And then he turned and walked away, leaving her with a heart filled with confusion and a mountain of regret.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHARLOTTE SAT IN numb silence. What on earth had happened this morning? One moment they were having a beautiful walk in the gardens and the next, everything had gone to pieces. She’d said things, horrible things, lashing out at him when he was right. She was scared. Terrified. Maybe if he’d eased his way into it, they’d talked, something... But she’d had no warning. No ability to prepare.
Now he was gone, without a word. Took his bag and got in his Land Rover and drove away, leaving her here with Stephen. They’d arrived together. For him to take off this way told her how very deeply she’d hurt him.
Perhaps that had been her first mistake. She hadn’t realized she had the power to hurt him. He’d seemed so invincible, but he was not, was he?
There was a tap on her door, and then Stephen poked his head in. “May I come in?”
She nodded, wiping the tears away from below her eyes.
He sat on the bed next to her. “What the hell happened?”
“He proposed.”
Stephen sat back a bit. “He did? Huh.”
“I know you gave him the ring.”
Stephen held out his hand and gave her the box. “Yes, with Maman’s approval. What I don’t understand is why you obviously said no and are now crying in your room about it.”
“I don’t understand, either!” She started to sob and he slid forward, putting his arm around her. “Why is it so hard to trust someone? To believe that he loves me?”
“Oh, sweetheart. Shall I give you a list?”
She chuckled through her tears, making a snorting sound. He straightened her up and looked directly into her face. “I am not the right one to answer that question. I’m hardly biased.”
“I get it,” she whispered. “I understand why you were so upset when your engagement with Bridget ended. I had something similar happen to me years ago, Stephen. Someone I thought I loved who was more interested in the Pemberton name than in me.”
“I’m sorry. I know how much that hurts. Why did you never say?”
“I didn’t want to upset the family. Cause drama. Anyway, you had Gabi leave you, as well. So yeah, I get you not trusting.”
He frowned then. “Look, with Gabi it was different. Part of why I was such a git was because it was a stupid plan in the first place. We were foolish to think we could marry to solve our problems. She’s far more suited to William. But it does go to show something, Charlotte. That marrying for anything but love is a bad idea.”
She sighed then, slightly comforted. “But how do you know? How do you trust that someone won’t let you down?”
He rubbed her arm. “You don’t. People are human and occasionally let each other down. But that brings me to the next entry on my list—Maman and Father.”
Charlotte looked up, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“I know they had their share of arguments. They were two strong personalities with strong opinions. But have you ever seen anyone love harder or better? They set an almost impossible example to follow. And we Pembertons are a stubborn lot. If we can’t do it the best, we don’t want to do it at all. Because Pembertons don’t fail.”
“Except we do. All the time.”
“Precisely. So really, the only question is, do you love him?”
Her insides trembled. “I do. It’s the scariest feeling I’ve ever had in my life. I’m always the girl with a plan. Only now I don’t have a plan. And I’m still scared, Stephen. I’m scared of what he does for a living. I’m scared to take that leap only to lose him. How do I survive that?”
“So you’re willing to give up a chance at happiness just because sometime down the road he might possibly get hurt? Only you can decide if the risk is worth the reward. But I know you love him. And the way he spoke last night... He loves you, too. That doesn’t mean there won’t be obstacles. Maman is the better person to talk to about that. Do you think she would give up all her years with our dad if she’d known from the beginning that he’d die first?”
She shook her head. “Of course not.”
“It just seems to me that you have a chance to have what you want and you’re too afraid to reach out and take it when it’s offered.”
“He called me a coward.”