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Charlie threw her hands in the air. “Well, I’m so sorry I’ve ruined everything for you! I know life married to a rich, successful man must be so damn difficult to bear, and now I’m here making it worse because I’m single and I hang out in bars.”
“That is not my issue and you know it.”
“Then what is it?”
“You’re single, and you go to bars, and you sleep around, and you flaunt your ass around like a stray cat in heat and my husband knows you like married men. That’s my issue.”
Instead of fury, weariness washed over Charlie. She wanted to sit this girl down and explain to her that it was the twenty-first century and women could enjoy their lives just as much as men. They could be single and have sex and make money and still be nice, fulfilled, genuine people. But those crazy eyes were not open to seeing sexual equality for women. Not right now. Not in the face of Charlie Allington, husband hunter.
She couldn’t let that stand. “I don’t like married men, Dawn. I had no idea my boss was married. Nobody did. It was a big resort. He kept his private life a secret so he could rotate through all the new cocktail waitresses as they came on board. Obviously, I didn’t know about that part, either. But more important than all of that...if you don’t trust your husband, that has nothing to do with me. Please leave me out of it. I’m begging you.”
“Don’t talk to me about my husband.”
“Fine. I’ll talk about you instead. You can’t spend every single day thinking about him and what he’s doing and how to make him behave
. You think he’s doing that for you?”
“It’s not the same,” she muttered, her eyes searching the crowd behind Charlie.
“Why?”
Her wandering eyes finally found Charlie again. She looked her up and down with disdain. “Do you even remember the things we talked about in school? How we wanted to meet good men and get married and be successful, and not waste our lives screwing around with these stupid boys?”
“Sure, but—”
“Well, I did that, Charlotte. I met a good man. A successful, ambitious man who loved me, and who loved that I had worked hard and stayed focused and saved myself for something special. For him. I supported him. I left college to help him build his business. I had his children and I stayed home every single day until they were in school. I invested myself in this partnership. This is what I’ve chosen to do, so don’t tell me I can’t spend my days worrying about how he is and what he’s doing. That is my job. To make this work. To make sure it doesn’t fail. And I am just as important to our success as any deal he might make or any fortune he might invest.”
Wow. Charlie blinked in shock. “Behind every great man...” she said. Dawn nodded, obviously missing the emphasis Charlie had put on the word “behind.”
“So,” Dawn continued, “don’t waltz in here thinking I missed the boat because I didn’t go off to the big city and drink myself into a stupor so I could lose my virginity to some sweaty stranger. Don’t think I’m missing out just because I’ve never met a guy at a bar or partied in Vegas or...”
Charlie leaned a little closer to Dawn. “Fine. But don’t think I’m evil because I have. If you think being single and slutty is such a shitty life, then why feel threatened by it?”
“I don’t feel threatened,” Dawn said, but she’d gotten distracted again. Her eyes homed in on something like a death ray.
Charlie followed her gaze and was surprised to see Dawn staring at Walker, who was in close conversation with his ex-lover. Shit. Something in Charlie’s chest twisted at the sight. How stupid was that? Walker could talk to whoever he wanted. He wasn’t Charlie’s boyfriend. He never would be.
But she still heard the words “Who is that?” coming from her mouth.
“That’s Nicole Fletcher,” Dawn said, her voice flat. “She’s an old classmate of Keith’s. Kind of a slut, people say.”
“Aren’t we all?” Charlie muttered.
Dawn didn’t answer. It was probably too obvious a question.
She watched Walker and Nicole speak for a few more seconds. He wasn’t in flirtatious mode, that much was clear. Not that it was any of her business. Any woman who was stupid enough to fall in love with that man would live with a breaking heart every day of her life.
“Are you two sharing that cowboy or something?”
A solid mark. Maybe Dawn really did have her number. Maybe Charlie was just a worthless slut. Charlie sighed, feeling defeated by all of it. “Look, Dawn, you didn’t want me here. I get that now. It kind of makes sense. Actually, it makes perfect sense, and I’m sorry if I’ve caused trouble. But I’m here now, so can’t we just call a truce? Please?”
Dawn shrugged, already moving away from Charlie. She spared her a glance over her shoulder. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” she said as she walked away.
That didn’t sound like much of a truce. Charlie grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. This was a war she didn’t want. She could rise above it. She was smart and amazing and determined. She could do this. She could do anything.
Two hours later she trudged into the Stud Farm in utter defeat. She’d tried to enjoy the rest of the evening. She’d tried to schmooze about the resort. But all anyone had wanted to do was gossip about people she’d never heard of. Hell, even when she’d tried pointing the gossiping tongues toward Dawn, she’d failed. A couple of people had laughed and implied that Dawn was a prissy bitch, but otherwise the woman never seemed to have set a foot wrong in this town. She was the consummate socialite wife. The most Charlie had gotten was “Did you hear she’s already gone half gray? If she didn’t have that amazing hairdresser, she wouldn’t look quite so perfect all the time, let me tell you.”
“Gawd,” Charlie groaned as she toed off her heels and stretched her poor, squished toes. All she wanted was a hot bath and then a soft bed. Thank God she hadn’t invited Walker over. She wouldn’t have been doing much mind blowing. Unless his number-one turn-on was limp snoring.
