Epilogue
Return to Haven
Charlotte stared out of the window of the speeding McLaren, remembering the last time she’d been a passenger on the way to Haven. She had no idea what she was letting herself in for when she’d agreed to spend a weekend with the son of George Lovett. Now they were engaged and she was living with him!
She couldn’t help but feel nervous about going back to Haven. Jordan had gone home once, just overnight, but Charlotte was still frightened about showing her face there. She could only imagine what Jordan’s father would have to say about her moving in with Jordan and as for Lauren, well, Charlotte would die happy if she never saw the woman again.
This time, though, Jordan had insisted. “You can’t keep avoiding George forever. You’ve given him some time to get used to the idea. Now come and face the lion. He’s not so bad, I promise.”
So here they were. Charlotte tapped her foot nervously.
Jordan didn’t seem perturbed. He drove with confidence and even started whistling.
Charlotte rolled the window open, still remembering that first trip, and let the wind drown him out.
It was easy for him! Her family had completely accepted Jordan. In fact, her mother popped by their penthouse once a week or so to visit, ever since Jordan had loaned her the money to upgrade her wreck of a car. And she always brought a pie for them, which she’d never done when Charlotte was on her own. And Dad just couldn’t stop talking about what a great guy Jordan was.
Charlotte didn’t think she was going to get that kind of reception from George.
At least her business was doing well. He might respect that. She was doing well enough now that she had hired an assistant to man the phones and do the paperwork, so Charlotte could focus on paying clients.
As they drove through Haven towards the house, Charlotte smoothed down her sundress and rubbed a piece of dirt from her comfy sandals. She could have worn new clothes but this time, she was determined to just be herself. Now though, she wondered if she’d made a mistake.
As Jordan pulled into the white gravel drive, Maria came out to greet them. She gave Jordan a happy hug and then shyly kissed Charlotte on each kiss and Jordan pulled their shared suitcase out of the hood compartment.
“It is good to see you again, Señora,” she said.
Charlotte couldn’t help but smile at that. They were still struggling to plan the wedding but Maria already considered her married, it seemed.
She turned towards the house, still imposing as ever, to see George standing in the bay window, watching them.
“Your father,” she said, nodding her head towards the twitching net curtain. Lauren was nowhere to be seen, which was a relief.
Jordan took her hand and squeezed it. “C’mon, let’s go speak to him.”
“You go. I’ll take the suitcase up to the room.”
“You are in the same room as last time, Señora,” said Maria. Her eyes twinkled. “I have not made up the sofa bed, however.”
“No need for that,” laughed Jordan. He carried the suitcase into the house and then left it on the top stair for Charlotte to take to the room. “Don’t be long.”
She was grateful for his tact. He seemed to know that she wanted a moment to pull herself together. It was awkward. The last time she’d been in this house, she’d been rifling through his office and she had no idea what, if anything, Lauren had told him.
Anyway, she suspected women in Haven always freshened up before seeing people. Besides, Jordan had plenty to talk to his father about without her: the business was doing well and had finally expanded to a second site.
In the bedroom, Charlotte bounced up and down a few times in memory. The sofa bed was tucked away, as Maria had said.
She sat at the vanity table and brushed out her hair, preparing to face off Lauren.
Her summer dress looked old–fashioned and plain to her now. Maybe she should change? She had a light dress for the evening but if she wore that now, she wouldn’t be able to change for dinner, and she knew that was important to George. She would never like the man and certainly never trust him but for Jordan’s sake, she wanted to make an effort.
With both of them working long hours for their respective businesses, they’d gotten into the habit of sending each other text messages during the day. She wasn’t really surprised when her phone pinged with a new message. “Lots of news. Come down. I promise it’s safe.”
That cleared away the last of her reluctance. As if she was afraid of that man and his gold–digger fiancée. She straightened her dress and strode down the stairs, intent on looking confident and self–assured.
Downstairs, the men had retreated to the sitting room and were talking comfortably about a deal that Lovett Industries was in the middle of.
“You’ve done a good job of controlling the media presentation of this,” George was saying. “I’ve been very interested in the coverage even though I know what’s happening behind the scenes.”
“The PR team is great,” said Jordan. “It makes one hell of a difference.” He stood up as Charlotte walked into the room.
“You look lovely,” he said, with a smile on his face.
Charlotte smiled nervously back and turned towards George Lovett. “Thank you for inviting me,” she said. Her voice came out rather shakily but she maintained eye contact.
“Jordan insisted,” he said. Then he stood up and reached out to shake her hand.
Flustered, Charlotte just managed to keep from wiping her hand on her skirt, instead sticking her hand out forcefully, still repeating the word confident in her head. “I hope you are well?” Should she ask about Lauren? But she couldn’t face it. She shook his hand and smiled politely. Let him bring up their unfortunate past, if he wanted to.
“I’ve been better,” he said grumpily. “You look well, anyway. You are clearly special to my son. And I daresay Jordan’s proved that he has better taste in women than I do.”
Charlotte raised an eyebrow but didn’t dare ask what he meant.
Maria chose that moment to let them know that dinner was ready. “I made my special albondigas,” she told Charlotte with a smile. “They’re Jordan’s favorite and I remembered that you liked them too.”
Lauren’s seat remained empty as they took their places. Maria started serving the meatballs while Jordan poured water.
George cleared his throat and Charlotte realized she and Jordan were both staring at the space where Lauren wasn’t.
“She left.” George scowled. “And good riddance.”
“What happened?” Jordan looked like he was struggling to keep the relief off of his face.
“She decided she needed her own business and I should fund it.” He snorted. “Imagine, Lauren trying to run a company. She found this little dress shop and insisted that I had to buy it for her. But her reasoning was all wrong. She didn’t give a damn if the shop was in a good location or what the profit margins were. She seemed to think that running her own business would make her more attractive.”
Jordan raised an eyebrow. “I wonder what could possibly give her such an idea,” he said with a glance at Charlotte.
Charlotte shrugged but when George was distracted with the pepper grinder, Jordan leaned over to whisper in her ear. “She wanted to be like you.”
“She wanted to people to treat her with respect,” snapped George, whose hearing was clearly better than his son had realized. “But she never understood that you have to earn respect. You can’t buy it.”
His gaze raked over Jordan. “You understood that, however. You’ve done very well for yourself. I had my doubts at first but I have to admit… I’m proud of you.”
Jordan flushed with pleasure. “It’s good to hear you say that.”
George shoved a meatball into his mouth, as if to stop himself from saying anymore. Then he continued speaking about Lauren. “I refused to buy the shop, of course. If she’d spent some time on it or did any planning, I might have. But she picked the place because it was next door to her favorite nail salon.” He looked haggard but not heart broken. “I didn’t really expect her to stay. I guess I wanted someone as little like your mother as possible, if you want the truth. And Lauren sure was that. But nothing I could give her was ever enough. She cared too much what everyone else thought of her.” He shook his head and had another bite. “So she found someone else to buy it for her. I hope they are very happy together.”
Charlotte couldn’t help but feel sorry for the gruff old man. No one deserved to be treated like that. Still, it was a relief that she wasn’t going to have to face down Lauren.
As they finished the meal, George waved to Maria, who brought over an antique silver ice bucket with a bottle poking out the top. He pulled the champagne out of the ice and popped off the cork. “I’m afraid we never had a chance to drink to your engagement,” he said. “It all happened so fast.”
Charlotte’s hand went to her stomach as if it had a mind of its own. She saw George’s eyes follow the movement. The old coot never missed a trick. Well, this is as good a time as any.
“I’m sorry, I can’t. We might have a new announcement to make soon.” She left her hand on her stomach. This wasn’t how she’d envisioned telling Jordan, in the severe dining room of his family home. But then, there probably would never be a perfect time. “I have a doctor’s appointment next week but I’m pretty sure.”
Jordan looked at her quizzically. “You’re pretty sure of what?” He didn’t get it.
Her voice came out almost a whisper. “Jordan, I think I’m pregnant.”
Her nervousness fled at the look on Jordan’s face. He pulled her off her chair into an excited hug and then stepped back and looked at her face. “You mean it?”
“I think so.” She struggled to find the words. “I find out for sure on Thursday.”
The look on George’s face surprised her even more. He was smiling. “You and Jordan are going to have a baby?”
“I think so.”
The gruff old man looked blown away. She thought he would be angry but when he spoke, his voice was full of happiness.
“Lauren said she’d never consider such a thing. It would ruin her figure and take up all her time. I thought a modern career woman like you wouldn’t want children.”
“Well, I have an assistant now and as long as I plan accordingly, it won’t be difficult to cut my caseload down for a year.”
“So we really do have something to celebrate!” George started pouring champagne for himself and for Jordan. “And you two need to get married as soon as possible so you don’t show. Why don’t you hold it here in the garden? But I’m getting ahead of myself.” He took a deep breath and raised his glass in a toast. “To the future.”
Jordan raised his glass as well, his face still full of wonder.
After a long drink, he put a wrinkled hand on Jordan’s shoulder. “You grew up so fast. I was always busy with work and I missed it all. Now I get a second chance. Don’t make my mistake, son. The business is strong and the people you’ve hired are competent. More than competent, they are downright talented. Balancing work and life is always hard but I’m sure you can do it, just like you’ve done everything else you’ve put your mind to. I’m proud of you, son.”
“Thanks.” Jordan’s voice was husky but he recovered quickly. “But Charlotte’s the one with the hard work ahead of her!”
“And I’m looking forward to it,” she said. Especially now. If even George said that Jordan should make the time to be a parent, then any remaining doubts she had about his being able to be there for her and the baby were silly.
“Let’s go for a walk,” said Jordan. He made an apologetic face at his father. “I need a moment to take this in.”
George laughed. “I bet you do, son. You two go on, we can talk about the wedding when you get back.”
They walked out past the back garden and into the woods behind the house. Jordan took her hand and they walked in silence. Charlotte wanted to give him time to come to terms with her announcement; it had been rather abrupt.
They reached the old hunter’s stand and she smiled. “Let’s go up. I want to see how the woods have changed with the seasons.”
They both climbed up the long wooden ladder and stood by the rough–hewn window. The trees stretched out for miles before disappearing into the mist of the horizon. He stood behind her, his hands on her waist.
“You really think you’re pregnant?”
“I’m pretty sure. I’m normally never late.”
They looked out over the woods while he stroked her stomach without speaking. She leaned back into him. Slowly, his fingers trailed higher, softly touching the undersides of her breasts through her bra. She closed her eyes as he began to unbutton her sundress. He pulled the dress from her as the setting sun lit the small wooden room with a golden glow. Charlotte couldn’t help but open her eyes again as he unsnapped her bra, worried that someone might come near. There was no sign of anyone for miles.
“It’s just you and me,” said Jordan, reading her mind. He kissed a trail from the back of her neck down her spine with agonizing slowness until he was on his knees. She trembled as he pulled her panties down and then reached his fingers up the inside of her thighs towards her sweet honey. Her knees felt like jello. She gripped the window ledge.
Jordan pulled at her thighs, nudging her to spread her legs apart farther. She groaned as his fingers found her molten center, flicking over her sweet spot. She couldn’t help herself, she spread her legs even further apart to give him better access, however much of a hussy it made her feel. She bent forward further to lean on the window ledge, her eyes scanning the woods as she worried someone might have approached without her noticing. Then his fingers began stroking forward and back and she forgot to care. Her legs quivered as he stroked a slow tempo along her slick lips.
He paused, causing her to groan even louder, and unbuttoned his pants. The cool breeze of the forest caressed her body, naked at the window. She held onto the wooden frame as his hands returned to her hips. He pushed his erection against her cheeks and then slipped his cock down to enter her wet slit from behind.
He paused and pulled back. “Does this hurt?”
“Don’t be silly,” she moaned.
“I just want to be careful.” His hard cock slid along her, reaching her sensitive clit before he pulled back and began to slide it inside of her, inch by inch.
“How about this?”
She mewled in response, shaking her head. “Don’t tease.”
He pulled out and then slid back in again with frustrating slowness.
“Jordan, please.”
“I just want to be sure. Tell me how it feels.”
She needed him so badly, it blew away her inhibitions. “It feels like steel and velvet. It feels like you are too big for me to ever take inside me and then as if you were made for me, the perfect size. She reached back, trying to get a hold of his bare hips as she bucked her bottom towards him. “Fill me up, Jordan, please.”
He groaned in response and began to move again, slowly and gently at first but then harder, pressing her against the window. She threw her head back, loving the force of his thrust as he began to lose that tightly locked control of his.
“It’s been six months, Charlotte,” he whispered against her hair, “and I still want you just as desperately as I did then.” He thrust himself inside her, his hands on her hips, and then reached around her waist. His fingers touched her sensitive nub and he circled it tenderly as he began to move in and out of her.
When they’d been up here the last time, it had been fast and furious, writhing on the floor. This time was unhurried and gentle but no less desperately erotic for all that. She moaned as he pushed himself all the way into her, filling her. His left hand held her by the waist while his right hand cupped her throbbing center, two fingers moving against her sensitive clit. She felt her climax building and called his name. In response, he lunged harder into her. She bent over more, giving him better access. He groaned as she moved, clenching his hard cock as he thrust faster.
“Charlotte,” he murmured, his fingers drumming a pattern onto her. She felt her orgasm rise within her so quickly, she could not even call his name. Incoherent sounds escaped her, louder and louder. His touch sped up, swirling around her hot center in time to his hard cock sliding in and out. He increased the pressure of his fingers against her button. She clenched against him, thick and hard inside of her, and a desperate cry escaped him. At the sound of his voice, she began to peak. He lunged harder as her climax shattered through her. A second later, he roared as he came, thrusting his seed into her.
Slowly the world came back into focus. She looked out over the woods, her heart still pounding from her orgasm, wondering how loud she had cried out. But there was no sign of movement. His hands moved back to her hips and then around her waist as he rested against her back. “I love you, Charlotte,” he whispered.
He stroked a finger across her still relatively flat belly.
She felt the nervousness return as her heart–rate returned to normal. “What your dad said...”
“I do not give a damn about anything George said, especially not when you are standing naked in front of me.”
“He said that Lauren said she would never have children.”
“I care even less about Lauren,” he growled.
“Do you care about me, though? About me losing my figure?”
At that, he turned her around and pulled her body against his. “Don’t you ever, ever worry about that, my darling Charlotte.” He held her against his chest. ”You are beautiful to me and you will be even more beautiful, as difficult that is to imagine, when you are carrying my child. And after that, if you have stretch marks, I will look at them with love every time, remembering how you got them.” He pulled back and stroked her stomach again, his eyes wide with wonder. “You are carrying my child. How could any curve of your body be more beautiful than that?”
He tipped her chin to kiss her. “Charlotte Nichols, Charlotte Jones, Charlotte Lovett. Whatever your name is, whatever you become, I will never stop loving you. I couldn’t, even when I wanted to. I sure as hell am not going to be able to now.”
The passion in his voice made her heart speed up again as he pulled her to his chest again. “Never let me go,” he whispered. “I want to be with you forever.”
She listened to his heart beat in his chest, secure in his love.
“Jordan Lovett, I know you are up there!”
Jordan froze. “Mrs. Butrey?”
“Yes, and my bones are much too old to come climbing up that ladder. Come on down and bring that woman of yours with you.”
They pulled their clothes on in record time. Charlotte insisted that Jordan go down the ladder first, frightened of what the old lady had heard and what she was going to say to them.
“I thought I’d find you out here when Maria said you’d gone out,” said Mrs. Butrey. “You always used to climb up there as a boy, convinced no one knew where you were hiding.” She snorted. “Your father probably didn’t. He never did pay much attention. But I knew where you were.”
Jordan laughed at that, clearly not worried. Charlotte edged down the ladder, still not sure that the old dragon wasn’t going to tell them off for having sex in a public place. She clearly adored Jordan but maybe she would just blame Charlotte.
“There you go, dear,” said Mrs. Butrey. “It’s about time we were introduced properly. You were just barely holding your head above water at a Lovett cocktail party the last time I saw you.”
“Mrs. Butrey, it’s lovely to see you again,” Charlotte said politely. Something licked her ankle. She looked down to see a round bundle of fur with a flat snout pressing its cold nose against her ankle.
“Bitsy, down,” said Mrs. Butrey. “She’s not fat, she’s pregnant, before you ask. If you two are settling down, I guess you’ll need a puppy.”
“We will?” Charlotte was struggling to keep up with the conversation.
But Jordan just laughed. “Of course we do! This is perfect, Mrs. Butrey! We’d love a male puppy to take back to Riverside with us. We’ll name it Rufus!”
Mrs. Butrey gave them an odd look as Charlotte began to giggle and then they both burst into loud laughter.
She shook her head at their silliness. “Well then, that’s settled. I’ll walk back to the house with you.”
“How did you know I was in Haven,” asked Jordan as he linked arms with Charlotte for the walk back.”
“I heard your car roaring along the main road, of course.” She gave Charlotte a knowing look. “You’ll be needing to trade that in for something more practical now.”
Charlotte flushed. How could the old woman know already? Before she could ask, Mrs. Butrey had changed the subject. “I guess you know the town gossip already. How is George holding up?”
“He seemed ok, actually, I think it was probably for the best.”
Mrs. Butrey cackled. “It’s for the best all right. When your father wouldn’t give her stupid money to buy that terrible dress shop in town, she went straight to Frank Forden.”
Jordan’s mouth fell open. “Seriously?”
“Who’s that,” asked Charlotte, struggling to keep up.
“He’s one of George’s golf friends. He’s been trying to get me to invest in his property in Riverside forever.”
“Well, don’t be doing that,” said Mrs. Butrey, her grey hair reflecting silver in the dappled evening sunlight. “They’ve got a mess of problems already. Lots of cost cutting during construction and now the whole place leaks every time it rains. The entire south side of the building has had to move out because they need to deal with rot in the walls.”
“So, he’s not doing so well?”
“Well, that type always bounces back. He bankrupted the development company so that he’ll escape the worst of it.”
“Frank Forden and Lauren really do deserve each other,” said Jordan, with wonder in his voice.
“I don’t expect it’ll last any longer than your father’s engagement,” she said. “Still, it makes for entertainment when I’m walking Bitsy. Haven would be such a dull town without Lauren here keeping all the gossips busy.”
As they approached the Lovett house, Maria came out to greet them. “Mr. Lovett says you will be going out to dinner tonight to celebrate,” she said. “I’m not here tomorrow, so I wanted to give you this.” She pressed a folded piece of notebook paper into Charlotte’s hand.
Charlotte took it and started to unfold the paper. “What is it?”
“It’s my recipe for albondigas, from my mother before me and her mother before her. This is how they make it in Andalucía,” said Maria, with pride. “I give it to you because it was always Jordan’s favorite. Now you can make it for him too.”
Mrs. Butrey waved goodbye, dragging Bitsy along with her. “If you pop by in about six weeks, the puppies should be about ready for rehoming,” she said. “You can have your pick of the litter.”
So that was that, they were going to have a puppy. And probably a baby. Charlotte hugged herself, finding it hard to believe that it was all true. She was still smiling when George came out from their study.
“What are you all standing around in the back garden for,” he grumbled. “We have a reservation at the best restaurant at Haven. You need to get changed for dinner.”
Jordan grinned at Charlotte. He looked so happy to be going out with his father. Something had changed between them and for the better.
Charlotte took his hand as they walked into the house. She had a feeling they were going to start spending a lot more time in Haven.
THE END