Page 37 of Falling Slowly
“Well, I’m off as well. I have a massage appointment.” She followed Angie out of the pool.
Kathryn joined them, giving me a smile. The ladies evidently moved as a pack.
“I have one tomorrow!” Harry exclaimed. “Can’t wait.”
I stretched my achy neck, wondering if I’d ever be able to spend money on that sort of thing. I was getting a little overheated, so I climbed up to sit on the edge of the pool. The guys seemed to have a similar reaction since they got out, too.
Harry and Matthew were still toweling themselves by the tub when Charlie reappeared, holding a bottle of wine and a huge wine glass. “Are you all leaving?”
“Enjoy the privacy.” Harry winked, edging past him towards the stairs.
Matthew followed him, leaving me alone with Charlie. Feeling the chill on my skin, I slid back into the water, sighing from relief. No more questions and mind games. I wasn’t cut out for this fake dating.
A glass of white wine appeared next to my head. “Here you go, darling.”
“Thank you.” I took a sip, enjoying the sensation of hot water against my skin and cold drink traveling down my throat. “But you can drop the act now. We’re alone.”
Charlie peeled off his robe, revealing a pair of boxer shorts. “What act?” He joined me in the tub, sitting right next to me. “This is not an act. This is me being a gentleman.”
“Very gentlemanly, thank you.” I sipped the wine. It was so good I had to wonder how much it might have cost. “But you shouldn’t have left me here on my own. I was interrogated!”
“Really? About what?”
I huffed. “About us. They’re all fascinated by the idea of you going out with someone like me.”
He gave me an odd look, tilting his beer bottle to his lips. “Someone like… what? You’re beautiful and age appropriate.”
I took a deep breath, dismissing the word ‘beautiful’. “I’m a single mom. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told them. I just couldn’t handle them hinting I was sleeping my way to the top.”
Mid-drink, he spat out his beer. “Hinting what?”
I didn’t feel like repeating it, so I waited for the words to sink in. He shook his head. “Well, that’s stupid. And what does that have to do with you being a mom?”
“I don’t know. I guess I wanted to make the point that I want to be independent for the sake of my daughter. I would never rely on a man like that.”
It’s not safe.
“That’s admirable. But don’t you think if you… fell in love and had someone in your life who really wanted to take care of you… don’t you think that could be nice?”
“Sure, but how can I know it will last? My girl’s already lost one father. I can’t put her through that again. Hypothetically.” I added the last word in a rush.
He wasn’t talking about us, or him. All this pretending was messing with my head.
“Hypothetically?”
“Well, I don’t date, so it’s not something I have to worry about.”
“Right.” Charlie tilted his head all the way to one side, regarding me with bemused interest. “But what if someone still falls in love with you?”
“You mean like my garbage man or the landlord?”
“Yeah, totally. You might throw out beautiful artwork and the garbage man sees it in the trash and falls head over heels.”
I laughed. “Yeah, seems plausible. Probable, even.”
“Talking about art… what did you think of the Thriver campaign? You prepped that first presentation for us, didn’t you?”
I shrugged. “It looked great.”
