AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 3
Stacy was standing at the bar when I finished my trip to the ladies' room. She stared at me with a neutral but unreadable expression as I approached.
"What?" I asked as she continued to stare.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, what do you mean?" I asked.
"Charlie's married. Who knew. That's crazy."
"Was that more of the Morgan boys?" Stacy's mom, Bridgette, came in just then, and it was the first thing she asked us when she made it in the door.
"Yes," Stacy said.
Stan heard them and came out of the kitchen. "I tried to take Hope's sandwich to her, and she gave me a death stare, so I kept it back in the kitchen with me so she could talk to those boys."
"I didn't give you a death stare," I said, laughing and defending myself.
"The older one, Charlie, he's married," Stacy said, informing her parents.
"Was that his wife with them?" Bridgette asked.
"No, that's Lila," I said. "Donnie's daughter, from Houston."
"Oh, Lila and Beck?"
"Yeah, but Beck wasn't with them," Stacy said to her mom. "Those were two of the Florida boys. Charlie, the oldest one, got married. I looked that woman up while you were in the restroom. Savannah Morgan."
My head whipped around to look at Stacy when she said that. "You looked her up?" I asked.
She nodded. "She's all plastic looking. You don't want to see it."
"Plastic looking?" Bridgette asked. "What's that mean?"
"All perfect and made up," Stacy said.
She was being nice. She was trying to tell me not to look at it or worry about it, but I knew I would do both of those things. Or maybe I wouldn't. I didn't know what I would do. It didn't matter. Charlie Morgan was married, and it wasn't a big deal.
"She's sad about it." I heard Stacy make the statement to her mom. Her careful tone made me believe they were concerned for me. I looked up at them with a smile.
"I don't care if Charlie Morgan got married," I said easily. "I assumed he was, after all this time. A lot of people my age are married."
"Someday you'll just give up and marry Landon," Stacy said.
"Marrying Landon is not giving up," Bridgette said.
"I know it's not," Stacy said. "But Hope could be with Landon any time she wanted, so I think in her mind she'd be settling."
"No, it's not like that," I said. I stood up with the bag of food in hand. "Landon's my brother's best friend. He's my friend. We're just friends."
"They spend three nights a week together," Stacy said.
"Don't say it like that," I said. "It sounds like you're saying we spend the night together. We hang out during the evening hours sometimes. He's really into rock climbing. He's got a whole big wall at his house. He built the whole thing. It's going up the outside of his parents' garage. We spend a lot of time together because I go over there and use his climbing stuff."
There was nothing going on between Landon and me, but it made me feel good that Stacy brought it up. It was a welcome distraction when I was flustered about having a crush on someone who was taken.How had I not looked for a wedding ring?That was the furthest thing from my mind. It hadn't crossed my mind during the entire exchange with Charlie. I actually thought I had a chance with him. It was so funny that one person could be having all sorts of thoughts and feelings while the other person was completely oblivious, innocent, and not thinking about love, marriage, and happily ever afters at all.
I liked Charlie so much back in the day, and all those feelings had come back to me the instant I saw him. It was impossible not to like him. He was irresistible, and it wasn't just his looks. His looks were amazing, but that wasn't the only good thing about him. His demeanor and sense of humor were what drew people to him. He was laid back but still comfortable being the center of attention. It was no surprise to me that he had opened a business of his own.
