Page 119 of The Bad Wedding Date

But what about every other aspect of my life?

I loved my job. Genuinely. It made me feel alive, calm, full of purpose, electric. Nothing gave me greater satisfaction than making someone whose life was coming to an end feel like they had so many possibilities left that it may as well be the beginning.

I loved my home. Or at least I had before the break-in. It had become the one place I could be myself and relax, where I never had to pretend to be anything other than who I was.

I loved my best friend. Jonah made me feel like I had a thousand-person army around me with just one hug, good conversation, and his words of encouragement. I had other acquaintances, sure, but in terms of true friends who would be there for you until your last living breath, he was it.

Up until recently, those three things had been the only sources of light in my life.

After Penn, I’d never given much thought to romance.

To love.

Then Fraser came along, and in the last two weeks, I’d experienced more exhilaration, butterflies, orgasms, and moments of happiness than ever before… even under the questionable circumstances that had brought us together. Even with his deception of using me to get into the wedding.

For the first time in a long time, happiness and I didn’t feel like complete strangers.

That realisation made my heart race, and the memory of Fraser’s face when he pushed inside of me last night in the shower came to life in my mind, bringing goosebumps to life.

“Yeah, Dad,” I said. “I’m happy.”

“That’s all I want for you, Charlotte. I hope you know that, despite what you clearly sometimes think of us as parents.”

“I never—”

“You’re my baby girl,” he said, cutting me off, and I could have sworn I heard a lump in his throat when he spoke. “You will always be my baby girl, and whether I tell you this often or not…” He paused, clearing his throat. “I love you very much.”

For some inexplicable reason, tears formed in my eyes, gathering there at an unexpected rate, until two fell over the edges in time together, brushing the apples of my cheeks on their way down.

“And even though I’m terrible at this,” he said, “I’ve really enjoyed this call. Hearing your voice. I might just do this more often.”

“Don’t get too soft on me now.”

“I wouldn’t dare to. I know you’d soon put me in my place. You’ve always been strong-minded like that.” I couldn’t deny the smile I heard in his voice or how much I’d needed a conversation like this with him for far longer than I cared to admit.

“So, that man you brought to the wedding. Fraser, was it?”

“That’s him.” I nodded as though he could see me.

“Where did you meet?”

“That’s a story for another day,” I said. “But he takes care of me.”

“I could see that.”

“You could?”

“There’s a certain look a man gives a woman when he’s in love with her. Even if he doesn’t want to admit it with his words, the eyes are what give him away. A good man with good intentions lets his woman lead. He pushes her to stand out so he can sit back and watch her grow bolder, brighter, taller before his very eyes. Now, I may not be the most romantic chap on the planet—Lord knows, your mother tells me off for that more often than you could imagine—but I do know when I see that look. I saw it in Fraser at the wedding, Charlotte. He let the entire ballroom know that, no matter what, no one could hurt you when he was around.”

My mouth grew dry, and my throat tightened.

In love?

The idea of Fraser showing that much affection on the first day we met made me want to throw my head back and laugh out loud. Surely that had to have been part of the act. It was impossible to feel so much for someone so soon—it had to be.

But it also made me want to push my hand to my chest, grip my heart, and stop it from growing ten sizes too big from the possibility that maybe, just maybe, we’d had something special the moment we met.

“There aren’t many of those men left around,” Dad said, interrupting my thoughts. “I liked watching the two of you together. It made me happy to see you with someone good like that.”

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