Page 47 of More Than Friends

I can’t help but scoff. “You’re a cart girl at one of the best country clubs in the country. People apply for years to work at Pembroke and never even get an interview. The fact that you not only got an interview but also got the job is incredible. Plus,you got a promotion after only working at the club for a year. Everyone wants to be a cart girl because of the tips. Having Pembroke on your resume can get you a job at any other place you want. You’re doing amazing, and I know your parents are proud of you.”

When I glance over at her, I find her smiling. The tilt of her lips soothes something inside me. Maybe that beautiful curve of her lips means my words got through to her. “You haven’t even met my parents. What if they have ridiculously high standards?”

“For one, I’d love to meet your parents.” Now that I’ve said the words out loud, I realize just how much I’d love to be lucky enough that she wants to introduce me to her family. “And two, the way you talk about them tells me there’s no way they’re disappointed in you.”

Charlotte is so quiet that I have to look over at her in an attempt to find out why she hasn’t responded. I find her eyes already on me, a wide smile still on her face.

“What?” I ask.

“Have you been paying attention when I talk about my parents?”

I look back at the road as my eyebrows draw in. “Of course I have. I listen to everything you say.”

“Prove it.” The sassy tone to her voice tells me she doesn’t believe me at all.

I sigh as I turn my SUV into a different Southampton neighborhood. “Your dad’s name is Kyle, and your mom’s name is Ruth, but you’ve told me one of your favorite things is that your dad has always called her Ruthie, and you think it’s romantic. Your parents met right out of high school. You’re the baby of five siblings. There’s an age gap between you and the rest because I remember you saying that you were a bit of anoops. You have two sisters and two brothers, and all of them have kidsthat you helped watch while growing up. Your family’s lived in Arizona your entire life, and they all still live there, and?—”

“Okay, so it turns out you do listen,” Charlotte interrupts, surprise laced in her tone.

I glance to my right and give her a cocky grin. “I told you I did. Why do you sound so shocked by that?”

“I don’t know. You’ve got so many important things to remember.”

I frown. “Yeah, and I remember what you tell me because you’re important to me too.”

Charlotte groans, and the sound has me looking over at her.

“What?” I ask, finding her with her head in her hands.

“Nothing,” she rushes to get out. “It’s just weird. I know you. We’ve been friends—goodfriends—for basically a year at this point. But it’s like I’m still finding out things about you that take me by surprise. It’s weird, that’s all.”

I tap my fingers against the steering wheel as I think about her words. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

My question comes out more hesitant than I intended it to. I just can’t tell if she likes what she’s finding out about me or not. I think about her words again, realizing she has a point. We’ve spent so much time together in the last year. I can easily call her one of my best friends. But I do feel like I’m seeing new layers to her in the last couple of days since Ava came into the picture.

“I think it’s both,” Charlotte quietly admits.

My eyes find her for a moment, but instead of her blue gaze meeting mine, she stares at the monitor on the dash instead. I focus back on the road as my entire body feels tight with nerves at her answer.

“Both?” I ask hoarsely.

I want to look at her without having to worry about the road. I cut the wheel to the right and pull over in front of a random house before putting the car in park.

“What are you doing?” Charlotte asks.

I turn my body in my seat and really look at her for the first time this car ride. She has my full attention, and I’m ready to catalog every detail of her answer to my question.

“Waiting for you to tell me why it’s both a good and bad thing that you’re still finding out new things about me.” I smile as I try to ignore the way my heart pounds. I don’t know why I’m pushing this. Maybe I don’t want to know her answer. It could crush me, or it could make me want things I absolutely shouldn’t be wanting with how complicated things already are as I try to navigate being a dad.

Charlotte swallows, her gaze dropping to my lips for a fraction of a second before meeting mine again. There’s a hungry look in her eyes that I’ve only seen once before—when we kissed in my living room. It disarms me because I’m not used to her looking at me like this. She never stares at my lips like she’s hungry for them. She looks at me like she’s begging to be kissed, and it’s not something I’m used to, but it’s something I desperately want.

I close my eyes and try to forget how she’s looking at me. I try to wipe the sight of her looking at my lips from my mind. It’s only been a couple of days since we agreed to keep things platonic. I thought I’d be so distracted by Ava that it’d be easy to look at Charlotte and not want her.

It turns out not wanting Charlotte might be impossible.

My life is as complicated as ever, and there are a million reasons why I need to not cross any lines with Charlotte. I need her in my life, and historically, I don’t know how to do romantic relationships. With time, I would probably mess things up and lose her. I can’t lose her. But I can’t not want her either.

I open my eyes to find Charlotte staring right at me. Her chest rises and falls in short succession. The SUV feels farsmaller than it actually is with how thick the tension is between us.