Page 103 of Guarding My Love

“I heard,” he said. “You lied to us all.”

His mother had told everyone for years that his parents dated for six months, then married so they could be together when his father was going to be stationed somewhere else and that she got pregnant on their honeymoon.

Then she alluded to the fact she might have gotten pregnant before the honeymoon.

“Hey, when you know, you just know,” his mother said. “It seems my kids are learning that too.”

“I guess,” he said. “Are we done talking now? I want to try to get out of here early.”

“Sure,” his mother said. “You want to get home to Charlotte. I think it’s great. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Not too soon,” he said, laughing, and hung up the phone.

He packed up his laptop, stopped to talk to a few people, and said he’d be around later online if anyone needed anything.

He liked getting out earlier during the summer so he could get on his boat and then he’d work later at night.

They probably thought that was what he was doing.

Sounded like a good plan to him too.

When he got home, he was in the kitchen and noticed Charlotte on his beach sitting on the bench with Marco.

Guess it was perfect timing.

He made his way down. “Hey,” he said. “I was going to change and see if you wanted to go out on the boat for a few hours. It’s beautiful out tonight.”

“We’ll see,” she said. “Sit, Foster. We need to talk.”

He didn’t like the look on her face. “Has Landon bothered you again?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “It’s not him or that.”

“Then what?” he asked.

“I think things are going fast with us, don’t you?”

His heart started to race and not in a good way. “They are, but I’m fine with it. Are you not?”

“I am,” she said.

He let out a breath. “Good. Sometimes you just have to follow the path and see where it leads you.”

“You know I love you, right?” she said.

“I do,” he said. She waited and looked at his face, her eyes searching. “I feel the same way.”

She blinked. “I feel as if you’re holding something back from me,” she said.

He shrugged. “I’m not. I’m not sure what I can say to get you to believe me. Are we going to have to have this conversation again where you think I’ve changed or I’m not who I say I am? Am I going to always have to doubt that?”

She stood up. “No,” she said. “We aren’t going to have this conversation again. Come on, Marco.”

“Where are you going?” he asked. “I thought we were going out for a sail.”

She stopped and turned. “I was going until you just said that to me. But I’m not. I’m going to do something that I need right now.”

“What?” he asked. “I’m getting confused again.”

---