Page 60 of Of Course, Cutie
Lexi narrowed her eyes when Tess scooted her chair a little closer to Charlie. “So,” Lexi picked up her menu, “Should we order a bottle of wine to share? Or…” Her eyes flicked over to Charlie. “I’m so sorry, Charlie. Are you even old enough to drink?” Lexi gave her a sweet, fake smile.
“Lex," I began, clenching my fists.
But Charlie put her hand on my arm. “I’m not drinking, but please don’t let that stop you.” She turned to Tess next, letting Lexi’s passive-aggressive question melt away. “Tess, thank goodness your dad isn’t cooking tonight, am I right?”
Tess giggled and nodded while I shot Lexi a warning look across the table. Lexi rolled her eyes and looked back down at her menu.
The dinner was tense and awkward. There was no other way to describe it, and at the end, Scott insisted on paying, giving me a smug, knowing smile. Charlie and I gave Tess hugs and then stood to leave, but Charlie said, “Hang on a sec.” She turned to my ex-wife and said, “Lexi, I want you to know that I’m sticking around, and I plan on staying in Tess’s life. She is beautiful inside and out, and I know that a lot of that is thanks to you. I genuinely hope we can keep an honest and healthy relationship between all of the adults in her life.”
Lexi blinked in surprise and glanced over at me. Then she let out a deep breath and nodded. “Uh, thank you, Charlie. I would like that, too.” Lexi slid her arm around Tess’s shoulder and glanced down at our daughter. “For Tess. She deserves the best.”
We all nodded, and then Charlie and I walked out, hand-in-hand. As soon as we stepped outside, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. “I love you, Charlie. You were perfect tonight.”
Charlie grinned and pulled my face back down to hers to kiss me again. “Damn. I was hoping you would slap my ass when we get back to your place, but if I was too good…”
I laughed and took her hand again as we walked to my car. “I’ll do whatever the hell you want me to do tonight, cutie.”
As we drove back to my apartment, Charlie sighed. “I wanted to be a little catty, but I love Tess, and Tess loves her mom. Also, I hope that eventually, we’ll get to have Tess a little more often, ya know? And that means that we have to keep things civil and mature with Lexi and Scott.”
I loved the way she was talking about my daughter and the way she kept saying “we.” I loved the way she frowned a little, like she was thinking deeply, and the way her eyes sparkled. I loved the way she twisted a lock of her silky soft hair around her pointer finger while she stared out the window and talked about how passive and boring Scott seemed and how damn crazy my ex-wife was for cheating on me. I loved everything about Charlie Cox.
No part of me deserved this beautiful soul, but I was going to hang onto her with everything I had.
29
Charlie
Two months later
I followed Sophia as she toddled around the reception hall to give Bea a break. Bea was struggling today. It was hard for her to celebrate Evan’s marriage when hers was officially over. I saw the almost dead look in her eyes during the ceremony when Evan and Sienna promised each other so many beautiful things. I watched her try to smile and hold her head up high, knowing that she was crying inside.
Bea wasn’t made of steel, but then again, no one was. She’d pull through, though. Bea would be okay.
Sophia tugged at the bottom of a black table runner, almost toppling the entire red rose centerpiece, but I caught everything just in time. I slipped a few stray flowers back into the mini wooden crates that Sienna asked Burke to make for the wedding. He’d burned rock band logos, guitars, and small images of cocktails into the sides of the crates. I took half a second to admire his work before Sophia escaped to the next table. I scooped her up in my arms and turned to see Burke walking through the door with Tess. He’d left right after the ceremony to go pick her up for the reception.
God. Damn. I’d already seen him all dressed up today, but he made my heart race all over again. He wore a fitted navy suit and a crisp white button-down with no tie. He’d cut his hair so he couldn’t pull it back anymore but left it long enough for me to still bury my hands in it. I didn’t hate it — it looked fucking good with his suit. But I’d take him any and every way. Burke’s gorgeous green eyes settled on me, and he gave me the sexy smile he usually flashed right before he kissed me.
I smiled right back at him and carried Sophia over to the entrance where Burke and Tess stood. I hugged them both. “Tess, your dress is so pretty!”
Tess gave me a sassy little smile. “It’s pink, Charlie.”
“It is. Pinkilicious.”
“Why is your dress black? Shouldn’t it be purple?”
I nodded and bounced Sophia as she started to fuss and squirm. “It should, but Sienna picked black for the bridesmaids, and she’s the boss today.”
“I want to see Sienna’s dress!” I could have sworn that little heart bubbles came out of Tess’s eyes.
“She’ll be out soon.” Sophia won. She squirmed out of my arms and took off again.
Burke gently tugged Tess’s curly ponytail. “Hey, sweetheart, why don’t you hold Sophia’s hand and walk around with her for a minute.”
“Okay!” Tess grinned and hurried off after my niece.
Burke eyed me and groaned. “That dress looks so damn good on you. It’s going to be hard to keep my hands off you all night.”
I was about to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him when a female voice called my name. “Charlotte! Oh my god! You are so grown up now!”