Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“He already said he forgives you,” I reminded him.
“That’s one out of two.” He turned his head to the side and looked at me. “How about you, Scott? Do you think you can forgive me?”
I loved him unconditionally. That included the ugly parts of his past. So I rolled on top of him and nuzzled his neck. “I do know you’re not that same guy anymore.” I thought about everything he’d said and added, “And you know what? I’m not the same kid who didn’t know enough to appreciate what he had.” I dragged in a deep breath. “So I guess the hard part is going to be convincing Charlie to give us another chance?”
Adan kissed my forehead and chuckled. “We already did that, hon.”
I flattened my hands on the bed and straightened my arms so my face was above his. “What are you talking about? We made up from all the shit in the past, but he turned us down flat when we said we wanted to get back together.”
Adan shook his head and said, “He didn’t turn us down.”
“Uh, yes, he did,” I argued. “Were you and I listening to the same conversation back there?”
“If you were getting hung up on his words, then no.”
“I have no clue what you’re saying,” I grumbled in frustration.
He chuckled. “The thing about our Charlie is, you can’t just listen to his words. If you want to hear what he’s saying, you have to look at his expressions, you have to look in his eyes, you have to listen to how fast he’s breathing, you have to pay attention to the way he’s holding himself.” Adan shrugged. “We’re lawyers. We make a living using words and logic. But Charlie’s a dancer. He’ll tell us a lot more with his body than he will with his mouth, and he’ll follow his heart even when his head tells him to do the opposite.”
I furrowed my brow and chewed my bottom lip. “I can’t decide whether that’s incredibly insightful or incredibly condescending.”
“It’s incredibly accurate. I saw the way he looked at you tonight, Scott. You haven’t talked in fifteen years, and he still looked at you like you were the second coming. And the fact that he didn’t kick me in the nuts means he still loves me.” He stretched up and bussed his lips over mine. “The hard part is already done: he still loves us. Now we need to make him realize it and to show him that this time, we’re going to hold on to him.”
There was a crazy sort of logic to Adan’s patronizing analysis. “How do we do that?” I asked.
“Well, first things first. Tomorrow morning, we’re picking up lunch and taking him and the kids to the park for a picnic.”
Adan Navarro had suggested we spend our Saturday afternoon having a picnic. My life was no longer recognizable. Strangely enough, I was okay with that. But I doubted Charlie would feel the same way.
“What makes you think he’ll agree to meet us?”
“Meet us?” Adan raised his eyebrows in shock. “We are not asking him to meet us. We’re going to show up at his apartment, knock on his door, and park our asses on his couch until he agrees to spend the day with us. Then we’re going to have the best damn picnic in the history of picnics and he’ll see we’re serious about him.”
Loath though I was to admit it out loud, it wasn’t a bad plan.
“Then what?”
Adan pursed his lips and squinted. “Umm, I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. Charlie wasn’t able to resist either of us alone; he doesn’t stand a chance against a dual seduction.”
I couldn’t hold back a laugh at the return of my confident boyfriend. “Nice to see you back, Mr. Cocky.”
“Mr. Cocky is too tired to make an appearance tonight,” he drawled. “Hit me up in the morning and I’ll see if he’s up for some fun.”
I grimaced and moaned, “Oh, that was bad.”
He smacked my butt. “You know it was funny.”
I rolled off him and rubbed my backside. “I know I love you, but that’s all you’re getting me to admit.”
“Fine,” he sighed dramatically.
“Go to sleep, Adan, you’re punch-drunk.”
He gripped my waist, tugged me closer, and tossed his leg over my hip. I burrowed against him, rested my head on his shoulder, and closed my eyes.
“We’re okay, right, hon?” he asked.
I combed my fingers through the hair on his chest and kissed his nipple. “We’re solid, Adan. You don’t need to worry about us. We need you to focus all your Machiavellian brilliance on getting Charlie home.”
Chapter 16
INTRODUCTION
Charlie (“Chase”) Rhodes
SO HOW’RE you holding up? Doing okay so far?
Me? I’m great now, but back then I was living on the corner of Emotional Whirlwind and Mental Breakdown. Thanks for asking.