“Agreeing to do this in the first place.”
“If I remember right, you have a good reason to do this,” she said.
He sighed. “I didn’t know she was going to be here.”
Charlotte frowned. “Cole, what is going on? Who is she?”
He didn’t want Charlotte to know this story. It was humiliating enough that everyone in town had been audience to his personal pain, and he liked that she didn’t know any of it. But she was going to find out—there was no sense pretending otherwise.
“That’s Gemma,” he finally said. “My ex-wife.”
“Oh.” Charlotte angled her gaze up toward him, and set something inside him off-kilter. She’d carried her confidence from the other studio into this one, and he couldn’t help but be drawn in by it.
It was a different version of her, one he hadn’t seen before. It was as if she’d taken a little time to find her footing here in Harbor Pointe, but now that she had, she was sure of herself. He envied her that.
At the moment, he felt like he’d been thrown into the deep end of the pool and his feet kept slipping off the ledge.
“Why is she here?” Charlotte asked.
Cole pushed a hand through his hair and sighed. “I don’t know. To make herself look good? To get under my skin? Her reasons for doing anything have never made sense to me.”
Maybe one day he would tell her the whole story. Maybe one day he’d reveal all the reasons he was the way he was. But today was not that day.
She watched him—studied him, really. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like knowing he was a breath away from being seen.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That you had to go through any of that.”
“Me too.” He stood unmoving, locked up in her eyes. “Look, I don’t blame you if you want to back out of this.”
She lifted her chin. “I made a promise.”
He saw her point. She made a promise, and so did he. He couldn’t back out—she wasn’t going to let him.
“What you did in there with Steve and Hildy, I can’t do that.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and the expression on her face changed. “Wanna bet?”
He looked away. He hadn’t intended to challenge her.
She squared off in front of him. “I’ll show you.”
He tried not to groan.
She took his hand and positioned it on her waist, then lifted his other hand out to the side. “All you’re going to do is move in a box. Left foot moves toward me, like this—” She moved back, forcing him to follow, then stopped. “Now we move to the side one step, like this—” Step by step, she led him in the tracing of an imaginary box on the floor with their feet. Once they returned to where they started, she glanced up at him. “See? Was that so bad?”
It wasn’t, he realized. But not because the dancing had been easy—because his hand on her waist, his other hand wrapped around hers, it had been nice. Really nice.
They stood like that for a long moment, eyes locked, hands touching, when the music in the studio next door began playing again. The same song. The same reminder. The same realization.
Cole took a step back, and Charlotte dropped her hands to her sides. He didn’t want to let her down, but the reminder of his past pain was so vivid it nearly knocked the wind out of him. He couldn’t go through that again, and he couldn’t relive it—in spite of her watchful gaze.
“I saw a video of you dancing with Amelia,” he said. “Maybe she doesn’t need this deal after all.”
Disappointment washed over Charlotte’s face. Inevitable disappointment. Because that’s what Cole did—he disappointed the women in his life, enough to make them leave. What was the point in pretending otherwise?
“Cole—”
“I need some air,” he said. “I’ll see you later.
And he walked out before she could say another word.
27
Charlotte stood in the empty studio for a beat. What was he saying? Was he dropping out after begging for her help?
She didn’t know how to communicate with this man.
Brinley popped her head into the room. “Everything okay?”
She sighed. No. But yes. She was. She had to be. She was in charge. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” Brinley said. “I finished up the meeting so I wanted to check in.”
“Thanks for doing that.” Charlotte followed Brinley into the hall and back to the first studio, where a handful of people milled around. Everyone else likely had a better understanding of Cole’s history with Gemma than she did. It irked her that he refused to let her in. She felt like she was on the outside of an inside joke.
When they entered the room, Cole’s ex-wife looked up and made a beeline for her.
“Charlotte,” the woman said.
She stopped and gave Gemma her attention.
“I just wanted to apologize for what happened,” she said. “I had no idea Cole was participating in this event.” Her eyes practically sparkled, and she struck Charlotte as someone who was used to getting what she wanted.
“Julianna was his sister.” Charlotte faced her now, aware that Hildy was only a few feet behind this woman, and she made no effort to hide the fact that she was eavesdropping.
The woman’s laugh sounded nervous. “I’ve tried to get him to move on, but he’s really stuck in the past,” Gemma said. “He’s not usually prone to outbursts like that, but the song—it was our first dance at our wedding.”
Charlotte frowned. “But the man you’re with said it was your song.”
“Right,” Gemma said, as if it were an acceptable explanation. “Maybe this is all too much for Cole. Maybe it’s better if he removes himself from this part. To be honest, I’m not sure Max and I feel safe if he’s in close proximity.”
Charlotte stumbled over a response—was she serious?
“Or maybe you could remove yourselves?” Hildy said, taking a step toward them.
Gemma turned. “I beg your pardon?”
Hildy smiled sweetly. “I mean, if you’re concerned Cole might actually do you harm, doesn’t that make the most sense?”
Gemma half-laughed. “Max and I aren’t the ones causing the problem.”
“Aren’t you?” Hildy still wore that same sweet smile. “You do know who this event is about, don’t you?”
Gemma looked away, found Max standing off to the side holding her purse, then shrugged. “Whatever.”
Charlotte watched the pair exit the studio before she turned to Hildy, wearing her best expression of disbelief. “So, that was Gemma.”
“Yes.” Hildy sighed. “That was Gemma. The woman who stomped all over Cole’s heart. I wish I could say I’m surprised she was doing this, but I’m not. It’s like a game to her. I’m betting she weaseled her way on the roster specifically so she could get under his skin.”
Charlotte frowned. “Why would she do that?”
Hildy shrugged. “She’s the type of person who thrives on attention. She wants to make sure Cole is still in love with her.”