Page 31
Chapter 9
Charlotte stared in the mirror after reapplying her lip gloss.
Deep breaths.
Dinner had been a disaster. She’d intended to stay away from Torr, knowing she lacked control around him, only to spend the entire meal seated beside him. She’d barely noticed the morsels she’d consumed, all her attention focused on the illicit pats and touches under the table. And then he’d touched her there.
She wanted him, no question about it. If only she could risk being seen with him.
He’d instantly established a reputation for himself as the town’s visiting bad boy. If she was seen with him, her reputation would take a nosedive, something Charlotte couldn’t afford.
No, she’d already built herself up after one fall from grace. She wouldn’t survive two.
After her father and his business partner had been caught embezzling money from their software company—the one the two of them had built from the ground up, making both families millionaires—things had come crashing down so quickly that even now Charlotte could hardly believe the sudden turn of events.
They’d gone from one of Charleston’s most influential families to nearly broke, virtually overnight. With a father in prison. Sometimes, she wondered if perhaps the material change had been good for her, if not for her mother. Had the Harris family not tumbled from grace, she’d likely have turned out exactly like her mother.
Her life’s goal would have been to find a man to take care of her.
Instead, she’d gotten a college degree, worked at a respectable job, and built a reputation based on her own merits rather than her family’s wealth.
She’d worked too hard to risk it all.
Drawing a deep breath, Charlotte left the bathroom to rejoin the others in the front room. But a sound stopped her. She heard Alessandra and Toni talking in the kitchen.
Charlotte moved toward her friend’s voices. The two of them seemed to be alone in there. Good. She could talk to them about Torr before—
“I think we should tell her.”
A chill crept up her spine. Somehow, she knew they were talking about her.
“She’s a dear friend, completely trustworthy,” Toni continued.
“I agree. And I hate lying to her . . .”
Charlotte frowned. Lying to her? About what? Did this have something to do with whatever had happened to Alessandra over the summer?
No longer caring that she was eavesdropping on a private conversation, she moved closer to the kitchen.
“Then let’s not.”
Silence.
“It’s a risk—”
“A small one. Or is the idea of Stone Haven becoming an open town just talk? If we really think it’s possible . . .”
An open town? What on earth did that mean?
“We have to get back. Let’s talk to the guys about it,” Alessandra said. “In the meantime, no mention of Cheld or vampires . . .”
Charlotte stopped listening then. Had her friend just said vampires?
She didn’t even think to move away from the entrance, so when her friends walked toward her, their faces told her everything she needed to know.
Well, maybe not everything. Vampires? She told herself it was just something to do with the Halloween bar opening. Maybe they were considering some added theatrics. A couple of guys in costume. God knew the Derricksons and Kenton would fit the bill. Except none of that sounded right, even in her head.
She shook it off. The important thing was that her friends were hiding something from her, something big, and they didn’t trust her enough to tell her. It made it worse that they both knew.
