Page 138 of Nerdplay
“Charlie!”
I whip toward the frantic sound of Cricket’s voice. Her hair is matted to her head, and her clothes are soaked to the point of sticking to her skin.
She has never looked more beautiful.
I’m neither a rock nor an island. I’m flesh and bone with a heart that beats for her. God, that sounds so romantic. I wish I’d said it out loud, so she could’ve heard it. Maybe if I’d put that in the slide deck, she would’ve said yes to me right then and there.
When she rushes into my arms, I forget all about how I want to present myself and instead I’m just present.
“You came back,” she half whispers.
I tuck wet strands of hair behind her elf ears. “I never really left.”
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted Charles Owen Frederick Thorpe IV, Esquire, soaked to the skin, rescuing Nathan. He didn’t even hesitate. He dropped those Gucci loafers straight into the water like he was barefoot. The Charles Thorpe who I first met wouldn’t have dared to risk damage to his designer shoes.
I pluck wet strands of hair from my face to see him better. “Why are you here?”
“Adam and Nathan needed help.”
“I don’t mean the bridge. I mean camp. I thought you left.”
“The storm… It was bad and I wanted to…” He trails off.
“You wanted to what?”
“To make sure you’re safe.” His voice cracks with emotion.
“We’re fine,” I tell him. “Everyone’s fine.” I don’t mean to, but I start to cry. “You came back for nothing.”
“No, I didn’t. I came back for everything. I came back for you.”
Next thing I know his hands are cupping my face and he’s kissing me. I thought our Skinny-Dipping Kiss in the lake was the best kiss, but this one blows Skinny-Dipping Kiss out of the water, pun fully intended. This kiss is a Princess Buttercup and Westley reunion level of epicness. There are no bad guys to defeat, no villains to vanquish, just two people who needed to get out of their own way.
“Ew, gross.”
My lips detach from Charlie’s long enough to give Nathan a firm look. “This man saved your life. He deserves to be rewarded.”
“Then give him a twenty and call it a day, because whatever this is, it’s disgusting.” He walks away, shaking his head and muttering to himself.
“Let’s get you indoors to dry off,” Adam says, ushering him toward the cabins.
“Give him a couple years,” Charlie says and slides his arms around my waist. “Then we’ll see how he feels about this.” He leans down and presses his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry, Cricket. You have no idea how much.”
“I have a bit of an idea. You made a slide deck with doctored images without using AI and you drove all the way back here in a storm.”
He could’ve been swept off the road. He could’ve died trying to get to us.
To me.
“I’m sorry too,” I tell him. “I could’ve handled things better. The fact that you didn’t send that lien straight to LandStar showed me that I could trust you. Between Patrick and Matt showing up and the ghost of my father’s bad choices, I guess I fumbled the pitch.”
“Those are two different … never mind.” He hooks an arm around my waist and pulls me close, drawing me taut against his torso. “I love this camp, Courtney Abernathy, but more importantly, I love you, and I want to do whatever I can to contribute to your happiness.”
I feel the pounding of my heart as he holds me close. “You can start by getting us somewhere dry.”
He leads me to a canopy of trees. “Better?”
I nod. The storm seems to be fading as we speak. I spy a sliver of blue sky in the distance.
