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The door opened and a woman rushed out, bumping into Charli.
“Sorry,” Charli apologized.
“Excuse you,” the other woman said, looking up from her phone.
Charli’s breath caught, her belly churning with a mixture of jealousy and anger. Laura.
“Oh hi, Charlotte. Hard to avoid crashing into you these days. My god you are huge.” Laura’s eyes darted to Charli’s stomach as her eyes widened.
Bitch. “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when Finn puts his baby inside me.”
Laura’s cheeks tinted with pink. “Yeah. I saw him the other day. He stopped by my house and we had a great chat. We got real cozy. Gee, I hope everything is okay at home these days. Tell him I said hi. Or maybe I’ll just text him and see what he’s up to later.” Laura smiled with an evil gleam in her eye.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why have you always been such a bitch? Are you mad at yourself for losing your chance with him? Sorry, but that ship has sailed,” Charli snapped, anger roiling inside her.
Laura seemed momentarily stunned, her mouth opening and then closing like a fish before she huffed. “I could never be jealous of you. Despite what you have him believing, you’re still the same trailer-trash girl with a crazy brother who I went to high school with. Finn deserves better.”
A mixture of shame and rage overflowed, sloshing inside Charli. She closed her fist. God, she wanted to hit this skank so bad. “Go fuck yourself.” Charli turned and rushed into the café, the bells juggling above the door joining the condescending laughter from Laura outside.
Remy was behind the counter. She looked up, her smile fading as Charli got closer. “Hey, mama, you okay?”
Charli took a deep breath, fighting the tears burning the back of her eyes. “These damn hormones have turned me into a water fountain.”
“I don’t miss those days. Let me get you a drink and a cookie. That will help you feel better,” Remy offered.
Charli nodded. “Can I have a decaf pumpkin spice latte and two double chocolate chip, peanut butter cookies?”
“Coming right up. Why don’t you have a seat? I’ll bring it to you.”
Charli pulled a twenty out of her pocket and slid it over the counter to Remy as she nodded. She found a seat and took off the scarf from around her neck before setting her bag of books on the ground next to her.
A few minutes later, Remy dropped off her goodies and sat across from her with a sigh.
“Long day?” Charli asked, taking a bite of her cookie.
“Began at four. Phoenix has decided that he doesn’t like to sleep anymore.”
Charli cringed. “Sorry.”
“Eh, I had to be up at five anyways to start the bread. We’ve had more orders for loaves, so I added that to the menu for special order.” Remy picked a loose thread from her pants.
“I would rather do the late nights than the early morning.” Charli took a sip of her coffee. She’d just pretend it had caffeine.
“That’s why you run the bar.” Remy chuckled. “Mikel was going to invite Finn and you over for dinner some night, but we wanted to make sure he was settled enough.”
Charli nodded. Warmth flooded her chest and tears pricked the back of her eyes. She wasn’t alone in this small town, and she and Finn had people beyond his family who cared for them. “That sounds great. Text me and we can plan it.”
* * *
Finn was leaning on the side of the building with his arms crossed when Charli pulled outside the VA. The baseball cap he had on was turned to the back. He looked up when she parked next to him.
“Let me drive.” He opened her door.
“I’m capable.”
He eyed her belly. A wave of insecurity rippled through her—Laura’s words coming back to sting her. Was she a whale after all?
“It’s not safe. Your belly nearly touches the wheel. If we got in an accident, you’d be safer in the passenger seat.”
