ten minutes away and I was thinking…”
Her mom wiped her eyes.
“I wasn’t sure you’d go for this or not,” Char started. “And I’m going to be pretty busy with Lynx Creek, but…well, I was thinking maybe I could offer you some staging services to your real estate clients.” She continued before her mother could object. “I know it’s not usually done here, but in the bigger markets, they use stagers to make the house look as good as possible before the photos are taken. After seeing some of your clients’ places, I think maybe it’s a service that is necessary. Especially with the market getting more and more competitive.”
Char bit her bottom lip while she let her mother process what she’d just said. She really hoped she wouldn’t take it as an insult, and only as a constructive suggestion.
To her surprise, Darlene nodded and laughed. “You know what, I think that’s a very good idea. Especially if you’re a consultant. Then it’s not like I’m telling my clients to clean up after themselves—you can do it.”
“Something like that.” Char laughed and shook her head. “We can talk about it. But for now I should probably get going back to ElkView for dinner.”
Her mom and dad helped her out to the car with her few bags and a box full of framed photos her mother had grabbed from various surfaces around the house to “Make it look like you live there.”
And she was on her way.
In less than twenty-four hours, her career had taken a huge leap forward and she’d gained a fiancé.
It had been quite a day. Charlotte was exhausted but also, she’d never felt quite so energized.
“You guys can totally pull this off.” Katie set a wooden bowl full of salad on the table and put a teething biscuit in front of Amelia in her high chair before sitting down with the rest of them.
When Damon had popped over to invite Nick for dinner, and found Charlotte awkwardly unpacking her things, he’d quickly amended his invitation to include Nick’s new fiancée as well. Nick knew they were putting off the inevitable discussions they were most certainly going to have in length, but he didn’t see the harm in a little social intervention first. Particularly because Katie and Damon were the experts in fake relationships.
“I hope you’re right.” Nick reached for a piece of pizza that Damon had just brought from the outdoor pizza oven. It was a warm spring night, so they’d decided to eat on the patio while Damon tended to the pizzas in his custom-made outdoor oven, his latest addition. “I mean, I can’t even think about—”
“So don’t,” Charlotte cut him off. “Don’t think about what could happen,” she amended. “Because Katie’s right. We can totally pull this off. There’s no reason why we can’t.”
Nick could think of a few, not the least of which was that they weren’t really a couple. But his negativity wasn’t going to do any of them any good. He pushed it aside and focused solely on the positive outcome: Amelia legally being his daughter. That was the only outcome he could envision. Laser focus.
He smiled at his baby, who sucked and gnawed on the biscuit Katie had given her.
“But there are a few things you’ll have to sort out first,” Katie said.
“Oh yeah,” Damon added as he took his seat across from Nick. “Like how you’re going to manage…” He waved his finger between Nick and Char.
“What is…” Nick mimicked his action.
Damon’s laugh was cocky. He leaned back in his chair and put his arm around his wife. “This attraction the two of you have.”
“What?” Char almost choked on her pizza.
Nick quickly poured her a glass of water and handed it to her, before turning to glare at his best friend.
Damon simply shrugged, but Katie pushed his arm off her shoulders.
“Seriously,” Katie said. “You are not subtle.”
“I never said anything about subtle.” He picked up a piece of pizza and took a big bite. “But you see it, too,” Damon said through a full mouth. “You know I’m right.”
Attraction?
Nick couldn’t even pretend that he wasn’t attracted to Charlotte. Of course he was. He was a man, and she was a gorgeous woman. She was also sweet, and funny, and smart, and…shit. Yes. There was definitely an attraction. And that kiss…such a sweet, innocent kiss that had been so much more. He glanced in her direction. She’d recovered from the near choking, but her face was flushed pink.
Was she attracted to him,