Confiscating Charlie (5 page)

Or what if she
’
s still sick?

Noah shook his head. He was jumping to conclusions. Even his father wouldn't leave a sick girl home alone for a whole month. And, even if he did, Darla wouldn
’
t. Right?

He was seized by the compulsion to call the house to check on Charlie, but if he heard her voice he might crumble and go back there. That was the last thing he should do. He had to stay as far away as possible.

But he was worried now. Should he call the housekeeper? Would she even know if Charlie was ill? Charlie certainly looked all right
—
amazing actually
—
but what if it was one of those diseases that wasn
’
t obvious?

Wait. There was someone who would know everything about her.

Terrence Waters did background checks on all the employees who came to work for his father. It was a little known fact that Terrence also did intensive background checks on all of the woman his father became involved with.

The security check was insanely thorough. Terrence left no stone unturned when it came to revealing any skeletons in a woman
’
s background. There was always a rundown of medical histories. As Darla's ward Charlie would have been scrutinized too. His father demanded as much. For the first time, Noah was grateful for that streak of ruthlessness in his dad.

It took him a while to find the number in his email. Terrence answered on the second ring. He was immediately suspicious about the request.

“
Why do you want it?
”
he asked.

Damn
. He should have thought of a plausible excuse for wanting Charlie
’
s file. In the end, he decided on the truth. Or at least part of it.

“
I was at the summer house yesterday with a bunch of the guys. I had no idea Charlie was home. One of the drunken shitheads cornered her in the kitchen and made a pass at her. I think he scared her a little. I stopped him before things got out of hand but she seemed out of sorts afterward. I apologized, but she said she was staying in instead of going out. I was worried she was still upset, but then I remembered what Dad said about her being sick
—
sick enough to have to repeat her senior year. Is she okay? Cause she
’
s all alone at the house.
”

He held his breath while he waited for an answer.

“
The year she missed and had to redo was the seventh grade. She
’
s in perfect health.
”

Noah exhaled silently in relief.
“
That
’
s good. I was starting to imagine the worst. I mean who stays in to study on a Friday night?
”

Terrence snorted.
“
Charlie does. Now you tell me something. Which of your moron friends made the pass? Because if it
’
s that little shit Sammy, I would tell him to steer clear of her, or he
’
ll have to answer to me.
”

Noah stopped to stare at his phone for a second before putting it back to his ear. Terrence was a fixture in their lives, but it was his policy not to get close to his father
’
s wives or any of their dependents. Apparently he
’
d made an exception in this case.

“
Charlie must be special,
”
he said before he could stop himself.

Terrence cleared his throat.
“
Yes, she is.
”

Noah nodded stupidly before he realized Terrence couldn
’
t see him.
“
Can you send me the dossier on her and her sister? It might help me find a special gift or an idea for an outing
—
something special to make it up to her.
”

The crusty security man paused long enough for him to think his request was going to be denied.
“
All right,
”
he finally said.
“
I
’
ll email it, but you may as well know now that Charlie
’
s illness is a cover story. Just keep in mind that your father is happy with his choice.
”

What the hell?
Why would they need a cover story?

“
Okay, I
’
ll remember that,
”
he said before thanking him and hanging up.

A few minutes later, the email arrived. It was encrypted, but a separate text of instructions took care of that. He ordered a pot of coffee and some pastries and then settled down to read all of the intimate details of Darla and Charlie Sutton
’
s lives.

The words of Terrence
’
s assessment rang in his ears as he picked through an antique book shop in the city.

While Darla Sutton
’
s history indicates she is probably not after a big payday, her relationship with her sister raised some flags.

Charlie has always expressed gratitude that her sister took her in when their parents died, but perhaps it was a mixed blessing for her.

It is clear from Darla
’
s past actions, particularly in the years right before she married Martin Shelton, that Charlie is a far second to the men in her life. During that period, Charlie did not attend school with any regularity as Darla went from man to man. Consequently, Charlie fell way behind her other classmates and had to repeat a year. But when people ask why Charlie missed school, Darla tells them Charlie was sick with severe asthma.

Charlie makes up for missing school by studying at every opportunity, and has distinguished herself in her studies.

Darla has never fully accepted a maternal role in Charlie
’
s life. Indeed, it seems as the reverse was true. Before Darla married Martin, Charlie did the cooking and the cleaning while covering for her sister when Darla would forget meetings and birthdays. Darla always makes it up to her with lavish gifts when she has the cash, but she spends little to no time with her sister when she
’
s in a relationship.

The bit about Darla forgetting birthdays was prophetic. According to the file, Charlie
’
s birthday was the day after tomorrow. He
’
d had to call Terrence to confirm that, because he
’
d had a hard time accepting the fact that Darla was leaving Charlie alone on her birthday. His father yes, that was easy to believe. But her sister?

After a few hours of arguing with himself he'd decided seeing Charlie on her birthday would be safe. There would probably be a crowd of Dalton students there. They wouldn't be alone. But first he had to find the perfect gift.

That was why Noah was shopping for a book of poetry, Dorothy Parker, whom Charlie had mentioned was her favorite poet. The store owner claimed to have an autographed first edition, but he was having a hard time finding it.

Eventually the whiskered old man came out with the volume, complete with authentication papers. It was the first time Noah had bought a book for a woman, but he
’
d wanted something Charlie would be sure to like.

He could see why Terrence
’
s warning hadn
’
t troubled his father much. Henry had always expected to be the priority to his partner. The fact that Darla
’
s life revolved around him would have made his father happy. Even if someone else was slighted and neglected in the process.

In fact, that probably makes it doubly satisfying to him
, he thought snidely before reprimanding himself. His dad wasn
’
t that bad. Darla probably wasn
’
t, either. She hadn
’
t let the state take Charlie and put her into foster care. But that didn
’
t mean Charlie should spend her birthday on her own.

He left the shop with a gift-wrapped bundle tucked under his arm but delayed getting back into his car to drive back to the Hamptons.

If Noah was perfectly honest with himself, he was still feeling off balance. He needed a little more time to recover his equilibrium before seeing Charlie again.

****

She hadn
’
t invited any friends over for her birthday. Charlie was alone, sitting by the pool reading a book. A huge pair of sunglasses covered most of her face. Her hair was wet, indicating that she
’
d actually had a swim.

Noah knew plenty of women that bought decorative bathing suits only meant for lounging. They wouldn
’
t even get them wet.

Charlie
’
s swimsuit was a simple black one piece, and it made him want to do unspeakable things to her.

He had spent the last few nights at the Caislean, convincing himself that he was back in control. He was an adult with plenty of experience. Models and actresses had shared his bed. What he
’
d felt kissing Charlie was an aberration, a one-time thing.

All of those arguments fell away to dust as he watched her read a book all alone on her birthday.

An unfamiliar energy pumped through him. It took him a little while to recognize it. Noah was angry
—
at his father, at her sister, and irrationally, with her.

He felt as if he was sliding down a greased ladder. The fall was inevitable. He relaxed as the realization settled in. He wasn
’
t supposed to do the noble thing and stay away.

Charlie needed him. And he needed her.

Alex had said the same thing about Elynn once. He and Elynn had been talking at brunch one day. She had said something that made him laugh, and suddenly Alex
needed
her.

Noah hadn
’
t understood what that meant at the time, but he did now.

He didn
’
t remember walking outside. The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of Charlie. He must have handed her the book because she was holding the package. But she didn
’
t open it. All she did was slip off her sunglasses to stare at him. Those full pink lips opened and closed. But if she said something, it was lost under the noise of blood rushing in his head.

He caught hold of her face in both of his hands and kissed her as if his life depended on it. She kissed him back, dropping the book to dig her hands into his shoulders.

He broke the kiss first and looked down at her flushed face.

“
Happy birthday,
”
he whispered.

Charlie
’
s lovely face lit up.
“
Thank you.
”

For a long moment, they stared at each other. His heart hammered in his chest.
“
Do you want to come with me?
”

She nodded eagerly.

“
Don
’
t just agree,
”
he warned.
“
If you come with me, it means this is real. There will be no going back.
”

Charlie
’
s thick dark lashes lowered over her rosy cheeks.
“
I want to be with you. I can
’
t stop thinking about you,
”
she said clutching his hand.

His answering smile was short. He was relieved, but this wasn
’
t a fun or lighthearted moment. It felt deadly serious.

Noah drew her toward the fake waterfall.

“
Where are we going?
”
Charlie asked confused.

“
Someplace private,
”
he said as he walked under the wall of water.

He ducked down, gesturing for her to do the same. A few steps, and the space overhead opened up into a private grotto, complete with cushioned benches surrounding a hot tub that was made to look like a natural pool. A few hidden lights in the water lit the place with a reflected glow.

“
Oh my god,
”
Charlie exclaimed.
“
I had no idea this was here,
”

“
It came with the house,
”
he said turning back to her.

For a moment, they stared at each other, frozen. He took a deep breath. Maintaining eye contact, he began to undress.