“It’s okay.”
“It’s okay?” He blinked.
“Well…” She shrugged a little. “I’m not going to lie. I’m surprised. Very surprised. But I’ve seen you with Amelia, and I can see how much you love her. What about her mother? You’ve never said anything about her.”
Nick took a deep breath and told Charlotte everything he knew about Jessica. Including how he’d hired a private investigator to look into her situation. He told her that he’d wanted everyone to think Amelia was his, but only a few people knew the truth. He even told Charlotte how he’d told Stephanie that he’d called off the private investigator, only to hire him again. And because he was telling the truth, he also let her know about how he’d grown up with an addict mother and refused to let Amelia experience that lifestyle as well.
“It makes sense,” Charlotte said when he was finished explaining. “I understand.”
“You do?”
She laughed a little. “How could I not?”
“And you still want to help me out even though I didn’t tell you the truth?”
Her smile was so warm, it instantly made Nick feel better.
“Of course,” she said. “In fact, it kind of makes me want to help you out even more. Biology aside, Amelia is your daughter. I’ll do anything I can to make sure you get custody of her. She belongs with you.”
“I can’t even tell you how happy I am to hear that.” Relief washed through him. But that wasn’t the only complication he needed to address this morning. There was the whole matter of the kiss. Only, he really didn’t want to talk about that. Because what he really wanted to do was kiss her again. It took all his willpower not to reach out and pull her close. “There’s one more thing we should probably talk about,” he said. “About last night—”
“Nick, what we did…the kiss…I’m really—”
“No.” It suddenly became critically important that she did not apologize for the kiss or try to dismiss it in any way. If she did that, he didn’t know if he’d be able to reconcile it in his head. Because… “No,” he said again. “Don’t apologize or…just…” He shook his head. “I meant what I said last night,” he said, deciding on the path of least resistance. “I am attracted to you, Char. And I also can’t promise you anything. Not right now. Amelia has to—”
“She has to be your first priority,” she interrupted and finished for him. “I know. You said that.” She smiled. “A few times. And I understand. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’m a big girl. This isn’t serious. This isn’t real.”
Her words, although completely true, sent a stab to his heart. It sure felt real and serious. But she was right. She had to be.
He nodded.
“So…I’m okay with that if you are,” she finished. “Besides, I’m not looking for anything right now anyway.”
That made sense after what she’d been through, but again…her words hit him hard, and he didn’t like the way they made him feel inside.
“So what are you saying?” Nick desperately wanted to touch her. She was so close to him, but at the same time the distance between them was too much. Still lying on his side, propped up by one arm, he reached his free hand out to touch hers.
“Well…”
She gave him a sassy grin that made him want to flip her on her back and kiss her senseless. Instead, he swallowed hard and fought the urge while she finished her thought.
“If we’re affectionate, it can only make things look more credible, right? I mean, if Susan were to stop by or see us at the store or something.”
He nodded.
“So…why don’t we just not worry about complicated or any of that? I know Amelia is your priority, and I don’t want anything serious.” She shrugged. “It seems pretty perfect to me.”
It did to him, too. If it meant being able to kiss her again and not put his custody at risk, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her plan at all.
“I can’t disagree with that.”
“So we’re in agreement?”
He bent and sealed their agreement with a kiss.
Without taking his lips from hers, Nick moved so he was over top of her and able to deepen the kiss the way he yearned to.
Complicated was the furthest thing from his mind when she let out a small moan and wrapped her arms around his back. There was nothing complicated about what he was feeling at that exact moment. Nothing at all.
“Charlotte.” Her name came