Chapter 4
“What happened with Donnie?” Ellie asked as Charli followed her inside the small cottage.
Charli froze. “Huh?”
“You said you wanted to shoot him, so I guess something’s wrong?”
Deep breaths, play it cool. You can pull this off, Charli.
“Uh, nothing. We… we sort of had a fight before I left. He was, uh… upset that I’d be leaving him alone to deal with a big event we were planning but, hey, your wedding has top priority.”
The smile she gave Ellie must have worked because the frown on her face eased and she got that silly, annoying look all brides-to-be sported. That slightly dreamy expression, with stars in their eyes and little blue birds singing on their shoulders, while others placed flower crowns on their heads. Charli blinked. Going from gory crime scenes to fairy-tale images was a little unusual, even for her. Had that guy at the gas station she’d stopped at spiked her coffee? Or was Ellie’s bridal dreaminess rubbing off on her and giving her visions?
“I can call him and ask him to forgive you for leaving him—”
“No!” Charli gave her another silly smile when Ellie winced at her abrupt response. “I mean, no, don’t worry. We’re fine. He’s not really mad at me. He loves being in charge of big events, proving his worth.” She gritted her teeth, imagining the sleaze banging his head in frustration when he couldn’t find her bible—the notebook where she kept all her contacts and the most important information about old and prospective clients, as well as the most reliable suppliers. The thick notebook that was currently safe in her suitcase. “He hates it when I coordinate stuff and he has to follow my orders.” The way he’s been doing for the better part of a year.
Things were starting to make sense now. He’d pestered her for weeks after they’d met at that conference in Los Angeles, and he hadn’t stopped until she’d organized him an interview with Penelope. Then, once he’d started working at Golden Gate Events, things had changed. Working side by side, sometimes late into the night, had brought them closer—or so she’d thought. Perhaps it had all been a cunning ploy so that he could sneak into Charli’s life, pretending he liked her, just so that she’d lower her guard and stop bossing him, and give him a little more slack so he could prove he knew how to do his job. He’d fooled her just to get into Penelope’s company and steal Charli’s hard-earned position from under her nose. Well, he could go and hang himself with that slack now.
“I guess you’ll just have to kiss and make up the old-fashioned way when you go back to San Francisco, then.” Ellie waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Acid filled Charli’s mouth as it crawled up from her stomach. Right now, the mere thought of getting close to him, or any other man, made her want to throw up.
Ellie laughed, totally oblivious to her reaction to the comment. “Now, about the gun… well, wow. I knew you were a badass, but I never would’ve expected you to be that bad-ass. Even if it’s fake, it still makes you look scary.”
“Donnie insisted, and I gave in just for the sake of peace. You haven’t been around long enough to see his bossy side.” She hadn’t meant for the hurt she still felt because of Ellie’s move to drip into her tone, but it had been a long day—make that a long few weeks—and she just wanted to stand under a hot shower until she got pruney, put on her loose yoga pants and her brother’s huge sweatshirt, and sleep until next month. Next year would be even better.
“You know I couldn’t stay in San Francisco, not after what happened with Spencer.” Ellie let out a sigh and her shoulders drooped. Charli knew her friend was right. The cheating idiot had used Ellie as an escape from his boring marriage only a few months before, ruining Ellie’s career and life when she’d called him out on his lies and threatened to inform his wife who, apparently, wasn’t the ex he’d told Ellie she was. “My career was doomed, and I couldn’t stand the looks I didn’t deserve. This move saved my life. And it also helped me restore my faith in men and get engaged to the most loving guy in the world.”
“And handsome, too. Is that why you didn’t want to send me pictures of your beau? Because you thought I’d try to steal him away?”
Ellie giggled and her eyes lit with something Charli had only ever seen in women who were hopelessly in love. Dealing with tons of blissful brides-to-be, she knew that look very well. She’d never seen it in her friend’s eyes, though, and after the number Spencer had played on her, Charli had thought she’d never get to see it. Yes, moving to Spring Harbor, as much as it had hurt Charli, had worked miracles on Ellie. It had been a while since she’d seen her friend so happy and carefree. The worry lines that had often marred Ellie’s soft features after her mother’s suicide were nowhere to be found now. Only love and happiness shone on her face.
“He’s so much more than just a pretty face, but… yeah, let’s say that I’m a lucky girl to have all that handsomeness for myself.”
“Miss Ellie, Miss Ellie!”
A little girl barreling toward them prevented Charli from making a naughty comment that would have probably made Ellie blush. Her blonde curls bounced around her cherubic face, and her blue eyes were round with wonder as they settled on Charli. Cold sweat pearled on her back. Kids gave her the creeps.
“Ooh, your hair is beautiful. Can I bwaid it? Miss Ellie teached me to bwaid Elsa’s hair but it will be more fun to bwaid your hair. Can I bwaid it, Miss Ellie? Please?”
Ellie chuckled and put a protective hand on the girl’s head. “Why don’t you start by saying hello and introducing yourself to Auntie Charli?”
The appellative sounded weird next to her name. None of her brothers had any kids yet, although she’d heard that Enrique’s wife was expecting their first child.
“Hi, Auntie Charli. I’m Sophie.” She smiled, and a cute dimple appeared on her right cheek. Charli felt uneasy around kids, but this one was a pretty little thing. She would actually look great in one of those catalogs for flower girls’ dresses. She made a mental note to talk to Ellie about that, before she left the town. “Can I bwaid your hair now?” Sophie asked.
Ellie chuckled again and looked at Charli. “Sorry. She’s a little obsessed with braids at the moment.” She brushed the girl’s curls and Sophie wrapped her arm around Ellie’s leg. Her friend had always been great with kids, and Charli had never had a doubt that she’d be a great mother too one day. Judging by the adoring look on the girl’s face, she was doing a great job as a stepmother to Adam’s daughter. “Auntie Charli had a long trip. She needs to rest now. Maybe we can braid her hair tomorrow, what do you say?”
“Okay. Can I play with Meatball now?”
Ellie nodded, while Charli frowned. Maybe this was a new game kids did, something like making mud balls or something. Ellie wouldn’t let the little girl play with real meatballs, would she? Just as Sophie spun around, yapping sounds carried down the hall, and Charli froze in place, shrinking back against the wall.
“You have a dog?” Her tone came out squeaky and high-pitched. She looked at the door behind her, calculating how long it would take her to run to it, open it, get out and close it before the dog came at her.
“Meatball is my best fwiend.” Sophie nodded happily, squatting with her arms open as a golden-furred dog trotted toward them. Charli tried to take another step back, but she was already pressed against the wall. Ellie looked at her, and her eyes widened.
“Oh, gosh. I’m sorry,” she said, waving her hands in front of her as if they were on fire. “I’d forgotten you’re scared of dogs.” She promptly put herself between Charli and Sophie, and bent to be at the girl’s level. With a hand on Sophie’s head, she asked her to take the dog upstairs, so that she wouldn’t scare Auntie Charli. Sophie looked up at Charli with a frown that seemed to say, “Are you serious?”, as if she couldn’t believe that someone could be scared of her friend.
“I… um… I had a fright when I was little. A bad dog chased after me and nearly bit me.”
“But Meatball is a good dog, she won’t bite. She plays wif me and she also plays wif Bobcat. They never fight.”
“Bobcat is my tabby,” Ellie clarified when Charli’s worried frown gave her thoughts away. “Don’t worry, we don’t keep wild animals in the cottage.”
“Yeah, um… I’m sure she’s a good dog but… eek!”
The dog escaped Sophie’s grip and launched herself at Charli. Ellie grabbed her collar just in time and pulled her back.
“Sweetie, take Meatball upstairs now. I think your daddy could use a bit of company while he’s fixing the wardrobe door.”
Sophie nodded and pulled the dog by the collar toward the stairs. Once they’d both disappeared from sight, Charli relaxed and let out the breath she’d been holding. Ellie chuckled.
“Sorry. I thought I’d mentioned Sophie’s dog.” She reached for one of Charli’s suitcases and pulled up the handle. “Why don’t we go to my cottage so I can show you your room and you can make yourself comfortable?”
Charli nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. I’m dying for a hot shower right now. Is it always so cold around here?”
“The weather’s not usually much colder than San Francisco. But this week’s been particularly cold. I hope it gets a bit warmer in time for the wedding.” She shrugged. “I know we won’t be able to have a beach wedding, but a couple of degrees warmer would be nice.”
Charli picked up her carry-on and the other suitcase and followed her friend out of the door. “Seriously, Ellie. Who gets married on the eighth of February if they aren’t living in the Caribbean?”
Ellie chuckled. “It was either now or the end of the year. Adam’s younger brother is a baseball player and he wouldn’t be able to attend otherwise. And we didn’t want to wait another twelve months to be officially married and live together like a family.”
Charli stopped in her tracks. “Wait, you mean you don’t live with Adam?” Ellie shook her head. “Why?”
“We don’t want gossip. And we don’t want to confuse Sophie, in case some of those comments reached her ears.”
“See? That’s why I don’t like small towns. Everyone sticking their noses in everyone’s business.”
Ellie laughed as they crossed the invisible border between the two properties and went up three wooden steps to the porch, pulling the heavy suitcase up behind her. “It’s not like that. Everyone’s glad that Adam has found happiness again, but we want to avoid people saying we’re living in sin.”
Charli hoisted her two trolleys up the steps and followed Ellie into the cottage. “Like you’re telling me you haven’t already—” The words froze on her tongue as Ellie’s face turned pink and she looked away. “Ho-lee cow. Are you saying you haven’t had sex with that hunk yet? Are you out of your mind?”
Ellie stopped at the foot of the staircase but didn’t turn around. Charli knew her friend had even more principles than she did when it came to dating guys and taking the next step, but they were getting married in a week. What was she waiting for?
“When we first started dating, we never had the chance to be completely alone. I didn’t want to spend the night at his place, and we were afraid Sophie might wake up and hear us or walk into the room. Then we figured it would be romantic to wait until our wedding night to, uh… go all the way. We’ve only been officially together for a little more than three months, after all.”
“Well, that gives me hope that you’ve at least made out and gotten all hot and bothered. Good.”
Ellie chuckled. “Stop it.”
“If I were dating that man, I would’ve gone out of my way to have someone babysit the girl so I could, you know, take him for a test drive before the wedding.”
“Oh my goodness, Charli! Would you stop talking about him as if he were a piece of meat?”
“And a fine piece of meat, I’d say.”
Ellie laughed and playfully slapped her back. “I should probably have a word with Donnie. Perhaps he’s not doing his job properly if you’re talking like that about another man.”
Charli’s stomach quivered. She didn’t want to talk about Lousy Pig right now. She wasn’t going to spoil Ellie’s happy times with her sorry story. She put on a fake-as-a-spray-tan smile, hoping it would be convincing enough, and forced herself to sound cheerful as she said, “Don’t worry about my sex life. You’re the one who has a problem right now. What if he’s a total disappointment? Okay, he has a child so at least we can suppose he knows how to do it, but—”
“Miss Ellie!” Sophie stormed into the cottage, interrupting their conversation. Charli instinctively shrank behind Ellie, waiting to hear the dog’s yaps following the little girl. When no furry beast entered the house, she let out the breath she’d been holding and moved away from Ellie. “Daddy is going to Gwammy’s and he wants to know if he needs to go to the gwoss store.”
Ellie chuckled. “No, sweetie. Tell Daddy I don’t need anything from the grocery store.”
She nodded. “Okay. Can Auntie Charli have dinner wif us tonight?”
“Of course. She’s only going to take a shower and rest for a bit, then she’s coming to have dinner with us.”
Sophie looked up at Charli and smiled, the cute dimple appearing again. “You can sit next to me, Auntie Charli. You don’t have to be scared. Meatball can’t have dinner wif us ’cause then she wants to eat my food and Daddy doesn’t like that.” She took Charli’s hand and held onto it while she jumped up and down. “And tomowwow we can have a tea party too.”
Yay, lucky me.
“Um, sure. Is… um, is Ellie going to be there too?” She looked at Ellie with a quirked eyebrow. She didn’t want to be around the little girl all by herself.
“I never miss one,” she said with a smile as she reached for her soon-to-be stepdaughter and picked her up. “Sophie’s tea parties are the best.” The little girl giggled and wrapped her arms around Ellie’s neck, resting her head on her shoulder.
The last time Charli had a tea party, she was ten—well, if she didn’t count the real tea parties she’d had as a teenager, organized by her grandmother so that she could be introduced to the society members that mattered.
“Good, then why don’t we let Auntie Charli relax while you and I make dinner?”
Sophie nodded and clapped her hands. When Ellie put her back on the floor, she dashed out the door, causing Charli to wonder whether she was always this energetic or if it was just the excitement of the new arrival. She followed Ellie up the wooden stairs into what would be her own room for at least the next week or so—until she decided what she was going to do with her life.
“Feel free to take a shower. The bathroom’s in the corridor, and it’s all yours. My room has an en suite, so I don’t use it. And you can use the chest of drawers and the wardrobe, if you want to unpack some of your stuff…” She trailed off as she tilted her head to the side and stared at the luggage that nearly took up all of the space in the room. “How long did you say you were going to stay? ’Cause it looks like you’ve packed the whole contents of your apartment.”
If she only knew how spot on she was…
Charli waved her comment away. “I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like here. And even though technically I’m on vacation this week, I have an image to maintain. I can’t go around wearing yoga pants and cowboy boots.”
“I’d like to see you wearing cowboy boots once, though. It’d be fun.” Ellie laughed as she pulled the curtains to reveal a view of the front garden and the street.
Yes, she’d grown up in Texas, but that didn’t mean she had to strut around the city wearing a cowboy hat and boots, even though they were way more comfortable than the trendy stilettos she was used to wearing at work and at whatever mundane event she was attending. So what if she liked looking nice? It wasn’t a crime, after all.
“I’ll leave you alone now. Make yourself at home and help yourself to food or drinks, if you want something. Come to Adam’s whenever you’re ready.” Ellie stepped away from the window, and just before walking out, turned back and hugged Charli. “I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve missed hanging out with you. We have to make sure to have a girls’ night before the wedding.”
Charli nodded. She’d missed Ellie too, and she was going to miss her even more once she moved to wherever her career would take her, which, she was sure, was nowhere in Oregon.
“Go, now. I need a shower like I need my next breath.” Charli pushed her away, chuckling. The truth was, she’d been feeling the unwelcome sting of tears behind her eyelids, so she needed her friend to stop being mushy and leave, before it all ended up in a bawl fest.
Once Ellie left, Charli plopped on the mattress and let out a long sigh, taking her head in her hands. Lying to her best friend was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever done, but she had to. She just hoped she didn’t screw up the wedding in the meantime.