Page 39 of Gossip Game

Charlotte extended her hand to Alex. His sister had her wrapped up in a hug before Noah could warn her a handshake wasn’t going to cut it.

“Alex, this is Charlotte Davis.” Noah grabbed Charlotte’s carryon and rolled both their bags to the rear of the van. “Charlotte, this is my sister, Alex. The two little darlings in the car are my nieces, Maisy and Ainsley.”

“Oh my gosh,” his sister gushed. “I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you. I’m a huge fan of your products.” She twisted her wrist several times, showing off her armful of silver bracelets. “I love the affirmation bracelets the best. I give them out to all the patients on my floor. The kids need all the inspo they can get, right?”

“Um, yes. Yes, they do.” Charlotte aimed a WTF look in his direction.

“My sister is a nurse at the children’s hospital,” Noah explained.

“Seriously?” Alex slapped him on the shoulder. “You didn’t tell her anything about us, did you?” She heaved an exasperated sigh before rolling her eyes at Charlotte. “He’s like a fortress, this one. He doesn’t share anything.”

“I can attest to that.” Charlotte shot him a mocking smile.

Alex opened the van’s sliding door and his niece’s squeals rained out over the kiss and ride.

“Uncle Noah!”

“Hey you two troublemakers. Did you save any of those animal crackers for me?”

“I’ll sit with the girls,” Charlotte surprised him by saying. “There’s no way your long legs will fit back there.”

“More like you don’t want to spend forty minutes being interrogated by my sister, huh?” he murmured as he helped her into the car.

She tossed another one of those taunting grins over her shoulder. “And let you miss out on all the fun?”

Damn, there was so much to this woman that he appreciated. Her snark was just part of her appeal. The vision of her jean-clad ass swaying in front of his face was also fascinating. He slammed the door shut and jumped into the passenger seat before he did something stupid, like joining her in the backseat just so he could hold her hand again.

“Who is Maisy and who is Ainsley?” Charlotte asked his nieces as Alex pulled away from the airport.

“I’m Maisy,” the four-year-old replied. “Are you really a princess?”

Noah groaned. Here we go.

“Sometimes,” Charlotte told them. “But only in my imagination.”

He laughed out loud at that one.

She raised her voice to be heard over him. “Every girl should think of herself as a princess. That way, you always have the right amount of confidence to do and be anything you want. That’s important when you want people to take you seriously.”

“Amen, sister,” Alex chimed in as she merged onto the highway.

Noah met Charlotte’s eyes in the extra rearview mirror Alex used to keep an eye on the kids. He wanted to ask her why she didn’t believe that to be true for herself. Why she doubted her capabilities when she’d already proven herself to be a shrewd businesswoman?

Maisy beat him with a follow-up question of her own. “Do we call you Aunt Charlotte?”

Christ.

He speared his sister with a pointed look. Alex barely managed to stifle a giggle before she shrugged.

“Why don’t you call me Charlie,” Charlotte said. “That’s what my family calls me.”

Noah’s body instantly ached as though he’d been hit in the chest with a helmet.

That’s what my family calls me.

They weren’t her family. Charlotte would likely never see his nieces again after this weekend. It felt too intimate for his nieces to call her by her nickname.

It also felt right.

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