“You’re in love with Olivia? What about Charlie? I thought you were—”
“Why does everyone keep asking about Charlie?” Josh interrupted, gesturing as wildly as his heart was beating. “I’m over her. She blew me off two years ago—I don’t c
are about her in the slightest.”
“Josh!” Olivia spoke urgently, looking over his shoulder. “Don’t say...” Her voice died out.
He twisted around to discover Charlie standing behind him.
“No, it’s okay.” She blinked at watery eyes. “He’s right to feel that way, and I know he’s over me. I’d just hoped... I mean... I thought we could still be friends.”
“Sure, Charlie. You’ve got it, baby. We’re friends.” He regretted his words almost before they left his lips. Why do I always lose control around her? His stomach lurched when he saw her recoil. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. The blood drained from her face, and she pressed her lips together. He cringed as she turned her head away and walked woodenly back to her sister’s table.
He turned back to meet Olivia’s glare, as she rose to her feet. “I’m going to talk to Grace and Brad. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, Dr. Branson.”
Josh turned back to face Spencer’s stormy stare. “What?” Josh’s voice was drenched in annoyance.
“What’s really going on here, Josh?”
“Nothing. Just what I told you. I want to marry your sister.”
“Because you’re in love with her?”
“Yes.”
“And when did you discover you were in love with her?”
“Look Spencer, I’m not going to sit here and let you lecture me about love.”
Spencer’s jaw hardened. “If you hurt Olivia, you’ll answer to me. And as far as that goes, I don’t want you hurting Charlie, either.”
“How could I hurt Charlie?” Josh was unable to hide his resentment. “She made it perfectly clear she had no feelings for me for two years. I’m sorry if I don’t feel like being pals right now, but it has nothing to do with my feelings for Olivia.”
“Really? Because it seems to me you might be using Olivia to hurt Charlie.”
Josh stood up and glared eye-to-eye with Spencer. “I’m not using Olivia to hurt Charlie. I’m not that kind of man, and I take offense at the suggestion.”
Emily pushed her way between the two. “Stop it—you’re making a scene. Spencer, let’s go sit down. This is not the time or the place for this discussion.” She dragged Spencer by the arm back to their table, leaving Josh standing alone.
He scanned the room and found Olivia with Grace and Brad, laughing and joking along with her sisters. At another table, a scowling Spencer sat beside an expressionless Charlie, despite Emily’s efforts to distract them with her animated discourse. Part of him hated hurting her feelings, but another part of him felt a sense of satisfaction. At least she cared enough to be hurt. The agony of his decision rose up again—he so regretted the timing of this adoption. If he didn’t possess such a strong sense of responsibility to his niece and nephew, he would have tried again with Charlie. He certainly still had feelings for her, as much as he tried to deny it.
If there was one thing he was good at, though, it was self-discipline. He could push himself to perform despite sleepless nights and pain and emotional agony. He’d never let his own needs and weaknesses stand in the way of his goals. And right now, his desire for Charlie was a weakness he couldn’t allow.
A surreptitious glance at her caused a searing pain in his chest. He remembered exactly how her soft responsive lips had felt. They’d shared a kiss that had shattered him. He couldn’t even understand how she’d affected him so strongly with one kiss. Just a kiss. He’d been with so many girls. For him, kissing had simply become a means to an end. But everything had changed when he’d kissed Charlie—she’d ruined him for other girls.
On the other hand, he’d been alone most of his life. None of the girls he’d been with in the past actually meant anything to him anyway. It would’ve been nice to have someone to love, someone he could share his life with. But it wasn’t a necessity. His marriage to Olivia in name only wouldn’t alleviate his isolation.
“I’m alone, as usual,” he mumbled. “So what’s new?”
“CHARLIE!” EMILY SNAPPED her fingers in front of her sister’s face. “Are you even listening to me?”
“Huh?” She blinked. “Uhmm, yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about next week.” With a vain attempt to hide her distress over Josh’s obvious disdain, she raised her eyebrows and pulled the corners of her mouth up in the semblance of a smile. “I’m going to help Mom with the boys so she can get a few hours in at the office. They’ve given the nanny time off until January.”
“That’ll be exhausting, I bet,” Emily chuckled. “I’m gonna laugh when my physically fit sister is moaning about how tired she is after a day with the twins.”
“I’ve missed them so much. I’m just glad I get to be with them and remind them who their favorite sister is.”
“No way. I’m definitely the favorite sister. You haven’t got a chance.”