“Did you?” she asks, and my mouth gapes open. She reaches forward, taking my hand. “That came out wrong. I just meant, was you the one who instigated it?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Oh, honey.”
I can’t meet her gaze. “It’s fine. I don’t want to think about it. Hopefully the police will figure out who he is.”
“Or his wife. I can’t believe she didn’t have any clue that her husband was cheating. I mean, could you be any dumber?”
I know her dig is at the wife and she’s trying to be friendly and supportive, but I feel the dig in my soul, as I too didn’t have a clue. I didn’t pick up on the red flags, and not just about him being married but all the others. He had a way of putting me down but praising me in the same sentence. Mum said he was gaslighting me, which is how he manipulated me into sex. I have a lot to come to terms with but that… I’m not quite ready to go there.
Seeing Madison racing toward me, I’m glad for the interruption. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
Out of breath, she takes the seat next to me, barely taking notice of Rose. “I’ve been to or called every florist in this area, even ones further out. Not one has sold those flowers in the past forty days, either that or they are refusing to give me the information we need. But we both know Uncle Liam will get that information eventually.”
“What does that mean if it’s not one of them?”
“That this person lives further away or is really good at hiding their tracks.”
“What’s going on?” Rose asks.
It’s Madison who answers. “Some creep is sending her flowers with creepy-arse poems and we’re trying to figure out who.”
“I bet it’s your ex,” Rose replies, her eyes wide. “What a dickhead.”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t scream male to me. I reckon it’s someone else.”
“Who?”
Madison shrugs. “Fuck knows, but I’m making it my mission to find out.”
“Yo, Charlotte,” Gabby yells.
Madison turns, her mouth gaping open. “Holy hotness.”
I chuckle at her bluntness. “You’ve not met Gabby, Harriet, Olivia or Emily before, have you?”
“Not yet but I’ve heard so much about them,” she replies.
“We have news,” Harriet announces when she reaches us.
“Big news,” Emily adds, her expression animated.
“Dude, you’ve had sex,” Gabby blurts out before turning to Madison. “And you’re hot.”
“Thank you,” Madison answers, before she snaps her attention to me as my cheeks redden.
“No, I haven’t,” I deny.
“Oh my God, you’re lying,” Madison blurts out. “What the fuck?”
“I haven’t,” I lie once more, my hands fidgeting under the table.
Gabby snorts, taking a seat next to Rose. “I can smell it on you.”
I sniff my shoulder, smelling nothing but my Jimmy Choo perfume.
“You have that look about you,” Olivia comments.
Madison reaches for my hand, clasping it in hers under the table. “Charlotte, why didn’t you tell me? Are you sure that was a good idea after…”
A lone tear trickles down my cheek. “It was everything I ever wanted it to be,” I whisper.
“Please tell me it was dirty,” Emily declares, wiggling her eyebrows.
I chuckle, but don’t pull my attention away from Madison. “Please understand and don’t think I’m bad or a slut.” I close my eyes and take a moment before continuing. “I needed to know it wasn’t always going to be like that night. It felt right.”
“I’d never slut shame you at all. I just worry about you. I love you, Charlotte, and I say this as respectfully and with as much love as I can; but you let people walk all over you. You’re too nice for your own good and I don’t want to see that happen again.”
“We’ll skin him alive if anyone tries,” Harriet promises her.
Madison smiles. “Thank you. I’m glad she has good friends.”
“And family,” I add, giving her a pointed look.
“I’m Madison, her cousin.”
“Oh, another family member,” Gabby declares excitedly, before running off introductions.
Once done, Madison turns to me, exhaling heavily. “It was special?”
I smile, seeing the resolve in her eyes. “It was the best night of my life.”
She screams suddenly, her hands and arms flapping around. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”
“What?” I ask, chuckling at her antics.
“Oh my God,” she groans, her expression filled with horror.
“What?” I demand.
“You had sex with the giant and Landon is going to kill him.”
“The giant?” Emily asks, leaning forward.
“Holy fuck, the giant,” Harriet yells.
“Way to go, Charlotte.”
“Not helping,” I groan.
“Who’s the giant?” Rose asks.
“The hottest guy you’ll ever meet. I would turn straight just to ride his pony,” Gabby answers, grinning like a cat who got the cream.
“Madison, you can’t tell anyone. No one, I mean it.”
“You tell your mum everything,” she reminds me.
I glance down at our joined hands. “And I’ll tell her about this. I want to share how good it was and tell her she was right about everything, and that I should have waited longer. I should have waited for Drew. I’m worried she’ll be disappointed in me again.”
“Charlie, it’s not about waiting. He should never have done that to you,” she tells me, her voice soft. “And your mum could never be disappointed in you. She’ll be happy for you.”
“I hope so.”
“When are you next seeing him?” she asks as everyone sits down to listen.
“Thursday.”
She grins. “Where’s he taking you?”
My brows pull together. “The gym.”
“The gym? What a fucking cheapskate. He couldn’t take you out for dinner?”
I giggle at her anger. “It’s not a date.”
“Then when is he taking you out on a date?”
“It’s not like that,” I tell her, not meeting her gaze. “I don’t know what’s going on, and before you begin to rant, he never made any promises. I didn’t go into it expecting them either. Am I embarrassed I waited to lose my virginity and ended up being with the wrong person, and then in a space of a month and a bit, ended up sleeping with another man so quickly?” I take a lungful of air. “Yes. Am I ashamed? No. Because it meant a lot to me, Madison. If this Scott business has taught me anything, it’s that love can sometimes come easy, but having someone who meets your needs and wants, who respects you— it’s rare. He was nothing but a gentleman.”
She leans forward, pulling me in for a hug. “That’s all I care about, but if he hurts you, tall or not, I’ll kill him.”
“Always so blood thirsty,” I tease.
“You know it,” she fires back, before glancing down at her watch. “I need to go back to work, but this conversation isn’t over. I want all the details.”