I grin and nod, charmed by her loyalty and determination.
“I’ll remember that.”
I nod at Callie, then turn to walk out of the bar. Eli steps out of my way, but lays a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.
“Hurt her, and it’ll be a hell of a lot worse than a black eye,” he warns.
“Understood.”
The drive to her house is quiet, the silence broken only by her sweet little snores. It’s the middle of the afternoon, and my girl is passed out stinking drunk.
She’s bloody adorable.
I manage to get her inside and up the stairs to bed. Once her shoes are off, I contemplate changing her clothes, but decide that I’d rather survive long enough to actually talk with her, so I leave her yellow dress on her and tuck her into bed.
I spend the rest of the afternoon and evening working, talking to Todd, and waiting.
But she doesn’t wake up.
Her makeup is a mess. She has dark circles under her eyes, leading me to believe that she hasn’t been sleeping well.
She’s exhausted.
I want to be nearby, but again, climbing in bed with her isn’t a wise choice, so I pull up a chair and sit next to her. I didn’t think I would ever see her again, and here I am, just inches away.
I need her to wake up, and yet it terrifies me. What if she turns me away?
I take her hand in mine and lay my head on the bed next to her shoulder, listening to her breathing, and let sleep come.
The phone is ringing.
Charly shifts on the bed, reaching for it, as I sit up and scowl at the stiffness in my body. God, everything hurts. I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to turn my head to the left again.
“Hello?” she says and shoves her hand through her hair. She hasn’t looked back at me yet. “No, I’m fine.” She yawns. “I’m not hung over, which is good, I guess. Yeah.”
Now she turns to stretch and sees me, and immediately scowls.
“Who the fuck let Simon in my house? You let him bring me home?”
“I’m sitting right here,” I remind her with a smile.
“Of course I slept all night. I was drunk, and I haven’t slept much in weeks. But you and I are going to talk about this later.” She hangs up and glares at me. “Why are you here?”
“Charly—”
“Wait.” She climbs out of the bed. “I’m not doing this in my bedroom. You go downstairs and I’ll be there in a minute.”
I’m not going to argue. The bedroom isn’t the place for this. I make my way gingerly down the stairs, rubbing my neck and wishing for coffee with everything in my being.
But I sit on the couch, my elbows resting on my knees, and wait.
After what feels like an hour, she comes downstairs. She’s taken a shower, and is in clean clothes. Her face is washed clean.
“You’re so beautiful, you take my breath away.”
“Right.” She nods once and sits on a chair opposite me. “I’m not interested in hearing that you think I’m beautiful. I’d like for you to tell me why you’re here.”
Because I’ve missed you so much it feels like my heart has been ripped from my body.
“First, I’d like to apologize, Charlotte. I’m truly sorry for the way I left things last month. You didn’t deserve that.”
“No,” she says. Her voice is calm, her face emotionless. I wish she’d throw something at me. “I didn’t deserve it.”
“I guess I didn’t realize how many unresolved issues I had to resolve. I almost equate it to a bit of post-traumatic stress.” I shrug and shake my head. “I walked into your shop that day and saw you with the man in your storeroom.”
She cocks a brow. “And rather than interrupt, or ask me about it later, you jumped to conclusions. Again.”
“I did.” I link my fingers and lower my head. “I’m a fucking idiot.”
“I won’t argue there,” she says. “Okay, you’ve apologized. There’s the door.”
She stands to leave the room, and I jump up, rushing after her.
No.
“Charly—”
“What?” she yells and turns back me, her eyes blazing now. This is what I need. Emotion. “What do you want from me?”
“I just want you.”
“Well, you had me, and you fucked it up, Simon. I was ready to tell you all about Ryan that evening. I didn’t have any fucking secrets from you.”
“You’re magnificent when you’re angry,” I murmur.
“You’d be angry too if the person you’d fallen in love with left you without an explanation. If the person you love threw all of your insecurities in your face on his way out the fucking door.”