run?”
“Yeah.”
“And from your monosyllabic response, I don’t suppose I’m going to get any more information than that, am I?”
“I’ll be in tomorrow . . . I think.” He hoped.
If he’d realized just how much trouble rescuing damsels in distress could be, he might have driven right by Charlie.
“Take as long as you need. But I will get this story out of you when you come in.” Con hung up.
Dan was left listening to a dial tone.
Yeah, it was going to be a long day. He blamed Charlie. The tortures he’d have to endure were her fault. She’d swept into his life and turned everything upside down. It would have served her right if he had left her standing at the side of the road in her wedding finery.
As tempting as the idea sounded, Dan knew he could never have done it. Just like he couldn’t cut her loose, no matter how much he’d like to. She needed him, at least until she got her life back together.
Thinking of her sleeping in his arms, and how she’d felt in his arms when he’d kissed her . . . no, he wouldn’t have missed any of it. But things between them couldn’t go any further than that one kiss.
Dan liked his life exactly the way it was. He didn’t have time for this complication. He wasn’t going to be able to play Prince Charming to her sneaker-clad Cinderella.
And Charlie had just left a groom at the altar, she was on the rebound. When she stopped rebounding, she was going to need someone who had more to offer than he did. So, no, there would be no more kissing.
There was a knock on the kitchen door. “Dan?”
He took a fortifying gulp of the black sludge that was the closest he could get to producing coffee and spared another thought to the fact Molly’s coffee was a thing of the past, at least until he could sweeten her up again. “Come in.”
Charlie burst into the room. “You’re still here. I was afraid you’d left because you were annoyed with me. But I do need that ride into town.”
“Coffee?” he asked, hoping to slow the running stream of consciousness that Charlie called a conversation.
“Oh, thanks.” He handed her a mug and she helped herself from the pot. “I’ve got to have a car. I shouldn’t have sold mine. It was reliable, if not very new. But Winslow said we’d pick out a new car after the honeymoon. My bank account’s not exactly overflowing, but I should be able to afford something drivable. And I’ve got to find a place to live—”
“Charlie.”
“Then there are clothes.”
“You could get your clothes from Winslow.”
“Yeah, and I could schedule a root canal for fun too, but I think I’ll pass.” She paused long enough to take a sip of her coffee. “Yuck.”
She slammed the mug down and Dan watched in amazement as she blushed. “I mean, I’m not much of a coffee drinker. Tea. Yes, I like tea better.”
“It’s okay, Charlie. I know how bad my coffee is. No matter what I do, what brand I buy, I just can’t make a decent cup.”
“Do you mind if I give it a try?”
Dan just shrugged and took another sip. It really was terrible.
She must have taken that for his consent, because she dumped out the pot of coffee he’d made and rinsed it before refilling it with fresh water.
“About Winslow. You’ll have to face him sometime.”
“Not if I can help it. He’ll just start telling me what an embarrassment I am and how I owe him gratitude for all he’s done for me.”
She paused mid–coffee scoop. “You know, the more I think about it, that was always Winslow’s attitude. I owed him for wanting to marry me.” She slid the coffee basket in place and started the machine. “Maybe too many women wanted him for his money, and he just assumed I did too. He never knew me well enough to realize that wealth and social position don’t mean anything to me. Maybe they did to my mother, but not me. I just want to be loved. Yeah, I know that sounds as little girlish as you accused me of being. But I think everyone
“Yeah.”
“And from your monosyllabic response, I don’t suppose I’m going to get any more information than that, am I?”
“I’ll be in tomorrow . . . I think.” He hoped.
If he’d realized just how much trouble rescuing damsels in distress could be, he might have driven right by Charlie.
“Take as long as you need. But I will get this story out of you when you come in.” Con hung up.
Dan was left listening to a dial tone.
Yeah, it was going to be a long day. He blamed Charlie. The tortures he’d have to endure were her fault. She’d swept into his life and turned everything upside down. It would have served her right if he had left her standing at the side of the road in her wedding finery.
As tempting as the idea sounded, Dan knew he could never have done it. Just like he couldn’t cut her loose, no matter how much he’d like to. She needed him, at least until she got her life back together.
Thinking of her sleeping in his arms, and how she’d felt in his arms when he’d kissed her . . . no, he wouldn’t have missed any of it. But things between them couldn’t go any further than that one kiss.
Dan liked his life exactly the way it was. He didn’t have time for this complication. He wasn’t going to be able to play Prince Charming to her sneaker-clad Cinderella.
And Charlie had just left a groom at the altar, she was on the rebound. When she stopped rebounding, she was going to need someone who had more to offer than he did. So, no, there would be no more kissing.
There was a knock on the kitchen door. “Dan?”
He took a fortifying gulp of the black sludge that was the closest he could get to producing coffee and spared another thought to the fact Molly’s coffee was a thing of the past, at least until he could sweeten her up again. “Come in.”
Charlie burst into the room. “You’re still here. I was afraid you’d left because you were annoyed with me. But I do need that ride into town.”
“Coffee?” he asked, hoping to slow the running stream of consciousness that Charlie called a conversation.
“Oh, thanks.” He handed her a mug and she helped herself from the pot. “I’ve got to have a car. I shouldn’t have sold mine. It was reliable, if not very new. But Winslow said we’d pick out a new car after the honeymoon. My bank account’s not exactly overflowing, but I should be able to afford something drivable. And I’ve got to find a place to live—”
“Charlie.”
“Then there are clothes.”
“You could get your clothes from Winslow.”
“Yeah, and I could schedule a root canal for fun too, but I think I’ll pass.” She paused long enough to take a sip of her coffee. “Yuck.”
She slammed the mug down and Dan watched in amazement as she blushed. “I mean, I’m not much of a coffee drinker. Tea. Yes, I like tea better.”
“It’s okay, Charlie. I know how bad my coffee is. No matter what I do, what brand I buy, I just can’t make a decent cup.”
“Do you mind if I give it a try?”
Dan just shrugged and took another sip. It really was terrible.
She must have taken that for his consent, because she dumped out the pot of coffee he’d made and rinsed it before refilling it with fresh water.
“About Winslow. You’ll have to face him sometime.”
“Not if I can help it. He’ll just start telling me what an embarrassment I am and how I owe him gratitude for all he’s done for me.”
She paused mid–coffee scoop. “You know, the more I think about it, that was always Winslow’s attitude. I owed him for wanting to marry me.” She slid the coffee basket in place and started the machine. “Maybe too many women wanted him for his money, and he just assumed I did too. He never knew me well enough to realize that wealth and social position don’t mean anything to me. Maybe they did to my mother, but not me. I just want to be loved. Yeah, I know that sounds as little girlish as you accused me of being. But I think everyone
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