“I know, I know.” His mom waved it off. “Anyway, your dad and I made a trip down to the beach house this morning. The refrigerator and cabinets are full, and I put clean sheets on both the beds. Oh, and I also made sure both bathrooms had a new bar of soap and shampoo and whatnot in them. So, you should be all set.”
Derek smiled lovingly at his mom. “You didn’t have to do all that. Thank you.”
“Mr. West.” Charlie held out her hand. “It was great seeing you again.”
His dad scoffed and opened his arms wide. “Put that hand down and come give me a hug.”
Charlie gave his dad a sweet smile that reminded him of when they were younger.
“You take care, you hear?”
“I will.”
“Be sure you do,” his mom chimed in. Turning serious, she looked Charlie right in the eyes and added, “Our boy, here, will take care of things. Don’t you worry.”
Putting on a brave face, Charlie let her smile grow a bit more. “Thanks again for dinner.”
Derek didn’t miss the way she’d totally bypassed his mom’s advice.
Maybe she doesn’t want you taking care of things.
Ignoring the annoying little voice in his head, Derek gave each of his parents one last hug before he and Charlie made their way to the car. Both lost in their own thoughts, the drive to the beach house was fairly quiet.
By the time they were pulling in, it was well past dark, and Derek could tell Charlie was ready for bed.
Wish she was sleepin’ in mine.
He gave himself a mental slap on the head.
Seriously, West? After what she’s just been through?
That time, the little fucker was right. While certain parts of his body were more than ready to move out of the friend zone, Derek knew he needed to proceed with caution.
For one, Charlie was still married, although the ride here had given him time to think about that pending issue.
Two, he had no idea where her head was at. Hell, for all he knew, she didn’t even see him like that.
And three, given what that fuckface Porter had done, becoming intimate with a man was probably the last thing on her agenda.
“It looks just like I remember,” Charlie said sleepily from beside him.
“Yeah.” Derek followed her gaze to the small, sky blue house in front of them. “They repainted it a few years back but kept the same color.”
For some reason, this made her smile. “I’m glad.”
“Come on. It’s still early enough. I was thinking we could have a drink on the back deck and then go to bed.” His choice of words hit him instantly, and he tried to recover. “Uh...I mean...to our separate beds. Not the same bed. I didn’t mean—”
Charlie’s laugh was music to his ears. “I know what you meant, Derek.”
“Oh.” he laughed at himself. “Good.”
Smooth, dickhead.
He was glad she understood his true intentions, but when she looked over at him, he could’ve sworn there was something else there. Unfortunately for him, she blinked it away and got out of the car.
Once inside, Charlie had taken a few minutes to walk around and reminisce. Derek stood back and watched, enjoying the way she smiled at what must have been a barrage of old memories.
Though he’d tried talking her into taking the master bedroom with the en-suite bathroom, Charlie had insisted on sleeping in the smallest bedroom. It was the same one she’d stayed in the few times her dad had let her come here with him and his family.
