Page 93 of The Rest is History
‘He did not,’ Stacey says. ‘That little rogue.’ She turns to Charlie. ‘So, this is your Anne Boleyn, you sneaky little fucker. No wonder you’re infatuated.’
‘No wonder,’ Emmy chimes in. ‘You’re stunning,’ she tells me. ‘I’ve often thought that when I drop Augie off.’
‘Me too,’ Stacey agrees. ‘Hashtag girl crush.’
‘Er, you’re the ones who waft into school looking absolutely perfect,’ I say, embarrassed at this scrutiny.
‘Stop trying to change the subject,’ Emmy says. ‘So Charlie has been making a play for you for… how long? And keeping it quiet? He is such a sly dog.’
Charlie and I exchange a glance.
‘A few weeks,’ I say diplomatically.
They both tut. ‘Charlie, Charlie,’ Stacey says. ‘We’re family. This is the kind of stuff you tell family. When you get yourself the world’s most beautiful girlfriend after years of being a miserable bastard,you tell your family. Fuck’s sake.’ She pretends to clip him around the ear.
‘I think Elodie and I need some rosé before you subject us to any further investigation,’ Charlie says, twinkling at me.
‘Better idea. You go find a bottle, and we’ll keep Elodie here company,’ Stacey says, batting her eyelashes at him.
Uh-oh.
Charlie looks as unconvinced as I feel. ‘That’s a terrible idea.’
‘Nonsense. Go say hi to your brother,’ Emmy orders. ‘And we need wine.’ She brandishes her almost-empty glass at him.
He sighs. ‘Okay, then. Be gentle with her. Don’t scare her off.’ He leans in and kisses me on the cheek, squeezing my hand before releasing it. ‘I’ll be back in five.’
When I look back at the two women, they’re both practically swooning.
‘I’ve never seen him like this before,’ Emmy says, looking shocked.
Stacey cocks her head. ‘You wouldn’t have, I guess, given you came on the scene after he and Adeline…’ She trails off awkwardly.
‘It’s all right,’ I say. ‘I know he was married before.’
‘Phew,’ Stacey says. ‘Do you know the full story?’
‘Not really,’ I confess.
They exchange a glance. ‘We’ll be discreet then,’ Stacey says. ‘But let me say that I’ve never met a single woman of hissince the divorce. So. Tell us. How’d you guys get together? Was it super romantic? He must have been so shy. He’s such a sweetheart, under all that grumpiness.’
I consider how to answer this diplomatically as my mind’s eye feasts on its favourite memory: Charlie consuming me in that room. Lifting my skirts. Making me crazy with lust.
Holy hell. It’s still one of my favourite memories of all time.
‘Um. He wasn’t particularly shy, no. It was very… hot.’
Their eyes widen. ‘Really?’ Emmy asks. ‘Oh my God. Tell us everything.’
My mouth twists in amusement, and I shake my head. ‘I really can’t. It’s completely inappropriate.’
‘What is? The story, or telling it to us?’ Stacey demands.
‘Definitely both.’
They exchange another glance. ‘Go Charlie,’ Emmy says. ‘Who knew he had that side to him? So he swept you off your feet, did he?’
‘That’s a fair way to describe it,’ I concede, noting with relief that Charlie’s approaching over Emmy’s shoulder, a bottle of wine in one hand and a couple of glasses in the other. Except that—oh, shit—he has his brother with him. Now that they’re together, I can appreciate the resemblance.Appreciatebeing the operative word. What a good-looking pair they make. Jack’s slightly taller than Charlie, with a bigger build, but they share thick dark hair and classically gorgeous faces. Jack’s grinning at me like he’s tickled pink.
