Page 71 of Power Games

They were done with that particular game. Charles wasn't sure who'd won, and in all honestly, he didn't care much.

29

Fear

Vanessa woke up 100 percent content, positive, happy. It lasted until she lifted her head from her pillow and found her bed empty.

She got to her feet, wrapping a sheet around her bare body, and walked out of her room.

Her smile returned the moment she opened the door, as the smell of bacon hit her nostrils.

"You cook?"

She was impressed. Scrambled eggs, buttered croissant, and crispy bacon.

"Breakfast," Charles specified. "I cook breakfast. The other meals are beyond my range of skills."

He plated for both of them and carried the meals to the breakfast bar.

"Orange juice or water?"

"Both, please."

She poured him a glass of each, got water for her, and joined him to find a mug of tea waiting for her.

He'd made himself coffee, too.

"Sorry I only have instant."

He shrugged. "I've definitely drunk worse things."

She often mistook Charles for a man like her father or her brother. He was so at ease in their world, it was easy to forget that he hadn't been born with all the luxury surrounding them. Unlike most of her acquaintances, unlike her, he'd worked his ass off his entire life.

"Tell me about you before this. Before Jacobs and everything else."

"You mean, in the Army?" He seemed surprised. "Honestly, I thought that was it for me. I’d found my tribe, my function in life. Living every day knowing that what I did had a true purpose was freeing, satisfying to the core. I can't talk about the missions, what we did out there, but I can tell you that I found brothers and sisters around me. Men and women who would, and sometimes did, lay down their lives for mine."

He paused. "Shit hit the fan on my fifth tour. We were in a tight spot, and I'll just say I'm lucky to have made it back in one piece. One of the guys on my team didn't make it, another one lost a leg. I was a little farther from the explosion, but I got a bit of shrapnel in my leg. So, that was it."

"Was it hard to walk away?"

Charles shook his head. "It could have been, but I kept busy. Too busy, maybe. When I look back, I realize that that's when Izzy and I truly disconnected. My uncle hired me, and I worked full time for him, but I took college courses on the side, determined to get a degree. I felt like I failed everyone when I got hurt, and I had to prove I could get things done. Be of use."

Vanessa almost asked what Isabella had been doing in the meantime, but she could guess, and she didn't want to speak ill of the dead, so instead, she commented, "You were always driven, then."

"Maybe. But I think I only started to seriously become an overachiever when Quinn told me he was sick, and that I was going to be his heir. I didn't think I deserved it. I still don't. But now, it's mine. My responsibility."

She knew there was no point in telling him that no one could have been more deserving of everything he got, and that no one else would have fought quite so hard for it. She now understood the sleepless nights, the drive to keep his company together back at the beginning of the summer.

"Hey, Vanessa?"

She lifted her head from her plate and the next instant, Charles was leaning over and kissing her lips. Just a peck, short and sweet.

"Good morning, sunshine."

She blushed, everything they'd done the night before rushing to the surface.

"I like the nickname, by the way."

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