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By the time Charli comes out to join me, I’m ready to serve dinner.
“You’re spoiling me. Pop-Tarts last night, steaks tonight. I could get used to this kind of living,” she jokes.
“Get ready, babe. This is our life from now on. Sometimes I do the cooking, other times it’ll be you. I’m hoping that most of the time, we’ll be doing it together.”
“Oh my God,” she moans as she takes a bite of her steak. “You’re the grill master.”
I chuckle as she closes her eyes, savoring her food. I take her hand.
“Glad you like it,” I say, then touch my lips to hers.
We’re clearing off the table when the doorbell rings. Sofia and Mallory are on the stoop. “I got this, Charli.” I take the plate from her and move along behind the counter, leaving space for the women to sit.
“These are incredible. It’s like you’re reading my mind,” Mallory says, staring at the sketches in front of her. Charlotte goes into great detail on how she sees the dress coming together.
“I made a fake dress just to see if you’d like the cut and style. If you want to try it on, we can get a better idea of what you like and don’t like.”
“Absolutely,” Sofia and Mallory say in unison. Charlotte guides Mallory into the spare room. They come out a short time later with Mallory in a dress. I already think it looks great, but what do I know about fashion?
For the next hour, the women make suggestions, and Charli frantically makes notes and marks up the gown. They then move on to Sofia’s dress for the special occasion.
“Can you really have it ready in three weeks?” Mallory asks. “It’s just that Dad refuses to do anything about this cancer until—”
“It’ll be ready. I need you back in two weeks for a final fitting. Can you manage that?”
“I’ll be here,” Mallory promises.
“Yours will be ready too,” Charli says to Sofia.
“Wow! You’re incredible, Charlotte. You need to focus on your passion. Take a leap of faith, sista, ’cause you’re amazing at what you do,” Sofia declares.
Charli’s cheeks turn pink, and she glances at Sofia. “You’re the second person who’s said that today,” she says. “Maybe one day…”
“Why one day?” Sofia jumps in before she can finish.
“It’s unstable income. Bills come every month. Then there’s Noah to consider. If he wants to go to college or even to a trade school, that costs money, and I don’t want him to have to quit because he can’t afford it,” Charli blurts out. “If I could wave a magic wand and make this happen, I would. But life isn’t like that. I have responsibilities.”
Sofia’s about to go on the attack. It must be the attorney in her that sets her off. She needs to make her point. I decide to step in before she does. “Ladies, it was great having you. We look forward to having you back in a couple of weeks.” I direct my attention to Mallory. “Hope you don’t mind, but I’d like some quality time with my girl.” I give her a grin.
“Oh yes, of course.” Mallory rises from her seat, taking Sofia with her, who is still on the verge of doubling back to Charli and her career. That’s when I give her a pointed look, and with a heavy sigh, she relents.
Instead, Sofia pulls her close and gives Charli a big hug, saying, “What you do makes people feel beautiful. Remember that.”
When all is quiet and it’s just Charli and me, I cautiously broach the topic once more. With my arm around her shoulders, I give her a little squeeze. “Babe, are you mine?” I ask.
She turns to peer up at me, puzzled. “Pardon?”
“This morning, I told you I love you, and unless you’ve changed your mind, you love me too,” I tease.
“I do love you.”
“So you’re mine?”
She nods, then follows with a simple “Yes.”
“And I’m yours,” I state, which lights her face aglow with happiness. “What would happen if one day I decide to start my own IT company? It would be huge. I’d have to invest in equipment, marketing, the whole shebang. How would you feel about that?”
“I’d want you to be happy, so I would say go for it and I’d ask what I could do to help.” Just the answer I know she’d give.
