Page 48 of Secret Cinderella
Goosebumps grew as he wondered if she’d leave again as she twirled away from him and glanced up the rounded metal staircase. “This room is beautiful.”
He crossed his arms. He needed to understand her. “Explain, Charlotte.”
“Seriously this is gorgeous…” She traced a finger along the eight-person table, her body trembling. He rushed to help her but she held up a palm. “I do that when I’m nervous and happy.”
“I know that,” he said.
She motioned for them to sit at the table in the cushioned chairs. “Okay, so I held onto my dream of running the store because it was the only way I could hope that all that scrubbing and cleaning and unboxing and everything I did for Nancy mattered.”
Approval from someone who didn’t care…he scooted his chair closer and said, “You were always too good for her.”
She cupped his face. “You’re so easy to love, Jack O’Conner.”
“Morgan,” he corrected her and held her gaze. “I like the rest of my family.”
She laughed and reached over to place her hand on his heart. “I don’t care what your last name is now. I’m just happy that you love me.”
“So, you don’t want the store?” He had to rein in the fire that grew under his skin from her touch.
She let out a small sigh that was always her way of sayingI’ve been thinking. “I think Aurelia’s plans would be good for the rest of the staff, with better benefits, and the community as a whole would get an upgrade. That would be best for the neighborhood.”
In a few weeks he didn’t want this to come up again so he said, “We don’t have to though.”
She swung her feet under the chair. “I’ll help with the transition, but the employees will be excited, just as I am—you’ll see.”
His entire body was aware of her upbeat mood. She meant what she said. He took his new phone from his back pocket and placed it on the table. “So I can text Aurelia and Peter?”
She pushed it toward him. “Please tell them I’m happy to help however I can.”
He palmed the phone. “I still don’t know if I believe this, to be honest.”
“Do it,” she said fast, and then brushed against his knee. “Look, owning the store meant my work mattered. But with you, I get to live my own dream, and study business management so I can think more like my dad which is more important than his actual store, and we don’t have to scrub and clean and break our backs for anyone else.”
Good. They were on the same page. He texted Aurelia and Peter while he said, “Charlotte, we don’t have to work for anyone.” He finished, placed the phone on the table, and then jumped out of his chair. “I got your passport this morning.”
She stood and followed him to the closet near the front door. “You did?”
He dug out the envelope from his jacket pocket that had been hanging up and handed it to her. “I just want you, a nice wedding for us, and a honeymoon.”
“Then let’s do it.” She hugged his neck.
His lips ached to taste her again. “And our date tomorrow.”
“That too.” She laughed until he captured her mouth and kissed her.
Letting her go once had felt like a mistake and he refused to ever, ever do that again. Charlotte was right where she belonged, in his arms.
Chapter 19
The next morning, Charlotte sipped orange juice mixed with champagne in a fancy flute from their outside table of the hotel bar. The waitress called it a mimosa though she’d been pitching them on another fruit juice cocktail.
This wasn’t the life she’d ever led but she was pretty sure she didn’t need anything containing hard alcohol for breakfast.
Jack was taking his new image in stride and sat relaxed in a light-gray t-shirt that showed off his muscles, and cotton slacks.
Her yellow sundress fit in perfectly with the sophisticated people around her, many wearing diamonds.
While she had no other jewelry, her engagement ring was gorgeous enough that she didn’t need anything else.
