Page 57 of The Wedding Deal
Lance nodded, glad she had his back. For once, the forms did seem like a good idea.
Charlotte unmuted the call. “Hey, I’m sending it all now. I need you to turn it around as soon as you get it, and then we’ll need to hit the ground running, and I mean tonight.”
“You got it,” John said.
Within a few minutes, Charlotte had pulled up the necessary forms, made changes, and sent them off.
Another slew of calls came in, and Lance kept watching the clock, pacing the floor, and silently chanting for John to hurry up.
“Got it,” Charlotte said as he was wrapping up another call. “I’m dialing him up now…” The second John picked up, she launched right into everything they needed, starting with a decent salary for Gavin Frost. “And, John? Please talk fast. Lance and I have a rehearsal dinner to attend in an hour…”
Chapter Twenty-Two
If Stacy and Maribelle hadn’t both texted her during the day to say they couldn’t wait to see her at the dinner, Charlotte would consider skipping the rehearsal. It was nice to know she’d be missed, though, and with her time here ticking down, she wanted to see the people she’d quickly grown attached to a few more times before she lost the chance.
So it didn’t matter if she was exhausted or if she’d just gotten a call from her roommate saying that Dad had shown up at their apartment.
“He asked where you were,” Shannon had said, and Charlotte’s stomach had dropped down to her toes. “I told him out of town, but since I didn’t know if you wanted him to be able to find you, I said I wasn’t exactly sure where you were.”
“He probably just wants money.” Wasn’t it like him to show up and ask for something right when she’d started to feel like her life was taking a turn for the better? She’d hoped that in time they could heal, but that healing was supposed to start once he finished the program. Not after checking himself out early, which was clearly what he’d done if he was showing up on her doorstep.
Guess this was what she got for burying her complicated feelings about how to best help him without resenting him underneath the nonstop work emergencies that kept popping up. If he would’ve just stayed in rehab, he’d be in the facility until after the draft, and she’d be more equipped to deal.
In theory.
Maybe if I’d called him back earlier today like I should’ve, I could’ve worked out a bargain.Her plan had been to tell him that if he would finish the entire program, she’d help him get back on his feet financially.
Now she worried she’d end up being an enabler who got walked over and hurt again.
“How did he seem?” she’d asked Shannon, even though she wasn’t sure how a man who was truly done with gambling would seem. It was one of the hardest addictions to see, and one of the easiest to hide until someone poked around your bank accounts or your credit cards were declined when you went to pay for dinner.
“Sober. Clear-headed.”
At least there was that. A glimmer of hope had risen up and called to her. Maybe he really was better.
After she’d thanked Shannon, she’d let loose a squeak at the time and rushed to get dressed. Now she was staring at her phone, considering whether or not she had time to call Dad and hash out everything they needed to. Or at least a portion of what they needed to.
The knock on the door made up her mind for her. Later. Not only did she not want to be late for the rehearsal dinner, she also wanted to enjoy a few hours of being around a more traditional family before she figured out where her messed-up one was, even though she also felt guilty for having that thought in the first place.
Shoving it down for a bit longer won’t hurt anything. You’ve only got a little over twenty-four hours left to enjoy your time with the Quaids before everything gets more complicated.
A full-body flutter went through her after she swung open the door. Lance was in a crisp white collared shirt, all the buttons done up, wearing a simple black tie that matched his pants and jacket.
He was so tall and handsome, and her legs turned liquid as she took him in.
She got to arrive on his arm.
Got to kiss his lips.
Got to wrap her naked body around his.
Her cheeks heated at that thought, and Lance arched an eyebrow as if he could read her mind. “Do I need to come in for a few minutes?”
“Better not,” she said, grabbing her bag and nudging him back into the hall. “But later tonight, you should definitely come in. For more than a few minutes.”
He put his hand low on her back—low enough to break section three, had they not signed that contract—and his lips brushed her ear as he whispered, “Your wish is my wish.”
…
