Page 19 of Secret Cinderella
He scanned the room and at last found Charlotte but she was in Antonio’s arms, hugging him.
His heart thundered as he wanted to march over and drag her away. Linda tugged him and he said without thinking, “He promised…”
But then he stopped.
Linda wasn’t a friend.
Charlotte and Antonio backed away from each other, the greeting over. Linda said, “Come now, Charlotte wanted him too. I saw how she flirted on the security camera.”
On that Linda was mistaken. He’d seen Charlotte himself and yes she’d been infatuated, but she wasn’t the type that threw herself at anyone. He shook his head and said fast, “You’re wrong.”
Linda stayed next to him as he crossed the room, his focus on Charlotte with her hair swept up in curls on the top that framed her cute nose. Her blue dress shimmered and showed off her curves when she moved. Linda said, “Am I? Girls don’t fall for guys in the friend zone.”
Point for Linda. He slowed and did his best to ignore the pulsating in his veins. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She grabbed his arm and held him next to her for a moment. He’d not be violent to get away, but she made his skin crawl. Linda said in his ear, “Look Jack, you might not be what Charlotte wants, but you’re exactly what I want.”
The smell of her rose perfume confused him. He had a good memory of the scent since Charlotte had worn it for the prom.
He gently uncurled Linda’s fingers from his forearm. “How is that?”
She leaned closer so her lips were a fraction of an inch from him as she said, “Because you and I are both alike. Far more than you admit. We both want more than what we were dealt. And I never put you down because I always thought you were cute. Now I’m allowed to tell you.”
And then she let him go. He nursed his arm like she’d bruised him though she hadn’t. “I… want Charlotte.”
Linda rolled her eyes in her typical, she was annoyed and about to get mean fashion. “Why are you here, with me?”
“Good question.” He slipped away from her.
As he approached Charlotte and Antonio the air around him stilled and he stared into the brown eyes of the one woman that mattered. The crowd around them quieted in his ears as he said, “Charlotte.”
Her face was tight like she was indigested and her step lacked her usual energy when she asked, “Jack, were you just kissing Linda?”
No seemed too trite, but yes wasn’t the right answer either. He took a second, calmed the adrenaline rushing through him and said, “She kissed me. What are you doing with Antonio?”
Her face had a sparkle he’d never noticed before and he thought he knew her every expression. Hopefully this meant she now wanted to live her life more fully, out of the store. “Giving him back his phone.”
Was this liveliness she displayed her attraction toward another man? His body was spiked and ready to fight to keep Charlotte. But then her sister popped into the conversation again as she asked, “What phone?” Linda held out her hand for Antonio to shake. “Hi, I’m Linda Masters, Charlotte’s sister.”
Charlotte stared at their handshake like she wanted to rip them apart and clarified, “Stepsister.”
Maybe he’d misread her supposed attraction as Linda's cheeks flushed, in anger. He knew she was upset as Linda let out her little snort she thought was cute, but neither he nor Charlotte did. “Are you using those labels now to minimize your family, Charlotte?”
Something had happened earlier in their home, he would bet on it. Linda could be cruel. He reached for Charlotte. “Charlotte, let’s just get out of here.”
Charlotte accepted his offered grasp and a spark rushed through him. She was his and he’d never let another man have her. “Yes, Jack, we need to talk. You never told me you were a Morgan.”
He hugged her close to his side to get her to a private nook and explain. “It didn’t matter, until today. I couldn’t get to you. Nancy blocked me this morning at your house, and then kept you busy in the store.”
He guided her away from Antonio and her stepsister to an alcove past the hall of mirrors where they could talk in relative quiet on one of those balconies overlooking the veranda. He found a dark corner away from the crowd and opened the door to guide her out, despite the slight snip of autumn in the air. They wouldn't be long and no one would see them above the party. He closed the glass door with shades to ensure they had privacy. She placed her hand on his chest and said, “I’m here now.”
Jack was a Morgan by birth and he’d been told that he could have anything he ever wanted. That would be Charlotte, the only woman for him.
Chapter 8
Charlotte’s entire body trembled. And it wasn’t due to the temperature drop, though she wore only a dress with no jacket outside on a small balcony that overlooked a vast estate with the full moon above them. This reaction was all because of Jack. She always trembled when she was nervous but this was more. Until today, she’d never had a day without believing that Jack would be there.
Now his life soared and could take him far away from her.
