Page 144 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
Kara and I turn toward the door that’s propped open to allow some airflow. Charlotte stands outside it, staring at our tin can and biting back a smile that tears my heart in two.
“Lottie! You came back.” Kara jumps up, and I stay seated while she flings herself at Charlotte for a hug. “Whatever Brad did, he’s sorry. Like, really, really sorry.”
Charlotte holds her tight. “I know he is, Kare.” She finally turns to me, and it’s a lightning strike to every pleasure point on my body. “We had a lack of communication that needs to be sorted out.”
“Good luck with that.” She snorts. “He basically told me that we’re his rainbows and he’s a grumpy old raincloud.”
“That’s nothing even close to what I said.” When my words echo against the tin can, I pinch the bridge of my nose.
I hate this thing, but leaving Charlotte isn’t an option either.
“Kara, why don’t you take Hercules up to my house and give her some dinner?” Charlotte says.
The ratdog has been outside on a dog run. Her yapping inside the tin can was making my ears bleed, and she yips now as though she understood every word.
“Okay.” Kara turns and points at me with her pointer and middle fingers, then brings them to her eyes. “Don’t mess this up, Brad. I mean it.”
I know what she’s saying. Kara and I may be biologically related, but we’re a family because of Charlotte Sinclair.
She’s the glue that holds us together and makes us work.
Charlotte stares after Kara for a long time before entering the tin can and closing the door behind her.
I should warn her that it’s about to turn into a sauna in here, but I can’t get my mouth to work. Again.
She takes the seat that Kara was in only moments before and primly folds her hands on the table. I don’t know what to do with this version of her.
“Thane.”
“The words froze in my mouth.” The explanation fires from my lips in a rush of air and now I can’t stop. “Last night, at the event. It hasn’t happened to me in years. I could hear them all clearly in my mind but there was a disconnect from my brain to my lips and everything came out a jumbled mess. Watching you walk away sliced me to the bone, and I was helpless to do anything but stand there screaming the words in the confines of my own mind.”
“Stress.” She’s not whispering. She’s gentle and precise with her words. It causes sweat to form at the back of my neck. I was expecting anger. I was prepared for anger. This subdued and relaxed version of her is not what Siri told me were likely outcomes. The urge to fidget under her stare is overwhelming. “I read about sensory processing disorders on the plane. Stress can trigger your fight-or-flight response.”
I must make some kind of face because she flashes me a wide smile.
“I asked Rafe to send me some information. I only had time to read it while I was on my flight.”
Unsure how I feel about that, I pin it in my mind to worry about later.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” She sits stiffly, as though she’s afraid to breathe. It’s not thepush me and I’ll push you right backLottie I’ve grown to love, bossiness and all, and it makes unease slither across my skin.
I itch everywhere.
“The beginning. Okay. Well, it all started with an app I built. A dating app for people who struggled in social situations. But the connections were off, and no matter how I tweaked the algorithm, something was missing. In beta trials, the matches were abysmal at best.”
She’s nodding as though she’s already heard the story, but I know that’s not possible. My company locks down new tech better than the Pentagon.
“I couldn’t figure out what was missing. Then I took custody of Kara and my world imploded. My CFO is friends with the CEO of a media corporation in California who had used the Single Dad Hotline, and he got me the number. As soon as I took your assessment, I knew why I would never be successful with my matchmaking app.”
“The human element.” Her eyes sparkle and crinkle at the corners. Happy. It’s a good look on her.
“Yes. The human element, and imagine my frustration from that. Humans, by nature, are flawed. How could they produce something so precise that my algorithms couldn’t?”
“Because people are human, and relationships are unpredictable.”
“That’s it exactly.” I swear my blood pressure is rising. It happens whenever my body matches my mind’s enthusiasm. “So when I took your assessment, I knew I had to have it, and yes, I created LotiTech, named after you, because I was certain that if you understood the magnitude of what you had created, you wouldn’t give it up.”
It’s so damn hot in here that I’m panting worse than Hercules.
