Charlie’s face softened. “We can go as slow as you need. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
Harper’s body relaxed. The relief flooding her veins was like warm honey, leaving sweet relief in its path. “Thank you.” She sagged farther onto the sand until her head lay on her bicep.
Charlie brushed the hair off her forehead, and the sweetness of the gesture made Harper ache in a different way.
“What do you think about a day date?”
Charlie rolled onto her stomach and placed her chin on the backs of her hands. “What’d you have in mind?”
“Maybe breakfast one morning? I can’t do tomorrow because I’m at the clinic, but the day after, I’m free.” Harper didn’t know why she was so nervous. It seemed clear Charlie wanted to date her, but something about directly asking her on a real date felt scarier than these ambiguous outings that could have just been hangouts between friends.
Until the kissing had started anyway.
“I’d love that. Breakfast is my favorite meal. Sometimes I even have breakfast for dinner. Though honestly, my desire to see you has had me foregoing waffles or omelets for dinner in favor of coming to the bar instead. I’ve been both drinking more and eating a lot more unhealthy foods lately.” Charlie’s smile grew brighter as she said, “Not that I mind.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I don’t want to contribute to your delinquency.”
“I still drink a lot less here than I did in New York. That was just the life. The job was stressful as fuck, and drinking and drugs went with it.” Charlie’s eyes went wide as she quickly added, “I never really got into the Wall Street drug scene, thankfully. That was more the finance bros. I hung with them enough that I was well liked, but when they offered me something illegal, I’d take it and toss it the first chance I got.”
“Wow. I thought that whole drug thing was played up for the movies.” Harper felt a little sick at the life Charlie used to live.
“It’s definitely portrayed as a bigger issue in the movies, but it’s still there. Though I didn’t succumb, I did drink a lot more than was healthy. That was just a given. We all had bottles in our desks and would go out just before the bars closed to celebrate a win.” She grimaced and shook her head. “The more distance I have from that place, the more I can see that getting out of that shit was the best thing that could’ve happened to me.”
Harper had always been thegoodone. She never broke the rules; she always studied and got good grades. It was odd to think of Charlie as being a part of the party scene, but she hadn’t known her back then. Which wasn’t a bad thing. But she was also grateful to know her now.
Harper looked to the horizon. “We’ve missed the sunset.” She gestured with her chin.
Charlie looked out but brought her gaze back to Harper’s. “I’m sure it was beautiful, but I don’t regret our timing. The green flash can wait for another day. And the sky is beautiful still.” She pointed without looking at the pinks and oranges streaking along the horizon.
“Beautiful,” Harper said, not looking either.
Chapter Sixteen
“Are you okay?” Harper said as Charlie slid onto the stool at the bar, dragging as though she was about to find out if she was dying.
When Charlie blew out her cheeks and sighed but still didn’t answer, Harper placed her hand on Charlie’s forearm and squeezed. “What’s going on? Do you want to step into the back and talk?” She’d never seen her look so forlorn. Not since she’d walked into the bar months ago anyway. And certainly not in the few weeks since they’d started dating.
Charlie nodded, so Harper looked at Aiden. “I need to step away for a sec. Can you cover?”
He was wiping down a table but grinned at her as he said, “Of course, boss.”
Rather than leading Charlie into her cramped office, she took her out back and up to her apartment where they could sit more comfortably.
“Thank you,” Charlie said as she settled on the couch. “I don’t know why the panic just started to set in.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Harper said as she wrapped her arm around her and pulled her close. “What are you panicking about?”
Charlie’s hand shook as she laid it on Harper’s knee. “Tomorrow is the big day with my parents. I’ve been so calm, but it just hit me that, tomorrow at this time, I’m going to be with my parents. For a woman who used to close billion-dollar deals without blinking, it seems ridiculous, but these are myparents. I’m in such a better place, but the idea of seeing themis…daunting. What if they hate me?” Her breath was starting to come rapidly again, and Harper rubbed big circles into her back.
“They aren’t going to hate you. They’re just going to be so happy to see you again. How long has it been?”
Charlie shivered before she said, “Um, almost seven years, I think.”
Harper blinked in shock, but she certainly wasn’t going to mention it. Not while Charlie was already so stressed. Instead, she encouraged her to lie down with her head in Harper’s lap so she could give her a scalp massage. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Charlie released a couple of little groans when Harper apparently found the right spots around her temples and forehead. Franky came over and sat in front of them, laying her head on the couch so her nose was nuzzled under Charlie’s chin. Charlie scratched her neck for a few seconds before her hand stilled, resting there. Harper was beginning to wonder if Charlie had fallen asleep when she said, “Would you come with me?”
Harper accidentally froze for a second, and Charlie continued, “You don’t have to. Sorry I asked. We aren’t to the meet the parents stage, for sure.”
