Maverick (The Family Simon 3)

Except that it did. She felt like a fool and worse than that, there was a stupid lump in her throat that wouldn’t go away. Her eyes fell back to Ava as the band slowed things down with a ballad. Seth was a good guy and from what Charlie could see, the ‘just friends’ thing wasn’t exactly working out tonight. They looked like a couple and she felt like a perv watching Ava melt into Seth’s body as if she was meant to be there.

“Shit,” Charlie muttered, setting her glass on the bar. It was half full, but then she wasn’t in the mood to drink.

“Wow, looking good, Samuels.”

Charlie glanced over as Jackie Byers sidled up to the bar and ordered a cocktail. The perky brunette was a few years older than Charlie and had just given birth to her third child. A townie like Charlie, she and her husband owned the local bowling alley and pizza joint.

Me?” Charlie said with a small smile. “You look amazing. How’s the baby?”

Jackie grinned. “He’s wonderful. Such a good boy, you know? And after two girls, David is over the freaking moon.”

“Where is David?” Charlie asked, trying to be polite. She so wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

“He had a last minute delivery out of town, but he’ll be here. We don’t often get a night out and I promised him I’d make it worth his while.” She winked and giggled as the bartender handed her a Cosmo.

“What about you?” Jackie asked, taking a sip, eyes moving over Charlie from top to bottom. “Who are you here with?”

“No one.”

“That’s too bad because you look hot.” She swirled her drink around in the frosted glass, eyes questioning. “Should have known the gossip mill was wrong.” She laughed. “Again.”

Charlie stood a little straighter. “What do you mean?” Heart suddenly pounding, she reached for her glass, though she didn’t bring it to her lips.

“David had to make a pizza run out to the old McLaren place and I thought…or I’d heard that you and the new guy were like, an item. I just assumed…well obviously you’re not there so I assumed wrong.”

Charlie’s eyes narrowed, her grip tight on the glass. She didn’t say a thing. Hell, it would have been impossible because that damn knot in her throat was suddenly so big she thought she was going to choke. Heat shot up from her neck and she pushed back the long strands of hair that fell over her shoulders.

And dammit, were those tears stinging the corners of her eyes? Exhaling a deep breath, her gaze swept the dance floor. Wrong thing to do. Ava and Seth were slow grinding among at least thirty other couples doing the exact same thing.

Suddenly finding it hard to breathe, Charlie slammed her glass back on the bar. “Have a good one, Jackie,” she managed to say without sounding too much like an idiot.

“I will, but Charlie…”

Whatever Jackie was going to say was drowned out by the roaring in her ears. Charlie marched over to the coat check and scooped up her worn, leather jacket. Hot and pissed off, she didn’t bother throwing it over her shoulders.

Her ex, Jeremy, walked into the place with Emily just as Charlie was headed to the exit—and Charlie had stupidly thought this night couldn’t get any worse.

“Hey,” Jeremy said, looking more than a little surprised to see her.

Screw you, Charlie thought. She would have walked past them without a word except Emily Bryan had other ideas. The blonde was poured into a fire-engine red dress and looked like a tall drink of water, even with a small baby bump that was easily visible.

“Charlotte. I hope things will be okay between us?” Emily’s pouty mouth was shiny as she spoke. “I mean, it’s a small town and I don’t want there to be any hard feelings. I’m sure you’ve heard that Jeremy and I are expecting.”

Charlie paused long enough to get her shit together. No way was she going to cause a scene—Emily would like that way too much. And even though the lump was gone, replaced with a burning anger that had her blood boiling, Charlie managed to keep a lid on her temper.

Davis would have been proud.

She tossed her head and squared her shoulders, aware that a few people were eavesdropping. Aware that Jeremy was looking at her in a way he’d not done in years. She knew she looked fierce and for the first time in a long time, she felt powerful. She was driving the car, she wasn’t just the passenger along for a ride.

“I have no feelings when it comes to you Emily. My sympathies are with your husband and the two little girls you share. And no, it’s not because you’re not with him anymore. I know not everyone is meant to stay together, so there’s no judging. But what you did to him, screwing around, getting pregnant with another man’s baby, that’s just plain wrong. You didn’t have enough respect for your marriage to at least deal with your shit before sleeping with my boyfriend. You didn’t have enough respect for your marriage to be honest. I feel bad that those little girls have a shitty role model for a mother.”

Someone gasped behind her, but Charlie didn’t care. Her eyes narrowed onto Jeremy.

“You bitch,” Emily said tightly.

“Charlotte,” Jeremy said roughly, extricating himself from Emily and taking a step toward her.

“Don’t call me Charlotte. Actually don’t call me anything.”