Page 22 of One More Chance
Have you forgotten where we are?” Lauren laughed.
“Alright, unzip me. But, if I have to change, so do you.” Charlotte said, wrestling to try to grasp the zipper on the back of her dress. Lauren stepped in to help her out.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Lauren asked.
“About a billion things. Lauren, there might be some single men at this thing. That outfit screams mom.”
“I am a mom,” Lauren protested.
“I know. But you don’t have to look like one of theirs.” Charlotte grabbed a one-piece pantsuit for herself and tossed a black silk shirt and ripped black jeans to Lauren.
“You can’t be serious. These have rips in them.” Lauren held up the jeans and fingered the torn knees.
Charlotte had already stepped into her pantsuit and was accessorizing it with gold stud earrings and a matching thick gold bracelet. She had worn the same outfit to a film festival and was mistaken for one of the stars. It was sexy but understated, or so she thought.
Lauren sighed and pulled on the jeans and shirt, “This actually looks pretty good,” she said as she turned, checking out the outfit from all angles in the tall mirror.
“Did you have any doubts?”
“Yep,” Lauren laughed.
“Now here, wear these.” She tossed her a pair of suede boots as she put on a pair of black ankle boots.
“There. Now, you don’t look like you just misplaced your bifocals,” Charlotte quipped as she grabbed her handbag.
After ensuring that Tabitha was happy with the babysitter, the two sisters trotted out to the waiting cab. Charlotte’s heart was hammering in her chest so hard that she thought it might break her ribs.
“Relax, Char.” Lauren smiled and patted her on her hand. “It’s going to be a good night.”
Charlotte nodded while staring out the window as the lights from the Sugar Peaks mansions whizzed by before giving way to the darkness of the covered bridge. As much as she wanted to believe Lauren, she had never been so full of dread her entire life. She had brokered multi-million-dollar deals without breaking a sweat, but tonight, she was worried that her antiperspirant was going to betray her.
As the cab pulled up to The Last Chance Tavern, Charlotte reapplied her ruby red lipstick and took a deep breath. Here it was, the moment she had been dreading. There were groups of people shivering and smoking outside the door to the bar and as Charlotte and Lauren stepped out of the car, all eyes were on them. Their heels clicked and crunched on the salted sidewalk and one of the smokers stepped up to open the door for them. Charlotte didn’t recognize him and murmured thanks as they walked into the bar. Even in the darkness of the tavern, Charlotte felt every eye in the place turn to stare and her and Lauren. You know in the movies when the out of towners step into the bar and the record skips into silence? Well, that is exactly the feeling Charlotte had as she and Lauren made their way into the darkness of the tavern. Even though the loud rock music was still playing, Charlotte couldn’t hear it over the whooshing sound as her heartbeat echoed in her ears. Lauren placed her hand on the small of Charlotte’s back and guided her towards the bar.
Charlotte had yet to summon the nerve to look around the bar. She wanted to get a drink before she scanned the room for any sight of the man that would stand inches taller than anyone else in town. One thing she did know was that she was extremely overdressed. It looked like the L.L. Bean catalog had thrown up in the bar. There was red plaid, purple plaid, orange plaid, and a mix of all the above. Almost everyone was wearing a stocking hat, and at first glance, she thought she and Lauren were the only people wearing high heels in the entire place until she saw some women with perms and teased hair sporting cowboy boots. The cowboy boot gang’s eyes followed Lauren and Charlotte as they made their way to the bar.
“Where’s Megan?” Lauren leaned in close to whisper to Charlotte. “Or Josh?”
“I don’t know,” Charlotte whispered back as she scanned the room for an open table. When she was certain that she hadn’t met one familiar face, she let her tense body relax. Logan would stand out in this crowd, and he wasn’t here - yet.
“Ladies!” They heard a voice call out from behind them.
Charlotte’s heart leaped into her throat; its smooth tenor sounded like Logan. She slowly turned on her heel, readying one of the rehearsed lines she had in her arsenal. Her eyes met a pair of somewhat familiar crystal blue ones. In front of her was a shorter, smaller, just as handsome version of Logan Brush. Freddie.
“Hi, Freddie.” She switched her martini to her left hand so she could shake Freddie’s.
“Aw, come on. None of that.” He swatted her hand away and her body stiffened when he pulled her in for a hug. She retreated from his embrace and gestured to Lauren. “Freddie, do you remember my sister Lauren?”
“Of course, I do. You were the smartest girl in our class.”
Charlotte caught the blush on Lauren’s neck as she extended her hand to shake Freddie’s. “And you were the funniest.”
“Ouch. That hurts.” Freddie made a mock shot to the heart motion with his hand.
“Where are the guests of honor?” Lauren asked.
“They’re on their way,” Freddie said. “Come with me, we have a table over there.” He motioned to the back corner with his pitcher of beer.
“We can wait here,” Charlotte replied. She knew that she’d run into Logan at some point, but she didn’t feel the need to walk right into the lion’s den in the first five minutes.
