Heat flooded Marin’s system because she wasso freaking gladto see Charlotte, despite how upset she was that Charlotte had shut herout ... again. These last two days had been awful. Charlotte’s silence hurt, so much more than Marin had even known was possible.
She’d fought with Andrew, and that hadn’t been enjoyable, but it hadn’t hurt like this, probably because she hadn’t loved him like she loved Charlotte.
“Hi,” Marin said after the three of them had stood in silence that lasted a few beats too long. “I’m Charlotte’s friend Marin, and ... I should probably come back at a better time?”
“James Danton, Charlotte’s father.” He extended a hand, his expression friendly. “Please stay, Marin. I was just leaving.”
She shook his hand. “I understand we’re colleagues at NU. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Danton, although I wish it was under better circumstances. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that, and I hope we can talk again soon.” He stepped past Marin, but Charlotte stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Wait. I want to do this right.” Her bottom lip shook as she looked at her dad. “Dad, this is my girlfriend, Marin.”
Marin gaped.Holy shit.This was an unexpected development. She’d come here with a speech planned, ready to fight for a future with Charlotte, but maybe ... maybe Charlotte had already beaten her to the punch.
Her dad was smiling widely now, looking at Marin with approval in his eyes. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet my daughter’s girlfriend. Please call me James, and I definitely hope to get to know you better, but first, I understand you two need to have an important conversation, so I’ll leave you to it.” With a wave, he headed down the walkway toward a silver Mercedes parked on the street.
Marin stepped forward. “Charlotte, wow ...”
Charlotte flung her arms around her and held her tight. “I’m sorry, so fucking sorry. Please come in so I can apologize properly.”
Marin nodded, inhaling Charlotte’s familiar scent. They were going to be okay. They had a lot to talk about, but ... this was fixable.As she followed Charlotte into the house, the knot of tension that had been lodged in the pit of her stomach since Charlotte sent her home from the sheriff’s department two days ago finally loosened.
“I was just on my way to see you,” Charlotte said. “I was talking to my dad—a really good talk, as you might have noticed—and I realized how desperately I needed to apologize to you. We opened the front door, and there you were.”
“Here I am.” Marin stood facing her in the living room. “And I want to hear all about your conversation with your dad. I’ll take the rest of that apology, too, but first ... I have a few things to say.”
Charlotte’s brow furrowed. “Okay.”
“I had a lot of time to think these last few days, while I waited for you to get in touch, and I realized something. You told me once that you’ve spent your life searching, but I think you’re a runner, Charlotte. When things get hard, you run and hide, but ... I don’t think anyone’s ever chased after you before. When you left Middleton after high school, no one tried to stop you, not your dad or your friends. You ran from your feelings for Elena, and she just let you go. Darren didn’t fight for you after college or when you left DC last fall.”
The wrinkle in Charlotte’s brow had deepened now, and tears shone in her eyes.
“So here I am.” Marin’s voice had grown rough with her own tears. “To tell you I love you, and I’m here to fight for you, Charlotte, because I think you’re worth fighting for.”
Tears streaked Charlotte’s cheeks. “Oh, Marin ...”
“Unless you tell me to leave you alone, of course, because I’m not a stalker.” Marin laughed, her throat tight.
“Never,” Charlotte whispered.
“I get that you aren’t used to talking things through. I think maybe you’ve always handled difficult things alone, but you don’t have to do that anymore, because you have me. And it sounds like maybe you have your dad now, too, which is fucking fantastic.” She smiled, tasting salt from her tears. “I couldn’t talk about my feelingsfor a long time, either, when I was closeted, but the difference is, I was fighting for the freedom to speak my mind, and I think you’ve been running from these conversations your whole life. So I’m here to ask you to stay this time. To fight for what we have. To love me and let me love you. Will you?”
“Yes.” Then Charlotte was in her arms again. “God, yes. That was maybe the most romantic speech I’ve ever heard, and I’m so fucking sorry for how I acted at the sheriff’s department. I panicked, which is no excuse.”
“I know you panicked, and your apology is accepted, but ... you can’t shut me out like that again, okay? That’s not the kind of relationship I want. We’re adults, and adults talk things through.”
“You’re right. They do, and I want us to have that kind of relationship.” Charlotte’s voice shook. Hell, her whole body was shaking. “I guess ... I spent thirty years searching for answers about my mom, and when I got them, I didn’t know how to process it. I don’t know who I am without that search looming over my head, you know?”
“I can only imagine how overwhelming that was for you.”
“And on top of that ...” Charlotte gulped. “I watched you lose your relationship with your sister, which was so scary for me as I was coming to terms with my sexuality. After finding out my mom was dead, I was terrified I’d lose my dad, too, if he found out about us, and I handled it in the very worst way.”
“You did, but you’re here now.” How overwhelming that must have been for Charlotte ... Sometimes Marin forgot just how fast Charlotte’s journey from sapphic awakening to committed relationship had progressed. She’d had so little time to process any of it.
“You’re right that I’ve been running ... hiding.” Charlotte swiped at her tears, but more kept falling. “I’m a total mess, but I want to be better.”
Marin folded Charlotte back into her arms and held her while she cried. She held Charlotte until she stopped shaking and the tension lefther body. “You can stop running now,” she murmured into the blond depths of Charlotte’s hair.
