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“Maybe he didn’t leave you waiting in a restaurant, but you took him back after all the stupid shit he did.”
“Hey,” Alex says, defensive. “Most of those things were out of my control. I knew Charlotte was the one after the first night I spent in this apartment.” He turns to Charlie and smiles, reaching out for her hand. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
Charlie returns his gesture, practically turning into a pile of mush before my eyes. She’s a different person with Alex. If anyone can understand my situation, these two can. So, why are they giving me a hard time?
“I risked my friendship with Charlie to go out on a limb for you, Alex.” My tone is so severe that Alex jerks his head toward me. Now that I have his attention, I keep going. “I knew Charlie was hurting after everything you had done and even more so after Mickey had kept you two apart. All I’m asking is to go in your place tonight. Do you really want to look at seating charts and place settings anyway?”
He bites down on his bottom lip, thinking it over. “Well, no…but—”
“My point exactly,” I interject. “I’ve done most of the wedding stuff with Charlie. What’s one more thing? I need to see Regan, and this is the only way.”
Charlie shakes her head in disapproval. “I can’t believe you want to use our wedding as an excuse to see Regan. You screwed up big time, Jamie. I doubt she will even want to see you.”
“But you know me, and you know that I would never do something like that to anyone. And I would never do it on purpose. I have a valid excuse for why I was late.”
“You have to find time for her,” Charlie says, softly. “For years, you’ve been married to your job. If you want her back, you will need to change your ways and stop being such a work-a-holic.”
“You’re okay with Alex’s schedule,” I point out.
“Yes, but I know his schedule before the season even starts. I plan our lives around hockey, and then fit my work and basketball schedules in with his. It’s not easy to juggle all these things, but we make it work. You have to do the same thing with Regan, or you will lose her for good.”
“Will you let me come with you? Please.” I hold my hands up, pleading with her. “I will get on my hands and knees and beg if that’s what it takes.”
“I had to do that to get Charlotte back,” Alex says, frowning at the memory. He had to literally beg the guy who he’d broken his nose the year before. It was the last piece of the puzzle to win Charlie over. That was over a year ago.
“I loved you even more for doing that,” Charlie says to Alex with a wide grin on her face. “I still do.” She scoots her chair closer to Alex, so he can hook his arm around her back. Then, she looks across the counter at me. “Regan will respect you more if you make a grand gesture, show her that you will do anything to make it up to her. If you use Alex and me to do it, she might tell you to fuck off. She’s one of those strong and independent types.”
“Like you,” I add.
“Yes, like me. But I always had you to keep me from falling on my ass.”
I throw my hands in the air, frustrated. “I quit my job for Regan. Is that not enough?”
Charlie shakes her head. “Grand gesture, Jameson. Think of something that will win her over. You’re a goddamn genius. I know you can do it. Quitting your job is not enough. Now, you’re an unemployed computer genius with nothing to offer her.”
“What can I say or do to make her forgive me?” I am desperate for someone to give me the answer because I have no idea.
“You love her, don’t you?” Charlie reaches across the table to give my hand a squeeze. “You would never quit your job over any old girl.”
“Yes,” I mutter. “I didn’t realize how much I cared for Regan until after I lost her. I need her back. I fucked up, and I need to make it up to her.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Charlie says, folding her hands in front of her on the counter. “If you really love her, or even think you might, you had better get your shit together. Make a plan before you lose her for good.”
“I’ve already lost her. She won’t return my calls. I have no way of reaching her.”
Scratching the stubble on my chin, I try to find the right words and fail. I have been a mess since Regan stopped talking to me. I can hardly function. It’s been days since I shaved. I’ve had on the same T-shirt since yesterday. I look like I crawled out of a dumpster, and I probably smell like it, too.
“I’m sure it will come to you,” Charlie says. “It always does. You just need to let things sink in.”
“So, I guess you’re not going to let me come along with you tonight.”
“Nope.” Her tone is firm and serious, matching her facial expression. “You will figure it out, Jamie, and when you do, I know she will take you back.”
“How do you know that?”
She shrugs, her shoulder brushing up against Alex. “Because I’m a woman, and I know things. Trust me. Make it count, Jameson.”
I need a grand gesture, one that had better come to me fast. And I had better make it good.
