Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2) (29 page)

“You do? You think he could love me?”

Grace laughed. “I think he’s got it in his head that this might be a forever kind of thing. Single parents don’t usually invite anyone into their child’s life—especially when that parent is a widower—if they aren’t serious. I think that if Charlie believes you’re good enough for his son, he’s already thinking about the future.”

“He asked me to go to Michigan with them,” Lucy shared. It just sort of rolled out of her mouth. She snuck a look at Grace to see her reaction.
 

Grace bit her lip. “Family vacay?”

Her sarcasm was Lucy’s prompt to leave. “Something like that,” she said, and stood up.
 

“Luce, don’t go,” Grace said through a long breath. “I’m sorry. I just—do you understand that if this goes bad that little boy is going to lose you? You don’t get to keep him, Lucy!”

Lucy shook her head and retreated to her bedroom. She couldn’t sit there and listen to Grace’s hot-one-minute-cold-the-next support. It was killing the vibes she had been feeling.
 

She shut her bedroom door and looked around the room. It was the same, but it felt all wrong now. It was empty and lonely; it was a reminder of who she had been the last time she walked away from it: a woman who didn’t have Charlie.
 

As if on cue, her phone buzzed in her hand. She brought it up and smiled at the message from Charlie:
You are all over my bed and it’s driving me insane. Please come back.

Reactivate warm, fuzzy feelings.
 

She turned her phone to the side and thumbed out a message:
Let me pack for tomorrow. I’ll be there in 30 min <3.
 

She didn’t even say goodbye to Grace. She just showered quickly, packed a bag that would last her a day or two, and headed out the door. She knew Grace was right, but she also wondered what the point of telling Charlie about that night was now. What would it solve? Nothing. Lydia was right.
 

On the other hand, if he were to find out now, he would never speak to her again.

Maybe Grace was right.

She clutched the steering wheel as she drove, leaving sweat marks.
Oh, God
. She just wanted to be happy.
 

Charlie and Jackson made her happy.
 

She pulled into his driveway and saw him standing in the front door. He had been waiting for her.
 

She walked up the path that led to his porch and took in the sight of him: adorable smile, bare chest, and all man. She groaned inwardly.
 

“You okay?” he asked, concerned. He took the bag from her hands and set it down.
 

Lucy nodded quickly. “I just missed you.”

Charlie slipped his hand around her side and drew her into his arms. “That’s good, because I missed you, too.”

He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his lean waist. “I’m better now, though,” she said with a smile.
 

He kissed her long and sweetly before turning them both around and heading down the hallway to his bedroom. He kissed her again as he walked and then buried his face into her neck. “You smell like vanilla,” he said against her skin.
 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jonah open his bedroom door and then flatten himself against the wall. “Uh, sorry,” he said with a smirk.
 

“Night, Jonah,” Lucy said in a singsong voice, while Charlie ignored him.
 

“Goodnight, Cupcake,” Jonah answered with a chuckle.
 

Charlie closed the bedroom door with his foot and set her down on the edge of the bed. He grabbed the hem of her white cami and lifted it above her head. She leaned back while he went to work on her yoga pants, leaving her in nothing but a black thong.
 

As he stood above her, he pulled off his pajama bottoms and crawled on top of her. Leaning on his hands for support, he lowered his head and pressed his gentle lips to her mouth.
 

“We have to be quiet tonight,” he whispered.
 

Lucy considered that for a moment and then flashed him a teasing grin. “Okay, but I’m probably going to have to bite you to shut myself up.”
 

Charlie sucked in a deep breath and his eyes widened. “Please bite me,” he said with a groan. “Please, please, please bite me.”

He explored her body every way that a body can be explored; he had her so worked up that, yes, she did bite him multiple times. When they had satisfied each other to the point of breathlessness, Charlie pulled her to his bare chest and rubbed her back until she drifted off to sleep.
 

In the middle of the night, she was awakened to the sound of Jackson babbling away through the baby monitor. Charlie awoke as well, and the two of them listened to him speak in the same tone that Lucy had used when she told him the story at the park.
 

When he ended his babbling sentence with a high pitched “Bee!” and a small chuckle, Charlie and Lucy laughed so hard that they had to cover their faces to keep quiet.
 

Eventually, Jack’s light chatter was replaced with the heavy silence of his deep sleep. Lucy found her eyes growing heavy once again as Charlie held her against him and ran his fingertips over her skin.
 

“You were the missing piece,” he whispered so quietly she later wondered if it had been real.
 

Chapter Thirteen

Lucy leaned her head against the window of the Ford Focus they had rented at the airport. It was a long trip from the Phoenix Sky Harbor, with a stop in Chicago, before they got to the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Michigan. From there, she had done nothing but look out the window and take in the beautiful view and deep blue waters of Lake Michigan.
 

Jackson had slept for most of the trip, which, considering the two-hour time change, made Charlie pretty sure his sleep schedule was going to be completely off. This was just another thing to add to Charlie’s unease about Jackson visiting the Monroes for the weekend.
 

When he had expressed his worries on the plane, Lucy had squeezed his hand gently. “We’re going to be right down the road,” she had reminded him.

“They won’t call me if there’s a problem.” Charlie had frowned. “This is going to be the longest three days of my life.”

That had been the most that had come out of Charlie’s mouth since they’d left Phoenix. It was unsettling, really. After three weeks of nonstop laughter and lovemaking, it was quite a jolt to Lucy’s real-life fantasy to see him so dark.
 

She had truly been living a dream. She practically lived at Charlie’s house. She would come home when Grace wasn’t there, collect more belongings, and leave.
 

Grace had texted her once:
Every time I come home more of your things are gone. If you’re moving out, maybe you should tell me.
 

Lucy’s only reply was:
 

If and when I move out, you’ll be the first to know.
 

Yes, it was childish.

She was well aware that she needed to sit down and mend things with her best friend. However, at this point, Grace was just a reminder of her secret. Without her presence, Lucy was happy, and free to settle into a life with Charlie and Jackson. She cooked for them, cleaned, and one night she even let Charlie stay in bed while she got up to comfort Jack in the middle of the night. She didn’t do it out of obligation; she did it because she needed to.
 

She belonged with them.
 

She was home with them.

Only now, here was another thing threatening the happiness they had found. She could hardly be angry at Charlie for being so withdrawn. Even Lucy was uncomfortable with Jackson being away for three days. Her stomach churned at even the thought of him waking up to those people.
 

Nevertheless,
those
people
were his grandparents and they had a right to see him.

“Did you remember to pack his gray hoodie?” Charlie asked as they drove down East Front Street. “It’s May, but it still gets pretty cold here.”

Lucy turned her head and smiled. “Yes.”

“Thanks.” Charlie reached over and grabbed Lucy’s hand. “I’m sorry I’m being like this.”

“You’re nervous,” Lucy said with a shrug. “I’m nervous, too.”

Charlie gave her a sideways glance as he drove. “I love the way you love him,” he said, and pulled her hand to his lips.
 

I love you
, she wanted to say, but didn’t. She felt it, of course, but she just couldn’t seem to blurt it out. She simply smiled at him and then turned her attention back to the Michigan scenery.
 

“Here’s their condo,” Charlie said, and turned into a gated community. He rolled down the window and leaned out to press a button on a box.
 

“Yes?” said a rigid voice.
 

“Marie, we’re here,” Charlie murmured.
 

Right away, the iron gates opened and allowed them to drive through. They pulled onto a winding road lined with mailboxes and bright purple and yellow flowers that looked as if they had been recently planted.
 

Lucy snuck a look at Jackson, who was nestled in his car seat and rubbing his tired eyes. The trip had knocked him out cold. “Hey, Jack!” Lucy said with a smile. “Did you sleep well?”

Jackson lifted his sippy cup to his mouth and put his little lips around the straw. With wide eyes, he sucked juice from the cup and put it back down. “Day-yee,” he said, and pointed out the window.
 

Charlie tried to follow Jackson’s finger out the window and drive at the same time. It was another one of his many fatherly attributes that Lucy adored. He was never too busy to acknowledge his son.
 

“A doggy,” Charlie said when he figured out what Jackson was pointing at.
 

“Bee,” Jackson said, showing her the same thing.
 

“What’s a doggy say, Jack?” Lucy asked.
 

“Ra, ra,” Jackson growled, and then laughed at himself.
 

They pulled into a parking spot under a sign that read “Visitor.” Charlie turned off the engine and gripped the wheel. Lucy watched as he seemed to calm his breathing and give himself a minute before facing his former in-laws.
 

“Charlie,” Lucy said, rubbing his shoulder, “everything will be okay.”

Charlie leaned his head against the seat and turned to meet her warm, reassuring gaze. His face was pale; she had never seen him look so vulnerable. “I know,” he finally said.
 

“Do you want me to come in? I can stay here, if you want.”

Charlie’s jaw tightened. “You go where I go,” he reminded her.
 

The beat of her heart sped up and pounded in her ears. It was like falling into oblivion, unsure of where you would land. Every day—each moment he even looked at her—was another reminder of how blissfully happy she was. She felt adored; she felt like she belonged.
 

God, I love this man.
 

“Then let’s go,” she said.
 

They climbed out of the car. Charlie went to the trunk to get all of Jack’s things while Lucy retrieved Jack from his car seat.
 

“Get his car seat, too,” Lucy said, and tried to control the tears threatening her eyes. It was pure torture; she didn’t want Jackson to go. “I’m sure they don’t have one.”

After closing the trunk, Charlie grabbed it. “It’s so damn cold here,” he said, and shivered.
 

It was seventy degrees, a long way from the usual one hundred that they were all used to in Phoenix this time of year. Lucy looked around at some of the people outside who were watering their plants in shorts and flip-flops. She took in Charlie’s white long-sleeved shirt and her own peach zip-up hoodie from Victoria’s Secret.
 

“We must stand out,” she said with a laugh.
 

“Every time I come here I feel like that,” Charlie said, which only reminded her that he used to come here with his wife. That knowledge didn’t sting in a jealous way; it was more of an aching hurt that reminded her that this was another woman’s family.
 

Lucy had them by default.
 

She shook away her melancholy feelings and nuzzled Jackson’s nose. “You ready to see Grandma and Grandpa Monroe, Jack?” she asked in her most upbeat voice. “They’re so excited to see you!”

Jackson only stared at her with a peculiar expression in his green eyes. He clearly did not understand what was happening. Charlie had said that he did, indeed, see them when they were at their home in Phoenix. It had been over two months since he had seen them, however, and his memory would not adjust as quickly as they would like. To get him ready for the trip, Lucy suggested that they Skype with him every night, so they had been for the last three weeks. During the nightly Skype sessions, Lucy had stayed out of view of the Monroes, but she could hear Meredith’s father loud and clear. To put it simply, the man scared her to death.