Marrying the Wrong Man (18 page)

“You can cook anywhere. And someday, you’ll open your own restaurant again. Only then, you’ll own it outright, which means you won’t have my mother looking over your shoulder. Bonus.” He laughed. “Instead, you’ll have Charlotte—and I’m betting Morgan, if you want her.”

A couple months ago, that bistro was all he had, but now, he had more—including a little girl. This time, following Morgan just might work.

• • •

Charlie’s invitation for Morgan and Charlotte to have dinner at his house came out of the blue. Morgan was glad he called, because she wanted him to spend as much time as possible with Charlotte—especially now that she’d decided she was leaving.

Johnson Berger had finally called to set up an in-person interview for the corporate attorney position next week. With the money from her mother re-deposited in her account, she had enough to relocate now. Even if she didn’t end up hired, Denver was as good a place as any.

At least that was what she kept telling herself.

Hopefully, the envelope she had stuffed in Charlotte’s diaper bag would soften the blow to Charlie.

She stood on Aunt Phyllis’s porch, watching his truck make the rocky climb up the gravel drive. It wasn’t convenient for him to pick them up, but a replacement for her totaled car was dependent on an insurance check—which was taking way too long to arrive. She was going to have to rent a car to drive to Pittsburgh so she could fly to Denver.
Ugh.
She didn’t know what she dreaded the more: the two-hour drive when she was still hesitant to get behind the wheel or leaving Charlotte for a couple days.

“Don’t hurry back on my account.” Aunt Phyllis stood behind the screen door. That woman was still trying to convince her that Charlie was the right man.

Morgan didn’t need convincing. That would only make it harder to leave him.

She smiled and waved as she hauled Charlotte toward the truck.

“Afternoon, Phyllis.” Charlie hopped down from the driver’s side. Without being asked to, he sauntered to the porch and grabbed the booster seat. “Am I going to need a manual for this?”

Sunlight kissed the ends of his hair and brightened his eyes. God, he looked so happy—despite everything. What would he look like after she told him she and Charlotte were leaving?

Ugh.

She ignored the question. “It’s not hard to install. Here, take the girlie. I’ll do it. You can watch.”

He grinned.

Ten minutes later, they were on their way. The town was hopping. Not a single open parking spot remained, and the line outside Alice’s theater stretched to the end of the block.

“What’s going on?” Morgan asked.

“Some kids’ show.”

Charlotte sat in the booster seat beside her, flipping through a picture book. Her feet bounced in time with the country music spilling from Charlie’s radio. Someday, Morgan was going to take her to shows like that.

They passed the darkened bistro, and Charlie didn’t even turn his head.

“Do you miss it, or are you enjoying the break?”

“I’m good—real good.” He unleashed that smile again.

Guilt swelled. She grabbed onto Charlotte’s hand and looked out the passenger window until they reached his house. The place had drastically changed since she’d been there three years ago hurling insults at Alice on the front porch.

“You painted.” The siding used to be dingy white. Now, it was a pristine bluish-gray.

“Yep.”

“You landscaped, too.”

He stood beside her with Charlotte on his hip. “Without Alice’s dog around digging them up, I can have a vegetable garden again.”

“Me see gog?” Charlotte yelped. She swiveled around in Charlie’s arms, looking for an animal.

“No, dog, here, babe.”

Charlie stopped on the porch. Probably to get his keys from his pocket and unlock the door. But then he faced Morgan. “Do you remember the last time we stood here?”

This had been the exact spot they’d been standing in when she’d told him she was pregnant less than a week after Justin called off the wedding. She nodded. “I do.” She rubbed a hand over Charlotte’s bare leg, barely able to imagine a life without her daughter. “I like how things turned out. It’s much better than what I’d proposed that day.”

“Much.” He kissed Charlotte on the forehead and then opened the front door.

The interior of the house had changed, too. “You put in hardwood floors.”

“They were underneath all that gross carpet.” He set Charlotte down, and in a blink, she was off to explore. Morgan hoped he’d thought to baby proof the place.

Following her to make sure afforded Morgan a look at more of the improvements. The kitchen, especially, was amazing. Fitting for a chef.

She smiled at Charlie as she scrambled down the hallway after Charlotte. “You do good work.”

“Thanks.”

Something in the room at the end of the hall grabbed Charlotte’s attention. “Hey, you little monkey. What are you doing in … ?” Morgan stilled in the doorway.

Charlotte sat in the middle of plush green carpet with a pile of scattered building blocks and other toys around her. A twin bed was tucked in the corner, and sunny yellow walls stretched to meet a pale blue ceiling. A room. For Charlotte. And she wasn’t even going to get the chance to use it.

Her guilt multiplied.

“It’s not done.” Charlie’s hand gripped her left shoulder and squeezed.

“You did this for her?”

“I wanted her to wake up to a sunny day even when it was snowing or raining.”

Morgan’s head drooped. She couldn’t prolong this anymore. “Charlie, we’re leaving.”

“I know that.”

“I mean, we’re leaving soon. I’m going to interview for that job in Denver, and while I’m there, I’m going to find a place to live.”

“Okay.”

God, he was taking this awfully well. His cool only ramped up her anxiety. “What do you mean okay? You did all this work. You were hoping we would stay, weren’t you?”

“I did all this work … before I decided to go with you.” He smiled as his glance shifted from her to Charlotte. “If you’re moving to Denver, then I’m moving to Denver, too.”

Morgan’s knees weakened, and she reached for the doorjamb behind her. “What? I mean why? How … ”

Charlie cupped her face. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. That’s why I got these.” He tapped his chest. “The day I got the paternity papers, when I thought I’d lost you for good, I walked in and had both dates carved over my heart. I don’t care what it takes. I’m not going to lose you or Charlotte again.”

“But the bistro ... ”

“I think there are bistros in Denver.”

Charlotte’s voice grew louder. “Dad. Dad! Daddy! Build wit me.”

Charlie pressed a soft kiss to Morgan’s lips and went to join his daughter.

She stood in the doorway, admiring them. Could she really have a life like this? Was she entitled to it, if it came as the result of Charlie walking away from his restaurant … his house … and his sister?

“Mama,” Charlotte yelled. “Build wit me.”

“I’m coming, baby girl.” She sank to the floor beside them.

It did feel awfully good to be a family.

She laid one hand on Charlie’s thigh and the other on Charlotte’s. “I want this. I want us.” She looked into his beautiful eyes. “I love you, too.”

That’s when she remembered the papers in the diaper bag. “Wait right here.”

When she returned, she placed the envelope in his lap.

“What’s this?”

“Open it. You’ll see.”

He scanned the copy of Charlotte’s birth certificate and glanced at the paper underneath it. “I don’t understand.”

“She’s Charlotte Parrish on there. She’s Charlotte Cramer in here.” Morgan pointed to her heart, and then to Charlie’s. “These papers will change that.”

He blinked more than necessary and sniffed a few times, too. “Are you sure?”

There was still a lot she wasn’t sure of, but changing Charlotte’s surname wasn’t on the list. “Absolutely.”

At least one of them should have a last name she could be proud of.

• • •

After they played, they ate, and then Charlotte fell asleep. Charlie carried her to bed, leaving Morgan on the couch with her legs curled beneath her.

She absorbed the quiet. This had been the most peaceful, perfect evening of her entire life.

And he was coming to Denver with her, where they could work toward a lifetime of nights like this. It was more than she ever would have hoped.

So why did a kernel of doubt niggle in her brain?

Eventually, Charlie returned to the living room with ginger ale in frosted mugs and two pieces of chocolate cake. “Rumor has it this is the best dessert in Harmony Falls.”

Her heart pinched. Hopefully, it would become the best dessert in Denver, too. “Well, if you made it, then I believe it.”

“Don’t you want to taste it first?” He handed her a plate and sat beside her, his thigh brushing hers.

The warmth and closeness assuaged her doubt.

“What do you think?” he asked.

She sighed as chocolate melted on her tongue. “I think you’re amazing.”

He bobbed his brows. “In
and
out of the kitchen.”

Very true. She smiled, but then the thought of him being completely out of the kitchen stole her glee. “What if you can’t find a chef position in Denver? Or what if you end up cooking someplace where you can’t make chocolate cake?” Maybe it sounded silly, but she was serious.

“Then I’ll make it for you and Charlotte at home.”

Which would be wonderful. But she could only eat so much chocolate cake. And he could only be happy cooking for the three of them so long. He was more than that. “You need to be cooking for lots of people in your own restaurant, where you can decide the menu. Are you going to be able to find that in Denver?”

“Maybe I can find a job in a restaurant that hasn’t opened yet, get in on the ground floor and help shape it. And if not, well, it’ll be my goal to own a place again someday. I’ll just have to work for it even harder this time.”

How long would that take? She didn’t want him to have to wait because of her. “What if I invested twenty thousand dollars? Would that be enough to get started?”

His brows lifted. “I thought you were broke.”

“I was. Until my mother showed up with the twenty-five thousand she took from my savings account. Insurance is paying to replace my totaled car, so that’s a wash, and this Denver job comes with a moving allowance. Surely I can get by on the remaining five thousand plus what I’ve saved working for you until I get my first paycheck. What can you do with twenty thousand dollars?”

“A lot. But, I can’t take your money. I’m sure you had plans for it.”

“Well, sure. If I don’t get this job, then we’ll need the money to get by until I find another one.”

“You don’t think you’ll get this one?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t even know if I want it. If it’s offered to me, I’ll take it, of course, but I don’t want to be a corporate attorney anymore.” Then again, life hadn’t been about what she wanted since she laid eyes on Charlotte.

“What do you want to be?”

“A good mom to Charlotte. Other than that, I want to do something dynamic where every day is different, and I’m busy, but having fun.”

“With spreadsheets and conversation?” He grinned.

“Exactly. Hey, maybe I don’t need to spend the rest of my life practicing law. Once you’re up and running and we’re stable, you could hire me to manage your new restaurant. I can hire, fire, order, and keep things running smoothly … so
you
can just cook.”

He squeezed her thigh. “I like the sound of that. And, you know what? Once I sell this house, we’ll have even more money. It should be enough to get us a place just like Char-Grilled Bistro in Denver.” He leaned back on the couch and widened his legs, the picture of calm amidst the dramatic conversation.

It seemed a little silly for them to spend all this money just to recreate the life they’d had.

She set her plate on the end table. “Are you sure about this? What are the Mitchells going to do if you leave and they decide to reopen the bistro? And Alice is going to freak.”

He smoothed a hand along her arm. “Corbin can cook. They’ll probably have an easier time staffing the place with him in charge.” His smile twisted a bit, but didn’t fade. “And Alice will survive. She has her theater and her husband to keep her happy. I deserve someone to keep me happy, too.” He wrapped his hand around her upper arm and tugged. “Now come here, so I can show you just how sure I am.”

Charlie planted a trail of kisses up Morgan’s belly to her ear. “You taste better than my chocolate cake.”

“Then I must taste pretty damn good.”

He smiled as he caressed the soft curves of her body and dipped his fingers between her legs where his mouth had been. “So good I’d rather have you than chocolate cake any day.” Every day. That’s why he was going to follow her away from Harmony Falls—again.

Dropping his open mouth over the tight skin of her collarbone, he traced her with his tongue. He’d always preferred salty over sweet.

She rocked her hips against his erection, and he groaned. A second later, he slid inside of her for release.

He’d made love to this woman dozens of frantic, sweaty, desperate times, but never like this. Soft and slow. Effortless. Intimate. Just two people in love—with a future
together
.

Yeah, he wanted this. Giving up everything for her was the right thing to do.

The intensity built between them until she wrapped her legs around him and urged him deeper. He thrust harder. Harder still.

She slid her hands to his face and brought them nose to nose, eye to eye. “I love you.”

Hearing her say those words was the icing on the cake.

When they’d finished and dressed, he followed her down the hallway to check on Charlotte. The nightlight he’d found in a junk drawer kept her company in her new bed. At least she got to use the room once.
No regrets.

Still, his chest tightened.

Morgan kissed him under the chin. “Maybe she could stay here with you while I’m interviewing.”

Charlie nodded. He’d like that. Seeing her here made him realize what a great house this was for a family. Somebody was bound to buy it fast. Again, his chest tightened.
No regrets.