Page 109 of Guarding My Love

“I don’t,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I can’t socialize for a period of time. It’s called compromise. I’m not going to kiss anyone’s ass and be someone I’m not, but if you want to go out, we can go out. I’m just going to be who I am when I’m out. I don’t think one time I haven’t acted any way other than who you know, have I?”

“No,” she said. “You haven’t.”

“And you’ve told me a few times you fell in love with the gruff guy, so why would I change that?”

She laughed. “I don’t know. Why would you?”

“I wouldn’t,” he said.

“Just like I’m not going back to being someone I never wanted to be,” she said. “You taught me so much but most of all how to love myself. How to stand up for myself and put myself first.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Charlotte, you did that all on your own.”

“I did,” she said, grinning. “But you helped and that is what people who love each other do. Do you believe me?”

“I do,” he said. “Do you believe me when I said I love you?”

“Yes,” she said.

He stood up and put his hand out for hers, then yanked her into his arms and crushed his mouth to hers the way she loved.

Not being pampered.

Not being handled with kid gloves.

“Then we need to forget about the past eleven days and go back to the way things were.”

“We do,” she said. “Now kiss me again!”

EPILOGUE

Four Months Later

“Merry Christmas,”Aileen said when Foster and Charlotte walked into his mother’s house.

Everyone from New York arrived yesterday afternoon via West’s jet.

“Merry Christmas,” she said. “Are we the last ones here?”

“You are,” Aileen said. “Foster is always last.”

“It’s my fault,” she said. “I slept in this morning longer than I thought I would.”

“It’s nice of you to take the blame for Foster,” Talia said. “But we know it’s him. He can’t stand all the big gatherings.”

“I’m not as bad as I used to be,” he said. “I even stayed for all of Braylon’s wedding two months ago.”

“Because you had me by your side,” Charlotte said, giggling.

“Shhh,” he said. “Don’t let them know that.”

“I’ve never seen Foster like this,” Rowan said. She’d met all of Foster’s family at Braylon’s wedding, then flew here for Thanksgiving and now Christmas.

It’s not as if she was going home for any holiday. Though she could have spent the holiday with Amanda like she’d been doing, she didn’t want to be away from Foster and he said he had to go home.

She didn’t want to get on Aileen’s bad side either. Not when the pep talk from Foster’s mother was what forced her to open her eyes and talk to Foster so they could clear the air.

“Maybe because he’s never been in love before,” Charlotte said. No way those words were going to make her doubt her boyfriend.

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