Page 118 of Hold Me Instead
Yep.Even if Charlie had gone to bed disappointed at not being at the kids’ concert—the sort of event Sandra or Jeanie would have invited her to before Zachary was back in town—attending it with Zacharywould've given it an entirely different meaning. Unfortunately, it also made her feel like a placeholder for the Lee family by not including her, now that they had Zachary back.
Especially since Daniel wanted him to take the practice.
“Charlie!”
She turned to Sandra’s voice, who appeared as though Charlie had conjured her out of the frosty air. The woman toted Alex on one arm, the other lined with bags from multiple shops. Jeanie was right behind her with Vivi.
“Hey!” Charlie said.
“What’s this?” Vivi was already holding up the perfume on Magnolia’s table.
“That’s a perfume,” Charlie said. “This is my friend Magnolia. She runs this shop.”
“Hi there. You can smell it if you’d like. Here, let me help you,” Magnolia said, opening one for Vivi to sniff.
“Magnolia, this is Zachary’s family.” Charlie made introductions.
Magnolia steered them toward products not selected by Zachary, as the man himself came back to their table.
“When did you all get here?” he asked.
“Uncle Zachy, look!” Vivi held up a bath fizzy. “Flowers will float in my bath!”
“Wow, that’s fancy,” he said. “Perfect for a princess.”
“I’m a superhero now!” Vivi proclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.
“Oh, so sorry,” Zachary said.
“Keep up, baby bro,” Sandra said, busy putting every item Alex had grabbed off Magnolia’s table back. Finally, she tugged him away from the temptation.
“Hello, dear,” Jeanie said, kissing his cheek. “Are you two walking around together?”
Zachary went rigid next to her.
“We were meeting with the rescue earlier, so we decided to pop on by after we finished,” Charlie supplied.
“How nice,” Jeanie said, eyeing the cups of hot chocolate in each of their hands, the tiny bags of items they’d purchased so far lining their arms.
Then Charlie remembered Zachary had draped her scarf over his shoulders earlier in their walk, after she’d worked up too much heat. It wasn’t quite like carrying her purse, but the bright berry color stood out as signature Charlie.
He seemed to register it at the same moment, sliding it from his neck and casually draping it around her.
“Looks like you’ve made a few stops already,” Zachary said, gesturing at the bags in his mother’s hands.
“Oh, yes. I usually get a little head start on my Christmas shopping here. We’ve had to be a little sneaky with the kids, but we’ve made it work.”
“We’ve done well for ourselves, I’d say,” Sandra said. “Cleo had some super cute T-shirts. Charlie, have you seen them?”
“We haven’t made it over there yet,” Charlie said. “Kinda working our way around to end with Dorothy’s.” She smiled at Zachary, whose eyes were darting between the women with concern, as though they were deciding the relationship status without him.
“She was telling us about the artist events she’ll be hosting next year,” Jeanie said. She rooted around in a bag and pulled out a flyer. “First one in mid-January.”
“Yes! I’m so excited for her,” Charlie said. “She’s got a great lineup already.”
“Seems like every time I’m there, it’s busier than the last. How have things been going for you so far?” Jeanie asked Magnolia.
Charlie tuned out their conversation, too concerned with the whispered one happening between Zachary and his sister. When he caught her watching, his face softened, a smile peeking out.
