“He did,” I admitted.
“He’s good at that.” Laura gave Charlie the icy look only an ex-wife can master. “But somehow I think he’s sincere in wanting to make things right now.”
“I told her I was in love with you.” Charlie reached over and touched my arm. “I’m sorry, I know I keep doing this in the worst places—Starbucks, voicemail, Grizzly Peak—“
“Wow, Starbucks and Grizzly Peak. How romantic.” Laura noisily sucked the last bit of her water through the straw.
My head was spinning. “You told her that?”
Charlie opened his mouth to answer, but it was Laura who spoke first. “He had to, Erin. One, I could see it, and two, I wasn’t going to let him introduce our daughter to some floozy he’d just picked up at a bar. Sorry.” She shrugged. “It’s nothing personal, but Charlie has a rotten record. That’s when he told me how he knew you from childhood, and how this was something different.”
“It’s more than different.” Charlie squeezed my arm.
I looked at him and felt my eyes filling. Closing them for a second, I looked back at Laura. “So…so this is OK with you?”
“It probably shouldn’t be. But…” In a tone that said I-want-to-hate-you-but-I-just-can’t, she finished, “He’s always going to be the father of my first child. I don’t like what he did in the past, but I don’t want to hold this grudge forever, and who am I to say he doesn’t deserve a second chance? If you’ll give him one, I’ll give him one.”
I smiled at her through tears. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She seared Charlie with another look. “Do right by her, Charlie Dwyer. Don’t make me sorry I let her into Madison’s life.”
“I won’t,” he promised, taking my hand.
The waiter appeared with my iced tea and their lunches, and I felt so much better I ordered a kale salad, which Charlie teased me about. “What the hell is that? It looks like it grows at the bottom of a lake.”
Considering the fact that I was having lunch with my boyfriend—Charlie Dwyer was my boyfriend, how insane was that?—and his ex-wife, I actually enjoyed myself, once I relaxed. And there wasn’t even wine!
Outside the restaurant, Laura shook my hand and said it was nice to meet me. “Madison is going to love you. Probably too much.”
“Thank you. I know I’ll adore her. I’m not a mom, so I can’t imagine how protective you must feel, but I’m very grateful you trust me enough to spend time with her.”
Charlie pulled me into his arms. “Thank you. We have a lot to talk about,” he whispered in my ear, “but I’d like to thank Laura for meeting us and giving me this chance.”
“Yes. You should.” I pulled back. “Call me on the way home, all right?”
“I will.” He squeezed my hand one last time, and I walked away.
I could have skipped to my car, I felt so light-hearted. Things were good—better than good. Better than they’d ever been, in fact.
Plus we had reunion sex ahead of us, and if that didn’t put an extra spring in anyone’s step, what would?
#
My cell phone rang after I’d been driving for about fifteen minutes.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me.” His voice sent a thrill zipping up my spine, and darting between my legs.
“Hi, you.”
“Want to get naked tonight?”
I burst out laughing. “That’s getting right to the point.”
“I can’t help it. I haven’t seen you in so long. It’s a good thing you spilled that ice water on my lap today, otherwise I’d have been fighting a hard-on for that entire lunch.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I had wet panties the moment I saw you smile at me across the room.”
“Did you really?”
“No!” I yelled. “Are you kidding? I was so nervous, I could barely walk!”
He groaned. “You’re mean. Good thing I love you.”
My heart fluttered. “Good thing.”
“Can I take you to dinner tonight? Somewhere nice?”
The last thing I wanted to do was sit through a long dinner at a nice restaurant, unable to touch him. I had a better idea, but I’d let it be a surprise. “Sure. I’ll be ready at eight.”
By seven forty-five, I was practically climbing out of my skin with anticipation. I’d been racing around for six hours straight—I bought new underwear, grocery shopped, changed the sheets, chilled some wine, stuffed a chicken, put my hair up in a twist—desperately filling the hours until I saw him again. When his car pulled in my driveway at a few minutes before the hour, I pulled open the door and raced back to the stove, as if I were innocently stirring something on the burner. In reality, the meal was on the dining room table already.
I heard the door shut and peeked over one shoulder at him. Oh dear God. He was wearing a suit. “How was your day, darling?” I asked in my most sultry voice.
He smiled, a slow sexy grin that told me he’d missed me as much as I’d missed him.
Or maybe it was because I wore nothing but a dark red lace bra and panties, high heels, and a smile.
“It just got a hell of a lot better.”
“Hungry? You’re just in time for dinner.”
His eyes traveled down to my shoes and back up, his brain exploring ideas my body could feel. “What if I want dessert first?”