“What was Grandmother thinking anyway—sending her out with him today?”
I squinted at my brother. “I’m surprised you even know what’s going on around here. I haven’t seen you in days.”
“I follow her on Insta,” he said.
“I should’ve known.”
“Anyway, it pisses me off.”
I suddenly wanted to punch him. “I didn’t realize you had such a vested interest in Charlotte.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better.” He must have seen the anger in my eyes. “Why do you look like you’re ready to kill me right now?”
“What are you talking about?”
“As soon as I said I was interested in her, your face did a one-eighty. Is there something you want to tell me?”
“I shouldn’t have to remind you about our nonfraternization policy,” I said, downing the vodka.
“We don’t have a nonfraternization policy.”
“We do now.”
With a smug grin, I handed him my glass and promptly walked away before he could push me any further into an awkward conversation in which I forbade him from going near Charlotte without a rational explanation. My feelings were complex, and Max was beginning to figure out my interest in her. That was a subject I didn’t want to have to get into with him, especially when Charlotte wasn’t someone I could seriously pursue.
It was apparent I was going in the wrong direction because Charlotte was making her way toward me.
“Eastwood, is it just my imagination, or have you said hello to everyone here tonight but me?”
I hadn’t realized my actions were so obvious. “You tell me, since you’ve been watching me all night.”
“Hello, by the way,” she said.
“Hi.” Clearing my throat, I said, “How was your day?”
“Busy.”
“Yeah? Stuffing your face with cupcakes can be pretty tiring.”
“How do you know about that?” She snapped her fingers. “Ah . . . you were on my Instagram page.”
“Well, it’s public, unlike—oh, I don’t know—sifting through someone’s personal files.”
Charlotte laughed. “You’re a stalker.”
“Takes one to know one, I suppose.”
Jared interrupted us. “Cousin! Good to see you.”
With his blond hair, blue eyes, and tall stature, Jared was decent-looking. I wished that weren’t the case.
“Jared.” I spoke through gritted teeth. “Long time no see. How’s your trip so far?”
“Brilliant. Charlotte here took real good care of me today.”
You wish.
Jared turned to her, practically undressing her with his eyes. “Let’s dance, shall we?”
Pissed off, I started to walk away. “I’ll let you two be.”
She placed her hand on my arm to stop me. “Wait. You said we were going to discuss that business thing.”
Is she winking at me?
Charlotte Darling was apparently trying to use me to get out of dancing with Jared. That pleased me despite understanding that feeling that way would be to my own detriment.
I decided to fuck with her. “Oh yes. Project Squirrel. That’s right. We were going to meet about that.”
Jared looked perplexed. “A business meeting now?”
Charlotte wasted no time elaborating. “Just something we need to discuss before tomorrow. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. Iris has been fancying another dance with me anyway. I’ll catch you in a bit, Charl.”
When Jared was out of earshot, she looked at me. “I hate when he calls me ‘Charl.’ Thank you for going along with that. I just needed to get away from him for a bit. I suspect he thinks something’s going to happen between us just because I’ve been nice to him, but he’s sorely mistaken. I don’t want to insult your grandmother, but I don’t date guys whose nails are better manicured than mine. Not to mention, all he does is talk about his cars and his gigantic garage back in England. I couldn’t care less.”
And just like that, Charlotte went up another notch on the respectometer.
Pausing to really take her in, I inhaled deeply to squelch the ache in my chest. Charlotte looked simply breathtaking under the outdoor lighting and starry night sky. She was wearing a pale-pink dress that was not too much darker than her skin. With her hair up, she reminded me of a ballet dancer—with a belly-dancer body. That dress did nothing to hide Charlotte’s killer curves.
I should’ve just walked away. Instead, my eyes fell to her cleavage before the words exited my mouth. “Can I get you another drink?”
“I would love one.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I flashed a mischievous grin that stayed glued to my face the entire walk to the bar.
However, my smile quickly faded upon the sight of a familiar face walking toward me, the same one who’d happened to rip my heart out two years earlier. All the energy was suddenly sucked out of me.
Allison.CHAPTER 14
CHARLOTTE
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
It was her. Reed’s ex-fiancée, Allison. At the bar.
What is she doing here?
My curiosity got the best of me as I inched my way closer to where they were standing.
Allison had blonde hair that was darker than mine. She was tall, almost Reed’s height. But she was gorgeous, and I couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy I felt as I saw them together for the first time.