Page 46 of Of Course, Cutie
When I stepped out back to take my break, Charlie was waiting for me. She hadn’t done this for a while —she’d been busy working on a group research paper, and our schedules hadn’t aligned for almost a week. My little cutie was so damn good at these pleasant surprises.
“Hey.” She flung her arms around my neck and pressed her lips into mine. “I missed you.” Her pretty blue eyes traveled over my face, full of sweet adoration.
“I missed you, too, cutie.” I brushed her cheeks with my thumbs, then slid my hands into her hair, pulling her face up to steal another deep kiss. I adored her soft, minty lips and the feeling of her gorgeous body pressed against mine.
Charlie kissed me harder and pressed her tongue against my lips. I opened my mouth to let her in, and she let out a little sigh. Our kisses grew more heated, and our breathing heavier. We couldn’t get enough. We wanted more than kisses, and we were completely lost in each other.
That was why we didn’t hear the back door open and pull apart fast enough.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” Rough hands gripped my shoulders and yanked me away from Charlie. Then a fist collided with the side of my face.
Shit. Boss-man Bingley could really throw a punch. I blinked against the blinding pain and reached up to clutch my jaw.
“Don’t you fucking touch her!” Evan’s fist was cocked again, ready to beat the shit out of me. I could take him, but I wasn’t going to fight back. I couldn’t blame the guy for being furious when I had my tongue down his baby sister’s throat.
“Evan!” Charlie screamed and placed her petite body between us. “Stop it! Stop!” she begged with tears streaming down her face.
“Charlie, go home! NOW!” Evan glowered at his sister and pointed to the parking lot.
“No!” Charlie yelled back and shoved Evan’s chest. He didn’t budge.
“Get your ass home, Charlie, because I know you don’t want to see what I’m about to do this piece of shit!”
I hated the way he was raising his voice at her. Maybe I could find the motivation to throw a few punches.
The back door flung open, and Sienna glanced back and forth between the three of us with wild eyes. She pulled the door shut behind her. “What the hell is going on out here? The whole bar can hear you yelling, Evan!”
“This fucking asshole had his hands all over Charlie!” Evan didn’t lower his voice and addressed me again. “I trusted you, man! I trusted you with my business and my family, and this is the shit you pull? She’s twenty fucking years old!” Evan buried his hands in his hair. “Fuck!”
Sienna’s gaze settled on me. I met it for a second before looking away.
“I’m sorry. I’m leaving, okay.” I held up my hands and shook my head. “I’ll grab my stuff inside, and you never have to see me again.”
“Burke…” Charlie choked out and reached for me.
I wanted to pull my little cutie into my arms, but I backed away. “Sorry, Charlie. I never should have—"
“Damn fucking straight you never should have!”
“Evan, shut the hell up!” Charlie yelled at her brother.
Sienna placed her hand on Evan’s arm. “Go home, babe.”
“Like hell I’m going home!” Evan yelled.
Sienna raised both eyebrows at him. “Get. Your. Ass. Home. I will handle this.” Evan’s chest rose and fell rapidly, but he squared his jaw and gave her a stiff nod before yanking the back door open and disappearing behind it. Sienna turned to Charlie next. “Charlie, honey, you need to go home, too.”
Charlie was sobbing now. “Sienna, please! You don’t understand! Evan doesn’t understand! Please! We were going to tell everyone! We were going to set up a dinner next week and tell everyone! Don’t fire Burke. It’s not his fault, and he needs this job to be here for Tess. Please!”
Sienna pulled Charlie into her arms. “Charlie, I’m just going to have a talk with Burke. Do you trust me?”
Charlie sobbed and nodded. Fuck, I wanted to hold her. She pulled away from Sienna and shook her head. “But Evan! I’ve never seen him like that, Sienna. He’s so much angrier than I thought he would be.”
Sienna sighed and tucked Charlie’s hair behind her ear. “You let me worry about Evan, okay.”
“Okay.” Her voice shook, and Charlie turned and flung herself into my arms without warning. “Burke,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. I screwed this all up for you. I’m so sorry.”
I stepped back and brushed the tears from her cheeks. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Charlie. Go on home, okay?”