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“Because I’ll kick his ass.” We talked about the failed plan a few times without her present, but Asher hasn’t mentioned it lately. Not after he figured out the stalker was in his uncle’s club.
“We should tell the police about Eddie,” she replies as if she’s read my mind.
I eye her sternly. “Let Asher deal with it first.”
“What if,” she pauses a beat. “Something else goes wrong.”
“Charlotte, if we call the police, then we’ll have a club coming after us. Asher knows what to do about Eddie. We’ll look after you.” I wait for her to protest and tell me she can take care of herself, but this is out of her scope. It’s out of ours, too, but we don’t want to scare her.
“Thank you,” she says, “for scrubbing the Internet. Now the hospital is the first hit when Howland is searched.”
I grin. “It’s a good resource to have nowadays.”
She concentrates a little too thoughtfully on her lasagna. “Did you reveal my secret that I’m not a Howland?”
Charlotte knows I did, so I admit it. “But I did it to protect you,” I tell her. “I didn’t do it to hurt you. I told Jaxon so he’d lay off. When I met you, I wanted to ruin you when you’d done nothing wrong to me. Now I want to watch out for you.”
She looks away and shrugs. “I had too many secrets to keep. It was like trying to carry water in a paper bag. A stupid thing to do.”
“You’re not stupid,” I tell her. “You’ve had a lot of shit thrown at you. Other people would have given up, but you won’t. I’ll take out Kurt, so he won’t have another chance to hurt you. Or anyone else.”
“Do you think about it?” she asks.
“Think about what?” I ask, worrying about all the shit she has going on. I don’t know how she keeps from screaming in frustration daily.
Charlotte laughs. “Do you think about us having sex that day Asher watched?”
I smile. “It’s easier to count the times I do think about it than the times I don’t. You know I love you,” I whisper.
“Even if I’m still a Howland?” she asks.
“I was an asshole for trying to ruin you when nothing was your fault. But I wanted you more than revenge. But I guess we both got revenge in the end.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“You having Howland’s money is the best revenge for both of us.”
Charlotte bites her lips, and instantly, I wish I could take back what I just said.
“I’m going to take a bath.” She gets up and grabs her robe.
“Do you want me to join you?” I ask. Eddie shook her more than Charlotte admits, and I’ll wait until she initiates. I don’t want her to think about that sick fuck when I touch her.
Charlotte hesitates at the bathroom door. “I like to soak alone and zone out.”
***
The weekend is over before we’re ready to go. I pick up our bags and walk out of the bedroom. “Let’s head back and face life.” On the drive home, Charlotte chats about renting an apartment and asks me to go in with her.
I risk saying what I want to say, so we can get at the truth. “You know I love you?”
She smiles. “I hoped you would.”
“So, do you share those feelings?” I ask, eyeing her in the rear-view mirror.
She stares at me. “I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t love me.”
It isn’t the answer I want, but judging from her sweet smile, her love will come.
