Love Beyond the Curve (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (8 page)

Charlotte stood up and said with her hands on her hips, “I can take this kind of shit from a lot of guys, even Matt and Octopus Man, but not from you. I somehow thought you were different and we were really becoming good friends. Your skinny, beautiful girlfriend is out tonight, so the coast is clear to make a play for the fat neighbor. Well, to hell with that, and to hell with you, too.”

She was walking to the door the whole time she had been yelling at him. Reed was shocked by her reaction to his confession.

“Charlotte, I wasn’t…it wasn’t like that. I truly didn’t like it. Don’t go,” he yelled back at her as she slammed the door closed behind her.

“Damn it, Charlotte. Shit. I can’t even follow her and catch her before she gets to her door.”

He managed to get himself up on his crutches and head to the bedroom. He hadn’t had a shower since Friday morning, and he needed one now. He would just stand on his crutches, but he was going to have a shower. Maybe while he was in there, he would figure out how to deal with Charlotte and her damned insecurities.

Chapter Fifteen

Reed lay in bed thinking over the evening, and what he should have done differently. He figured it out rather quickly once he got settled and began to focus his thoughts on what he had said and what he knew about Charlotte.

He should have never said he felt jealous. He didn’t mean to say it. It had just slipped out. He guessed it did sound like he was trying to feed her a line of bullshit to soften her up to make a move on her. He recalled how she had confided in him about the way she had experienced, more than once, a guy trying to screw her when he already had a thin girlfriend he took out in public with him.

“Of course she would think I was doing the same thing. It probably hurt worse knowing she had told me exactly how she felt about it. Damn, I messed up. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t move out next month. Now I have to figure out how I can fix this,” he spoke aloud to himself in the dark, wrestling with the thoughts of whether or not he was really interested in Charlotte as more than a friend.

By the time morning came, he knew exactly what he had to do. It all started with a phone call.

* * * *

At eleven, the knock he had been expecting finally came. Reed made his way to the door on his crutches, which he was now beginning to master. He was getting around on his own without any help. He had even taken another shower, stood up long enough to get his breakfast, and load the dishwasher. He was still hurting, but the pain pills kept it manageable, along with his common sense to take Charlotte’s advice to stay off of it unless absolutely necessary. He was keeping it propped up when he wasn’t on it, and trying to be less active with his right side to help his ribs heal as fast as possible.

He opened the door to find Candace standing there looking perfectly crisp and coiffed as usual, wearing a navy-blue suit with a pale-pink blouse. She turned her cheek for him to kiss it, so as to not muss her freshly applied lipstick. He hopped backward so she could come on through to the den.

“You don’t look so bad. I didn’t know what to expect. How are you doing?” Candace asked the question as she breezed through to the den. She seated herself in an armchair across from where Reed was reclined in his chair.

“Well, let’s see, I got hurt Friday afternoon, and it’s nearly Sunday afternoon, so I guess you bypassed the worst part. So, yeah, I guess I’m doing pretty good today compared to Friday night.” He nodded at her, answering in a flat tone of voice.

“Oh, Reed, you aren’t going to try to make me feel bad about not seeing you until today, are you? I talked to you on the phone. You know I just don’t do sick vigils very well.” She waved him off as if it were nothing that she hadn’t checked on him since the accident.

“Well, I guess I have figured that out. You probably wouldn’t be here now if I hadn’t called and asked you to come by. I know how busy you are, Candace,” he answered her, without any expression to his voice at all.

“Well, now that you mention it, I am supposed to meet Mother and Father for lunch at the club. What did you need to see me about so urgently?” She crossed a slim leg and smoothed her skirt, waiting for an answer.

“Well, I wanted to tell you, in person, that I think we’ve taken this relationship as far as it can go. Since I got hurt, I’ve had a lot of time to think about how things are between us. It is painfully obvious that we have nothing in common but parents that are friends. We enjoy being with different people, doing different activities, and going different places. I realized I have been doing everything you want to do, never saying no. The few times I’ve asked you to do something with my friends, you made it clear to me,
and
everyone present, how miserable you were. It’s the same thing with this injury. It hasn’t seemed important enough to you to even drop by to see how I am. I’m not fitting in with your plans, so I have become invisible, I guess.” He spoke in a level voice, looking her directly in the eyes.

“Reed, I called, didn’t I? You are just not feeling well. You’ll feel differently when you are more yourself.” Candace seemingly refused to be “let go” by him.

“No, actually, I’m more myself than I’ve ever been since I met you. And as far as the call, you called to remind me about which tux I was to wear. You just happened to find out about the accident then. Of course, that wasn’t going to stop you from going, not that I would have let you. You could have acted like you would have. I’ve been so busy with work, I never even noticed how things were between us. I guess I owe
you
an apology for not really caring enough about us either, or this conversation would have taken place a long time ago.” He sighed, looking out over the backyard toward Charlotte’s place.

“I guess you’re right, Reed. I’m sorry you’ve had to fend for yourself. I really should’ve been here for you.” She stood and came over to sit on the end of the sofa. She took his hand in hers and entwined their fingers.

“Oh, I haven’t had to fend for myself. Charlotte, someone that has known me a lot less time than you, has taken very good care of me. If it weren’t for her staying with me the first twenty-four hours, I’d be a long way back from where I am now.” He pulled his hand from her grasp, leaving her with her mouth half-opened in surprise.

“You mean that fat girl from out back took care of you?” She looked slightly disgusted as she followed his line of vision out the window toward the apartment.

“You know, I didn’t like the way you referred to her the first few times you said that, and I like it even less now. I think your parents are probably expecting you by now. I hope you find someone that meets all your narrow-minded requirements and makes you happy, Candace.” He got to his feet and made his way to the door.

Candace stood and followed him to the door. “I think you may have
already
found someone that meets
your
requirements, and there’s
nothing
narrow about her.”

“Get the hell out, Candace, before I forget trying to be a gentleman and start listing
your
flaws, because, unbeknownst to you, you
do
have them.” He opened the door for her to make her exit.

“Oh! Good riddance. Thank you for putting us
both
out of our misery.” She was nearly shrieking as she walked past him to get into her Mercedes. She squealed her tires and sped off down the driveway.

He turned to go inside when movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to look up the stairs of the apartment to see Charlotte walking out wearing a red sundress and red strappy sandals. She was carrying a casserole dish of some sort as she moved as gracefully as a pageant winner down the flight of stairs toward him.

He came toward her and met her as she held the casserole dish between them. She lowered her head and spoke in serious tones. “I just heard on the TV that there’s a crazed bitch-woman on the loose who is stalking crippled men who can’t escape her insane ranting and raving. When they showed her picture, she looked an awful lot like me. I thought I’d come over and warn you in case you might open the door to her, thinking it was me. You hungry?” She flashed a saucy grin, and had him laughing.

“Hamilton, I’m about to
starve
.” He leaned over the casserole dish to kiss her warmly and thoroughly on her ruby-red lipstick-coated mouth.

Chapter Sixteen

“Hello to you, too, Jackson! I brought chicken casserole for your lunch. It’s a peace offering for the way I stormed out of here last night. I wasn’t acting very rational, I’m afraid. I apologize. I seem to do that a lot with you.” She walked ahead of him, leading the way into the kitchen where she promptly began pulling out plates and silverware to set the table.

Reed was standing just inside the door watching her go about her business as if he had not just had his tongue inside her very luscious mouth, thoroughly exploring every corner. He moved with a smooth, swinging gait on his crutches over to where she was pouring tea into glasses. He caged her in on either side with his crutches and spoke quietly behind her, letting his warm breath bathe over her skin. “Charlotte, stop what you are doing and turn around.”

Charlotte set the tea pitcher down and turned to face him with her hands braced on the edge of the countertop behind her. She looked down at the floor for a moment, then raised her eyes to look into Reed’s puzzled gaze. She finally smiled and said, “What is it, Reed? What do you need?”

“You, I think, except that I just kissed you, and you waltzed in here and are busying yourself getting ready for Sunday Dinner like nothing happened. Did it really leave you completely unaffected?” He searched her eyes, trying to get an answer about her feelings.

“Reed, you weren’t looking for a response from me with that kiss. That was just a response from you toward me after what we’ve been through together these past two days. I was here when you needed me, and I helped lessen your pain and make you more comfortable. That’s all it was. I know better than to read anymore into it than that. Besides, why would I? You’ve got a girlfriend, and I think after last night’s tirade, you are crystal clear about where I stand with guys looking for someone on the side while they already have someone they take out on the town. I refuse to be that person for anyone, even though I think we’d probably have a great time together. Now, let’s just forget it, and sit down and have lunch together. You really nee—”

Reed threw down his left crutch and pulled her up against him, interrupting her words with his crushing kiss. He ran his hand up her back and into her hair, holding her neck as he slanted his mouth across hers to gain better access. After ravaging her mouth, he pulled back suddenly, breathing in gulps of air as he asked her a question, point blank. “Can you forget
that
, Charlotte? I can’t. I can’t forget a single time I’ve seen you or talked with you. You are in my thoughts if you aren’t here in person. I’ve imagined that kiss since the morning you opened that door and I introduced myself to you. You were dressed in comfortable clothes, your hair was a wreck, and I thought you were gorgeous because you didn’t seem to care. You always seem comfortable with yourself, and you don’t mind getting messy in front of a man. Dumping that bucket of water over both of us is case in point. You love dancing and having a good time. You think of somebody beside yourself. Staying here with me and getting me back on my feet with this leg speaks volumes to me about that part of you. I’ve never met anyone like you before, Charlotte. Please give me the chance to get to know you, and for you to get to know me better.”

“Reed, I have a great time with you. I think we’ve had some good laughs, and there was no way I’d let you go through that first night with your injury alone. You couldn’t have been alone,” she argued back.

“Charlotte, you chose to stay. Candace never even came over or called. She was only concerned about the big party at the club, and how she could still go without me. She should have been here, not you. But the funny thing was that I was glad she wasn’t here and you were. I realized I didn’t really care for her, and never really had. I’ve been seeing her because it made my family happy, and I didn’t have to go out and try to find someone on my own. That is why I broke it off with her today before you got here. There’s no one else, Charlotte. I really would like to spend time with you. Will you at least give us a chance?” He placed a hand on her cheek, willing her to give him the answer he wanted to hear so badly.

“I would like that very much, Reed, but you may change your mind before very long. I make a great ‘friend.’ All the guys have such a great time with Charlotte. She is a barrel of laughs and loves to have a good time. We want her as part of our group, but she’s not the one we ask out for a date. Reed, I know the story by heart. Forget it.” She turned around to face the other way.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned against her and whispered in her ear. “You might know that version of the story, but you don’t know me. I find you to be incredibly sexy, beautiful, and very caring. I know you’ve been hurt, and I know you don’t think anyone can be attracted to you, but
I am
. If that makes me crazy, then so be it.
You
are what captured my attention, not the package you come in, although I can’t seem to stop fantasizing about that either. Now, will you please turn around and kiss me?”