Page 22 of Seeking Happily Ever After

Love. Hope. Fear. Gratitude.Desire.

He took a shaky breath, willing his emotions to stay under control. He couldn’t lose his grip now. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, giving himself a moment to pull it together before going to the baby. If he was worked up, she’d feel it. And the last thing he needed on top of everything else was for Amelia to get worked up, too.

His eyes flew open a moment later when Charlotte wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. He jumped a little, but she held him tighter.

A hug.

The physical touch almost broke the thin thread he had on his control. But the longer she held him, the better he started to feel, until he unwound his arms and returned the embrace.

She smelled of lemons and vanilla.

“We’ve got this, Nick,” she murmured into his ear. “It’ll be okay.”

Simple words. But, somehow, coming from Charlotte with her arms around him, he believed them.

ChapterSeven

Charlotte wasn’t naive enoughto think that her parents wouldn’t have something to say about it when she told them she’d be moving in with Nick Newton, Glacier Fall’s newest billionaire resident. Which was why she’d decided to go with the truth when it came to trying to explain what she was doing. Her mom and dad had been her rock for far too long to lead with a lie now.

And fortunately for Charlotte, their capacity to be understanding was even greater than she’d expected.

“You’re a grown woman,” Darlene said. “We’re not going to tell you what to do.” She sat on Char’s bed and picked up a T-shirt, folding it neatly into thirds before picking another out of the pile Charlotte had dumped there. “But I really do hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I’m helping Nick, Mom.” Char picked her favorite pairs of jeans out of the drawer and put them in the suitcase. She was trying to decide how much to take. Enough to make it look like she actually lived there, but not too much that there was nowhere to put any of it. She hadn’t inspected the bedroom when she’d been there earlier, but she wasn’t confident that there was much space. “If you were to see him with his daughter, you’d understand why I had to do it.”

“And he didn’t ask you…”

Char knew that would be the hardest part for her mom to understand. How Charlotte had just recklessly jumped into the situation without so much as a discussion about it beforehand.

“I know it sounds crazy, Mom. But in that moment, there was no other choice. I knew he needed help and if it meant him losing Amelia to…” She realized she didn’t fully understand what the consequence of Nick not having a fiancée would be.Would custody go to Amelia’s mother? Was there someone else interested in custody? What if she hadn’t stepped in?

There was a lot she didn’t know. So many questions she still needed answers to.

But it looked as though she’d have the opportunity to figure it out if they were going to be spending so much time together.

“And how long are you going to be there? A week, you said?”

“I didn’t say.” She raised an eyebrow in her mother’s direction. “Look, Mom, I know you’re worried, but honestly, I’m doing fine. Nick is just a friend.” But the word didn’t sound right. Not really. Sure, he was a friend, but was he more? Or maybe the better question was,couldhe be more? She shook her head and forced herself to focus. “You always taught me to look after my friends.”

“I did, but this is—”

“Not different,” she interrupted. “Not at all. I know you’ll understand when you meet Nick and Amelia. How about we set up a dinner or something once everything is settled a bit? Would that make you feel better?”

Her mother nodded.

“I’m not sure when, but I’ll arrange it.” She smiled at the idea of her mom meeting Amelia. Char just knew she’d melt at the little girl’s giggle, just the way she had. Amelia was absolutely impossible not to fall head over heels for.As for her father…She blushed at the thought of falling for him. Or maybe she already was.

“Char?”

“Sorry.” She blinked as she realized she’d totally missed whatever her mother had just said. “What were you saying?”

Her mother gave her a strange look. “I was just wondering if this meant you might want to come into the office now instead of working from home? You know, that way we can see you a bit more.”

The office?

Oh.

Guilt filled her as she realized that with everything that had happened, she’d forgotten to tell her mother that the meeting with Stephanie Starz had gone well.Reallywell, in fact. On an ordinary day, she would have run right home to tell her mother all about it and celebrate with her. But…the day had been anything but ordinary.

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