AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What is it?” Lucas asked when he saw me.
“Gian,” Mazzie said from the chair, “what did you do to poor Charlee?”
“Nothing,” he insisted.
“Everything,” I corrected. “He just helped me figure some things out.” I looked at Lucas. “I don’t want to be VP. Or president. I like what I do now. I like helping you here. That’s how I want to spend my days.”
Lucas’s smile meant everything. “I knew that’s what you’d decide.”
“You did? Maybe you could have told me.”
He resumed the session. “Wasn’t my decision,” he said.
Since Mazzie was completely confused, I filled her in. Not long after, her new wrist tattoo, similar in size to mine, was all done and wrapped.
When they left, I ran right to Lucas’s arms. He held me, saying nothing, for a long time. No words were needed. I’d just steered the oars on the boat that was my life in a new direction. I’d been heading toward taking the job but wasn’t even considering it now. This was what I wanted. Right here.
I pulled back, looked into Lucas’s eyes. Or tried to. His focus was completely on my breasts.
“I’m here making life-altering decisions, and you’re thinking about sex.”
“Mmm, I am,” he admitted. “It feels like a fitting way to celebrate. We don’t open for another twenty minutes.”
I was about to tell him we didn’t have a lot of time when Lucas swatted my ass hard enough to elicit an “Ooohhh” from me. “Guess I’m awake now.”
“Oh yeah? Tell me.”
“I’m awake. And wet. And ready for you.”
Unbelievably, it was true. Three seconds ago I wasn’t even thinking about sex. “The things you do to me.”
“Fair play,” he said with such a look on his face. . .
“Oh boy,” I said. “What is it? What do you want?”
Lucas’s smile was both slow and seductive. “You know what I want, Charlee. I want everything.”
“Perfect,” I said, my hands tightening around his shoulders. “That’s exactly what I’m prepared to give you.”
epilogue
LUCAS
“Dad, stop fidgeting.”
“I’m not fidgeting,” my father said. I’d just rung the doorbell to Charlee’s parents’ house—scratch that, mansion—and thought it prudent we wait even though Charlee would tell us to come right in. The military had taught me a lot about protocol, customs and courtesies—things I frankly hadn’t thought much about before serving.
“You are,” I said, though I had to admit, the guy looked sharp. Crazy what a month sober could do to a person. His color looked better. He’d gained a few pounds. Now if only we could sustain this, Dad might actually have a shot at a life that didn’t include being dragged home from the bar after closing time.
“So sorry to keep you waiting,” Charlee’s mom said, opening the door. “Charlee is still getting ready and honestly, I have no idea where her father is. Come in.” She leaned toward me with a kiss on the cheek that still felt as awkward as the first time she did it.
Charlee’s relationship with her mother was as complicated as any child/parent one. She loved her, of course, but there was a part of Charlee that wished her mother had stuck up for her more. Guided her in decisions that, frankly, I didn’t think Mrs. Donovan was capable of making. Her life was filled with golf outings and charity events. How could she have known what was best for her daughter? It had taken Charlee years to figure it out herself.
But she had.
Managing Taughannock Falls, designing part-time at the studio, and being my good, dirty girl took up most of her time. The latter, hopefully, was Charlee’s favorite role. It was certainly mine.
As my dad chatted with Mrs. Donovan, I only had eyes for the stairs. Charlee would be coming down the winding, grand staircase any second. Then, as if I’d summoned her, she appeared. Dressed in jeans and a cream sweater—she knew I loved that color on her—with tall brown boots and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. One I would dearly love to grab a hold of, but that would have to wait.
