The Carol Wyatt Collection Read online

  “See you then,” Lara said as she left Charlie’s office.

  Charlie watched her leave. Lara was beautiful. She was probably a few years older than her with chestnut hair that flowed in loose waves down her back.

  Lara is exactly the type of person that I should be dating. She’s successful. She’s closer in age. She understands this business.

  And we’re going on a date tomorrow night…

  Chapter 16

  6 Months Later

  “Cheer up,” Jenny said to her.

  “I really don’t want to talk about it,” Erica said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “I’ve moved on.”

  Jenny had given her every theory about why Charlie hadn’t texted her back. That went on for weeks.

  Now, Jenny had switched teams, constantly complaining about Charlie and how rude she was. ‘How hard is it to text someone back?’ Jenny kept asking.

  Erica was sick of all the analysis. She just wanted to move on. It was six months ago.

  Erica had managed to avoid Charlie the few times that she’d come to The Mezz. It hadn’t been that hard either. They were usually busy enough and Jenny jumped to wait on Charlie’s table so that Erica wouldn’t have to.

  The last time that Charlie was here, Erica had just been finishing up her shift and had left without Charlie seeing her.

  She must have found another place to conduct her business though because Charlie was here a lot less often since that night they’d kissed.

  If Erica was honest with herself, she absolutely dreaded running into Charlie again. How could she just ignore her text like that?

  Even if it was just Erica who thought that their kiss was amazing, Charlie could have replied saying that she had a good night too but didn’t think that they should see each other again.

  Instead, Charlie had completely ignored her. She could have talked to her in person here at The Mezz, even for just a few seconds to explain, but she never did.

  Erica wished she was more like Jenny. She’d love to be able to go from one woman to the next without falling for her, but she wasn’t like that.

  And she knew that she’d somehow fallen hard for Charlie.

  Chapter 17

  Charlie couldn’t believe that today marked six months since her father had died. The weeks and months had flown by with Diamond Plaza taking up most of her time.

  She’d just sold the last unit today even though the development wouldn’t be finished until the summer. There was nothing like selling out a building before it was even finished being built.

  She was meeting Lara in a few hours to celebrate at The Mezz. It was a business meeting really. Charlie would be bringing her the last signed contract and then the building would be officially sold out.

  Charlie kicked off her heels and put her feet up on her desk. She watched the snow slowly fall outside her office window before pulling out the top drawer and looking at the small, navy velvet box that had been sitting there for the last two weeks.

  Things with Lara were going really well, better than Charlie could have ever imagined. They met every weekend for dinner and usually spent the night together at either of their apartments.

  They both had extremely busy schedules so neither of them complained to the other about not spending enough time together.

  Their relationship was easy, and the sex was hot. It was exactly what Charlie wanted.

  She picked up the square jewelry box and turned it over in her hand. This is what she wanted: someone to marry and then the company would be hers. Lara wanted the same things as her. They were a natural fit.

  So why was she hesitating? Six months was a reasonable amount of time to be dating someone before you asked them to marry you. Maybe it was a little too soon, but it wasn’t crazy.

  Charlie just couldn’t seem to pull the trigger. She put the box in her handbag just in case though. If the moment was right, she could ask Lara to marry her tonight.

  Chapter 18

  Erica had never seen a Saturday as busy as this one and on top of that she was doing a twelve-hour shift today.

  Her feet were throbbing, and her eyes kept returning the clock on the wall across from the bar, counting down the minutes until she could leave. Jenny had finished at 6 p.m., almost two hours ago.

  Once Erica delivered these drinks and asked that table to settle up, she could leave. She recognized the two older women at that table. They always ordered the same thing: two glasses of White Zinfandel.

  She was already thinking ahead to when she got home. She’d pour herself a large glass of red wine and put her feet up.

  She’d probably find something on Netflix to watch. Jenny was more than likely going out and Erica knew she would be too tired to even consider it.

  Erica carefully placed the two glasses of White Zinfandel on her serving tray, aware of the two bartenders that were moving around behind her, getting other drink orders ready, and carefully made her way out to their table.

  Just as she passed the kitchen doors a woman came out of nowhere and collided with her and there was nothing Erica could do. She’d run straight into her and the tray upended between the two of them with the customer taking the brunt of it.

  It all happened so fast. Erica didn’t know where she came out of.

  When Erica looked up from the white stained blouse of the woman in front of her, she nearly collapsed when her eyes met Charlie’s.

  Charlie’s fists were clenched at her sides and her mouth open, like she was ready to complain but she just stood there, almost frozen, when their eyes met.

  “Erica?”

  “Charlie, I’m so sorry,” she said in a rush. “Come on,” Erica said, grabbing Charlie’s hand and leaving the tray down on the bar. “The restrooms are just in here.”

  Erica dropped her hand a few seconds later when she opened the door to the bathrooms and they both went inside.

  Erica grabbed a white cloth from one of the baskets on the counter and added a little soap before gently wiping the stain on Charlie’s blouse.

  “Sorry,” Erica mumbled when she realized how dangerously close she’d come to Charlie’s breasts.

  “It’s okay,” Charlie said, taking the cloth from her.

  Erica tried not to stare. The front of Charlie’s blouse was practically see through in places just above and below her bra.

  “Why were you in such a rush?” Erica asked. “And where were you going? The kitchen?”

  “Yes.”

  “The food was that bad?” Erica asked, still trying to keep her eyes focused on Charlie’s face and not on her top and the lace material that she could clearly see underneath it.

  “No… I uh… I was planning on proposing but I panicked about how to do it, so I was racing into the kitchen to see if they could put the ring in the dessert or in a glass of champagne.”

  “You were going to propose?” Erica asked, not believing what she was hearing. “I believe you were single just six months ago. It must be love,” she said with a weak smile, hoping that she hadn’t sounded snarky or jealous.

  “Must be,” Charlie said without looking up from what she was doing.

  “Since I don’t have to worry about you and me going on another date, I might as well ask you… Why didn’t you text me back after that night? Or just say it in person one of the many times that you’ve been in here… I was clearly more interested in you than you were in me, but you could have text me back instead of ignoring me.”

  “I don’t know…” Charlie’s eyes met Erica’s as she left the towel down on the counter, apparently giving up on the stain. “It was a stressful couple of weeks back then… My Dad had just died…”

  “Oh… Charlie… I’m so sorry. I had actually noticed that the man you were often here with hadn’t been in a few months. I’m sorry…”

  “Thanks,” Charlie said softly. “I should have text you back… I’m sorry.”

  “Look. Let’s just forget about that night. I had a great time but obviously, we wer
en’t meant to get together anyway and you’re getting engaged,” Erica said with a weak smile. “Tonight,” she added, pretending to be happy for her.

  “Yes… If I can recover from this,” Charlie said, looking down at her top. “Maybe it was a sign,” she said with a soft laugh.

  “That the timing isn’t right?”

  “Maybe… I don’t know.”

  “I hope that I didn’t just ruin your night,” Erica said, glancing down at the stain again. “Do you want to take that off? The stain’s almost gone.”

  Charlie gave her a blank stare for a second.

  “You can go in one of the cubicles and pass me out your blouse… It’ll be easier to clean when it’s off you,” Erica continued.

  “Right. Sorry… Yeah. You don’t mind?”

  “I just need to get the drinks out that I spilled but I’ll be back in two minutes, okay?”

  “Thanks,” Charlie called after her.

  Chapter 19

  Charlie put down the lid of the toilet and sat down as she unbuttoned her blouse and took it off. She folded it and put it in her lap while she waited for Erica to come back.

  What am I doing with my life?

  Charlie bowed her head, covering her face with her hands.

  Why had she ignored Erica’s text? At the time, it somehow made sense but now… Seeing her again…

  Charlie sighed as she dropped her hands.

  Lara was the right choice.

  That’s what she’d been telling herself for weeks. She’d catch a glimpse of Erica behind the bar or waiting a table and she’d remind herself that she’d done the right thing. Lara was the person she was supposed to be with.

  But who was she kidding?

  I can’t do this.

  Charlie pushed herself into a standing position.

  I’ll just tell Erica when she comes back in. I’m not asking her Lara to marry me. I can’t…

  Charlie heard the sound of the door opening and closing.

  “Charlie?” Erica asked. “It’s me… Do you want to pass me your blouse?”

  Charlie didn’t see the point in trying to clean up, but she already had her top off, so she passed it out to her, underneath the stall door.

  “I’ll give it back to you in a minute,” Erica said as she took the blouse.

  “Thanks.”

  A few minutes later, Charlie could hear the dryer and tried to keep it together while she waited for Erica to give her back her top.

  Charlie never cracked under pressure but the only pressure she’d ever experienced was business related.

  Now, she felt like she was dangerously close to having a breakdown, like the walls of the cubicle were closing in on her.

  The dryer stopped, and Erica bent down to hand Charlie’s blouse back to her underneath the door.

  “Thanks,” Charlie said as she put her top back on, the fabric warm against her skin as she buttoned it up.

  Charlie opened the stall door and found Erica standing there, her back against the counter top.

  “How did it turn out?” she asked Charlie.

  “It’s fine… Thanks for doing this,” Charlie said as she met her eyes. “I hope you don’t get in trouble with your boss.”

  “No, I won’t. My shift’s over.”

  “God, I’m so sorry,” Charlie said as she ran a hand through her blond hair.

  “Don’t worry about it… I’m the one who’s sorry. I might have just ruined your night… Do you want me to talk to the chef before I leave? See what he can do?”

  “No,” Charlie said, that feeling of overwhelm creeping in again. “But thanks… I don’t think I’m going to do it tonight,” she added.

  “Oh no, Charlie… Are you sure?”

  “Yes… Tonight’s not the night,” she said as she looked down at her hands. “I’m shaking like a leaf and it’s not nerves. It’s fear… Dread…. I shouldn’t be asking her to marry me.”

  “Are you okay?” Erica asked her softly.

  “Yes…”

  “You’re sure?”

  Charlie nodded.

  “Okay… If you’re sure,” Erica said as she pushed herself away from the counter. “I’m going to go home… Enjoy the rest of your night. Again… I’m so sorry about all this. I wish there was something I could do to make up for it.”

  “Have a drink with me tonight,” Charlie blurted out.

  “Tonight?”

  “Yeah… If you’re not busy,” Charlie added. She noted Erica’s hesitancy and was about to take back her offer. “It’s okay if you don’t want to…”

  “No, I do…”

  “Meet me at The Blue Note at ten?”

  Erica paused again, and Charlie was afraid she’d changed her mind.

  “Sure,” Erica said with a slight smile.

  “Okay. I’ll see you later.”

  Charlie watched Erica leave and then turned to look in the mirror when she was gone.

  She looked tired, stressed. Charlie always thought she looked good for her age but not tonight. The signs of aging were more noticeable, the lines around her eyes more prominent and her eyes a little red.

  I need to sort out my life before it’s too late.

  She took one last look in the mirror before heading back to her table. Lara looked up from her phone when Charlie reached their table.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “Phone call?” Lara asked.

  “No… I actually bumped into one of the waitresses and had some wine split on me. I had to go dry off.”

  “Was it her fault? I know the manager.”

  “No. It was my fault,” Charlie said, meeting Lara’s stare.

  “Okay… I got the check while you were gone. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Will we go back to mine tonight?” Lara asked as they both stood up.

  “I’m exhausted… Rain check?”

  “Of course,” Lara said as she leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  *****

  Charlie questioned her sanity on her way home.

  Why don’t I feel guilty? A few hours ago, I was thinking about proposing. Now it seems like the last thing I’d want.

  Is this what a midlife crisis looks like? Chasing after a younger woman when I have a perfectly good relationship?

  Being with Lara was easy for Charlie but that didn’t mean that it was who she wanted to be with. They were missing that spark… That intensity.

  So why Erica?

  There was something there. She was different when she was around Erica.

  But I don’t know her… We went on one date, only shared one kiss… How is that enough to call off my relationship with Lara?

  Chapter 20

  Erica stood in front of her closet wondering what she would wear to meet Charlie. She wasn’t prepared for this. She’d had a long day and all she wanted to do was fall into the bed that was behind her.

  But Charlie had asked her to meet her for a drink. Every logical part of her had shouted ‘No!’ but she had said ‘Yes.’

  She didn’t regret agreeing to meet her. She was just worried about torturing herself. She knew she was still attracted to Charlie. Every time she walked into The Mezz, Erica’s eyes were always drawn to her.

  Erica knew that she was still interested in her and maybe Charlie was too but what did it matter when she was dating Lara? When she was ready to ask Lara to marry her tonight?

  Meeting Charlie for a drink was probably a bad idea but Erica was curious. She wanted to know if that spark was still there and if it was, would Charlie admit it?

  Erica pushed a few hangers to the side until she found what she was looking for: a black scoop neck top to go with black skinny jeans.

  She didn’t know what it was about wearing all black, but she thought she always looked good when she went with it.

  Erica spent a little bit longer than she usually did putting on smoky eye makeup that would make her hazel eyes pop.

>   She knew she was setting herself up for a night of disappointment, but she didn’t care. She had to know what Charlie was thinking.

  Jenny had sent her a text a few minutes ago saying that she was out and probably going to The Red Dragon if Erica wanted to join her.