Page 84 of With a Cherry On Top

Which is why, after staring at that mug for far too long, I decided.

This has to stop.

There’s no other choice.

It’s not about wanting to fuck her senseless anymore—Charlotte affects me. Whenever she’s around, whenever her eyes are on me. I miss her touch, the way I feel like I have nothing to prove with her. She’s become addictive, and with my family falling apart, I can’t afford to lose everything.

I can’t afford another mistake.

Groceries in hand, I peak my head through the archway. The penthouse is silent, probably empty. All doors along the corridor are closed, including the second one, leading to Charlotte’s room.

I settle the groceries on the kitchen island, moving a stack of mail to one side, but my eyes snag on the name written on it.Beatrice Montgomery.Must be her maiden name. Unable to help myself, I check the rest, noticing that there’s an unusual amount of cooking magazines for someone who hates food as much as she does. But on every single piece of mail, Beatrice Montgomery is the addressee. It’s the same name the usher gave me on my first day, isn’t it?

I briefly wonder why she’d give me her daughter’s surname if that’s not what she goes by, but shove the thought away when the front door opens.

My heart jumpstarts, kicking into gear again as Charlotte enters the living room, a tote full of fabric looped over her shoulder. “Hey.” She lets the bag fall with a dull thud on the floor, eyes filled with worry. “Any news from your mom?”

“Not since this morning, no.” But when I talked to Darren, he said she was resting. “I’ll probably go see her tonight.”

She nods. “She must be sleeping last night off.”

“Yeah.”

She stands there for a beat longer than necessary, then leans down to grab her tote again. The tension is palpable, thick as molasses.

I need to say something, and I need to do itnow.

“Last night—” I rush out when she’s almost cleared the room. She watches me, expectant, and every thought in my head is gone. “It would have been a disaster. If we’d...” I gesture between us, watching her brows descend over her eyes. She did not like that. “I just mean, because of my job and our age difference...”

Now her jaw is taut, her eyes two cruel slits.

“I just—I was obviously out of it, after everything. You know, Josie blowing Sadie off, then my mom...”

She blinks.

“Anyway, saying no was the right choice. I wasn’t in the right state of mind to make it, so...thank you for doing it for me.”

With a scoff, she looks away, then back at me. “Yeah. You’re super welcome.”

Woah-oh.Why do I have a feeling she’s mad? I quickly go through my speech, trying to figure out which part pissed her off, but she’s already strutting away.

“Charlotte, I didn’t mean to?—”

“No, I get it. If we’d slept together last night, it would have been a mistake, right?”

“Yes! That’s all I’m saying.”

She laughs bitterly, shaking her head. “Because you’re attracted to me. My body. You want tofuck me—that’s it. And if you did, then I’d just be another mistake you can torture yourself with.” She shrugs like she’s brushing it off, but her eyes tell another story. “That’s what I’m good for, right? That’s all I’ll ever be good for, even to you.”

My teeth grind together so hard they might crack. “No. No, Charlotte. That’s what your mom thinks. Maybe what you think, but it doesn’t even come close to what I see when I look at you.”

She scoffs, but I press on.

“I see you curled up next to Sadie after your spa day, the two of you passed out with glitter face masks and half-eaten gummybears between you. I see the way you eat pizza like it’s a five-star experience, your talent in every outfit you wear. How you light up when you leave me speechless, like your goal in life is to be disruptive.”

She’s still. Quiet.

“You think I just want your body?” I shake my head. “It’s the last thing I see, Charlotte. Everything else about you keeps getting in the way.That’sthe problem.”