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Charlotte shook her head. “No, you don't understand. She saw you, and she knows you're not the one. Take Ava and go now.”
Bastien stood and looked past her, and she knew they were out of time. “I'm sorry I'm late, sweetheart. The insurance adjuster is being a thorn in my side.” She wrapped her hand around the back of his head, pulled him forward, and pressed her lips to his for far longer than was decent in polite society – but it was fine in Cricket’s Diner. Before she pulled away, she whispered, “Play along. Your mother is watching.”
Bastien stepped back, and for a moment, he looked confused, but he snapped into action. “Hello, love.” He looked her up and down. “You look so pretty today.” He kissed her again. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
Ivy, who was stuck between them, looked up. “I missed you three.”
“Bastien,” his mother's voice called from behind. “Do you want to introduce me to your fiancée?”
Tiffany shifted, but Bastien stood in front of where she was seated to block her view.
“Mom, this is Charlotte.”
Charlotte offered her hand as Annette didn't have that give-me-a-hug look about her. “It's a pleasure to formerly meet you. I was at the funeral, and you asked who I was.”
Annette stared at her. “I remember you. You didn’t say anything about being Sebastian’s intended then.”
Charlotte pasted on a beauty queen smile. “It wasn’t the right time. That was Chloe’s day.” She turned to Bastien. “I thought your mom was coming in later.”
His eyes grew wide. “I'm sorry, it skipped my mind. We've been so busy. It feels like I haven't seen you in three days.”
A warm feeling rushed through her to know that he was counting, too.
Annette looked around them at Tiffany. “And who is this?”
The door to the diner opened, and in walked Marcus Townsend. Charlotte had heard a lot about him, most of it not good. “I won't stand by while you take my wife from me,” he yelled.
“Ex-wife,” Tiffany said.
Charlotte knew she had to act quickly, or things wouldtwirl out of control fasterthan atornadoin ateacup. “This is Tiffany. She owns Sweet on You in town, and she's making the chocolate for our wedding. She brought over some samples the other day, and I asked her to meet us here to tell her what we preferred. And we thought it would be nice for Ivy and Ava to meet.”
Marcus frowned and pinned Tiffany with a look. “Wait a minute. I thought you said you were wedding planning.”
She rolled her eyes. “If you paid closer attention, we might still be married. I said I was wedding planning, but not Bastien's and my wedding. It’s for Charlotte and Bastien.” Tiffany pointed to Charlotte. “He's got a fiancée.” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, he's way too old for me.” She slid out of the booth and picked up Ava before turning to Charlotte. “Just drop by tomorrow, and we'll discuss the details.”
Charlotte hugged her and whispered, “Nothing for you has changed.”
Tiffany laughed, hugging her back. “It looks like everything has for you, sweet Charlotte.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Bastien wasn’t sure what was happening, but Charlotte seemed in charge. She had gone from flatly refusing his offer to marry him to storming Cricket’s Diner and dispensing with the pretend bride she herself had arranged like she was sweeping a dead bug off the porch. He had never seen a deal turn around this quickly without a roomful of lawyers and both sides pressuring them to get it done. Of course, this wasn’t the standard deal, or any deal at all. Something else was taking shape here. He sure hoped that she knew what she was doing. His mother had few worthy adversaries and Charlotte had just put herself between her and her goal of taking Ivy. It would not be pretty. That it didn’t seem to faze Charlotte was not lost on Bastien as he appreciated this new take-no-prisoners side of her too.
He pointed to the booth and said, “Let's sit.” They waited for his mother to choose a side, and the trio all crammed into the opposite bench.
“Ivy, come sit next to Mee-maw.”
She was squashed in between him and Charlotte but shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m nice and warm right here.”
His mother narrowed her eyes. “What have you been telling her?” She looked back to Ivy and said, “I won't bite.”
Bastien wanted to laugh. Everything about his mother was worse than a bite unless you had anti-venom nearby. “Mother, Ivy just told you she is happy here. I don’t need to tell her anything. She can speak for herself. I find that children and dogs are great at reading people.”
Charlotte ran her hand over Ivy's braids and smiled. “Honey, you can stay here if you want, but your grandmother would love to sit by you.”
Bastien wondered if Charlotte used the term grandmother intentionally, knowing his mother didn't like it. Then again, he didn't think Charlotte had a mean or spiteful bone in her body, and it was probably just an innocent remark.
