Honey?My brain short-circuited.No grilling? No lecture? No “are you sure about this?” Nothing?
Charlotte shook his offered hand with her natural warmth and that tiny hint of nerves she couldn’t hide. “Thank you, Mr. Shepard.”
“Call me Troy,” he said with a soft smile. It was one I didn’t see very often, usually reserved for one of Sadie’s kids.
I waited for him to look at me and say something fatherly and loaded, but the only thing I got from him was, “Are you two hungry? Your mother made muffins. Some survived the storm, but Mom stress-ate her way through most of ‘em when it started hailing.”
Before either of us could answer, Momoohedand reached for Charlotte’s hand, her gaze on the ring like she was examining a lost treasure. “I’m so glad you’re wearing it. It means the world to me that you love it so much. I never thoughtI’dlove seeing it on someone else’s finger, but I gotta say, you do make it look so good.”
Charlotte froze. Not dramatically, just the smallest tightening of her shoulders and the light dimming in her expression. It was a subtle shift only someone looking directly at her would catch, but I was and her reaction struck me as wrong. Off.
Mom pulled her inside before I could grab a moment to find out what that had been about, rambling about emergencygenerators and roof shingles while Dad followed after them, looking amused.
Charlotte walked with them, smiling, nodding, and being gracious as hell, but I saw the little shadow in her eyes. It stayed with her the entire ten minutes we were there.
Finally, when Mom launched into a second tirade about her lawn lookingscalped, I stepped in. “Alright, we better get back. We’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do at the house.”
Mom kissed Charlotte’s cheek and Dad patted my back. Then we headed out. I opened the truck door for her and she climbed in quietly, but as soon as we were on the main road, she spoke.
“You never told me,” she said softly. “About the ring.”
I frowned. “I never told you what?”
She looked down at her hand like it wasn’t attached to her. “That it was your mother’s. That it’s been passed down. That she gave it to you when you graduated so you could give it to your future wife.”
Ah. Okay. So that’s where her mind went.
I opened my mouth to explain, but she had one more question and she fired it off like a shot from a bazooka before I could formulate so much as a single word. “Did Savannah wear it too?”
Instantly annoyed, I blew out a breath, pulled the truck onto the shoulder, and threw it into park. The engine idled, rain tapping lightly on the windshield. I shut it off completely. It was time to put an end to this fucking Savannah thing, once and for all, and I wasn’t starting this truck again until it was done.
That woman had taken enough from me. I wasn’t about to let her take the happiness that Charlotte and I were only beginning to find, too. Only, Charlotte kept hurling that fucking name at me like an accusation of wrongdoing, and I was over it.
“Alright,” I said, my voice low as I turned to face her. “Let’s talk about this. What exactly would you like to know?”
CHAPTER 35
CHARLOTTE
Trent covered my hand with his, his touch warm and solid, but the way he was looking at me made my stomach tighten. Defensiveness rose up like a wave, but I didn’t pull my hand out of his grip. I simply didn’t want to.
“I’ve already told you what I want to know,” I said. “Did she ever wear this ring? Did you get engaged to me with the same ring you gave your ex?”
“No,” he said, his tone ringing with finality. “Savannah never wore it and she was never going to. Hell, I don’t even think she ever knew it existed.”
I opened my mouth, not even sure what I planned to ask, but whatever it was, it died on my tongue when he shook his head sharply. “Don’t go there, Charlotte. Don’t start building stories in your head that aren’t true.”
“I’m not.”
“You are,” he cut in, gently but firmly. “I gave you this ring because I wanted to. I never gave it to Savannah because I never wanted to. It’s as simple as that. I wasn’t sure why back then.” His gaze softened enough to make my chest ache. “I’m starting to understand it now, though.”
My heart tripped, then took off again in a sprint. “What do you mean?”
Instinctively, I knew he was saying something enormous. I could feel the edges of it brushing against me, but I wanted to hear him say it out loud. As he opened his mouth, however, his phone rang.
He cursed under his breath and pulled it out. When both of us saw Alex’s name on the screen, he sighed. “I have to take it.”
I nodded even though I wanted to throw the phone straight out the window—and my brother right along with it.
