that. I think it will make the evening better for both of us.”
Darrell nodded, then leaned down and kissed my cheek. “So do I. I’ll give you a call in a few days. Maybe we can grab coffee again.”
“Sounds good,” I said as I opened the door to my car and slid in. Darrell pushed his hands into his jeans pocket and looked down at me. I couldn’t help but give him a once-over.
Damn, he was nice looking, that was for sure. His body was built, shoulders broad. Nice smile. Good just-fucked hair and eyes that held a certain mystery to them.
I lifted my hand and waved goodbye as I drove off.
Too bad I wasn’t the least bit attracted to him in any way whatsoever.
THE LIGHT POURING into my bedroom caused me to moan.
Shit. My head pounded and my mouth was dry.
Pushing the covers off me, I glanced down to see I was dressed in what I had walked out of my apartment in yesterday morning.
I rubbed the back of my neck and made my way into the bathroom. Mindlessly, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and then stripped out of my clothes. I took a hot shower and wrapped the towel around my waist before making my way to the kitchen. I needed coffee in a serious way. Almost a life-or-death situation, if I was being honest with myself.
As I made my way through the living room, I searched for my phone. Damn it. If I lost it, I’d be pissed at myself.
Glancing up, I came to a stop when I saw her. She leaned against the kitchen island wearing one of my T-shirts.
Oh. Fuck. What did I do?
With a seductive look in her eyes, she asked, “Good morning. How do you feel?”
My eyes swept over the kitchen. Noelle had made a pot of coffee, and it looked like she was about to make eggs.
“Fine. What are you doing here?”
Her head jerked back. “I’m the one who brought your drunk ass home. You couldn’t drive, so I drove your truck here. Took everything out of me to get you in here and to your bedroom.”
The only thing that made me let out the breath I held was the fact that I had woken up fully dressed.
“Where did you sleep?” She caught my eyes sweeping over her body.
“In your guest bedroom. Borrowed one of your shirts, hope you don’t mind.”
I shrugged as though I couldn’t care less. But I did mind. The only woman I wanted to see standing in my kitchen dressed in my clothes was Charlie.
“Thanks for bringing me home, but why didn’t Nash?”
“He and Lily got into some big fight. He left. Said something about not playing second fiddle. No idea what that was about.”
My brows furrowed. I’d suspected something was going on with those two but just hadn’t wanted to admit that my best friend was most likely sleeping with my baby sister. I shuddered thinking about it.
“I don’t care to know.”
Noelle moved and leaned against the other counter. All I could think about was the day Charlie came down in my shirt and we’d come close to fucking.
“Did you have to go to Sedotto today? I was thinking maybe we could spend the day together.”
My head jerked over to her. I moaned as the room spun a little. “Excuse me?”
Her face scrunched up and I wanted to think it looked cute, but I felt nothing toward Noelle anymore. Nothing at all.
“I thought maybe we could hang out.”
“Sorry, Noelle, I’m not interested in … hanging out … or anything else.”
Her smile faded. I caught the look of disappointment in her eyes before I turned and poured myself a cup of the coffee she had made.
After a few awkward minutes in silence, she broke it. “Do you still like her?”
“By her, do you mean Charlie?”
“Yes,” she said softly. I turned and leaned against the counter opposite of her.
“I love her.”
Her eyes dropped, and I couldn’t help but notice how her shoulders sagged. It only took her a heartbeat to look at me again.
“She was with another guy last night. They left together. It looks to me like she’s moved on. You should too.”
A sickness rolled through my body as I thought about it. I needed to talk to Charlie, and not when I was drunk out of my mind.
I pushed off of the counter and held up the coffee mug. “Thank you for making this, bringing me home, and making sure all was good. I’ll get dressed so I can take you back to your car.”
/> Disappointment washed over her face.
“I’ll meet you back out here in a few minutes,” I called over my shoulder.
She nodded. As I walked down the hallway to my bedroom, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Noelle said as I kept walking. I didn’t give two fucks who was at my door. I knew it wasn’t Charlie, so no one else mattered.
As I walked into my bedroom, I heard my phone going off. It was on top of my dresser. A text from Lily.
Lily: Charlie called me. Said she tried to call you this morning. Are you home? She’s headed that way.
Fear instantly hit me. Holy shit.
Racing out of my room, I ran down the hall, through my living room and to the front door.
I sighed when I saw Nash at the door. He looked at Noelle and then to me.
“Are you fucking crazy?” he shouted, pushing past Noelle.
“Nothing happened. She drove me home last night because I was drunk. Since she didn’t have her car, she stayed in the guest room.”
My best friend stood there, his hands balled up in fists.
Leaning in closer to me, he asked, “Are you sure nothing happened?”
“Positive. I woke up fully clothed. Even my boots were still on.”
He looked relieved and then pissed again. “You’re lucky it was me who showed up here this morning. Charlie was on her way over here.”
The rock in my stomach grew heavier. “What the fuck do you mean ‘was’? Why?”
“You called her last night apparently drunk out of your mind, said some crazy shit to her, and then hung up. She’s been trying to call you. Said she was worried. When she mentioned she was going to come to your place to check on you, I got a weird feeling that wasn’t a good idea. I’m sure as shit glad I talked her out of it.”
My entire body relaxed, and I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding in.
“Yeah, me too.”
Noelle came back out into the living room, fully dressed. “I put your T-shirt on the guest bed. You might want to wash it if your … if Charlie will be coming over. It smells like my perfume.”
I made a mental note to throw out the T-shirt, while also noting the hint of a smirk grow at the corners of her mouth. Nash noticed it too.
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