trying to decide how much to take. Enough to make it look like she actually lived there, but not too much that there was nowhere to put any of it. She hadn’t inspected the bedroom when she’d been there earlier, but she wasn’t confident that there was much space. “If you were to see him with his daughter, you’d understand why I had to do it.”
“And he didn’t ask you…”
Char knew that would be the hardest part for her mom to understand. How Charlotte had just recklessly jumped into the situation without so much as a discussion about it beforehand.
“I know it sounds crazy, Mom. But in that moment, there was no other choice. I knew he needed help and if it meant him losing Amelia to…” She realized she didn’t fully understand what the consequence of Nick not having a fiancée would be. Would custody go to Amelia’s mother? Was there someone else interested in custody? What if she hadn’t stepped in?
There was a lot she didn’t know. So many questions she still needed answers to.
But it looked as though she’d have the opportunity to figure it out if they were going to be spending so much time together.
“And how long are you going to be there? A week, you said?”
“I didn’t say.” She raised an eyebrow in her mother’s direction. “Look, Mom, I know you’re worried, but honestly, I’m doing fine. Nick is just a friend.” But the word didn’t sound right. Not really. Sure, he was a friend, but was he more? Or maybe the better question was, could he be more? She shook her head and forced herself to focus. “You always taught me to look after my friends.”
“I did, but this is—”
“Not different,” she interrupted. “Not at all. I know you’ll understand when you meet Nick and Amelia. How about we set up a dinner or something once everything is settled a bit? Would that make you feel better?”
Her mother nodded.
“I’m not sure when, but I’ll arrange it.” She smiled at the idea of her mom meeting Amelia. Char just knew she’d melt at the little girl’s giggle, just the way she had. Amelia was absolutely impossible not to fall head over heels for. As for her father… She blushed at the thought of falling for him. Or maybe she already was.
“Char?”
“Sorry.” She blinked as she realized she’d totally missed whatever her mother had just said. “What were you saying?”
Her mother gave her a strange look. “I was just wondering if this meant you might want to come into the office now instead of working from home? You know, that way we can see you a bit more.”
The office?
Oh.
Guilt filled her as she realized that with everything that had happened, she’d forgotten to tell her mother that the meeting with Stephanie Starz had gone well. Really well, in fact. On an ordinary day, she would have run right home to tell her mother all about it and celebrate with her. But…the day had been anything but ordinary.
“I totally forgot. I had that meeting with Stephanie Starz and—”
“You forgot?” Her mother’s mouth fell open and Char couldn’t help but laugh. “This Nick must really be something else if he made you forget about the biggest meeting you’ve ever had in what could be the biggest move in your career.”
He was.
But she didn’t say that. Instead, Charlotte smiled and filled her mom in on how well the meeting had gone, including how Stephanie had loved all of Char’s ideas and even had a few of her own to add before offering her the contract: all of the cabins at Lynx Creek, including a purchasing budget that Charlotte could only ever have dreamed of working with before. The money she made from the project would not only be enough to move out on her own, but it should be enough for a down payment on a small house in town.
Darlene, as Char knew she would be, was stunned and thrilled for her daughter. “I’m sad you won’t be working for us anymore,” she said when she’d finished letting out whoops of joy. “I know it’s not what you want to do, but I have to admit I’ve kind of liked having you around so much again, and I’m going to miss you.”
A tear formed in her mother’s eye, and Char immediately pulled her into a hug.
“Don’t cry! I’m not going anywhere, Mom. It’s not like I’m moving far or getting married or anything. I’m literally going to be