Page 61 of Charlie

"What then, Charlie? Don't tell me it's nothing. I know you better than that."

"It was just something Lorna said the other day. About how good Jack is with kids... how she can't wait to see a bunch of little Jacks running around."

"I'm not following."

I sigh. "I know this is completely premature, and I shouldn't even be thinking about it, let alone worrying about it, but what if the doctors are right and I can't have kids?"

"Carebear," he whispers, a tender smile pulling at his lips. "Does this mean you're thinking about staying?" He cups my jaw, caressing my cheek with his thumb.

"That is not what I said."

"Oh, but it is," he laughs, scooping me up and spinning me around.

"Lach!" I protest, struggling in his arms. He ignores me, capturing my mouth with his, trapping me in a slow, sensual kiss that soothes the deepest depths of my soul.

"You two just need to fuck already," Isla calls as she barges through the door with a full pitcher in her hands

"How do you know we haven't?" Lach asks, linking his fingers with mine.

"Lachlan, I have known you my entire life. I have never seen you like this. The tension is bloody unbearable."

He laughs. "Well, you'll have to bear it a little longer. It's not happening until we know she's staying."

Isla looks at me, studying my face, then says to Lach, "That's stupid."

"It was your brother's decision," Lach murmurs, pulling my hand to his lips.

"Ah. Well, that I understand. Good fucking luck," she chuckles. We follow her onto the deck and settle in the big wooden chairs.

After another glass of sangria, my thoughts start slipping out of my mouth. "Why does it feel like we've been doing this for years? Like I've known the three of you forever?" I rub my hands over my face. "I just don't understand it."

"You don't have to understand, Sassenach. This is your dachaigh – your home," Jack says, his gaze blanketing me.

"It can't be. I can only stay for six months out of the year on my visa. I don't have the qualifications to get a different one."

"Marry one of us," Lach says, not a hint of humor in his tone.

Panic bubbles up my throat. "Funny."

"I'm not fucking kidding," he says, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, the fire gilding his face with a fierce glow. "Marry one of us legally and you'll be allowed stay. We don't have to have every last detail nailed down. We'll figure it out."

"While I appreciate the sentiment, there are two problems. One, I'm still married to Rob. And two, we haven’t known each other long enough. You may like me now and want to keep me around for some fun, but what if you change your mind in a month? In a year?"

Jack jerks in his seat like I slapped him. "We aren't fucking changing our minds, Charlotte."

The truth is, I don't have enough confidence in myself to believe they won't tire of me. "We can talk about this once I'm divorced. There's no point in going round in circles when it changes nothing." I get up and refill my glass.

"Take a break and come camping with me tomorrow," Jack says as I sit back down, taking my hand in his.

I clear the negativity from my mind and focus on him. Stray wisps of hair frame his face, copper in the firelight. His gaze holds mine, hopeful and determined.

"Okay," I say softly, my heart pounding.

He turns to Lach. "Are you free?"

"No, I'll be entertaining clients on the boat tomorrow." He turns toward me, "I think it'll be good for you to get away for a night. You've been working hard and you deserve a break."

"Wait, what boat?" I ask.

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