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“Yes, but Charlie’s going to be busy giving lessons to Jace.”
Josh felt his blood boiling. This is going to be a long week.
CHARLIE FRETTED, TWISTING a curl repeatedly around her finger, when she realized Olivia was sitting beside Derek. That surely wouldn’t help her cause. But the flight was over three hours long, and soon after takeoff, everyone was out of their seats and moving around. Steven and Anne took the toddlers and Jace into the private bedroom area in the back of the plane, where there were cartoons and toys available for entertainment.
Emily whispered in Charlie’s ear. “This is backfiring! You’ve got to get De
rek away from Olivia.”
“I’ll get Derek,” Charlie answered in a low voice. “You distract Olivia.”
But before they could put their plan into action, Anne emerged from the back of the plane. “Derek, come talk to me. I haven’t even really gotten to meet you.” She grabbed his arm, pulling him away from Olivia to sit on a small comfortable sofa. Charlie pretended to listen to the story Spencer was telling while she eavesdropped on her mom’s conversation.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Gherring.”
“You can call me Anne. Now tell me all about yourself. Where are you from?”
“I’m from Michigan. Midland, Michigan.”
“I’m afraid I’ve never been to Michigan. Is Midland near Detroit?”
“No.” He held up his hand to demonstrate the shape of the state. “Detroit is here, below the thumb. Midland is kind of in the middle of the hand.”
“And you’re in law school at Columbia, right? What luck Charlie ran into you last Saturday. Although I would usually warn kids a bar isn’t the best place to meet someone nice.”
“I feel particularly lucky I met Charlie. I only hope she would say the same.”
“Speaking of Charlie... Charlie, could you come here a minute? Sweetie, would you mind entertaining Derek while I go check on Steven and the kids?” She stood, pushing Charlie onto the couch beside Derek. “I’ll talk to you later, Derek.”
He chuckled. “What was that? First your mom is dying to know all about me. And then she only talks to me for about sixty seconds before she makes a run for it. I guess I wasn’t as exciting as she expected me to be.”
“On the contrary, I think Mom likes you a lot. She’s probably up to her usual tricks. You see, she fancies herself to be a matchmaker, and I suspect she’s decided to help us get together.”
“Us? As in you and me?” Derek asked.
“That’s right.”
“I really like your mom—she’s a smart lady. We should definitely make her dreams come true.” He grinned, stretching his arm over her shoulder.
“It’s only an act, remember?” She murmured without moving her lips.
“Yes,” he said, leaning in closer to her. “But I plan to put my heart and soul into playing my role.” He reached up with his other hand and turned her face toward his, and lightly brushed his lips against hers.
Charlie was absolutely mortified. Even without a mirror, she knew her cheeks must be bright red. Although she’d known he was going to kiss her in front of the others, she hadn’t realized how embarrassed she would be. She’d never participated in any type of public display of affection before.
“Don’t look so distressed,” he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine with his tickling breath. “You’re supposed to like it. Was it really that awful?”
“No. It was fine. I just... I’m not used to...”
“I demand a second chance,” he said, pulling her close for another gentle kiss. “Was that better?” There was clear anxiety in his voice.
“Yes. I mean, no. I mean... That’s enough. They’ve all gotten the message.”
Charlie glanced around, trying to measure the effect of the affectionate display on her friends. Grace and Olivia seemed to be in close conference, while both Josh and Spencer were sending killing looks in Derek’s direction. Emily, however, gave her a surreptitious thumbs-up.
“Perhaps one more to seal the deal?”
“No.” Charlie spoke around the fake smile she glued on her face.
