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‘You think they’re here for him?’
‘Could be.’
She sighed and let out a groan. ‘We should take him through the back door. Just in case. I don’t want all of our faces plastered on some tabloid for my dad to see.’
I decided not to make a comment about her dad, but it was hard to swallow down the questions I had.
‘You’re the boss,’ I said lightly and manoeuvred the car away from the curb. It took us a few minutes to locate the secret entrance to the hotel – and a phone call to the hotel concierge made by Charlie. As soon as we got there, we both jumped out of the car, but this time I didn’t let the idiot’s hands get anywhere near Charlie as she followed us at a healthy distance.
The concierge met us at the door and showed us the way to a small elevator meant for employees. The idiot finally came to as we stumbled in through the door of his room. Charlie thanked the concierge and closed the door, leaning her back against it.
Hugo ignored both of us and headed for the bathroom, slamming the door closed. Seconds later came the telltale sound of a hard night. Served him right. I ran my hand up and down my face and walked back to where Charlie was. My shoulder brushing against hers, I rested my back against the wall as well.
‘You think we should leave?’ she asked quietly.
‘Yes, I think we should. But let’s wait until he is done.’
There was a heavy thud next to me as Charlie rested her head against the door not so gently and let out a long breath. ‘I’m so tired.’
I gave her a sideways glance and took in her features. Now that she was in a better light, I could see how pale she looked. Who knew how the guy treated her before the sex club fiasco.
‘Before the club…’ She turned her head, waiting for me to finish my sentence. ‘He didn’t try anything, or do anything, did he?’
Her lips puckered up, then she squinted and covered her mouth with her hand and yawned, looking away from me again.
‘What was that smile for?’
She didn’t answer, but her smile grew even more and soon she was full-on smiling.
I was looking at her lips when she looked my way again and our eyes met.
‘Tell me something else from your list,’ I asked her to distract myself.
She cast her gaze downward for a moment. ‘You met my grandma. I don’t know whether you noticed or not, but did you see her smile?’
I thought about it, but wasn’t sure. Whether her grandma smiled or not wasn’t what had my attention at that dinner. ‘Maybe. Once or twice. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention really.’
Her expression unreadable, she looked away from me. We could hear the sound of dry heaves coming from the bathroom, but both of us ignored it.
‘She turns eighty years old this year, and she has these permanent lines around her mouth. Downward.’ I watched as she raised her hand and traced an invisible line around my mouth with her fingertips. Her touch softer than feathers. I struggled to hold myself back, but she was already pulling away. ‘She rarely laughs. It’s like she enjoys others being miserable around her. Everything is always bad. Don’t trust anyone. Men suck. Life sucks. No one is how she wants them to be. And if you’re actually enjoying life, she genuinely tries to upset you so you’re not that happy. Then acts like she has no idea what you’re talking about. And she could never be wrong about anything. She knows the best because she is the best.’
She met my eyes again and gave me a small smile. ‘Long story short. It’s: laugh more. That’s on the list. It’s a necessity. I don’t want to have those lines around my mouth if I’m lucky enough to get to that age. I don’t want to become like her. I want to laugh more.’
Before I could make any comment, Hugo walked out of the bathroom, water dripping from his hair and a towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped when his eyes landed on us and I straightened up.
‘If you’re done, we’re leaving.’
With his bloodshot eyes he nodded and scratched the back of his head with his hand. ‘I’m sorry, Charlie,’ he mumbled. ‘I didn’t mean to let the night get so out of hand.’
Charlie gave him a barely there nod, straightened from her spot and opened the door. ‘Goodnight.’
I followed her outside and pulled the door closed behind me.
We waited in front of the elevator in silence. When the doors opened we stepped inside.
17 Charlie
‘Thank you for coming,’ I said, offering William a smile. Then had to cover another yawn.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ From the corner of my eye I saw him push his hands into his pockets and it made his shoulders look amazing. He glanced up, and I just stood there, leaning against the back of the elevator taking all his features in. His jawline, the stubble on his cheeks that suited him perfectly, even his throat looked sexy.
