Page 30 of A Sublime Casualt
My stomach wrenches at the thought. I’m shocked she’d throw my sister out there. She’s so desperate she’s reaching for whatever she can. It’s pretty low, and now all I want is to get the hell out of here. I’m certain my sister would want me with whoever made me happy, and right now that’s not Ashley. It never was—not in the way Charlie does.
“I’m seeing someone.” There. No bullshit. Straight to the point.
Her mouth squares out into a silent scream as if I just sucker punched her in the gut. “What?” It comes out breathless as if I just informed her we found a body. “But who? When did this happen?” Her shock quickly turns to anger, and there’s an accusing tone in her voice. Her blonde hair falls like shards around her face, stringy, angry like the rest of her.
“It’s a girl I met. Gabby’s roommate. She works down at the Hideaway Café. Her name is Charlie Neville.”
“How long has this been going on?” Her head tips down, and she’s glaring at me with a dark stare as if I just admitted to having an affair.
A laugh gets caught in my throat. “I don’t know—a couple of months now? Honestly, I haven’t been keeping track.”
“My God.” Her fingers fly to her lips. “So, you just met this—what?Waitress?” Her brows lift in judgment. Ashley has always believed she was a little bit better than everyone else. She held people to a barometer. Had a bachelor’s degree? You’re almost in. Finished grad school? You get a pass. PhD welcome to her club.
“Yes, she’s a waitress. And she happens to be the smartest woman I know.” Crap. I didn’t mean to slight her in the process, but she flinched. She felt that one. “Listen, she’s pretty great. And I know once you meet her, you’ll think so, too. She’s new in town—newer.” I tick my head to the side, trying to get her to come around. “Anyway, I wanted you to hear it from me first. I thought I owed you that at least.”
“I’ll say.” She’s right back to being pissed, her voice tight and curt, her eyes hard, spearing me with poison darts. “Wait”—she shakes her head, wincing as if it pained her—“what did you say her name was?”
“Charlie. Charlie Neville.”
“Charlie?” Her head ticks back a notch as she scans the periphery. “Wait a minute. Is that the fibro board girl?” She storms off, and I follow her. Ashley picks up to a heated clip until we hit a row of computers, and my heart stops cold before kick-starting again, this time with glee.
“Charlie?” I head over just as she turns around. Her eyes are wide, and her face bleeds out of all color.
“Theo!” She expels a dry laugh before manically shutting down whatever website she was on. Ashley’s words come back to me. Fibro boards? Is there something wrong with Charlie? My heart breaks at the thought of her keeping something like that from me, but then I guess I’ve never asked. Not sure how I’d go about doing it.
“Hey”—she stumbles out of her chair and pulls me into a quick embrace—“fancy meeting you here.”
“I bet it is,” Ashley spits it out with venom. “Is this the boyfriend you were trying to impress? The one you needed to brush up on your erotica for?”
Charlie’s mouth falls open, and we share a small laugh. Holy shit. I completely forgot that Charlie had met Ashley in a roundabout way, no thanks to Gabby. As far as I know, Charlie didn’t say a word about us to her.
“Erotica, huh?” I tweak my brows, and Charlie blushes a severe shade of plum.
Ashley grunts as if she might be sick. “Did you know he was my boyfriend? Is this some sort of sick joke?”
“What? No!” Charlie groans over at Ashley. “I’m sorry. I had no idea the two of you were a thing. I was genuinely interested in the books. And I appreciate our conversations. It was fun.You’refun. And I hope this doesn’t change anything between the two of us.”
Ashley chokes as if she can’t get the words out fast enough. It’s clear she’s not interested in anything with either of us at this point. She’s pissed, and if I’m right, she’s about to let us know it. “Please don’t do me any favors. I have friends, plenty of them.” She glares at me for a moment. “Why do I feel ambushed by the two of you?”
“I was hoping you’d be happy for us, but I get it. You’re upset.” I sling my arm around Charlie’s waist. “But we’re not going anywhere. So when you’re ready, I hope you and Charlie can resume your friendship and I’d like to do the same.” I hold out a hand to her. “Olive branch?” It’s one of those inside couples’ things we used to say when we were making up from a fight.
Ashley’s lips twist into a sardonic smile, and she’s slow to shake my hand. “Olive branch.” Her eyes linger over mine a moment as if prideful of the fact we just shared an inside joke in front of Charlie. I have always known how to defuse Ashley, and this moment isn’t any different.
She looks to Charlie, the scowl cropping back up on her face. “And, I’m sorry if I came across as a bitch. I promise you I have nothing against you. I think you’re a nice person. This just caught me off guard.” Her left eye comes shy of winking, her expression stiff as stone. She’s putting on an act—saying all the things she thinks we want to hear, and my stomach acids boil once again. “I’m fine with it.” Her brow lifts at Charlie’s expense as if she were tossing out a dare. “If you ever need anything at all, I’m at your service.”
“Thank you.” Charlie dips down on her knees a moment. “And don’t worry about anything. I probably would have reacted the same way. Please, I still would love to do coffee sometime.”
“I bet.” Ashley’s lips curl as she offers a dry smile. “Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I’d better grab a bite before my lunch runs out on me.” She darts off to the back, and judging by her stomping gait, the overall fumes emanating from her, she is still angry as hell.
“Wow.” Charlie’s arms circle around my waist as she tucks a quick kiss under my jawline. “I’m so sorry. That’s not at all how I wanted that to go. What were you thinking?” She gives my ribs a quick tickle, and I buck.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I thought I’d meet up with her on her turf. She was bound to hear about us sooner than later, and Nikki thought it’d be a good idea.” I frown down at her, but it doesn’t last. I can’t stop grinning at her, not even for a second. “How about you and I steal a second and head to lunch ourselves?”
She bites down on that cherry red smile and shakes her head. “Only if it’s at your place and you’re serving up something hot and delicious right over your bed.”
“Just the bed?”
“I’ll take it in the kitchen if you want me to.”