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“Stop! I don’t want to hear this.”
“All right, I’ll be good.” He leaned down, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Are you okay? Are we okay?”
“Yes, but no more saying you’re in love with me.”
“But Charlie, when can I say it?”
“Not until it’s really true.”
He made a strangled sound. “Why did God make women so unreasonable?”
“I’m not being unreasonable. I’m being sensible.” She sprang to a sitting position and spoke in an urgent voice. “We should go. People will wonder where we are.”
“Charlie, can I kiss you one more time? Since the last one kind of ended in an argument?”
“I don’t know if that’s such a—”
He swallowed her words with his lips, gradually changing from a gentle caress to a firm demand. She was awash in a flood of swirling colors in her head. She tried to bring her mind under control, to regain her footing, to find solid ground. But the fiery sensation of his lips on hers made her float in the air, drifting and dizzy. She returned his kiss with equal fervor, and a little whimper escaped her. Then his lips left her, bereft, to trail along the line of her chin and into the hollow of her neck. She felt her bones melt as her head fell back, and she collapsed, helpless against the assault to her senses.
He pulled away, emitting a pained groan. “Charlie, let’s try for weeks instead of months. Pleeeeeeeeas
e!”
Charlie struggled to catch her breath. “Okay. Good idea.”
Josh pumped his hand. “Yes!”
Chapter Eighteen
CHARLIE WAS EATING with Josh and the Gherrings in their penthouse when Josh left the table to take a phone call. Charlie's appetite disappeared as Josh returned wearing a fierce expression.
“That was Drew Warner, the ad litem,” said Josh. “The Parsons want to meet with me.”
“The Parsons...” Anne said. “Are they Jace and Chloe’s grandparents?”
“They’re Chloe’s grandparents, but they’re not actually related to Jace.”
Anne grimaced at his bitter tone, but Steven nodded. “This is good. This is what my attorneys wanted.”
“Well it’s not what I want.” Josh banged his fist on the table. “I think it’s a bad idea.”
“Why?” asked Charlie. “Maybe it’s a good sign.”
“We already know they want custody of Chloe, but not Jace. So there’s only one reason they could want to meet.”
“What?” Anne asked.
“They’ve heard I may get custody of Chloe, and they want visitation rights.”
“That’s probable,” said Steven. “And you might as well get used to the idea, Josh. It’s quite possible the courts will order it, and things will be best for everyone if you can get along with the Parsons.”
“Just think how that’s going to make Jace feel, when Chloe gets to go visit the grandparents and he doesn’t.”
“You still don’t have the right to cut her off from her grandparents,” Steven reasoned.
“I know, but that doesn’t make me like it.” His fingers drummed on the table. “They want to meet my fiancée... Olivia.”
“I assume you didn’t mention you had changed from one fiancée to another?” asked Steven.
