The Redemption (Charlotte Bloom Book 2) (9 page)

“Good.”

“How long are you planning on torturing me?”

“Until you’re redeemed.” He backed away, and I almost fainted at the sight of his erect penis through his jeans. I remembered how it felt to have him inside me. I had to get a grip. I cleared my throat and looked down.

“Are we talking… days? Weeks? Years?”

“You’ll know when I forgive you.”

“Are we really going to do this?”

“Like I said, it never even crossed my mind until you mentioned it. But this could be fun,” he said, gleefully. “Aside from everything… I’m really glad you’re here.” He looked at me sincerely, his eyes glowering. In fact… he looked a bit
shy.
“I think we should take some time, that’s all. As much as I want to…” his eyes glazed over and he looked away. “We should get to know each other better.”

“OK,” I said, simply. “I’m here to stay. So you better get used to me. Well, actually, that’s not true. I do have to go back at some point, but I’m hoping you’ll come with me.”

“To L.A.?”

“Yeah. I’m going to need a hand with all the moving boxes,” I quipped, hoping he would get the point.

He smiled and came over to me, pulling me into a tight embrace. I felt myself cave into him. I inhaled his scent. This was the best feeling in the world, being hugged by Alec. His strong arms hugged me tighter, and in that moment, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been happier.

“I thought hugging was against the rules?”

“I’m making an exception this one time,” he explained. “But just this one time. Don’t go getting any ideas,” he said, sternly.

***

After Alec left, I sat down on my bed and sighed. It felt so good to be near him again, even if he was mad at me. When I had finished getting ready and gone downstairs, I realized Alec was nowhere to be seen. According to Ennis, he’d gone out to run a few errands.

“He seems happier already,” she said, smiling. She was gathering ingredients from the fridge.

“Well, he’s still mad at me. He’s going to torture me for a while,” I countered, smiling sheepishly. “I have to redeem myself.”

“Ahh, I see. That’s understandable, I suppose. Well, while he’s out, you can help me prepare breakfast,” she said, pulling a carton of eggs out. “Do you like French toast?”

“Who doesn’t like French toast?” I smiled, and began to help her set everything up.

“So, where did you grow up, Charlotte?”

“Outside of Portland, in Oregon. I lived there until after I graduated college, and then my ex-husband and I—” I looked up suddenly, turning bright red. Did I really just bring up Harry?!

“Oh, it’s OK. Alec told me you were previously married.”

“He did?” I was gripping an egg so hard that I thought it might break. The last thing I wanted Ennis to know was that I had been technically still married when I met and fell in love with her son. You know, first impressions and all.

“It’s fine. There’s a reason the divorce rate is so high. Did you know that second marriages have an 88% success rate?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Sometimes, we marry people that we’re not actually supposed to spend our lives with. But everything always ends up working out in the end. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” I dropped a couple of eggs into a bowl and whisked them around with a fork.

“Alec was married.”

I made an audible disgusted sound. It sounded something like “UGH”. I slapped my hand over my mouth.

“I’m sorry, I have nothing against Natasha. She’s lovely, but—”

“Charlotte, it’s OK. Don’t be afraid to be honest with me. I like you. I see what you’ve brought out in Alec. There’s nothing you could say that would change my mind.” I smiled, and gave her arm a small squeeze, thanking her. “And besides, Natasha is a whore.”

I snorted coffee all over the counter and my sweater.

“I’m sorry, I’ll help clean up,” I said, in between fits of laughter, and grabbed a rag. “Natasha is… I don’t really know her, but she seemed… nice…”

“No, Natasha is pushy and she used Alec to get a green card. She’s manipulative, and I never trusted her. Yes, she’s a refugee and everything, something I understand deeply, but she never treated Alec nicely. Even though they always remained friends, she was never nice to him. That’s why he divorced her last month. They divorced amicably, of course, so she gets to keep her green card, but I’ll bet she’ll trap another poor soul soon.”

I felt myself perk up at that. I didn’t know that Alec and Natasha had gotten divorced. I had assumed they would get divorced eventually, but now Mary’s proposal theory seemed much more plausible.

“So, Alec said you were in politics?” I didn’t hate the fact that Alec’s mother was bashing Natasha (in fact, I relished in it), but I had to change the subject.

“I worked for the U.N.,” she said.

“Wow, that’s incredible.”

“It was a pretty fantastic job. Alec’s father, Aedan, also worked for the U.N. That’s how we met, actually.” I saw a warm, misty glow take over her face.

“Do you miss him?”

“Every day.” She squeezed my arm lovingly, and flipped the toast in the pan. The cinnamony, eggy smell was intoxicating.

“What was Aedan like?”

“He was serious... much more serious than me—stern, but loving. He took care of the boys most days. I called them my three little bears. They were so close, Aedan and the boys. He had a wicked sense of humor. Alec reminds me of him a bit. Alec’s brother, Stephen, lives just up the road. I’m sure you’ll get to meet him at some point. They both remind me so much of Aedan in different ways. So while I do miss him, I was blessed with two wonderful reflections of him.”

“That’s nice. I’m an only child. I wish I’d had siblings. My parents were loving parents, but they were hippies, so they weren’t very attentive. I had to grow up quickly. I spent the majority of my childhood in the midst of their hazy parties, cleaning cigarette ash off of my stuffed animals,” I said, babbling.

Did I really just dump my depressing childhood onto Ennis? Something about her made me want to open up.

“Oh dear. I’m sorry, Charlotte.”

“It’s fine. I was happy. It wasn’t a bad childhood, just an unsupervised one. I was surprisingly obedient for someone who didn’t ever have a curfew and always had the house to myself at nights.” I laughed, brushing it off, but to be honest, it was hard to talk about.

My childhood hadn’t been lacking anything, really. I had had it good compared to others. I just wish I’d had more time to be a kid.

“I understand.”

All of a sudden, the front door slammed, and I heard Alec’s boots echo on the marble. I braced myself. I wasn’t sure what kind of mood he’d be in. I averted my eyes and pretended to be engrossed in the art of making French toast.

“That smells delicious,” he said, standing next to one of the island stools.

“I know it’s your favorite.” I saw Ennis walk over to Alec and put her arms around his waist. “I’m so glad you’re home,” she said quietly, and I smiled down at the pan when I saw Alec kiss her on the forehead out of the corner of my eye.

Men who loved their mothers; there was nothing quite like the feeling it gave me. It turned me into a puddle of mush.

“Charlotte and I were just getting to know each other,” she said, coming over to me. “And I must say, she’s doing a fantastic job tending to the French toast.”

I looked up. Alec just smiled thinly and took a seat. I scooped up two fat pieces of toast and poured some maple syrup over them. I handed the plate to Alec without meeting his eyes. Like I said, two could play this game.

“Charlotte, we’re not religious or anything, so feel free to sleep in Alec’s room tonight,” Ennis said, patting my arm before exiting the kitchen. “I have to go fold some laundry.”

“Don’t you want some French toast?” I asked, hopefully. I really just wanted a buffer between Alec and I.

“Save some for me?” She winked, with no apology in her eyes. She was leaving on purpose, and before I could protest, she was gone. Suddenly, Alec and I were alone.

I sighed, avoiding Alec, and began to clean up the breakfast dishes. I realized halfway through that Alec had been staring at my ass the entire time. To make it hurt a little, I stuck it out further, and swayed my hips to some imaginary music.

“Aren’t you eating?” I saw something glimmer in his eyes as he asked me. Annoyance.

“Maybe later, after you’re done,” I said.

“Come on, you have to eat. You’ve gotten too skinny,” he joked. “I liked it when you were fat and happy.”

“Excuse me? I was never fat,” I said incredulously, glaring at him.

“You know what I mean. Have a seat,” he said, pulling out the stool next to him. I gave in.

“Fine.” I scooped up a couple of pieces for myself and doused them in syrup before joining him.

Just being close to him felt right. Even if we were bickering, I felt at home. I was comfortable. I felt whole again. My other half was here. I smiled at him as I wolfed down my toast in about thirty seconds.

“Can I get you more?” He looked impressed.

“No, I’m good,” I said, pushing my plate away. “Ah, that was delicious.”

“What were you and my mum talking about?”

“Well, she called Natasha a whore, so I like her automatically,” I said, giggling.

“Did she? Well, Natasha is out of the picture. We officially got divorced last month.

“Yeah, your mom told me. Harry and I officially got divorced last month, too.”

“Yeah, Mary told me.”

“I forgot. There are no secrets at the Parc.”

I hopped up and went to do the rest of the dishes. I liked having Alec here. Even if we could only be friends for now, even if he wasn’t letting me all the way in. I loved him. I loved being around him.

“I’m going to the library,” Alec said, getting up.

“There’s a library?”

“Yeah. And an indoor pool, and two wine cellars.”

“Wow. Oh, I read your book, by the way. Helen put me up in your room the other night, and I finished
Love in the Time of Cholera
. It was good.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“I didn’t realize you were such an avid reader,” I said, trying to hide the interest in my voice. Men who loved their mothers were irresistible. Men who read regularly made me drop my panties.

“I’ve always been an avid reader.”

“There’s a lot we don’t know about each other, huh?” I asked, shyly.

It was true. I hadn’t even known his mother’s name until last night. I’d never really told him about my childhood. I had no idea if he had grown up with pets, what his favorite color was (though I suspected it was red), or who his past girlfriends were.

“You’re welcome to join me,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

“OK.”

He walked beside me as we climbed the stairs to the third story. I gasped when he threw open the door. The library looked like the one in
Beauty and the Beast
, without the winding staircases. Towering shelves with ladders lined every wall, and a second story lined with a thin balcony towered over us. Every single shelf was filled with books. Plush couches stood in the middle, waiting to be laid down upon with a good book in hand. Small reading lamps stood on tiny tea trays, and the Persian carpet made for a very “busy” room. It was an eyegasm.

“Oh… my… God…” I said, looking around. “You grew up here?!”

“Now you know why I read all the time.”

“I would, too, if…” I said, gesturing to the multitudes of shelves. My mouth was gaping open at the lovely sight of books everywhere. Alec laughed. I walked along a row of books, choosing a title I recognized:
The Awakening
, by Kate Chopin. I’d never read it—might as well get started now.

“So, is this what you do all day when you’re home?” I asked, lying down on a brown leather couch, propping my head up with one arm.

“Pretty much.”

I wished I could tell him how much that thought drove me wild. I had to cross my legs to keep them from jumping up and assaulting him.

“Is sexy banter forbidden, too?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I said that you reading was a major turn on—would saying that be against the rules we laid out earlier?”

“Yes,” Alec said stiffly, looking over at me. “Definitely, yes.”

“That’s too bad,” I whimpered, sitting up and pretending to yawn. I stood and walked over to him. “I really wanted to tell you that seeing you,” I said slowly, putting each knee on either side of his lap, “here, reading… makes me want to do dirty things to you,” I finished, placing my hands on his shoulders. I was straddling him now, and I felt satisfied knowing that he was super erect beneath me.

“Dammit, Charlotte,” he moaned, slowly getting up. He held me against him as he carried me back over to my couch, gently placing me down. I lay still, too stunned to speak. He’d just rejected me. He sat down on the other side of the couch, far away from me. “You can’t keep doing this, OK?”