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“Thirty…ish?”
“You’re good. I turned thirty-one last June.”
“Your parents? Where are they?”
He crossed his arms behind his head. “My dad died when I was a little kid in a car accident and my mother still lives in Florida. I have a brother who’s a pain in the ass and a bunch of cousins. We’re all real close though, so it’s all good.”
“What’s your brother’s name?”
He hesitated and then exhaled slowly. If Charlie didn’t know better, she’d think he was hiding something.
“Cooper,” Rick said, watching her closely.
“Huh,” she replied. “I like that name. It’s different.”
He tugged at the edge of the blanket, fiddling with a loose thread. “Actually Rick is short for my full name.”
Ah. Finally. She was getting something good. Charlie inched forward, a grin on her face. “And that would be?”
“Maverick.”
For a moment she didn’t know what to day. She knew a Maverick. But the Maverick that she knew was a little grey and white schnauzer with a mean growl and an attitude to match.
Charlie studied Rick closely, angling her head. “You look like a Maverick. I like it.”
“Maverick Simon. That’s me.” His eyes were dark and the way he was looking at her was intense. If she didn’t know better, she’d think that something was up. She was just about to ask him another question when his cell phone rang.
“Really?” she said sliding off the bed. She rifled through his jeans and tossed him his phone. “Black Sabbath?” She was teasing, but Rick didn’t seem to notice.
He grabbed his phone and she set her mug down and tried not to eavesdrop.
“Any news?” he asked, sliding off the bed and grabbing up his jeans. “What? Are you kidding me?” He swore and sat back down on the bed.
Okay. Charlie was made no effort to hide her eavesdropping. Who was he talking to? Why did he suddenly seem so upset?
For several long moments, Rick listened to whoever was on the other end, his shoulders hunched forward, his forehead resting in the palm of his hand.
“Yeah,” he eventually said. “I’m on my way.” He slid his jeans on, not bothering to look for his boxers and put his cellphone into his back pocket as he turned around to face her.
Every trace of their evening was gone. Instead of that sensual smile she wanted, his mouth was grim, his eyes dark and worried. Charlie handed him his shirt and stepped back as he pulled it over his head. She was cold and wrapped her arms around herself, waiting…
Nobody stays.
The thought echoed inside her head and she shivered, pushing it away. This wasn’t like that. They weren’t there yet. They couldn’t be there yet.
“Charlie, I gotta go,” Rick said slowly, running his hands through his hair. “I have to go home.”
She swallowed hard, nodding. Isn’t this what she’d been expecting?
“Home as in your brother’s place? Or home as in…” She searched his face, her head full of so many questions but too afraid to ask. It wasn’t her business.
“No. Home as in Florida. There’s been...” He blew out a hot breath and shook his head. “Something’s happened. It’s a family thing and I wish I had time to explain it all but I don’t.” He strode toward her and buried his hands in her hair, pulling her close for a bittersweet kiss that made her stomach flutter and her knees weak. She sagged against him and didn’t care because suddenly she felt like crying.
Her. Charlie Samuels felt like crying over a guy.
“I’m sorry to leave like this, but my family needs me.”
“I know. Go be with them.”
