Page 88 of If My Wishes Came True
“What?” I ask.
She winces. “I wanted to know if she’d be okay with me taking my boyfriend to Europe, instead of her. I felt awful even suggesting it?—”
“Knowing Denise, I’m sure she was happy for you,” Charliesays.
Vanessa nods. “She was so relieved to hear I was dating again. She said our whole family was worried I wasn’t over you. So I shared the news with my parents, too. My boyfriend’s mom and dad also live in Miami, so we decided to spend a few days there after our trip to Europe. We met each other’s families, and it went really well.” She pauses, and her smile fades.
Charlie raises his eyebrows when she looks at him. “What’s up?”
“This isn’t too weird for you, is it?” she asks. “I mean, here I am talking about taking another man on the trip that was supposed to be our honeymoon. And introducing him to my parents, and?—”
I’m glad she asked, because I was wondering the same thing.
But my boyfriend shakes his head. “Honestly, V—it doesn’t bother me. That trip was a gift from your parents, first of all. But more importantly, if you have the opportunity to experience Europe with someone you love, you should take it.” His eyes dart to me for a split second, and my pulse quickens, thinking of all the times I’ve fantasized about traveling to Italy with him. Then he turns back to Vanessa. “I’m really happy for you.”
She sighs, relieved. “Okay, good.”
“And I know how close you are with your family. It’s great to hear your boyfriend got along well with your parents, too.”
It’s a perfect answer. But what else would I expect from Charlie?
Is this man too good to be true?
As soon as the thought occurs, I push it out of my mind. It’s probably some deep-rooted defense mechanism from the years I spent believing I didn’t deserve love. But those days are over now.
“Thanks,” Vanessa says, nodding. “I only wish Tati Marie hadbeen there, but she’ll meet him soon enough. When I called earlier today to tell her about him, she was over the moon.”
My heart swells. Marie must have been worried about how this potential love triangle would shake out.
“I planned to tell you tonight, Jenna. I wanted you to meet him, too,” Vanessa says to me, her gaze sincere. “Which is why he’s coming over. He should be here any minute.”
She looks between me and Charlie before she continues. “Is that okay? Obviously, I didn’t anticipate the three of us would be having this conversation tonight. Or ever, really.”
I glance up at Charlie, who shrugs. “Well…I’d like to meet him,” he says, an earnest look on his face.
I nod. “Yes, of course. Me too.”
Vanessa exhales. “Good. It’ll make things less awkward—don’t you think?”
“It couldn’t hurt,” I say. Across the island from me, my boyfriend looks as happy as I’ve ever seen him. And why shouldn’t he be? He and his ex cleared the air. Neither of them have residual feelings for each other. His girlfriend doesn’t have to worry about breaking her friend’s heart anymore.
But Charlie’s pattern of not wanting to disappoint people, at the expense of his own happiness, worries me even more now. He accepted Vanessa’s proposal because he didn’t want to upset her. How do I know he wouldn’t do the same with me?
A knock at the door startles me. Vanessa’s boyfriend is here. I guess I don’t have time to agonize over this now.
“That’s him,” she says, her face lighting up for the second time tonight. “I’m going to chat with him in the hallway first,and fill him in on what he’s missed so far. It might take him a few minutes to process this, too.”
The moment Vanessa leaves the kitchen, Charlie’s on his feet, moving to sit next to me. Grinning, he threads his fingers through mine. “I told you this would all work out.”
My forehead crinkles. “What about, um…the other stuff we talked about?”
“My job?” he asks.
I nod.
His smile dims the slightest bit. “I’m working on it.”
It’s not exactly convincing.
