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“Dating? I didn’t know Charlotte had a significant other.” She clapped her hands as she pretty much mowed me over to get to Jamie. She shook his hand with enthusiasm and gazed up at him with adoration. I guess Lincoln was forgotten and my new boyfriend was now the apple of her eye. “My, you are so handsome.”
Jamie grinned and my eyes narrowed on him. He was enjoying every minute of this.
“And none of that Mrs. Brooks. You can call me Faye.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Faye.”
Mom slid her arm through his. “Come inside, James. You can meet Charlotte’s sister, Victoria.” She escorted him through the door as if he were royalty.
Did Mom have to be so excited about me being in a relationship that Jamie totally lied about? She made me look pathetic for goodness sake. Jamie’s Cheshire cat grin when he glanced back at me made me shake my head.
26
JAMIE
Charlotte led me up the stairs and down a hallway. My head moved as if it were on a swivel, taking in everything about the Brooks’ home. The ambiance of the place was warm and welcoming and there were tons of photos on the walls that illustrated sweet and fun family moments. The walls practically exuded love, and I soaked it up because I didn’t know what a normal loving home was like.
Charlotte wrapped her hand around my wrist and tugged me into a room. As she closed the door, she let out a long sigh. “Please allow me to apologize for my mother’s behavior. She’s a bit much to handle on a first meeting.”
My chuckle filled the room that I discovered to be a bedroom… Charlotte’s childhood bedroom it seemed. There were posters of popular bands from the nineties and nature scenes from exotic locations adorning the walls.
“Don’t worry about it. Faye is quite the entertaining character.”
Charlotte pushed the door closed, leaned against it, and huffed. “She pinched your cheek and called you adorable, Jamie.”
“So?” I shrugged.
“I was horrified. You’re a grown man! Her mission in life is to embarrass me.”
I smiled at the memory of Faye gently pinching my cheek and tutting at me as if I were a kid. I was caught off guard at first but it warmed my heart and made me laugh because I never had a mother to do that kind of thing.
“Actually, I liked it. I like your mom. I wish I had a mom to embarrass me.”
Charlotte’s annoyance was wiped away in an instant and she pushed herself off the door and groaned. “Right… I’m sorry. Now I feel bad for being irritated by Mom’s smothering affection.”
“I like your sister too. You guys seem close.”
“We are.”
“I’ve always wanted that…”
Charlotte watched me with a frown. However, she didn’t make me feel bad by watching me with pity for too long like most people did. Instead, she narrowed her eyes to slits as she took a step toward me.
“Why would you tell my mom that we’re dating? You know that’s not true.”
There it was. I’d been waiting for her to dig into me about that. She had to hold her tongue while we had breakfast with her family, but I had caught her seething looks. I still couldn’t believe I had shown up, met her family, and shared a meal with them… all before asking Charlotte to date me.
This spontaneity thing wasn’t me, but if it got me what I wanted—Charlotte in my life—I was all for it. “It could be true…”
A frown tugged at her eyebrows. “What?”
I’d never had trouble going after or saying exactly what I wanted until now. Suddenly, my nerves felt frayed. Never in my life had I asked a woman to date me exclusively before.
“I mean, if you’re interested, of course,” I said lamely.
She continued to gawk, and I raked my fingers through my hair. “I’m asking you to be a part of my life, Charlotte.”
Her eyes widened. “In what way?”
