I want You Deeper

That kiss.

It had been a full five days since he’d dropped Charlie off at the door of her apartment, helping her unload her trunk and giving her one more quick kiss before she’d headed inside. The agreement had been that he’d pick her up Friday after work-same time as last week-and they’d head to his brother’s rehearsal dinner.

Staying away from her had been the toughest part. He’d texted her, but she’d been a little standoffish. He always sensed her pulling back, even when he was being outwardly flirtatious. Heck, even when he’d kissed her, he’d felt like she was holding back.

Did that mean she wasn’t all that into him?

The thought was seriously stressing him out. And stress was the last thing he needed right now. He should be excited about spending another weekend with Charlie, but instead, he was a giant ball of anxiety as he dealt with his family’s constant group texts about wedding details. Did he have his tux? Could he make sure Aunt Nancy didn’t sneak away for a drink at the hotel before the wedding? Could someone call and check reservations for the brunch on Sunday morning-the one literally nobody wanted to attend but his mom, who thought it was a great way to bring everyone together one last time after the bride and groom were gone?

By the time Nicholas pulled up in front of Charlie’s building late Friday afternoon, his mind wasn’t on seeing her again. He was too busy bracing himself for dealing with his mother. Even though she lived just a ten-minute drive from his place in the city, he usually only saw her a few times a year.

She didn’t mind. She was busy with tennis and her gardening club and serving on whatever froofy committee she’d joined this year to impress her friends.

But one look at Charlie and all that vanished. He’d gotten out of his car to stand next to his open trunk so he could load her suitcase in. Same stuff, different week. He just wished he could pick her up here every Friday night and spend the weekend with her. No, scratch that. If he were getting a wish, he’d want to see her more often than every weekend.

“Hi,” she said.

Was it his imagination, or did she seem shy? Considering they’d parted with a soft kiss just five days ago, that was a surprise. But it wasn’t like they’d defined what was going on between them. Maybe he should kiss her right away and establish that last weekend wasn’t just a fluke.

But he lost his nerve. Turned out, when it came to Charlie McLaughlin, he was pretty shy himself. He suddenly felt like a teenager on his first date with a girl he liked.

Then his phone buzzed in his back pocket, reminding him this was far from that. But even if it was, his mom would probably have her nose stuck in it.

“Justin said hi.” Charlie fastened her seatbelt as Nicholas started toward the fancy hotel where tonight’s dinner and tomorrow night’s reception were both being held.

“I’ve been trying to reach him all week.” Nicholas frowned in annoyance.

Not that he had the energy to worry about that right now. His best friend’s ongoing unreachability had been bugging him for weeks. But he’d deal with that after all this drama was over.

“He’s been busy. I think he’s planning something big for Brooke’s birthday. But he’s going to be at the wedding, so you can catch up with him then.”

Nicholas nodded. In fact, the last response he’d gotten to his texts had been promising to catch up with him Saturday. Since the wedding was a five-hour affair, between traipsing all over town from the hotel to the chapel, he had a feeling he and his friend would at least be able to catch a few minutes to hang out. Maybe.

“Sucks.”

Nicholas glanced over at her, not sure he’d heard her correctly. “Sorry?”

Shaking her head, Charlie smiled. “When your friend starts dating someone and totally blows you off. It sucks, is all. If it wasn’t for the fact that Brooke and I worked together, I’d have zero friends left in the city. Everyone just gets married and ghosts. So annoying.”

“That’s why you need couple friends. Once you’re in a couple, anyway.”

Had he said that out loud? Was it a mistake? He’d been thinking, as she spoke, that if they were a couple, they could hang out with Justin and Brooke, but he wasn’t even sure she’d want to socialize with her boss outside of work. And all of that assumed they would be a couple. He definitely couldn’t assume that, as much as he wanted it to be the case.

“So tell me about the wedding. What do I need to know?”

Nicholas breathed a sigh of relief at her change of subject. He wasn’t sure if she’d processed what he’d said, but either way, he was off the hook. For now.

“My mother has been trying to fix me up with one socialite after another for as long as I can remember,” he said. “You’re putting an end to that.”

“As your bride-to-be. You’ve told her?”

“No. I told her I was bringing someone, but we’re making the big announcement tonight.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Charlie wince. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“What?”

“Making an announcement about your engagement at your brother’s pre-wedding dinner. Tonight’s supposed to be all about him.”

“Trust me, it is all about him.” Nicholas shook his head. “Nobody’s even asked about you.”

“No surprise. But wait-I thought you were bringing a date to keep your mom from setting you up with someone.”

“One of the bridesmaids,” Nicholas said. “Caroline. Her mom is some higher-up at an Ivy League college.”

“It’s a little late for you to be trying to date your way into a good school,” Charlie joked.

“Haha. Not funny. But this is more than showing up with a date. You’re my fiancee, remember?”

“Of course. And after this, you’re going to find a way to explain why it didn’t work out, which probably means you need to find a more permanent solution to this problem.”

“Any ideas?”

Charlie was quiet for a moment. Thinking again. He wondered if she was coming up with some grand scheme. Maybe she could create some sort of scandal at the wedding that would make his mother the laughingstock of the community, ensuring nobody would even let their daughters date him. That would put an end to the matchmaking, for sure.

“Honesty.”

Nicholas couldn’t say anything to that. She was right. He should have been honest with his mother years ago. Charlie would probably see when she met Donna Baker Shaw exactly why that wasn’t the easiest thing to do.

They pulled up to the valet and Nicholas slipped the guy a generous tip to take care of both parking the car and getting their bags up to their rooms. They just needed to check in and go to their separate rooms-on separate floors, thanks to the fact that he’d added her at the last minute.

But they’d barely had time for their eyes to adjust from the brightness outside to the relatively dim lighting of the lobby before they were surrounded. His eyes weren’t the only thing that needed time to adjust. His mind was a few steps behind what was happening here.

“You’re here!”

“You must be Charlie.”

“Hi.”

“Give me a hug.”

It came from every direction. There was his brother, who gave Charlie a hug like they were long-lost friends. Then there were his brother’s friends, including his best friend. The bride-to-be, Elizabeth, stood next to Caroline, along with assorted other women he recognized as the bridal party.

“You’re all checked in,” his brother, Nate, announced as Nicholas started toward the main desk. The words stopped Nicholas in his tracks. “What? How?”

“Mom took care of it all. We have a block of rooms.” Nate shrugged.

“She just didn’t want the wedding party to have to deal with things like that.

We’re going to the outdoor patio for a drink before dinner. Come on.”

Nicholas looked over at Charlie. She didn’t drink. He didn’t want her to be in a position that made her uncomfortable. But she smiled over at Nicholas and nodded, and in that short exchange, they seemed to communicate that they were going along with this.

“Sure.” Nicholas nodded.

Somehow, Charlie ended up being absorbed into the group of bridesmaids, while Nicholas found himself walking alongside his brother. “New girlfriend?”

For some reason, Nate’s question annoyed Nicholas. Probably because they’d always had a bit of a competition, even if it wasn’t direct. It just had always seemed like if Nate did well in a sport or got good grades or even had a girlfriend, Nicholas felt pressured to one-up him. He had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with the way his mom always pointed out to him how successful his younger brother was in pretty much every area.

“Fiancee.”

He hadn’t planned to break it to his brother that way, of course. The word had just spilled out. He even felt bad about it, especially since Charlie had mentioned she wasn’t sure he should bring it up this weekend. But telling people individually was preferable to making a big-deal announcement at dinner, he now realized.

“You’re engaged? Man! Does Mom know?”

Nicholas shook his head. “Nobody does. Well, nobody here, anyway.”

Everyone here was either close to the bride or the groom. That meant there was a connection back to his brother or mom from a large chunk of those who would be at that dinner. Nicholas didn’t feel as though he was a part of that. This was his brother’s life. He wanted to make it clear he had his own life that was completely separate from this, and in that life, he was engaged to an amazing woman.

Only, that wasn’t true. In that life, he was engaged to no one.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Nicholas was surprised how relieved he felt to be seated next to Charlie at the table. He’d feared they’d be split up, just as they had been on the walk out here. Suddenly, he knew how she’d felt the previous weekend at her reunion. She was his life raft in a very turbulent sea.

“My brother has some good news. He’s getting married!” Nate announced after everyone was seated. He hadn’t even asked Nicholas if it was okay. Typical Nate behavior. He wasn’t all that different from their mom.

“Sorry,” Nicholas whispered to Charlie as Nate ordered a round of drinks to celebrate his brother’s engagement. “It just came out.”

Charlie smiled at him, reaching over to slip her hand into his. It was a move meant to be reassuring, he was pretty sure, but she had no idea just how comforting it was. He squeezed her hand, then took a deep breath to face the group.

“I’ll just take some of your fruit tea,” Charlie told the server who was clarifying the order. “I hear it’s really good.”

How Charlie had known to order fruit tea, Nicholas wasn’t sure. They hadn’t even gotten a menu at this point. He imagined her going online to check out the menu to plan out what she might order just in case they found themselves in the hotel bar.

“I’ll have one of those, too.” Nicholas sat back in his seat, ignoring the look his brother flashed him. He braced himself for a snarky comment, but his brother said nothing.

“When’s the wedding?” Elizabeth asked, the question directed at Charlie.

Charlie’s gaze went straight to Nicholas. “We aren’t sure.”

The uncertainty in her voice made Nicholas want to jump in and help her. He thought back to what they’d discussed at the reunion.

“We’re keeping it small.” He casually draped his arm across the back of Charlie’s chair as though it was natural instinct. “We’re thinking a destination wedding.”

“I wish we’d done that.” Elizabeth sighed. “Just us and a few family members. It’s just too stressful, planning all this.” “And expensive,” Nate added.

“We all know Nate doesn’t like to spend money,” Nicholas said. It had slipped out before he could stop it. He hoped it had come across as teasing.

Sure enough, the joke landed. Nate’s groomsmen joined in on teasing Nate about his frugality, despite the fact he’d always had access to all the money he could ever need. In fact, their mom wasn’t really on the hook for that much of the expense of all this. The bride’s parents were loaded-and they were paying for most of it.

“I have a great wedding planner,” Elizabeth said to Charlie, leaning over to say it directly to her while all the guys joked in the background. Again, Charlie glanced over at Nicholas.

“There’s this wedding venue near the beach,” Nicholas jumped in to say. “Everything’s planned for you. The more I listen to everyone talk about putting together this wedding, the better that sounds.”

The server delivered the drinks and Nicholas settled back in his seat, enjoying his tea. But mostly, he enjoyed simply being next to Charlie. In fact, this weekend might not be bad at all with her by his side.