He wrapped his arm around her back as he’d done thousands of time, but tonight it was different. She was his for as long as this lasted. He said, “I’ll do whatever you want.”
They opened the door and Mickey, Linda, and worst of all Nancy, waited there. Their soulless, hateful expressions suggested she’d lied to them, and if they had a chance they’d kick her out despite how they were dressed in black gowns designed to show off their figures.
Her heart hammered as Nancy’s gaze bore into her soul.
Tonight would end badly, if she was to be homeless, but she couldn't think beyond tonight so she’d live and have fun, with Jack.
Jack whisked her to the side and down the stairs, away from her family before anyone had a word to say. They brushed shoulders and sides of people in their dash to the dance floor, but everything about tonight had been a whirl.
A moment or two later, she was in Jack’s arms and her favorite new romantic song started that normally had her humming along. She held Jack’s gaze when he placed his hands on her back like he knew what to do. She laughed. “Last time we danced, you stepped on my toes.”
He gave her a wink like he had another secret when he said, “I won’t do that again…”
Jack guided her in a turn and she almost crashed into him until she let him lead. His shoulders were wide enough to protect her from seeing anyone else but him, creating a magical experience. On the dance floor. With Jack. At the chorus she said, “I can see you’ve been practicing.”
He gave her a small smirk, reminding her of when he’d earned his first A in his engineering class freshman year, wanting to spill, but he’d waited until they went out to dinner to tell her. This time he said, “It’s one of the classes I took for my electives in college.”
Mr. ‘I’m a guy and only care about math class’ had signed up for dance lessons? Her eyebrows arched and she believed him as he effortlessly guided her to the music. “Ballroom dancing?”
Soon he’d definitely leave her, but tonight was theirs.
He laughed and that comforting sound brought her right back to feeling easy in his arms. “Yes. I was one of the few guys in the class so I never sat a song out, but I wanted to impress you if I ever had this chance again.”
Other women… Jack had probably had countless dates, not that she knew about any particular girl, besides Donna, a girl he’d dated briefly last year. But she refused to let her mind go down that road and ruin their evening. “I’m impressed, Jack.”
Jack whirled her as the music continued, everything glittery and fabulous, yet slightly blurry.
The song ended and she looked out tall windows where people were all crowded outside on a patio. Folks milled in front of them until a new song came on. Jack pointed to the dance floor to keep dancing, but she shook her head and they went outside. Dancing was fun, but for now she just wanted to steal some time with Jack, and be happy for once.
“Charlotte, I have to say that I was jealous of you and Antonio the second you came back in the store, walking on air.”
No guy had turned her head so fast, but she’d been… fine when it went nowhere. She’d spend the day wondering what had happened to Jack. And now she was here, with him. She squeezed his arm. “I wasn’t trying to make you jealous.” How could she best sum up the past two days? She lifted her chin. “I think I was being silly about Antonio… he never called.”
Maybe it was for the best as he was Jack’s half-brother, so she’d been saved from needless worry. Jack had always been the special one in her heart. They cut through throngs of people, and some were faces she vaguely recognized from when her father had been alive. He led her to a ledge between two ferns as he said, “Because-”
“And I’m glad,” she interrupted him because she needed to get her words right and her skin was jittery and alive. Jack deserved to know what was in her heart. “I’ve always known that you’re amazing and I don’t want to lose you. I was more upset that I didn’t see you today than him not calling me.”
He traced her shoulder and his touch seemed more intimate than usual. “I can’t be just friends anymore with you, Charlotte.”
They were behind the ferns, near the corner of the house with a wall behind them, where no one might see. His mouth was so close that she could feel his warm breath. She closed her eyes as she said, “I’m terrified of change, Jack, especially when you leave me and Pittsburgh behind.”
His fingers on her skin made her nerves jump. “That’s not what I hope for. The truth is I want to be in your corner, for the rest of our lives, if you’d let me.”
Rest? She opened her eyes and pulled back till she hit the cold wooden railing. She tried to make sense of her jumbled heart and soul that had no direction at his words. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
He held her close and her body trembled for Jack when he said, “I could be. Tonight doesn’t need to end at midnight where you turn back into your stepmother’s slave. I’ll do whatever you want to make you mine.”
He sounded serious. Could he be? Even when he’d dated Donna, he’d spent most nights with her as they played board games or watched movies in his basement of his house. She hadn’t dated anyone, ever. She hadn’t wanted to, not really. It would have taken time away from Jack. She fluttered her lashes. “But I’m already yours. I remember that awful kiss when we were fourteen. And yet…” She’d never thought it would their last kiss.
His cheeks turned bright red. “Braces.” He touched her shoulder. “Let’s try that again.”
And his lips met hers. The world around them ceased to exist.
Jack’s kiss was more than she’d ever imagined. His lips were like a spell that captured her entirely. She was his, and never wanted the night to end.
Chapter 9
JackMorganheld Charlotte in his arms. Her kiss lingered on his lips and her perfume clung to the tuxedo he now owned, and her embrace created a whole new world for him.
