Page 31 of Secret Cinderella
Now he had the best. Hopefully she understood. His heart beat faster and his palms itched. “I…I came out the door and she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. I backed away as soon as I could and Bobby helped me put her in the car. She left.”
Charlotte threw her hands in the air and then hurried toward the Mercedes. “I don’t have time for this. Jack, let’s just get in the car.”
He ran in front of her and opened the door for her. “Charlotte, Donna kissedme. I think she was recording it like she intended to blackmail me.”
She gave him a curt nod and put her plastic bag in the front seat. “I saw. It was live-streamed, but at least you told me. That counts.”
What? His hair stood on end as he went around the front of the car to the driver’s seat. He hadn’t suspected that big of a set-up from Donna, Nancy, Linda, and Mickey. He’d only been inside a few minutes and this sounded complicated. He hopped in and gripped the steering wheel. “Of course I told you. Donna practically jumped out of the blue when I left the convenient store.”
Charlotte glanced between the seats and pointed to the shopping bag. “You bought popcorn.”
His shoulders relaxed and he started the car. “We both love it.”
She opened the bag and took a few kernels. “That’s enough. Look, Jack, can we go somewhere so we can talk?”
He drove onto the street and chanced a look at Charlotte. “You have to believe me. Donna meant nothing.”
She pressed her hand against his side and said, “I believe you Jack.”
He turned on the music. His mind stopped replaying the event, but he saw how Charlotte wasn’t humming along. As they reached a red light, he asked, “And we’re still getting married?”
She batted her brown eyes at him and took a deep breath. For a moment he didn’t move, afraid that she’d changed her mind but then she said, “I guess, yeah, but that’s not what I want to talk about right now.”
Good.
Charlotte still didn’t sing along with the radio which wasn’t a happy sign. They drove to the place he'd gone for her to get her passport picture. She said, “Let’s grab a coffee and walk in the park first.”
“Sounds like a perfect plan.” He handed her his driving app. She searched and a minute later, they had directions to a nearby coffee shop.
He parked the car in the lot and jumped out to open her door, but she let herself out, leaving her bag inside.
He walked with her and opened the door. No one was in line so they ordered quickly. She ordered her usual cinnamon dolce latte while he chose unflavored. A few minutes later, they had their drinks and sat in the corner. She took her first sip and he nodded at her and said, “So here we are. What do you want to talk about?”
She put her cup down and wiped the whipped cream from her upper lip. Charlotte held his gaze, her tone serious. “The bank called Nancy with an offer to buy out the store for ten million dollars.”
His eyes widened. He’d guessed this was about Nancy, but he hadn’t thought it was the store too. He took her hand. “That was fast. Without you there, I guessed she’d sell but I had no idea it would be this easy for her.”
She glanced at their clasped fingers and asked quietly, “Did you arrange this?”
A shock rushed through him and he flinched. “No. I wouldn’t even know how.”
She sucked on her bottom lip. “Is there some way you can lend me twelve million?”
Blood rushed into his head as he tried to block the idea that Charlotte didn’t want him…that she wanted the store more.
Yes, her father had owned it years ago, but for years she’d cleaned and swept and had no power. The store was quieter every year and she’d done nothing but cry in almost every aisle after Nancy berated her. He picked up his paper cup. “Why?”
She pressed her hands on the table like this was your average business deal. “To beat the offer Nancy has.”
“To what?” He needed her to repeat what she’d said. The store was something she needed mental distance from before she made a decision, at least according to that half semester of psychology he’d taken.
She sipped her coffee and he did the same. Once she put hers down, he waited until she was ready. “To buy the store. I want to own my father’s store.”
Own wouldn’t be horrible. They could hire qualified managers. That was what normal rich people did and now they had that option. Was that really going to make her happy? He sipped and tried to understand what Charlotte wanted, then turned the cup in his hand. “I thought we were getting married and you were quitting the store.”
She pressed her hands to her chest in surprise. “I never said that.”
He uncurled his fingers from the cup so that he wouldn't mangle it and cause a mess all over the table. “No… I just thought we’d see the world.”
