Marrying the Billionaire - Macie St. James Page 0,52

all. The development team got along pretty well, for the most part. She imagined they wouldn’t be able to wait to get back to the cabin to close the door and play video games. That seemed to be all they talked about.

Charlie was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t realize Nicholas was staring at her until she glanced over at him again. He not only looked like he wanted to say something, but his lips were parted as if the words were on the verge of spilling from his mouth.

Before he could say anything, though, his phone’s ringtone began blaring.

He winced. “Sorry. Forgot to silence it this morning.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get a word out, Nicholas turned and started walking away.

Only when he was several steps away did Nicholas seem to remember she was still standing there. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Then he walked off, leaving her standing there, staring after him. That gave her all the answer she needed. The entire interaction told her that he definitely wasn’t interested in her. Knowing that, she could go on with her life.

She just had to get through one final weekend with him.

22

This would be the third weekend in a row Nicholas would spend with Charlie, and once again, he found himself excited about it.

He felt a little bad about taking Justin up on his offer to do a retreat for all the employees. Maybe he should have said no and approached Charlie on his own. But he had the feeling both Justin and Brooke were doing this to play matchmaker. Who was he to stop them?

Nicholas arrived at the cabins a few hours ahead of the TravTech group. He’d actually come up the night before, spending Thursday night at his condo so he’d be rested and nearby when it was time to get started. But he’d been too anxious to just hang out at home, waiting for the team’s mid-afternoon arrival, so he’d headed to the clubhouse to pace the lobby area until the caterer arrived.

What he didn’t expect was that Charlie would show up ahead of everyone.

“You’re early,” she said as she stepped through the big doors that led into the building. No doubt she’d seen his car parked outside.

“Just waiting for the caterer.”

Charlie lifted her right hand, which clutched her smartphone, and looked at the screen. Yeah, he knew what she was thinking. The caterers weren’t scheduled to arrive for at least another hour. But she was nice enough not to speak those thoughts out loud.

“There’s water,” he said.

It was an absurd thing to say, but an awkwardness surrounded them. He wanted to find a way back to the ease they’d had before the wedding. Yes, it had still been a little awkward, mostly because he’d been on his best behavior so he didn’t scare her off, but now it felt like there was a barrier between them.

Charlie stared at him with a quizzical expression. “Someone dropped off water?”

He supposed his words hadn’t been very clear. He gestured to indicate the big area with couches, chairs, and a fireplace. She hadn’t seen it yet, so she would have no idea what he was referring to.

“It’s always there.” He cleared his throat, which sounded scratchy and hoarse all of a sudden. “It’s an amenity provided to the guests staying in the cabins. I’ll show you.”

He could have just pointed her in the general direction of the water cooler. That would free him up to stand here and continue his pacing. But he wanted to be near her, even with this awkwardness between them. Maybe if he spent enough time around her, he could break down that barrier.

“Wow,” she said as they entered the room.

With that word, he expected she’d be looking around the big room, admiring the fireplace and fancy furnishings. That’s what he had noticed right off the bat, anyway. It was fairly upscale for a rental cabin clubhouse. Instead, she was looking at the water cooler.

“It has fruit!” She looked over at him, eyes wide, a big smile on her face. Something about a giant glass container filled with water and fruit brought out her childlike glee.

He found himself falling even deeper in love with her.

It was strange, the way that worked. With all the time they’d spent together, seeing her reaction to fruity water was what made him realize he’d gone over the ledge. He’d fallen for her, despite his resolve to hold his feelings back until he was