Page 6 of Secret Cinderella
Jack took his plate to the dining room where he’d pretty much sat in the same spot since they’d moved into this house. His siblings and mother all came in and William handed him a Guinness now that he was old enough to have one. Jack opened it. Once everyone was seated, he glanced at the others and asked, “So what’s going on? How come none of you threw him out?”
William bit into his slice and put the rest down. “Look, Finn’s student loans are only getting higher for medical school. My job at the airport was just automated away. Max doesn’t have a clue what he wants to do, never mind, study, and Lucy is still in high school. Money will change our lives.”
Growing up, William had railed against ever mentioning the Morgan name. They’d all hid that name on their birth certificates, going by their mother’s instead. He put his beer down. “But it’s our father’s money.”
William nodded. “Yes, but he’s long dead now.”
Money solved a lot of immediate concerns. He took a sip of his beer and tried to understand. Charlotte wouldn’t be impressed with cash, but she wouldn’t hate him for being rich. He’d have to find another way to get her attention, since his plan to win her over wasn’t working. He met his mother’s gaze. “And you want this?”
Patricia put her beer down and gave one curt nod, then leaned closer to the table. “I am curious to meet Isabelle, the wife he said was dead, and Fiona, who always seemed so glamourous when we were all young.”
It was hard to imagine his mother jealous, but those words made it sound like she wished she was different. Patricia O’Conner was the salt-of-the-earth type, on the skinny side and short who hardly ever bothered with makeup. He sipped his dark beer. “All right, I’ll go to this party.”
“Great,” Max said, like everything was fine now.
And maybe for the rest of them it would be fine. Jack was the only one who’d had regrets out of them. But maybe the best way to show Charlotte he cared about her and her situation was to change himself. And billions of dollars meant he could afford a life he’d never dreamed possible when his father was alive.
Chapter 3
Charlotte never greeted the customers at the front of the store. That was Linda’s job, especially if the customer was male and handsome.
Mickey often took over, if that was the case, but they’d been bickering and missed their chance as they let the most gorgeous man Charlotte had ever seen slip past them.
In a way he reminded her of Jack in his face but this man was darker and more fierce.
His gray pants fit so well they had to be tailored and looked soft as real silk and not the store’s polyester blends.
Wow. His brown eyes stirred something in her that no boy ever had. Those lips probably knew exactly how to make her toes curl from a kiss, like in all the movie scenes she secretly loved.
And…she shouldn’t stare at him from the back of the aisle like she’d never seen a man before.
He turned toward her and heat rose in her face. In this moment she wished she… no, that was silly. She didn’t need to be pretentiously pretty like her stepsisters. Charlotte adjusted her blue vest like it was a suit of armor and asked with her head up, “Can I help you?”
He nodded and she stepped closer. He smelled good from ten feet away. “Yes, I need to get a bottle of water.”
Zap. There. For a second his smile was exactly the same as Jack’s. It must have been a memory… well she wasn’t sure but it must have been something else. She pointed behind her. “Sure, the water is this way.”
He walked beside her and his walk wasn’t just a walk but some sort of graceful slide, and she wasn’t sure those black leather loafers were enough to protect his feet from the linoleum that wasn’t worthy of him.“Grazie per l'aiuto, sei un angelo. Can I ask you one more thing?”
Get a grip. Italian isn’t your language. Besides, you’ll turn into Linda or Mickey if you don’t. The thought whipped her out of her reverie and she said, “Sure.”
He motioned with his regal nose toward the front where neither Linda nor Mickey milled around today. “Where is the nearest gas station?”
She met his brown hues and this time didn’t fly off on a daydream. “Just down the side road. It’s about a quarter-mile from here.”
He pointed left and right as he asked, “Which way?”
They’d arrived too fast at the bottles of cold water. She stopped and directed him west. “That way.”
He took the water. “Would you have something to carry gas in here too?”
Her stepsisters were sure to find them any moment and interrupt—Linda especially had a nose for wealthy, handsome men. Her heart thumped. Charlotte had maybe another few seconds with this lovely man. “Sure, did you run out of gas?”
His cheeks reddened slightly but unlike her, his blush somehow made his face more human, instead of molded perfection. “I… took the car from the hotel parking lot and didn’t check.”
What in the world did a man like him have to hurry for? He seriously had her on tenterhooks, if such a thing even really existed. She ignored the pulsating in her veins. “You were in a rush, I guess.”
He playfully bumped into her and goosebumps grew on her arms. “I’m here on some family business, and now I’m going to be late.”
