“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, asshole?” he snarled before I could ask the same question.
“Get out of my way, or I put you into a wall.” I was so fucking angry that my warning came out in a deadly, even tone.
The kid barked a harsh laugh. “You may have a few years on me, man, but I’ve got just as much muscle.”
I leaned in close, my expression as dark as my voice. “You could probably hold your own in a fair fight. But right now, I’ve got rage on my side. You have no fucking idea what it’s costing me not to kill the motherfucker trying to score with my woman.”
He raised his brows, but I gave him begrudging respect for not backing away and standing his ground. I was still going to kill him, though.
“Are you talking about Charlie?”
“Who the fuck else would I be talking about, kid? And her name is Charlotte!”
The kid laughed again, except this time, he sounded genuinely amused. “You must be the boss.”
It was my turn to raise a brow. Charlotte had told him about me?
He shook his head and answered my unasked question. “London spilled the beans the last time my girlfriend and I went to her house for dinner.”
Girlfriend? “You’re not here for a date with Charlotte?”
He laughed and stood back, allowing me to enter. “She’s letting me borrow her backyard and helping me set up to propose to my girlfriend.”
Relief flooded my body, and I almost sagged against the doorframe but managed to keep upright and crossed the threshold.
He shut the door behind me and stuck out his hand. “Hudson Kendall.”
Ah, he was a Kendall. “A cousin.”
“Unrelated by blood, but yeah. In every other sense, Charlie and London are actually more like sisters to Grace and me.”
I nodded as my eyes swept around the room, my mind already done with this conversation now that I knew the kid wasn’t a threat.
“She’s out back. I only heard your caterwauling because I came in to find the matches.”
I could see the kitchen and door to the back down the hallway so I immediately took a step in that direction. I growled and turned around swinging when a firm hand grabbed my arm.
Hudson evaded my hook and released my arm, backing up a couple of steps. “Relax, I just want to ask you a couple of questions. Charlie is one of the best people I know, and I love her like a sister. With Lincoln off in the army, the rest of the men in this family look out for her.”
I was tempted to ignore him and go to my girl, but if it were my sister in this situation, I’d be right where Hudson was now. I crossed my arms over my chest and brooded but nodded for him to continue.
“London vouched for you, or I wouldn’t have let you in the door. Still, I want to hear it for myself. Do you love her?”
“More than anything.”
“You’re going to marry her, not just move her into your bachelor pad as a permanent booty call?”
“You’re on thin ice referring to her like that, kid. But I see your point. Yes, I’m going to marry her as soon as possible.”
Hudson gestured to the hallway. “Good luck. Oh, but you two need to disappear in about thirty minutes before Grace arrives.”
I paused and gave him a chin lift. “Good luck to you, too.”
Hudson grinned. “She already said yes. I just wanted to give her the memory of an all-out romantic proposal.”
I headed to the back of the house in search of my girl, but Hudson’s words were playing in my mind. Maybe he had the right idea. I wouldn’t settle for any other outcome than Charlotte as my wife, but perhaps the illusion of a choice while being swept off her feet…
I pushed open the back door and froze at the sight before me. Charlotte was slowly spinning in a circle, surveying the fairyland she’d created. She was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, but with the twinkle lights all around her and the beautiful smile on her face, she might as well have been in an expensive, elegant dress.
“Rhett?”
My trance was broken by Charlotte’s confused voice. I settled my eyes on her pretty face, which was filled with genuine shock and a wariness that I didn’t understand.
I smiled. “Charlotte.”
“What...um, what are you doing here?”
I couldn’t very well tell her that I had a tail on her and came to break up the little date I thought she was having. My mind scrambled for an explanation that wasn’t a lie. “I had to see you.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think, baby? I can’t stop thinking about you. Your smile, your wit, your amazing body, your kind heart. Take your pick.”
“But…” She trailed off and glanced away for a moment. When her gaze returned to me, there was sadness that tore through my chest. “You said you were done with me.”