Marrying the Billionaire - Macie St. James Page 0,59

had left faces in front of him. Brooke raised her hand, though. He was nervous, unsure what she was about to say.

“Yes, Brooke?” he dared to ask.

She dropped her arm, folding her hands on the table in front of her. “Will you be enjoying that week alone?”

There was no missing the mischievous smile on her face. Make no mistake about it. She was up to no good.

“I hope not.”

That was the best answer he could give right now. He could throw a look in Charlie’s direction, but he wasn’t ready to put himself out there yet. Or maybe he was. There were a few hours of sessions remaining, then dinner, then tomorrow… He didn’t want to spill everything to her right before she climbed into her car to head home.

“There’s a certain someone I’ve met recently,” he said, his body tensing a little more with each word he spoke. “She’s changed my perspective on everything. I’m hoping she’ll agree to take a week with me. I may have to wait a couple of months until we’re more serious, though.”

Nicholas didn’t miss the looks that were exchanged across the room. He was pretty sure there was no mystery here. Everyone but Charlie was well aware at this point that the woman who had changed Nicholas’s life was her.

“Looks like we’re out of time,” Nicholas said, giving himself a mental pat on the back for managing to drag things out to the last minute. Nobody else could ask questions now. There was no time. “We’ll split off for the first afternoon session after a brief break.”

25

“You look…amazing.”

Charlie’s cheeks grew warm. When was the last time she’d blushed? She couldn’t remember. But Nicholas was staring at her with that look in his eyes again. She could only describe it as desire, but could that be right?

“Thank you.”

She lowered her head, suddenly taking an interest in her shoes. The post-lunch presentation had shaken her up a little. She wasn’t sure what to make of Nicholas’s speech about having met someone who had changed everything. At first, she’d tried to justify that maybe he’d met someone when he wasn’t with her. They’d been together only on weekends. Then she’d told herself that they’d really only known each other a couple of weeks, so he could easily have met someone before her.

And then Brooke had confronted her.

She was being ridiculous, according to Brooke. Of course, Nicholas was into her. It was obvious to everyone but her. And now, as Charlie lifted her gaze to meet his, she saw it. She saw what everyone else noticed.

Suddenly, she found herself agreeing with Brooke. In the words of her friend, what was wrong with her?

“It looks like we’re the first ones to arrive again,” Brooke commented, looking around the empty room.

It was the same room where they’d had lunch earlier that day—where Nicholas had given his presentation. Charlie had shown up a little early to check on things, but the servers who had been hired to handle everything seemed to be on top of it all.

“Good. We can spend some time together.”

She resisted the almost overwhelming urge to look away as Nicholas stared at her. Instead, she smiled and nodded, suddenly unable to get any words out.

“Why don’t we go for a walk?”

The suggestion caught Charlie off guard. It wasn’t just what he’d asked, but the look on his face as he’d asked it. Was he…?

Nervous?

“Sure,” she said, trying to look casual as she walked toward the door that led to the outdoor patio. No big deal. Just a casual walk.

“I checked this out this afternoon while all the sessions were going on.” He held the door open for her, then followed her out onto the patio. “There’s a pretty cool little walkway over here.”

Charlie smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a walkway called cool before. I’m intrigued.”

“I don’t want to set expectations too high.”

He settled his hand in the small of her back to guide her toward the walkway. Just the small gesture, which seemed to be a gentlemanly protective sort of measure, spread warmth through her body.

“It’s pretty cool.” Charlie smiled over at him as they started down the path that led to the lake. The mountains were off in the distance, and it was still just light enough to see them clearly. The way everything reflected off the water made it even more breathtaking.

“When I saw it, I knew I had to bring you out here.”

Charlie held her breath, waiting for what he might say