Page 120 of The Love Playbook

“We’re considering The Inn,” Garry says, referring to the stately manor just outside Ann Arbor.

“Oh,” Charlotte says in a way that conveys her surprise, “that’s fancy.”

Garry’s smile fizzles. “You don’t think it’s a good choice?”

Charlotte shakes her head, looking slightly flustered as she says, “No. It’s not that. I’m sure it’ll be great. It’s beautiful and intimate. It’s just . . . really upscale. Kind of hard to imagine Chris’s little brothers there.”

I know what she means. It’s the first thought that popped into my head. Hell, getting my brothers to wear a suit for more than five minutes will be a challenge. Asking them to sit in a formal ballroom with tons of glass, china, and breakables, is asking for trouble. Not to mention having to endure an instrumental live band, and waiters in tuxedos handing out canapés on trays. They’ll die of boredom.

But I also know how her words sound. As far as Garry’s concerned, she’s never met my brothers, but her words say otherwise. It’s a clear implication that not only has she met them, she knows them well enough to make a judgment call based on that knowledge.

Garry’s gaze bounces between us, a quiet tension simmering in the silence, a boiling pot ready to spill over. “Speaking of Chris,” he says with a nod, turning a tight smile on me. “Barb tells me you and Charlotte have been seeing each other a lot recently.”

I purse my lips, trying not to shrink under his gaze. I’ve never been good at hiding things from my mother. I’m not surprised she’s noticed Charlotte and I are getting closer, but the ice in Garry’s tone tells me he might not be happy about it.

My gaze bounces to Charlotte and back, unsure of how much I should say since we agreed not to tell them, when she interjects. “Uh, yeah. We’ve been spending some time together,” she says, like it’s no big deal. “We’re both in the same circle of friends, so it’s not a surprise. It kind of just happened.”

Garry’s eyes narrow. “‘Kind of just happened,’” he repeats slowly, like he’s savoring the meaning. “Interesting.”

“Aren’t you the one that told us it would be nice if we spent some time together, got to know each other?” I remind him.

His mouth shuts, a menacing curl to his lips while his gaze cuts between us as though he’s piecing it together. “He’s the boy that fixed your car, isn’t he?”

The memory of his warning to Charlotte about boys wanting something in exchange for a favor rings like a bell loudly inside my head, and I swallow.

“So what if he was,” Charlotte challenges.

My mother, either completely oblivious or trying to ease the rising tension, lifts her wine glass and says, “Well, I for one, think it’s great. I love that you’re building on your friendship.” She flashes me a wink and I wince.

Wrong move, Mom. Wrong move.

Garry’s fingers tighten around his water glass, his knuckles white, and when he tosses his napkin on the table and pushes back from his seat, my stomach drops. “Charlotte, a word, please?”

With a lift of the chin, Charlotte’s dark eyes harden. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it here.”

Garry hesitates before dropping back into his seat. “Fine.” He smooths his tie, his expression tight. “I’m a smart man, and I’m not blind. I see what’s happening here. You could barely be in the same room as him a little over a month ago,” he says, waving in my direction.

“I don’t know what you’re getting at, but?”

“Stop lying!” Garry brings his palm down over the tabletop, rattling the ice in our glasses.

Lettie jumps, and across from me, my mother gapes. “Garry,” she admonishes.

“I’m sorry,” he says, turning toward her, “but I can’t stand all the secrecy.”

Beside me, Charlotte snorts and mutters, “That’s rich, coming from you.

“I see the eyes you’ve been giving each other since we walked in,” Garry says with a subtle pause, “and all I want to know is why? Are you doing this to get even with me?”

Lettie’s brows rise, a strangled laugh spilling from her chest. “You think I’m seeing Chris as revenge?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know what to think. All I know is how upset you were when we told you we were getting married. I also know this has made”?he clears his throat?“certain aspects of your life harder. It wouldn’t surprise me if you lashed out.”

“Unbelievable.” Charlotte shakes her head, eyes blazing with the heat of her anger. “I’m so glad my own father thinks I’m cheap enough to sell myself to a boy just to get back at him.”

“That’s not what I . . .” He pauses, his cheeks turning a dark shade of red. “I know you have a lot on your plate right now, and I just question whether this might be some kind of emotional manipulation.”

The muscle in Lettie’s jaw twitches, and I know he’s hit a nerve. “Like Mom?” She arches a brow, waiting, but he drops his gaze to the table and says nothing. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that to me, like you said it to Mom for years, and if you must know, I’m not falling for Chris to get even.” She glares at him. “I’m falling for him because he’s actually pretty fucking amazing,” she says, mimicking my words from the night at her mother’s place. “And I’m sorry if that somehow inconveniences you, but quite frankly, I don’t really give a shit if it does.”

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