Charlotte
I heard my mother on the phone with Talon, and it just made me cry harder. How could I even explain to my parents what happened? I wasn’t even sure what happened. One minute, I felt warm and loved, and the next, I was so upset I could barely breathe.
I headed over to my parents’ hotel, even though I probably shouldn’t have been driving in such a state. They welcomed me with open arms, but it hadn’t done anything to calm my shredded nerves.
My mother walked over to where I sat on the couch. “Talon says he’s coming over to talk to you.”
“No,” I said through my tears. “I don’t want to talk to him. Please don’t let him in when he shows up.”
“Honey, what is going on?” my mom asked. “I asked Talon, but he seemed completely confused by the whole thing. Did he do something to you? Did he hit you?”
I shook my head fervently. “No, of course not. Nothing like that. And really, he didn’t do anything. He was being really sweet to me this morning. Holding me in his arms and telling me how much he loves me.”
My father brought me a glass of water. “So if he’s not the reason you’re upset, then what is it?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “He is the reason I’m upset. It’s just hard to explain.”
“Try, sweetie,” my father said.
I took a sip of water, not liking the way my hands were shaking. “Talon won’t talk to me,” I said.
My father frowned. “It sounds like you’re the one who doesn’t want to talk to him.”
“Whose side are you on, Daddy?” I asked.
He smiled gently. “Your side, of course. But I like Talon. He seems like a good man. If there’s a reason for me not to like him, tell me right now, and I’ll make sure he never hurts you again.”
I sighed. “It’s just that things have been weird between us these last couple of weeks.”
“Weird how?” my mother asked.
“It just feels like Talon has been distant and closed-off,” I said. “It’s like there’s something bothering him, but he refuses to talk to me about it. It feels like he’s hiding something, but every time I ask him about it, he shuts down.”
My father got a strange look on his face. I couldn’t quite interpret it, but it was a funny reaction to what I’d just said. I brushed it off, figuring he was just uncomfortable with my emotional state.
“So you think Talon is keeping a secret from you?” my father asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“And you think this secret is something bad?” he asked.
“Yes, I mean, if he can’t talk to me about it, of course, it’s something bad,” I said.
My father shrugged. “Well, not necessarily.”
I narrowed my eyes at my father. “What the hell, Dad? Do you know something you’re not telling me?”
His eyes widened in surprise, like a deer in the headlights. “Why would I know anything?”
It wasn’t an answer. Fear rippled through me in a sickening wave. What the fuck was going on in my life? Was everyone keeping secrets from me? Was I crazy and paranoid, or was the whole goddamn world against me right now?
“Dad, if you know something, tell me right now,” I demanded.
“Charlotte, sweetie, I would never do anything that would hurt you,” he said.
I growled in frustration. “Fine. Don’t tell me, but then I’m not staying here either.”
I jumped from the couch and headed out the door.
“Charlotte!” my father called after me.
I didn’t stop. I slammed the door behind me and ran to the elevator. It opened immediately, and I rode it down to the lobby. When the doors opened, Talon was standing there.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, great. Will it never end?”
“Charlotte, thank God,” Talon said, grabbing my hand as I walked out of the elevator. “I was so worried about you. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, Talon,” I said coolly. “I just needed some space.”
“Is that it?” he asked. “I know I’m bad at picking up on signals, but it seemed like you were really upset when you ran out of the apartment crying.”
Despite my bad mood, that made me smile. Talon could always do that. Whenever I was upset, he found a way to part the dark clouds hanging over me and make me laugh.
“Okay,” I said. “Maybe I was a little upset.”
He smiled at me. His smile always made me weak in the knees. Why the hell did he have to be so sexy and charming? Why couldn’t he just let me stay mad at him like I wanted to?
“If that was you a little upset,” he said. “I promise never to make you a lot upset.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, you promise?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “And whatever I did to upset you earlier, I’m sorry. I mean, I don’t know what I did, but I feel like shit anyway. And if it’s any consolation, I think the universe punished me for it.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It’s a long story,” he said. “But that’s not important right now. What is important is that I want you to come home with me. Tell me what I have to do to make that happen.”
“I don’t know, Talon,” I said, sighing. “I just don’t know.”
He nodded. “Well, I was hoping we could finish putting the ornaments on the Christmas tree. I mean, I’d do it myself, but I always end up clumping the balls in one spot and making everything look lopsided.”
I laughed. “That’s true. You’re pretty bad at getting the balls right.”
“You see? I need you to get my balls right.” He smiled. “And I didn’t mean for that to sound as dirty as it did. Well, maybe a little.”
“You’re so dumb,” I said, laughing and shaking my head.
“Whatever I did, please let me make it up to you,” he said. “Let’s just have a fun Christmas together. Just give me until tomorrow night. If you still hate me then, you can punch me in the face and kick my ass out of the apartment.”
“I don’t hate you, Talon,” I said.
“Then what do you say? Come home with me.”
I sighed. “All right.” I handed him the keys to my car, which I’d driven over here. “Drive me home.”
He winced. “About that. I took a cab here because I can’t drive right now.”
“What? Why not?”
“Well, you know how I said the universe punished me for upsetting you?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“I wasn’t kidding. I’m in serious pain right now, and there’s blood all over the bedroom.”
“Holy shit, what happened?” I asked.
“I’ll explain it to you on the ride home,” he said. “But I have a feeling we’re not getting our security deposit back.”