Page 8 of Whatever It Takes

“Was that your bike that I almost tripped over laying in the driveway?” I asked, trying to cut through the silence.

“Yeah.” She sighed, pushing her empty plate toward the middle of the table. “My mom won’t let me ride it without wearing a helmet, even though I don’t need one. I’m a very good rider and I’ve never fallen off my bike.”

I chuckled. “Sorry, kiddo. I’m going to have to agree with your mom on this one. Besides, it’s the law.”

She didn’t look too happy about that. “Well, it’s a dumb rule and I look stupid wearing a helmet.”

“Emery Rose,” Charlotte scolded, and I swallowed, feeling guilty. “Enough. Go upstairs, wash up and get changed.”

I expected a full-blown temper tantrum, but the kid surprised me when she brought her plate to the sink and marched up to her room without a word.

“You’ve done a good job with her, Charlotte.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Don’t.”

My body went tight. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t sit here and make small talk with me. Don’t pretend you give a damn about me, when seven years ago you just dumped me to the curb like an unwanted piece of furniture. And don’t ever try to use my daughter to manipulate me again.”

Okay, I expected the first two slams, but the last comment really got my attention. I shot to my feet and stalked toward her. “Let’s get a couple of things straight. Regardless of what you think, I will always care about you.” Her eyes widened, not expecting that. “Second, I happen to like your daughter, and I would never use or manipulate her. I was genuinely enjoying her company. And last, we are going to have a civilized conversation whether you want to or not. I’m sick of the attitude.”

She folded her arms across her chest defensively. “You’ve got some nerve.” Her green eyes flicked across my face. She was so close, and I knew I should have stepped back. Put some distance between us, but one thing about Charlotte was that I was always drawn to her. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You lost that right a long time ago.”

I inched closer to her, and she took a step back. I shouldn’t have caged her in against the kitchen counter, but I couldn’t help myself. I put my palms on either side of her. “You’re correct. I fucked up big-time.” Her eyes went wide when I leaned down, bringing us only inches apart. My gaze dropped to her lips with an overwhelming need to bring them to mine. “But I will always care about you, Charlotte. You can’t control how I feel about you any more than I can.”

She put her hands on my chest and tried to push me away. It was the first time she’d touched me in years and even though it was in anger, I still felt that spark deep in my bones. “I don’t care about your feelings. After all, it was pretty clear you didn’t care much about mine.” She tilted her chin up in defiance. Never in my life had I ever wanted to kiss someone so badly. Even though she was pissed, she was still beautiful and perfect. “You know why I don’t care? Because you left me, and my love died for you the second you broke my heart. So you can take that guilty conscience of yours or whatever it is that brought you to my doorstep and get the hell out of my life. I don’t need you. I moved on from you a long time ago, just like you moved on from me.”

Her words tightened around my chest, making me think of all the nights I laid in bed wishing I could go back and do everything differently. All the women, all the mistakes, and all the hang-ups I’ve battled with over the years came crashing down around me.

How was I supposed to tell her that I underestimated how much I loved her? How much it hurt me to stay away from her.

“I lied.”

“I’m sorry. Say that again.”

“I lied about meeting someone else. There was no one else.” I watched her stunned expression and the way her throat rolled when she swallowed. “After I moved out to California, you kept calling and texting me. I couldn’t stand to hear your voice. It was too hard. I knew the only way to get it all to stop was for you to think there was someone else. So, I lied.”

She squeezed her eyes shut as if my words pained her and then she did something that I least expected. She drew her hand back and smacked me across the face.

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