"When are you leaving today?"
"My flight is at three," she said, pulling her purse from the backseat before reaching for the door handle.
"Can you send me a text when you make it to New York so I know you got there?"
"Sure. Would you like me to also add in some trade gossip?"
He rolled his eyes teasingly. "A simple 'I made it' will be enough."
She leaned over and gave him one more peck on his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Charlotte climbed out and shut her car door as she headed into the front entrance to her apartment building. Jordan loved seeing her in his jerseys, but there was one downside: they were too long to let him have a good look at her gorgeous ass as she walked away.
Jordan grimaced at the sound of his phone buzzing again from the passenger seat, pulling him away from his view of Charlotte. He was going to be so much happier when the deadline passed in a few hours. And more important, it meant his phone would stop interrupting his time with her. After the mess today, dinner with Charlotte in New York City tomorrow night was the perfect thing to look forward to.
Chapter 9
"Bourbon on the rocks."
"Sure thing, Miss Stone," the bartender replied, giving Charlotte a quick smile before turning to make her drink.
She was still trying to readjust to the idea that New Yorkers knew her and would respond with her name even though she had never met them before.
Charlotte sat down and put her purse on the modern cement-slab bar. The restaurant she had chosen was sophisticated without being flashy, which she thought would be perfect for dinner with Jordan. While the food was great and the ambiance was nice, it was still a hidden gem that hadn't been infested with the glitz and glamor types of New York who tended to drag the paparazzi along with them. Hell, the fact that it was sophisticated probably scared those types away. If that made Charlotte a snob, so be it. She would prefer being a snob having a quiet dinner than being an attention whore with a bunch of photographers watching her eat. That was also why she was happy her parents had plans tonight that would require her mother's camera crew to follow them instead of her.
The bartender smiled as he placed the drink in front of her. Charlotte took a sip, savoring the way it tasted, and she immediately felt more relaxed. She actually got to the restaurant a half hour before her reservation with Jordan just so she could have this drink after things at her parents' place got a little stressful. She should've expected that when she told them who she was seeing.
"Wait, you're dating another hockey player?" her father had asked incredulously.
"Peter, stop. She's a grown woman who can make her own decisions," her mother told him.
"I understand that, but do you remember the drama that came with the last one?"
Charlotte sighed. "Dad, that was two years ago."
"You got hurt badly. I just don't want to see that happen again."
She walked over to her father and put her arm around his waist. "Don't worry. I thought about that, and I promise things will be different now."
As with many times before, she could count on her mother Maggie to lighten the mood with some flippant comment.
"So tell us about this hockey player of yours," she beamed, drawing out the last few words.
"He's the captain for the Detroit Pirates and—"
"You're dating Jordan King?" her dad yelled.
"Who's Jordan King?"
Her mother's voice was dripping with intrigue. Charlotte could tell she couldn't wait to call her society friends and gossip with them about this one.
"NHL pretty boy who dates a bunch of attractive women," Peter explained.
"Well, thank you for the compliment," Charlotte said sarcastically.
"I didn't mean you," her father replied. "Well, I mean, I did but, you know."
"Peter, give her a chance." Maggie turned her attention back to Charlotte. "Please tell me he's a big deal. Julia willdiewhen she finds out my daughter is dating a big shot while hers goes out with another deadbeat DJ or party promoter or whatever."
