Page 41 of Scottish Seducer
Chapter 16
Charlie
Stephanie had beenin a meeting all day, but I’d met with her manager, Margot, four times, and understood entirely why Stephanie promoted her. No one else in the company had the gall to look me in the eye and tell me “no”.
So now it was six, our agreed-upon early dinner time, and I wasn’t sure she’d even come. However, I got to my feet as soon as I saw her saunter toward me in a loose black dress that hid her sexy curves.
She reached me and I kissed her cheek, wanting to run my nose over her dewy soft skin, and wished we could go back in time, to before I told her everything.
I waited for her to sit and said, “I’m glad you came.”
She glanced at the menu and said, “I said I would.” Without missing a beat, she ordered the chicken. I quickly chose the lobster.
Next, she reached into her pocketbook and took out three jewelry boxes, set them on the table in front of me, and said, “And besides, these are yours. Please stop giving me gifts.”
I reached for the back of her hand, needing a connection, and whispered, “You’re still hurt.”
“Of course.” She took her hand back and shook her head. “You used me. I started looking for a job and an apartment today, so hopefully, this will all be over in a few weeks.”
If we didn’t fix this, she’d disappear from my life forever. “I don’t want that.”
The waiter returned with our dinner. She asked him to bring the check so we could dash afterward.
My heart missed a beat and then raced, like I’d already lost her. Once we were alone, she said, “I wish I’d mattered to you more before…Bath.”
I sipped my water, unsure of what to say. Feelings never made sense to me. Ideas surfaced so easily, but so had whatever was unfolding between me and Stephanie. Until I’d ruined it. I broke bread and said, “I didn’t know Logan would show up, but I intended to tell you that day.”
She cut her chicken and took one bite. It took forever for her to chew it, but finally she finished and said, “Doesn’t matter. The truth came out, which is what it’s supposed to do, I suppose.”
She put her fork down and I scooted closer to her as I said, “It feels different between us now.”
She let out a sigh and shook her head. “What is it you want from me, Charlie?” Shaking her head again, she concentrated on stirring her hot tea.
“To be honest, I want you beside me. But I also wish I knew for sure that you aren’t here to marry a rich man, like your sisters have done.”
Her face went white and she stopped twirling her spoon in the cup. “Didn’t you say you met Carter Rockson?”
As a boy, I mastered some sleight-of-hand magic tricks, and I used that old skill now to slip the jewelry boxes back in her bag, saying, “Yes, and since we’re discussing your family, I’ve also met Jacob Donovan.”
She raised her eyebrow at me and said, “Okay, then call either of them...or both if you want...and ask them if they think their wives married them for their money.”
No man would ever admit to being duped, but I reached for her hand anyway, and said, “I will.”
She put her hands on her lap and said, “It’s only about noon in Texas. Call Carter now.”
I reached for my back pocket. “Right now?”
She shrugged and said, “Yes, while I finish my chicken.”
My phone rang and I put it on speaker. But it went to voicemail, so I hung up. She hadn’t touched her fork again, so I waved to her plate and said, “You never actually eat that meal you order. Why do you continue to do it?”
She picked up her fork and took another bite. Once she finished, she said, “It’s fine.”
Stephanie was a puzzle. “That’s not an answer.”
She stabbed another piece of chicken with her fork and waved it at me, saying, “I order this because I know how it tastes, so it’s safe. I’m not surprised by chicken, so I don’t need to put my guard up.”
She bit into it like she needed to make a point.
