Frenched Series Bundle (76 page)

“Hello?”

The sound of his voice made me shiver. I hadn’t heard it in far too long. “Hi.”

“Hey, you. How’s everything?”

“Great, thanks.”

“It’s good to hear your voice.”

I smiled, curling up in the corner of the couch he always sat in. “I was just thinking the same.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I took a breath. “I’ve been thinking a lot about…what we talked about.”

He was quiet a moment. “Oh?”

“Yes.” My stomach was all quivery, even though I was positive this was what I wanted. “I want you to talk to Laura.”

He exhaled. “And you know what it means to be with me?”

“I’ll be with Madison too.”

He chuckled. “Sort of, yes.”

“I know what it means, Charlie. I’m up for it.”

“Oh my God. You just made me so happy.” His voice cracked a little, warming my insides.

“Were you worried?”

“Hell yes, I was worried. I mean, no—what am I saying? No, not at all. I knew you couldn’t resist me for long.”

I smiled, letting relief sink into my bones. “So now what?”

“I’ll tell her. Tonight, if possible, how’s that?”

“Tonight?” I was surprised he didn’t need more time to prepare. “Wow, that’s fast.”

“I’ve had ten days to think about how I’d approach her. I’m ready. And I don’t want to wait anymore. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, and I don’t want to wait, either.” We were quiet a minute. “Call me as soon as you can, OK?”

“I will. Are you busy tomorrow?”

I thought for a second. “No, it’s a vacation weekend, since Martin Luther King Day is Monday. I gave the kids the weekend for family.”

“Good. I’ll call you in the morning, OK?”

“OK. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

We hung up, and I tucked my knees under my chin, wrapping my arms around my legs. I was glad he hadn’t told me he loved me again, because I didn’t want to say it to him for the first time over the phone. If all went well, maybe I’d be able to say it to his face tomorrow. Closing my eyes, I said a quick prayer that the talk with Laura would go smoothly.

I had no idea what I’d do if it didn’t.

#

My phone rang at nine-thirty the next morning.

“Hello?” I croaked.

“Hi, beautiful. Did I wake you?”

“Mmm, that’s OK.” I normally didn’t sleep so late but it had taken forever to fall asleep. Snuggling back under the covers, I turned on my side. “How are you?”

“Fantastic. I spoke with Laura last night.”

“You did?” That opened my eyes all the way.

“Yes. I drove over there last night as soon as we got off the phone.”

“How’d she take it?” My heart was beating hard.

“First she said she already knew something was up.”

I gasped. “How?”

“Hell if I know. She’s got that female radar that just knows things, I guess. Anyway, she took it better than I thought. It was a very long, heated discussion, but eventually she agreed to give. She just asked to meet you before I introduce you to Madison.”

“I understand.” But my stomach curdled at the thought of having to face her.

“Thank you. Can you meet us for lunch at noon?”

I shot straight up in bed. “You want to do this
today
?”

“Why not? I miss you so much, Erin. I’m dying to see you again.” He lowered his voice. “I want you so badly.”

I closed my eyes as my belly hollowed. “Me too. OK. I’ll meet you today.”

He was quiet a second. “You’re amazing. You’re fucking amazing. Grizzly Peak on Washington, OK? Can you be there at noon?”

“Sure.” I looked at my alarm clock. I had just over an hour to get ready. And by get ready, I mean freak out. “I’ll be there.”

“See you then. And don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

“I’m worried,” I said. “But I’ll be there.”

After we hung up, I showered and dressed, discarding a thousand articles of clothing on the floor of my closet before pulling on my usual cold-weather uniform of jeans and an oversized sweater, boot socks and brown boots. For a splash of color I added a sage green scarf, and decided on hair half-up, no jewelry. Mia and Coco would probably have laughed and told me I was putting way too much thought into this outing—I’d spent less than half this much time deciding on what to wear for dates with Charlie—but it was important to me to make the right impression. What would she think of me? Would I pass muster? Would she deem me kind enough, sane enough, smart enough, loving enough to be in her daughter’s life? She probably thought any woman crazy enough to fall for Charlie had a few screws loose. What if she didn’t like me?

At eleven o’clock, I was still fretting in front of my mirror, my hand shaking as I tried unsuccessfully to apply mascara.
Oh, forget it. The less makeup the better, probably.
I twisted the wand back into the tube and threw it into my makeup case.

With one final, worried glance in the mirror, I crossed my fingers and headed out.

#

On the hour-long ride to Ann Arbor, my nerves had me strung so tight, my hands were jittery. Or maybe it was the giant cup of coffee I’d drunk on the drive. Either way, my hands shook so badly I dropped my credit card twice before sliding it in the meter, and my keys once before getting them into my purse.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I saw Charlie sitting at a table with four chairs, and one of them was occupied by a dark-haired woman whose back was to me. Taking a deep breath, I walked toward them on wobbly legs.
Dammit, legs, man up. I need to look confident, smart, sure of myself. This has to work.

Charlie saw me and stood up, and my steps faltered a little when he smiled at me. Damn, those eyes. Those dimples. That height. That chest. Those hands. I hadn’t seen him in so long, I had to hold myself back from sprinting to close the distance between us and throwing my arms around him (legs, too).
Calm, calm, calm
, I reminded myself.
You can’t squeal like a teenager, you have to act like the sort of woman that a mother would trust with her child.

I managed to make it to the table. “Hello,” I said, my voice cracking. I smiled first at Charlie and then at Laura. “I’m Erin.”

She stood and offered her hand. “Laura.”

I took it, and we assessed one another. Laura appeared composed, and her handshake was firm. She was a little taller than I was, pretty in a sort of Audrey Hepburn way, with soft brown eyes, beautiful skin, and a long straight nose. Like me, she wore jeans and a sweater, with a scarf looped around her neck. Hair in a loose, low ponytail. “Nice to meet you.” I gave her the warmest smile I could manage with trembling lips and turned to Charlie. “Hi.”

“Hi.” For someone who’d told me not to worry, Charlie looked nervous as hell. But he squeezed my shoulder in a reassuring way and leaned forward to kiss my cheek. “Thanks for coming.”

“You’re welcome.”

We all sat down, a layer of tension clinging to us despite the niceties. I reached for a menu just to have something to do. My throat was dry, too—water. I needed water. Thankfully, there was some on the table, and I reached for it but knocked it over by mistake. Water and ice sluiced out across the table, right into Charlie’s lap.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” My face burned with embarrassment, and I scrambled to find a napkin to offer.

Charlie used his own, mopping at his wet jeans. “It’s OK. Spills happen.”

“Don’t worry, Erin. You’re not the first woman to throw a drink at him,” remarked Laura with an amused grin.

“I didn’t mean to—Oh dear, I’m—” I put my hands on my hot cheeks. “This is really difficult.”

“Relax. Really.” Laura tossed her napkin Charlie’s way. “This isn’t a test.”

“See why I used to call her Red? Look at her face.” Still sopping up water, Charlie grinned wickedly at me.

Laura turned to me. “You want my water to throw at him, too?”

“I might.” I gave Charlie a dirty look. “You told her about that name?”

“Yes. Along with all the other mean things I did to you as a kid, and all the other names I used to call you.”

“Frankly, I’m amazed you want to speak to him, let alone date him,” Laura said.

“Sometimes I am too.” I met her eyes. “But he sort of grew on me.”

Laura exchanged a look with Charlie. “Yeah, you have to watch out for that.”

Oh, dear. I’d said something wrong already. Worried, I twisted my hands in my lap, unsure of what to say next. The waiter rescued me by coming over to take our orders, but since I hadn’t even looked at the menu yet and my stomach was way too gnarled up to eat, I just ordered an iced tea.

“So.” Laura addressed me after the waiter had gone. “I know you must be nervous. I would be too. But I’m not here to audition you. I asked Charlie to meet you so I could make a few things clear.”

“OK,” I said nervously.

“When Charlie moved back up here a year ago asking for a second chance with Madison, I thought there was no way he’d agree to my rules. But he did. To my knowledge, he’s never brought a woman around Madison, he’s never canceled plans with her, and he’s never made unkind remarks about me or my husband. At least, not right to her.” She gave Charlie another pointed look.

“Nor to me, either,” I offered. “Actually, he said he’d been a horrible husband and father and deserved to be left.”

“That was no lie,” she confirmed, shaking her head. “He was about the worst you can imagine. But.” She took a breath and exhaled, and I imagined it must be hard for her to say anything positive about the man who had treated her so badly. “Over the last year, I’ve seen a big change in him. He said he wanted to be a better father, a better man, and I think he’s becoming that. I’m not saying there isn’t work to be done,” she went on quickly, “and no doubt in his case there was
nowhere
to go but up, but I have seen progress.”

“Thank you,” Charlie said. He was trying to adjust his jeans so he could sit comfortably. I gave him an apologetic half-smile.

“When I made the no-women rule,” Laura went on, “it was for Madison’s sake, not mine. What he did on his own time was his business and I couldn’t have cared less, but I didn’t want him bringing dates around her. It would’ve been horrible and confusing for Maddie, inappropriate in every way. And I didn’t trust Charlie to see that, since he never had before.”

She glanced at Charlie, who made no move to defend himself.

“But now I find myself willing to relent a little.” Laura sat back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Clearly something is different. He’s cleaning and organizing his house. He cooks healthier food. He bought new furniture and matching dishes. And he took Madison to the ballet.” She shook her head as if she still couldn’t believe it.

My jaw dropped, and I stared at him. “You did?”

He nodded, looking pleased with himself. “She loved it. She wants to take ballet lessons now.”

“Charlie, that’s wonderful.” I beamed at him, my heart galloping happily.
She isn’t a tomboy! She likes ballet!

Laura looked back and forth between us. “Yep. I knew something was up, and I was going to ask him about it, but he got to me first. He came rushing into my house last night and told me that he met someone he really cares about. But he also told me how he’d messed things up.”

“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!