Page 8 of Secret Cinderella
No. Way. Her eyes widened. “Seriously? You trust me like that?”
He bowed his head and showed off those dimples again when he said, “I want to—talk to you soon, Charlotte.”
He tossed the empty gas can behind his seat and her heart raced. When he turned around again she asked, “How will I know it’s you calling?”
He nodded as he mentally worked out the problem, then reached out and patted her arm, sending a wave of awareness through her when he said, “Well, give me an hour without answering the phone, and I’ll get my contacts transferred.”
An hour. Okay. She ignored how her heart beat so fast and took the phone as a lifeline to him. “I can do that.”
He winked at her. For a crazy second she wondered if he’d kiss her right here in the parking lot. Her lips tingled, but he hugged her instead. She hugged him back as he said, “Bye.”
“Bye.” She held tight. He smelled even better up close but unfortunately she had to let go. No one had made her feel so aware of being female.
She headed back toward the store entrance, her feet floating above the ground because she’d met a wonderful man. She sighed and waited just behind the tinted glass doors and watched him leave in his winged car.
As he took off, she heard snickers, but from who? Her skin prickled. Her step-family had been in the backroom. Were they now closer? She ignored them though her spine grew sharp as she headed to the warehouse portion of the store for another stack to unload and stock. Heels clacked behind her. Nancy’s voice droned, “Charlotte, that was more than fifteen minutes.”
They were here. She spun around. “I’ll stay late.” Laughter from the side room where her stepsisters were counting cash broke the tension. Good. She quickly pointed to her stepsister inside and asked, “Why is Linda so happy?”
Her stepmother gave one of her rarealmost like a smilelook, though she never quite managed a normal show of happiness. “Linda, Mickey, and myself are going to the Morgan's mansion this weekend for a party.”
Oh-- Antonio was probably a Morgan. She ensured that Antonio’s phone was hidden in her back pocket and asked, “The Morgans? The billionaire family that used to live on the hill?”
Nancy picked up her clipboard. “Yes, they’re visiting Pittsburgh this weekend, and it’s where my girls will meet the best men and have the life I intended for them. We have one night to plan for our future.”
Tomorrow was Friday. The plan to have them all marry for money was about to be activated which meant she might have her store back sooner than later. Charlotte pivoted toward the boxes of dry goods that needed to be unpacked. “Well, good luck with that.”
Nancy watched her as she took her first step but then tapped that board of hers and said, “You’re happy.”
It wasn’t every day that she met a gorgeous man like Antonio who reignited hope in her own dreams. “It’s nothing.”
Nancy wore a small smirk on her face. “Well, I hope you and your friend Jack are very happy here.”
Wait. Her sneakers squeaked as she stopped and turned, tilting her head to stare at Nancy. “Jack… he’s just a friend.”
Nancy let out a sigh like she was disappointed in that answer. “Not interesting. Get to work, Charlotte.”
“On it.” She rushed to the boxes.
Her mind drifted to Antonio. There was absolutely no way Nancy would ever imagine her with a handsome man like Antonio. Ever. But his phone in her pocket made her feel connected to him. Just maybe anything was possible.
Chapter 4
Charlotte finished stocking rolls of toilet paper for customers to buy, the most expensive on the center shelf at eye-level. Then she marked down the outdated clothes and moved them to the sales rack.
Her mind stayed on Antonio for the entire time. He was absolutely dreamy. Until today she’d never seriously thought about dimples like that.
How could she be so into this guy?
She even hummed to the light pop music that constantly played in the store that she normally tuned out. Charlotte turned to the toy aisle to clean up.
Jack barreled into her to hug her like he hadn’t just seen her yesterday. Jack’s arms were safe, and held her tight. Like bathrooms, toy aisles needed constant maintenance, but unlike bathrooms, this was just boxes and stuffed animals out of place. Jack asked while he straightened the aisle, “Were you talking to Antonio Morgan, Charlotte?”
Her entire body froze midway of picking up a plastic dump truck. She held it and straightened fast. “Who?”
Jack seemed like he’d tease her when he said, “The guy you just took your break with earlier… Antonio Morgan.”
So she’d been seen?
