Charlotte was startled awake by ABBA singing the chorus of “Does Your Mother Know.” She reached out to the bedside table and pushed the top of her phone to silence it just as they got going.
There was movement on the other side of the bed. “You have an ABBA ringtone?” a husky yet amused voice asked.
“Only for my mother,” she lied. “Sorry to wake you. Go back to sleep.”
Which was what she intended to do. Her wedding hangover was in full force this rainy Sunday morning. However, Dean must have had other plans, because he rolled over on the bed before she felt his arms slide around her. One between her and the bed, the other around her waist.
She smiled as he tugged her against his body and his lips found her neck. Maybe this was the wedding hangover cure she’d been searching for. Last night after round one on the sofa, they’d moved into the bedroom for round two before falling asleep. But Charlotte was far from finished with Dean.
As she arched her back and pressed her bottom against him, she wondered if he intended this to be a onetime night together. The fact that he hadn’t jumped out of bed and rushed off this morning was a good sign, but she still wasn’t certain.
His hand began to snake its way down her stomach and underneath her underwear just as ABBA started up again. The curious fingers stopped and the elastic of her panties snapped as he pulled his hand out.
“That is very unsettling,” he whispered.
Charlotte laughed as she reached for the phone. “It is quite appropriate for the situation.”
“Too much so.”
“I should probably get it so she doesn’t show up here to make sure I’m alive.” Charlotte pressed the ACCEPT button and lifted the phone to her ear at the same time she gave Dean the quiet signal. “Hey, Mom.”
“Good morning, sweetie. I can tell I’ve woken you but I did wait until ten to call.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “The day after a wedding that’s like calling at seven. But it’s fine. What do you need?”
“Well … tell me how the wedding was.”
That was what Charlotte was afraid of, and here she sat with an audience listening to every word. “It was really nice. Went well.”
“Don’t be vague. How did everyone treat you?”
“I’m not being vague.” Too much. “Everything was fine. It wasn’t like anything major would be mentioned there, Mom.”
And it wouldn’t be discussed here, either, not with Dean lying behind her, slowly rubbing his fingertips across her bare back. God, why did her mother have to interrupt this?
“I’m glad to hear it. Actually Mary Sue called me this morning. Told me she could not have been more pleased with your professionalism and organization. Shelby was also thrilled.”
“They haven’t even seen the images yet, but that’s nice to hear.”
“Mary Sue also mentioned … that you’re seeing someone.”
Charlotte froze. “She what?”
She looked over her shoulder at Dean wide-eyed. He returned her expression, his brows going up in question. She rolled back to her side, facing away from him.
“Why hadn’t you told me, Charlotte? Is it serious?”
“No, Mom. It’s not serious. In fact … it’s not even true.”
There was a pause on the other end. “I don’t understand.”
“I lied, Mom. It wasn’t smart and I wished I hadn’t done it.” She definitely wasn’t going to throw Lauren under the bus, not when she’d played right into it and hadn’t regretted it. Until now. “I just fell victim to my ego under the circumstances … and I lied.”
Dean put his arm around Charlotte and pulled her back into his body, giving her a firm squeeze. Was he comforting her? It felt good to be held that way. Too good.
“I guess I understand, but you certainly got my hopes up.”
Charlotte smiled. “Sorry. You’ll be the first to know when I find Mr. Right.”
“I better be. But … tell me. Who is this man? Mary Sue seemed to be under the impression that he was there last night?”
“Well … uh. He was there. A friend of mine played along.” Charlotte felt the shaking of Dean’s laughter on her back and couldn’t help holding back her own laugh. “But he understood the situation.”
“Hmmm. Maybe he likes you if he was willing to go along with it.”
Her mother. Always an opportunist. She’d probably be a mixture of shocked and elated if she knew her daughter was in bed with said man right now. But that was something Charlotte was unwilling to discuss with her parent.
“Mom, please. We can discuss yesterday’s event more later on. I’m still tired.”
With a sigh she agreed and Charlotte disconnected. After placing the phone back on the bedside table she fell back and looked up at the ceiling.
“What happened between you?” he asked, sliding his arm underneath her back and pulling her into his side.
Charlotte readjusted so her head rested on his chest. She could have pretended she didn’t understand the question, but that would have been ridiculous. With a sigh, she answered. “We were high school sweethearts, although I hate that phrase. I feel like the words themselves imply immaturity, and while that may explain my situation, there are plenty of high school couples that last forever.”
“Fair enough. Why do you believe you broke up?”
Where to begin? Going into detail wasn’t really ideal for her, so she decided to give him the version that wouldn’t scare him away.
“I guess we grew apart. Our problem was that we weren’t on the same page when we discovered this. According to him, he realized it a few months before our wedding. I realized it an hour before our wedding … when he called it off. I already had my dress on.”
Dean just stared down at her, his brow furrowed. “I’m so sorry, Charlotte. That’s complete bullshit, though, the way he handled it.”
“Yeah, well, I’m over it.”
“If I’d known, I never would have offered the guy a job.”
She smiled. “You’d have taken my side?”
“Of course.” He ran the back of his middle finger across her jaw, and the expression on his face was so genuine and tender, she had to stare at his chest. “I still will if you want, in fact I—”
“No, please.” She pushed up off the bed and rolled toward him, resting her hand on his chest. “I don’t want to be that girl. The one who can’t handle it. Besides, you need help, and if you felt a good vibe with him, then that’s what’s important.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get the thought of you standing there in a wedding dress out of my head.”
“Ugh, please don’t picture that. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. It’s humiliating. Plus, that was five years ago. Just picture me naked instead. That should do it.”
“I’ve been picturing you naked for years.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You have?”
“I have and you know it. Now that I’ve gotten lucky enough to actually see you naked, those fantasies will be even better.”
Charlotte snuggled in closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. “That sounds good. But now that I’ve lied and pulled you into my web of drama, what will we tell John?”
Dean was quiet for a moment. “I guess we could just … pretend a little longer. See what happens between us.”
Charlotte’s head jerked up to meet his eyes. Dean looked hesitant, as if he was unsure of what she’d say. “Are you sure?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
“I like that idea,” she said.
His lips slid into a sexy grin.
“I’m glad.” He began to roll on top of her, his hands going to each side of her head to hold his weight off her body. “I think I have a couple more ideas you’ll like.”
Charlotte grinned up at him. “If they include your mouth on me then you’re probably right.”
He turned out to be very right.
* * *
Charlotte spent that afternoon uploading the images from the previous day’s wedding and starting to cull out the ones she didn’t plan to keep. This was always the process she liked the least. It was tedious and boring, but necessary, so she preferred to get it done and out of the way as soon as she could.
Today the task was made slightly better by the fact that she could pass the time daydreaming about the events of last night. And this morning. Not long after her mother had called, and they’d made out a little more, Dean had gotten up and headed home. He’d kissed her lightly at the door, and then reminded her that they’d see each other Tuesday for the cake tastings.
Now that he was gone, she was having a hard time deciding exactly what he might have meant by his see what happens between us comment. Did that imply they were … dating? At the time his words had been enough, but now Charlotte felt the need to hash out the details.
He hadn’t mentioned seeing her any sooner than Tuesday, or calling her. It was probably best if she just played it cool and waited things out. She’d hoped something would develop between them for a while, and since she already knew he had a lot of concerns about them dating, the last thing she wanted was to scare him away.
Charlotte’s phone rang on her desk. She picked it up and the caller ID read TARA STILLINGS, the Stag’s usual wedding coordinator.
“Tara, so good to hear from you,” Charlotte answered.
“Hi, Charlotte. I hope you’re doing well.”
“I’m doing great, but I heard you’ve been put on bed rest.”
“I have, it’s so frustrating. I don’t even know what to do with myself besides eat, binge on Netflix, and eat some more.”
Charlotte laughed. “Sounds like my kind of life.”
“It was nice at first, but it’s getting really old. I’ve actually resorted to reading books.”
“Aww, you poor thing,” Charlotte teased. “What can I do for you?”
“I actually called for a couple of reasons. First, I did some begging, and cleared it with the doctor to meet you for thirty minutes for my maternity photos as long as it’s not a super-hot day. Could we get something in that amount of time?”
“Absolutely. I can get some great photos in ten minutes if I need to, and we’ll leave the car running nearby so you can just get out and then back in as soon as we’re done.”
“Oh good. I thought we could go back to that neat park that you did our engagement pictures at. Do you remember?”
“I do, and I think that’s a great spot. What else?”
“The other thing is also photography-related. Do you happen to have July twenty-first available? It’s a Friday.”
Charlotte clicked out of her photo editing software and opened her calendar. “Looks like I do. What’s going on that day?”
“That’s the night the Stag is hosting its uncasking party for the premium line. It’s kind of a big deal. They’ve waited five years for this day. I’d love if you could get some photos of it.”
“Of course, I’d love to. But do the guys know you’re still planning this? They’ve been so worried about you.”
“I know, and TJ did take over the majority of the planning, but I just had some loose ends I hadn’t wrapped up before I left. This was one of them. It’s killing me not to do more. I won’t even get to attend and I’ve been so excited for it.”
“I understand that. But you know you and your baby’s health is way more important.” Just the thought made Charlotte sad. Sometimes she wondered what she might have done differently to prevent her miscarriage. It was hard not to feel like she’d done something wrong, and worry it would happen again the next time. As much as she wanted it, the thought of getting pregnant was terrifying.
“You’re right, but this work is easy to do from my bed, and asking you is the last item on my list. I apologize for not getting in touch sooner.”
“Don’t apologize, you’ve had a lot going on. And my answer is without a doubt, yes. I’d be thrilled. But promise me no more working.”
“Promise. I heard you’re helping Dean plan Alex’s wedding. That’s so nice of you.”
“Not a big deal. It’s been fun.”
“I was surprised he didn’t have his crazy ex helping him with it. She’s weirdly still close to his sister.”
“Oh really? I didn’t know that.” Why hadn’t he told her? Actually, why would he have? But she couldn’t deny hearing that Dean’s ex was still a part of their lives bothered her. Was he close with the woman?
“Yeah, Dean and Amy practically raised Alex after their parents died.”
“He told me a little bit about that. But not everything.” Charlotte was being nosy, but she was so curious about Dean, who didn’t really offer up much information about himself. Of course, she didn’t ask him much, either. Their relationship wasn’t really like that. She wondered if it might become that way now that they were “seeing what happens.”
“Supposedly, and this is from TJ, but I guess his mother left his dad for some younger guy. They were always traveling and doing adventurous things. They had Alexis, who is much younger than Dean, and when she was about thirteen, they died in a small plane accident on a trip to the mountains.”
“That’s so awful.”
Tara’s story basically matched what little bit of information Dean had shared. The big part he’d left out was how close his little sister still was to his ex-wife. Hearing this story helped Charlotte understand Dean’s feelings of responsibility for his sister, but she couldn’t help wonder how close the ex still was to him.
“So do you think he still sees his ex a lot?”
“Not really, I don’t think. She used to come into the Stag on occasion. She seemed nice, but … I don’t know. I think it was hard for me to like her after hearing how they split.”
“Was it bad?” It really wasn’t right of Charlotte to pry, but she was sooo curious and Tara was practically volunteering her the information.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I get the feeling she was unfaithful.”
“Oh my, I had no idea.” It was crazy to think a woman would be unfaithful to a man like Dean, and Charlotte felt a rush of sadness that they’d spent time that morning discussing her heartache and not once had she asked Dean about his own past.
“He doesn’t talk about it. Like I said, I only know because I was nosy and pried it out of TJ, who also seems to hate Amy because of it.”
Wow, all of these people hating a woman they didn’t know because she’d been unfaithful to their friend seemed slightly harsh, but Charlotte couldn’t deny feeling the same.
“Don’t you think Dean’s cute, in that sort of … older-man kind of way?” Tara asked with an awkward laugh. If Charlotte recalled, Tara was about a year younger than she was.
“Yes … I would agree with that completely.” Charlotte had a grin on her face as she spoke.
Tara chuckled. “But I’ll never admit to saying that.”
It was Charlotte’s turn to laugh. “I’ve already forgotten it.”
But she knew there would be no forgetting all the things she’d just learned about Dean.