Knocking Boots - Willow Winters Page 0,60

know about me.”

He looks down at me, and I struggle not to drown in the moss green of his eyes.

“Yeah?” I say, to distract myself.

“Mmmhm,” he murmurs.

I lean into him a little and I hate that I’m doing it, but it’s a memory I get to keep. The heat of his body, his hard chest and masculine smell. I take it all in, closing my eyes and letting out a small sigh.

“Charlie?” I whisper against his chest.

“Yeah?” I feel the rumble of his answer against my cheek.

“Why are you still single?” I ask, our bodies still swaying to the gentle music. “I’ve seen the type of girls that hang on you. It doesn’t make any sense that you haven’t picked one of them to date by now.”

He’s silent for a long time, long enough to make me open my eyes. I stare up at him, hoping I don’t look as enraptured as I feel.

This right here, this foolish feeling, is why I’ve been avoiding him all night. I feel like I need to hold on to him, but I know I can’t.

“Are you going to answer?” I ask.

He smiles, but it’s forced. “Yeah. I just… it’s complicated, you know?”

“So make it simple. Simple enough for me to understand, anyway. I had a few glasses of that punch.” I try to lighten up the conversation, but his expression doesn’t change.

“Well… I have an ex. A girl named Susanne.”

“Oh?” My heart thuds in my chest. I don’t want to think about him with someone else.

“She was my high school sweetheart. When I was twenty, I gave her everything I had. I proposed to her with the biggest diamond I could get, which granted wasn’t very large. I was twenty, after all.”

“Wait, you were married?” I say, pulling back.

“No. Engaged,” he says, pulling me back into his arms. “And not engaged for long. About a month later, I walked in on her with someone else.”

“You didn’t!” I freeze where we’re standing, my eyes large as the shock runs through me. Who the hell would cheat on him? She must’ve lost her damn mind.

“I did.” He nods his head and moves me on the dance floor, willing me to keep dancing with him and I relent. I won’t deny him. My poor Charlie. Some dumb girl broke his heart and I hate her for it.

“I’m sorry,” I say, squeezing him gently and trying to settle into his arms again. I can vaguely feel and hear everyone around us, but my thoughts are only on him.

“Well, it worked out. The next year, I got a job at a bar. Saved up all my money, worked a ton. Bought Mac’s the second he tried to sell it.”

“And the fiancée?”

“Haven’t seen her since. She moved out of town not long after.”

I lay my head against his chest for a minute, thinking about how he must’ve felt. No wonder he doesn’t want commitment. My voice cracks and I have to clear my throat to tell him, “You know, not all women are like that. Not every woman will break your heart.”

He shrugs, his shirt moving gently against my nose as I stay pinned to his chest. “Sure.”

“Sure isn’t really the kind of answer…” I stop my comment. I don’t know how to make this better but I want to.

He looks down at me, perhaps sensing my earnestness. His eyes trail down to my lips, showing just what’s on his mind.

I close my eyes and offer up my mouth. Charlie kisses me, tender at first, but then with more passion, making my heart race.

I break off the kiss as I become more fully aware that we’re surrounded by other people. “Charlie…”

“We don’t need to talk about my past, sweetheart,” he whispers, cupping my jaw with a hand.

He kisses me again. I can feel people looking at us. Charlie’s family is getting a hell of a show. Still, when he touches me, I feel alive, vibrant. I feel loved and it’s not fair. It’s not fair because now more than ever I don’t think Charlie will ever give his heart away. Not to me. But he has mine and it hurts for us.

I groan quietly when Charlie breaks away to kiss my neck. Lightning bolts shoot through my body at the touch of his lips against my skin.

Then he leans down to whisper in my ear. “Come with me…”

He takes my hand and leads me from the dance floor.

Charlie

Subtle doesn’t suit me but I try to be as subtle as