Page 41 of Secret Cinderella
The clerk ran Charlotte’s card and gave Charlotte a ticket. “That way to Gate E.”
She turned to find her bus. This was truly happening. Dreams destroyed, and reality set in. Maybe Jack had been right and she should have left years ago, but now was better than never. And she’d learned her lesson. Charlotte Masters never got what she dreamed of, so she needed to stop trying.
Chapter 16
Jack drove his Mercedes with the top up against the cool fall morning, having already stopped at Charlotte's normal haunts. She wasn't at her father's grave, or Nancy's house, or the store. Not the bench outside the library where they used to sit. She hadn't returned to the hotel last night.
Worried sick, he raced back to the hotel, hoping she’d be there. What she'd said to him last night was impossible-- she’d only enhance his life, not destroy him.
But he checked his room and it was still empty.
Giving Charlotte space had been a horrible mistake. He should have followed her until she’d calmed down.
His heart whispered it couldn’t be over. Not like this. He found the ring he’d bought for her and held it like he might summon her back.
Nothing happened and he shoved it in his pocket.
When he found Charlotte, he’d ask her again. And again—until she said yes.
If he gave up the search, that would prove to her what she thought, that she was what her stepmother had drilled at her for years now.
Love meant being there, no matter what.
As minutes ticked past, he wondered if the Morgans would have a way to find her.
He splashed water on his face and headed downstairs. Most of the half-siblings returned home in the morning on their private jets and life was supposed to go back to normal.
Jack’s normal needed Charlotte. He walked into the room holding the Morgan family private breakfast but he wasn’t sure who to ask for help.
One of them had to have a clue. His shoulders slumped and then his mother pressed her hand on his shoulder. “Jack, you look miserable.”
“Mom. Hi.”
He hugged her.
“What happened?” She looked beautiful now, with makeup on for breakfast and wearing a skirt with a black shirt. “Last night you and Charlotte took off early. Is everything all right?”
He let out a small sigh as he ended the hug. “Charlotte left, and I don’t know where she went. I’ve searched everywhere she normally goes but I can’t find her.”
His mom directed him away from the buffet table to talk more one-on-one. She held his hands and asked, “What happened?”
He dropped his head and told the one person in the world who wouldn’t judge him or Charlotte, “We went to the party engaged and happy, but then we found out Peter and Aurelia are planning on converting Charlotte’s father’s store to some upscale department store.”
Her lips pressed together and his skin heated, hoping his mom would still have all the answers for him like when he’d been a boy. “That store was all Charlotte had left of her father.”
He met her blue eyes that were the same as his as he said, “She had me. She had us.”
Mom smiled. “Charlotte’s been through a lot—to suddenly find out that her legacy is gone, and that you are not just the boy next door? It had to be hard for her and she probably needs time to clear her head.”
He considered this as Lucy wandered over to them and batted her eyes. “Did you find Charlotte?”
He turned toward his little sister who was dressed up in boots and a skirt to her knees with her hair in pigtails to each side. “I couldn’t find her.”
“You will.” She bounced like she had all the confidence in the world.
Hopefully Lucy was right but his shoulders slumped. Money didn’t mean anything. He turned toward his mother again. “You think she’ll want to get married?”
“Charlotte has been in love with you since high school.” His mother nodded but said, “I think you both need to discover what makes you happy.”
