Maverick (The Family Simon 3)

Charlie couldn’t lie to Davis. “You were right.”

“I’m always right.”

She smiled, but it was a sad attempt to cover the pain in her heart. “I love him.”

Davis folded his arms across his chest. “And have you told him?”

“Not gonna happen. I broke it off.”

“Charlie—“

“Don’t Charlie me, Davis. Give me credit for knowing what I need to do to fix this.”

“Who says it needs to be fixed?”

Surprised, she scowled. “What the hell, Davis? Last week you were telling me to break it off because you were afraid I’d get hurt.”

“I didn’t tell you to break it off. I just wanted you to be aware that you could get hurt. But it looks like the hurting has already happened.”

“I don’t understand you.” She shook her head and tossed the takeout box in her hand onto the table.

“You love him and that means you have to do something about it. There’s no fixing the current situation. There’s only facing the consequences and moving the hell on.”

“Okay, Dr. Phil, and what exactly are the consequences?”

“Don’t be a smart ass, Charlie. I’m doing my best here.”

“I’m all ears.”

“The way I see it, you’ve got two choices. You can tell Rick how you feel and see where that leads. Either he’s all in or he’s not. Or you can ignore him, just like you’ve been ignoring him all week.”

“I have not…”

“How

many times have you ignored his phone calls? And text messages?”

Stubborn, Charlie didn’t answer.

“If you blow him off without giving him the chance to tell you how he feels, well, I think you might be making the biggest mistake of your life.”

“But that’s the point Davis. It’s not just my life. It’s Connor’s too. He bonded with Rick in a way that I didn’t expect. For whatever reason, my brother fell in love with Rick and at first I was over the moon about it. To see Connor happy and engaged again? You know how long I’ve waited for that.”

Dammit, were those tears again? Angrily, she scrubbed at her face.

“You know how hard it’s been with Connor. You know what he went through when my dad died. When Rick leaves again, which he will because he has this great big life to live on the other side of the country.” She blew out a hot breath before she could continue. “Connor will be devastated and I won’t let that happen.”

“I get that,” Davis said softly. “I understand your need to protect Connor. But Charlie, how will you ever know if Rick’s the guy for you if you don’t give him the chance to be that guy? Don’t you at least owe him the choice to either step up or step off?”

“Excuse me, but we’re waiting for the cod?”

Exasperated Charlie moved back, nodding to the couple waiting for their food. “Davis will help you.”

She pushed her way through the crowd and didn’t stop pushing until she was outside, leaning against the building. It was cold, but she didn’t feel it.

Charlie stared up at the clear night sky and sniffled, fishing out her cell phone when it vibrated in her pocket.

“Everything okay with Connor?” Mrs. Kratz was babysitting her brother for the night or at least until Charlie could get away from her duties.