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“No, I don’t.”
Charlotte breaks in again, this time with a hand on his arm. “At least he’s trying. My dad hasn’t even spoken to me in months, let alone tried to help me or my family financially.”
Beau looks at her, and his expression softens.Come on, son. Do it for her.
“Fine,” he says.
I fill out the check for ten grand, and tell him to come back for more when he needs it. It feels like bait, but I don’t care. Anything that brings him back into my life. Even if he’s mad at me because of it.
Charlotte looks pleased for a moment as I hand him the check, so I don’t know why I say what comes out of my mouth next. Self-preservation, I guess.
“Why don’t you take Charlotte out for dinner?” I say, and her head snaps in my direction. “If she wants to, of course.”
Digging into my pocket, I find my wallet and pull out a hundred-dollar bill. Beau stares at Charlotte with hope in his eyes, but she’s still watching me.
I need Charlotte to no longer be an option. If she’s reallywithBeau, then I no longer have to resist the urge to have her for myself because the choice would be taken away.
I hate the way she’s staring at me right now, disappointment and anger and guilt all rolled into one.
“What do you say, babe? Want to grab some dinner with me?” He squeezes an arm around her waist, and I have to look away.
“Sure,” she replies softly, and it kills me.
After she gathers her things, she sends me a small wave goodbye, which is more than my own son can manage. I return her wave with a nod of my head. Watching her walk away with him is torture. But I’m doing this to myself for a good reason. Charlotte isnotmine, no matter how much it feels like she is.
RULE #22: IF YOU WANT IT, TAKE IT.
Charlotte
“Maybe instead of going out, we can order in and go hang out at your place,” Beau says, as he puts his hand on my thigh while I drive. He had a friend drop him off at his dad’s, which makes me wonder if this was his plan all along. My skin is prickling just from his touch.
I can’t tell if Beau’s changed, I’ve changed, or the entire dynamic between us has. But there is no chemistry, no sparks or any kindling of what we had before. This guy I used to be so smitten over, who I let bring me down so low…can’t hurt me anymore.
I don’t feel like the same girl he broke up with, and maybe I’m not. I like this new version of me, the one Emerson helped build back up.
God, even the thought of his name makes me feel queasy. We had a moment, and I’m pretty sure we were about to have an even bigger moment, but then Beau showed up and Emerson couldn’t pawn me off fast enough. It hurt, especially after that whole ‘you have no idea what I want to do to you’ speech. The second his son walked through that door, my hope shattered.
“Umm…that sounds good. Pizza?”
“Sure. We can just order it from your place.”
“Okay,” I reply with a forced smile.
“So, you really like working for my dad?” he asks.
“Yeah. I do. And he says I could easily work my way up into business management.”
Beau scoffs. “Not with that business, I hope.”
My hand grips the steering wheel as I pull into the driveway. I don’t know how much Emerson makes public about the club, or if he still uses the dating service as a front, so I decide to keep it discreet. “What’s wrong with the company?”
“You know what they do there, Charlie. Come on. Don’t act stupid.”
“I’m not acting stupid,” I bite back. Just then, I spot my little sister across the yard, and my heart sinks. She’s sitting out front with one of her friends, both of them on their phones as she looks up and spots Beau getting out of my car.
Fuck.
“Hey, Smurf. You want some pizza?” I call.
