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“Go get ’em, tiger.”
I rolled my eyes, but with that send-off I stood up from the table, buttoned my tux jacket, and made my way over to Charlotte. I found myself wanting it to be okay I was here, that I had intervened. Perhaps even have her happy to see me outside our shared walls.
I felt Charlotte’s energy change as I stepped up to her side. Could she sense when I was near, like I could her?
“Fancy meeting you here,” I said, as I came to rest at her side, leaning one arm on the bar top.
“Jack and Coke, please,” I asked the bartender as they looked at me after dropping off Charlotte’s glass of wine.
“So, Hayden. What’s a guy like you doing in a place like this?”
“I heard about this great cause, supporting the future of independent bookstores, and I wanted to donate.”
Charlotte took a sip of her wine as the bartender returned with my drink. I pulled a twenty out of my wallet, putting it in the tip jar. Charlotte made no move to walk away, so I followed her lead, turning my body toward hers.
Charlotte’s blue eyes locked on mine, and instantly, I felt like she could see all of me.
“So it has nothing at all to do with my fevered meltdown about losing a major donor?” She sipped a glass of her wine while I decided to lay myself bare.
“I knew I could help. I would have paid the $20,000 to you directly to keep you at home, in bed, resting. I hated seeing you like that and just wanted to do what I could to make it go away.”
Charlotte’s jaw dropped slightly as her eyes searched my face, seeming to look for any sign I was full of it.
“Well,” Charlotte said, a look on her face I couldn’t quite decipher. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have gotten the rest I did last week if this problem wasn’t solved, and more than that, you helped my gala to be a huge success.”
The sincerity in her words warmed me from the inside out, not unlike the sip of my drink I took to keep myself from smiling too widely.
“I’ve got to go snag my boss. It’s almost time for her to address everyone. But again, thank you, Hayden.”
She turned to walk away, and I felt an immediate sense of loss. I know it was an outlandish gesture to throw that kind of money at the girl you couldn’t get out of your head—or at least a cause that was incredibly important to her. I’m not sure what I had expected her reaction to be when she found out I was behind the last-minute donation, but this level-headed, sincere thank you made her glow even brighter in my eyes. I threw out the next thing that came into my head, wanting to spark a reaction to me, not to Duncan’s money.
“Save a dance for me?”
She turned back toward me, staying a few feet away.
“Is this Hayden, major donor and CIO of Brandt Investing International, asking? Or Hayden, my roommate, asking?”
“Neither. Well, probably more your roommate. But truly, just Hayden Brandt, asking the most beautiful woman in the room to dance.”
Charlotte’s cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink and I found myself wondering where else that pink bloomed on her body.
“Well, you know where to find me.”
With that, she turned away and continued her path toward her table. I watched her go, her curves wrapped in a deep ruby that contrasted the way the lights overhead shone on her hair, creating a beacon I couldn’t look away from.
Much of the evening wore on before I got to collect on my dance. Being the most senior member of Brandt Investing International at an event like this meant I needed to do some schmoozing, as unnatural as it felt to do so. And it seemed like Charlotte was flitting around talking to everyone and taking care of everything. Everyone wanted to have a moment with the woman responsible for putting together such a fabulous event, and while I would have liked to monopolize her for myself, I was happy to see her receive the accolades she deserved.
Suddenly, the band was announcing the last song for the evening, ending it with something slow. From the other side of the dance floor, Charlotte’s gaze locked with mine and I crooked my finger at her, requesting her presence immediately. She shook her head at my antics but made her way to where I was standing.
“You owe me one dance. Remember, ma’am?”
“I do remember. It’s the only reason I answered to possibly the corniest beckoning move ever.”
“Retire the finger wag to win the ladies over. Noted.”
We looked at each other for a moment, and I moved to take Charlotte’s right hand, wrapping my other hand around her waist. Charlotte’s fingers curled over mine and she placed her left hand on my shoulder, bringing our bodies the closest we had ever been intentionally, if you didn’t count when she was delirious with fever. Something felt right having her in my arms.
“It seems like everything went well tonight?” I said, my eyes trained on her face.
