Page 21 of Seeking Happily Ever After

“Saved me?” He grinned and shook his head all at the same time. “Are you saying my personality isn’t sparkling?”

He laughed and she smiled.

Nick said she’d saved him, but maybe she screwed it all up?The thought hit her hard, and Charlotte had to force herself to take a breath. She inhaled hard and almost instantly regretted it as her senses filled with the scent of him. A combination of coffee, fresh soap, and just the tiniest trace of…baby powder. It hit her in the gut and made her stomach flip in a way that was completely inappropriate for the moment.

“I messed everything up, didn’t I?”

Nick put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Why don’t we sit down and start figuring out what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it.” He led her to the couch and somehow Charlotte managed to nod as they sat down together. “Because no matter how we came to this place, we’re here. Together.”

She looked into his eyes then, and to her surprise didn’t see any anger there. Only worry and concern. And was it her imagination, or was there humor there, too?

She couldn’t see anything funny about the situation they were in and very quickly she was starting to regret her decision to go to Sweetie Pies early for her meeting. But maybe a little sense of humor was exactly what they needed to get them through.

It certainly couldn’t hurt.

Nick had explained everything to Charlotte—well, almost everything. He didn’t tell her about his concerns that Jessica might want her baby back, or the very minor but very important detail that he was 99.9% sure that Amelia wasn’t even his child. Those details, although important, weren’t pertinent to the immediate situation.

Besides, now that Charlotte was involved, he needed her to be fully and completely committed. If she knew that Amelia wasn’t even his, well…he didn’t know how she’d react. It was just easier not to say anything. Yet. He would tell her. Just not right away.

When they were done talking, Charlotte dropped her head for a moment and took in a deep breath. When she looked up, her face was set in a resolute line. “So I guess I’ll be moving in.”

Her matter-of-factness took him off guard, and judging by her reaction, he hadn’t done a very good job of hiding it.

“Am I wrong?” She struggled to hide her smile. “Because it sounded to me like—”

“No.” He stopped her. “I think that’s exactly what you need to do and…soon.”

“Now?”

He grinned. He did like how willing she was to accept the situation. “Now seems like a good time.”

“Do you think she’d pop in right away?” Charlotte’s smile fell away. “I mean, what if she was going to come right now? We’d be—”

He silenced her by putting a hand on her thigh. It felt both innocent and everything but. Her head whipped around, and she stared at him, open-mouthed, until he pulled his hand away. Instantly wishing he hadn’t. He liked touching her. It felt…nice.

Under any other circumstances, Nick would have laughed at his benign choice of words for what was anything but an innocent touch. At least, it certainly didn’tfeelinnocent. Not the way his heart was pounding. He jumped up from the couch, needing space before he reached out and touched her again. “We need to calm down.”In more ways than one.“First things first. Let’s get you moved in.” He looked around the space. It was small. It had been small for just him and Amelia. For him, Amelia,andCharlotte, it was going to be downright tiny. Especially if just a simple touch from his fiancée sparked feelings in him that were anything but innocent.

“Right.” Charlotte stood. “I’ll go home and get a few things. I guess, I’ll…”

“Do you need help? I can ask Katie to watch Amelia.”

She seemed to consider his offer for a moment, but finally, she shook her head. “You know, I think it might be easier if I do it on my own.” She turned to leave, but before she did, spun around again. “One thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Are we…well, I know it’s a fake engagement and all, but…my parents are going to ask questions, and I don’t think I can explain this one considering the last few months. I mean…”

Shit.

Of course. Only a few months ago, Charlotte was in a controlling relationship on the other side of the country and now she wasengaged to be married—without even so much as a first date. Certainly her parents would have questions. Katie and Damon had kept their secret from everyone. But their situation was different. It was believable. That was ahugedifference.

“Maybe we should just tell people the truth. I mean, only our close friends and family, noteveryone.I think they’d understand, don’t you?”

Her shrug didn’t inspire much confidence, but he didn’t have any other options.

“We’ll just have to hope they do, won’t we.”

As if she sensed the stress in the air and the fact that her very future was balanced upon whether Nick and Charlotte could pull off the ultimate lie, Amelia chose that moment to wake. She let out a squawk that Nick knew would only grow louder and more insistent if he didn’t respond right away. He looked from the baby back to Charlotte, and his heart swelled with a mixture of emotions he couldn’t quite pin down.

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