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Charli took a breath. He looked awful. He hadn’t shaved, his eyes were sunken and heavy. She’d never seen him like this. “Simon?”
He pushed past her and into the living room. “We all took a flight home the next day, did you know that? Kelly, Eric, Rafael, even the newlyweds.”
“Aunt Kelly phoned. I wish they hadn’t done that. I didn’t mean to ruin the honeymoon.”
Simon chuckled, but it was a thoroughly unattractive sound. “You’re a damn fool if you thought we wouldn’t. I called too. I must have left a hundred messages. You never called me back.”
Charli hugged herself. “I needed time.”
He nodded, his back still turned. “That’s what Eric said. And we all agreed to give it to you.” He walked over to her couch and hung his head in his hands.
She wanted to go to him. To wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be all right, the way he always had for her. But she held back. It wasn’t her place anymore.
He lifted his head to pierce her with his beautiful blue eyes. “Two weeks, Charli? Two weeks with no word, not even a stupid email. And now you have a lawyer call Lee and tell him you want to sell out of the business? Our business, Chuck? The one we dreamed up together?”
He stood, shaking his head. “You’re wrong. Eric’s wrong. You don’t need time. What you need is a spanking.”
She stepped back. He wouldn’t. She studied his expression and retreated a bit more. Oh yes he would. “Look, Simon, I just think this would be the best for everyone if we—”
“No. Don’t you say another word. Not until you hear me out.” He started pacing. Pacing. Simon didn’t pace. “I was trying to wake you up. Show you how good we could be together. I thought if we were somewhere foreign, different, you’d let down your guard enough to… Hell, I don’t know. I was desperate. We all were.”
Wait a minute. “Simon, what are you talking about? It was Connie and Aunt Kelly who set up the race, right? You were just as surprised as I was.”
“No. Eric and Rafael were just as surprised as you were. I was the one who suggested the idea to the others. I thought I had all the bases covered, even finding that Tim guy in the ship’s bar and convincing him to make that bet. You never could resist a bet.”
He ran a shaky hand through his hair and the ice wall she’d spent two weeks building around her heart melted a little. She’d never seen Simon vulnerable before. She stepped closer. “Why?” She had to hear him say it.
“The same reason for every damn thing I’ve done since the sixth grade, Chuck. The same reason I get up each morning looking forward to going to work. The reason my heart beats. For you, Charli. Because I love you.”
She took another step. “What about Eric and Raf? Why did you involve them?”
He caught her movement and stilled, waiting. “They love you, too, you know that. Eric’s been lost since the ninth grade dance, and Rafael was done for when you broke your arm trying to protect him from Jamie Ann Burns.”
She chuckled and he allowed himself a small smile. “And you love them. I know you, Chuck. If they went away and got married you’d be miserable. We belong to you. I belong to you. And that’s all I’ll ever want as long as I live.”
Her eyes misted. She finally understood. “You tried to give me everything I wanted. So much so that you were willing to share me…with them?”
He turned toward her and took her hand. “Hell, girl. We’ve shared you all our lives. That’s what we do. Why ruin a good thing?” He pulled her closer. “Especially when you can make it even better?”
“Is Charli okay?”
“Your message said it was urgent. What’s happened?”
Charli smothered a giggle as she hid in the hallway. She and Simon had everything planned. Of course, she had a few surprises in store for him as well.
Simon’s voice made her tingle. “I’m glad you got here so quickly. It is pretty important.”
God, she loved him. He’d brought her back to his house, and they’d spent the day together. She’d showered him, watched him shave. They’d fed each other in his enormous kitchen and after they were through, he’d made love to her over and over again. She was surprised either one of them could walk.
She still had a hard time believing it was real. Charli had been so afraid of losing him as her friend that she hadn’t been able to see that he was ready for so much more. That they all were.
“What the hell, guy? Where is she? Did she talk to you?”
“Hello, boys.”
Eric and Rafael turned toward her, their jaws dropping when they saw what she was wearing. She had to call Aunt Kelly to find out where one would go to buy a naughty schoolgirl costume. She thought it was appropriate. She twirled her pigtails.
“Welcome home.”
