Page 55 of Charm Me Not

I stifled a laugh, not wanting her to feel embarrassed again. “Oh yeah. She and Dad had a secret relationship their senior year. It wasn’t until they went to college that they really came into the open and started dating publicly. They were madly in love, finished college, got married, and came back to Fairview to start a family. They’re part of the Fairy Tale High statistic of high school sweethearts, even though they weren’t out until college. No one remembers Mom a being a Teller girl much anymore, but it’s true.” His face down turned for a moment, a sad look crossing his features. “It wasn’t… acceptable for them to date back then. And now that they’ve lived in Fairview so long, most people forget Mom was ever Teller-born to begin with.”

Una’s face softened as I spoke, a sort of understanding look crossing her features. If anyone could relate to Mom’s story, it would be her. The similarities between my parent’s love story and our up and coming one were undeniable.

I only hoped Una realized I wasn’t trying to duplicate theirs. What Una and I had was solely ours.

She perked back up for a moment. “Wow. A real Cinderella story, huh? What does that make you then? Prince Charming?”

Instantly, a mask washed over my face as I put a smile on my lips. “They don’t call me Charming Charlie for nothing.”

That got a good belly laugh out of her. “Whocalls you Charming Charlie? Besides maybe your grandmother?”

I twisted my lips to the side and narrowed my eyes. “Fine. You caught me. No one calls me Charming Charlie except for me in my own head. Happy?”

“Very,” she replied with a smug look. I rolled my eyes and knocked my shoulder into hers.

We stopped a minute later in front of a tank of sea turtles. There were a few big ones, a bunch of tiny ones, and all sorts of different fish.

Una stood in front of it, absolutely mesmerized. “They’re amazing, aren’t they?”

While she was watching the turtles, though, I was too busy watching her. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Her deep brown eyes were open wide, her long lashes brushing her cheeks when she blinked. Her lips parted in awe.

Her lips… I had to stop staring at her lips, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back from kissing her right then.

“Um, what?” I replied, trying to shake myself out of the trance.

She didn’t tear her eyes away from the tank. “The turtles. They’re amazing, right?”

But I didn’t see a single turtle. I only saw her. “Absolutely amazing.”

I didn’t pushmy luck at the end of the date. The surprise kiss I landed on her after mini golf only happened because it was just that—a surprise.

After telling Una about Mom’s past, she seemed to loosen up a little more. She even laughed at a joke I made. Telling her I was half Teller made it almost as if she trusted me better. It didn’t make sense, since I didn’t change anything about myself, but if that’s what it took, then I’d take it.

She did, however, take my elbow when I extended it to her as we left the aquarium and walked into the cool night air. She had looked at me funny when I gave her a side glance and raised my arm in her direction.

But a second later, she slipped her arm through mine, ducking her head to hide the sly smile that appeared. I saw it, though. And every nerve ending in my body went on high alert, electric shocks playing ping-pong everywhere.

“Another score for Team Charming?” I asked as we approached her car.

I stared at her, my breath caught in my chest, waiting as she sized me up and pretended to think.

“Fine. I’ll admit this was… fun. It wasn’t what I expected, but yeah. I liked it.”

My hands flew to my heart. “Oh my word, did you say you enjoyed yourself?” I exclaimed, pretending to be shocked and appalled. “Una Nielsen, found having a good time with a Fairview guy?”

The corners of my eyes crinkled with the massive grin on my face. Una rolled her eyes and shook her head, a few of her braids falling over the front of her collarbone. I reached up and brushed them back, my fingers drifting down her shoulder and arm afterward. She shivered, her eyes darting to mine.

It took everything in me not to lean forward and kiss her right then. A real kiss, not a quick surprise peck on the cheek. I wanted to cup her cheeks in my hands, pull her to me so her chest was pressed against mine, and take her lips gently until the hunger took over and I couldn’t hold back anymore.

But I didn’t. I had to honor her space and give her the time she needed to come around. If I pushed too hard, too fast, she would run away and the entire plan would be ruined.

The end goal was for her to believe in love. Maybe not true love, maybe not love at first sight, or even soul mate love. But love in general. To believe in its power and its goodness.

To believe that you can fully give yourself to another person without the fear of being hurt. That it was okay to be vulnerable and open with someone and give them your heart to protect. That focusing on a negative outcome you weren’t even sure would happen wasn’t the right way to live.

She needed to experience the act of falling in love in order to change her mind about the emotion in general. And I was the one to help her do so.

If she ended up falling in love withme, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. But I wasn’t going to push her or sway her in any way she didn’t want to go. I would take her out, give her a memorable experience, and remind her of the kindness in the world. The power of love.

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