Page 69 of The Wedding Deal
Warmth wound through her, and she set a mental note to ensure Lance’s parents were invited to the first big game. Then they could see how much Lance had accomplished.
She’d tell herself not to count her chicks before they hatched, but she felt it in her bones— This season was going to surprise people, even if it took a couple years to fully turn the franchise around.
Lance walked up to them, and Maribelle threw her arms around him. He hugged her right back, and another swirl of affection twisted through Charlotte at seeing such a big dude with an obvious soft spot for his mom.
They exchanged another round of goodbyes, and then Charlotte slipped her hand into Lance’s.
Once they hit the sand, she bent and removed her high heels, the way she had on that first night he’d walked her to the hotel from the restaurant. Luckily they were far easier to get off than on.
A hint of residual embarrassment crawled through her as she recalled that night, at how she’d freaked out and had him catapult her over the balcony. At least that version of her might be consoled by the fact that she’d ended up here, holding hands with Lance, fully committed to making this relationship work.
Even more comforting, they’d completed the necessary paperwork, although they were breaking the rule about supervisors not dating their direct reports the tiniest bit.
A thread of worry still remained about what others would think, but she did her best to bat it away. What mattered was they worked as a couple and made each other better. Best of all, there wasn’t a strange power balance—had never been. And if anyone thought she only kept her job because she was sleeping with the boss, she’d rattle off a boatload of stats and tell them to shove it.
Well, she’d say it in a nicer way because she was the human resources person, after all.
Feel free to fill out a form, and we’ll review all concerns.
Then promptly throw them away, you jerks.
Now she was irritated by thepossibilityof people having a problem with them. What was Lance’s mantra, the one that got him through the constant speculation about his life?
Oh, yeah. You can’t control what other people think.Might be time to adopt it as her motto as well.
Thanks to the absence of her heels, she felt even shorter than usual, especially as she glanced up, up, up at her sexy boyfriend. “You’re quiet.”
“I’m exhausted. Although my brain’s decided to ignore that fact and kick into high gear, in spite of doing my best to tell it to shut up.”
“Want to bounce any of those thoughts off me? It might help.”
He sighed, the weariness he’d admitted to coming through. “Let’s get to our room first.”
“Okay.” With the sun gone from the sky, the sand had cooled off considerably, but if she dragged her toes, she still felt some of the warmth. “Where does one even go on their honeymoon when they’ve already been staying at a beautiful beach resort for a week?”
“I think they’re doing a quick tour of Europe before he has to be back to start the offseason workout program with the rest of the team.”
“What’s going to happen when the Mustangs play against his team?”
Lance shrugged. “We used to play for different teams, and while they were always hard games, we managed to work it out.”
Something was off. He seemed to be holding her at bay a bit, his words coming out shorter and more emotionless than usual. She tried not to take it personally. Clearly the stress and pressure of the upcoming week were hitting him now that the wedding was over, the same way they were tugging at her. He was probably also sad to be leaving his family but trying to do the macho thing and not talk about it or let it show that he actually had feelings.Men.
Charlotte had promised his mom she’d take care of him, and she planned on doing just that. They’d definitely have a conversation about whatever was weighing on his mind—along with his moods, because she wasn’t going to let him push her away. But since she desperately needed to get off her feet and out of her dress, she’d honor his request and wait till they arrived at the room.
Our room, he’d called it.
When they reached the resort’s main entrance, she stepped into her shoes, grimacing at the gritty sand and how it acted like, well, sandpaper against her feet. On the upside, her feet should be super smooth. On the downside, ouch.
She didn’t bother fastening the buckles on the ankle straps, since she only had to make it down the hall and into the room. She hooked her hand on the crook of Lance’s elbow, leaning heavily on him as they walked down the hallway. Exhaustion was seeping into her body, and she rested her head against his shoulder.
It’d only been a few days ago that it’d drifted there of its own accord. She smiled at the memory of him guiding her head back down after the embarrassing realization she’d been using him as a pillow. How awesome was it that she could now freely indulge in resting her head on his shoulder? On his chest…
Not only was she eager to crawl into bed, but also to curl up next to him.
Of course he had promised her a Part II, and that woke up certain areas of her body, which in turn, chased off most of her fatigue.
Lance fished the key out of his pocket, unlocked the door, and flipped on the lights as they stepped inside. Between last-minute contracts and the wedding prep, the place was a disaster, papers and computers and clothes strewn everywhere.
