I wave him off. “Take your time. Just yell when you are ready.”
“Take these first,” he demands lightly, handing over two steaming cups. “It’s hot chocolate. It’s nippy up here.”
Charlotte laughs as she takes the mug. “It is a little windy.”
Taking her hand, I walk us over to the north side of the cliff, not far from the food trucks. The fresh air, the scents of food cooking… it’s heaven.
Charlotte staggers to a stop as she takes in the view. “Wow.”
I step up behind her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her against my chest. “I know.”
“This is beautiful, Drew,” she breathes out. She pulls out her phone with one hand, snapping a picture of the view. For miles, all you can see is greens and browns. It’s breath-taking.
“Here,” I comment, reaching for her hot chocolate. I place them down on the rock then grab her phone and turn us until the view is behind us.
“You want a photo?”
I glance down at her, wondering if there will be a time when she stops second guessing stuff. “Yeah. You can send it to me after.”
She leans in as I bend down, smiling wide as I snap a picture of us together. Her laughter is carefree as she takes a look at the photo. “We aren’t getting the view in.”
“Would you like us to take a picture?” a young woman asks, her man standing beside her.
Charlotte reaches for the phone. “Would you mind?”
“No, of course not,” she replies, taking the phone.
Charlotte rushes back to my side, her smile so blinding it’s powerful. It knocks me off my axis and for a moment, I can do nothing but stare. The unexpected warmth twists in my gut.
I have been with beautiful girls before. I have even been with a nerdy girl and one chick who wore a lot of pink. Each irritated or bored me. Charlotte, however, is a combination, but there is something about her that can’t be explained or rationalised. It’s a part of her soul that she wears for the world to see. It makes her different and stand out from others.
“Are you ready?”
Charlotte straightens, turning to the camera, her smile still intact. I slowly do the same, but this time, I gulp, swallowing past the lump low in my throat as the realisation hits me.
I think I might be falling for Charlotte.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHARLOTTE
Just as planned, Drew finished our day together by setting up his projector outside in the garden under the stars. The white backdrop is pinned to the tree and pegged to the floor. If it weren’t, the light wind would have it wrapped around the branch right now.
We laid out a tarp on the ground before putting my portable sofa bed on it. It was only a thin, cushioned mattress and has mostly been used for visitors to sit on when there haven’t been enough seats. Tonight is the first time the actual bed part is being used. And I like that it will now hold a special remembrance to me.
The night air is chilly, but thankfully we have blankets and pillows to keep us warm, and thanks to Lily, we have a heat burner. The scene is every woman’s dream. He even hung some fairy lights I had left from Christmas and wrapped them around the patio area. It fit the mood after the perfect day we spent together.
I’ve read a lot of romance novels, had melted at the most romantic scenes, but none of them hold a candle to tonight. This isn’t romantic fiction, a made-up story to make women swoon. It’s real, and my heart aches from how full it is.
The stars are bright, twinkling down at us lying below them. This is what I have been looking for this entire time.
It isn’t just about the relationship, or the sex; it’s also companionship. It’s a connection that burns so bright it’s almost blinding. A friendship that’s built from attraction.
I can’t deny the pull between us anymore. I went into this not knowing where it would end or if it would happen again. Now I find I don’t want it to end. And slowly, he hasn’t just become a friend, he’s become someone I don’t want to spend a day without talking to. He’s the person I first think of when I have news. It’s no longer a member of my family, but him. I wasn’t even aware of that fact until today.
However, I think I may have scared him because of the movie. He’s still staring at me and the next movie has already begun to play.
Using the sleeve of my jumper, I wipe away the tears that have fallen free. My heart is shredded into pieces. Some films know how to break their viewers.
“I can feel you judging me,” I tell him, trying not to sound snotty.
“I’m totally judging you,” he confirms, a grin splitting across his face.
I gently drop down over his chest, resting my chin on my hands. “Stop. It was sad.”
“Charlotte, he was a serial killer who killed nine main victims. That isn’t including the ones he killed along the way to get to them.”
The lump in my throat aches. “He was just misunderstood.” I sniffle. “They tortured him unnecessarily.”
He chuckles, and wraps his arms around me before turning us, him looming over me. He brushes my hair out of my face. “You are seriously too empathetic toward others. He killed three innocent children.”
I lightly shove his shoulder. “They could have just tied him up and called the police.”
A noise from Lily’s garden has Drew lifting his head to check it out. “It was Jaxon again.”
I run my finger over the crease between his eyebrows. “He’s just checking on me. They are worried.”
“I’m insulted they think I can’t take care of you.”
“I told you they were protective of me. I think Jaxon is doing it more for his sister. She’s been pretty upset about Landon watching my place.”
“They’ll be fine. She brought him lunch the other day and they seemed to be in a better place. Landon was just kicking himself for not being there for you.”
I hesitate for a moment, but I have let him change the subject all day. “Speaking of Landon, will you please tell me what happened at the gym now? He wouldn’t tell me when I spoke to him earlier. He told me not to worry.”
He sighs and rolls onto the mat beside me. Tucking my hands under my cheek, I give him all my attention. This has played on my mind off and on. Drew has been able to distract me all day.
“It’s nothing major. Someone smashed the windows and broke the door. There was no permanent damage.”
I place my hand over his chest, feeling it pulse under my touch. “Drew, there is more to it than that.”
“Charlotte, you just got upset over a bunch of teens who killed a serial killer. I’m not telling you the rest for you to take on that guilt.”
My stomach bottoms out and dread hits me. If he isn’t telling me, it has to be bad. “Please, tell me. I’ll imagine the worst if you don’t.”
For a moment, I think he’s not going to tell me, but then he groans, closing his eyes briefly. “The damage was to all the front windows and door. The entire front wall of glass was shattered. They took an iron bar or something and scraped it along the floor, the side of the reception desk and then to my office. The office was trashed was too.”
He isn’t telling me the entire truth. “What aren’t you telling me?”