His brows arched. “You weren’tallowed?”
Shrugging, she picked up a one-piece she thought she might like. “Caleb was always accusing other guys of staring at me. Or worse, he’d accuse me of flaunting myself in front of them.”
“What a dick.”
She snickered. “That he is. What do you think?” She held up the one-piece.
Frowning, he shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
Charlie held it out in front of her again. It was navy blue with see-through mesh material from the round neckline to just above where the swell of her breasts would be.
It would cover all the important parts without making her look like a total nun.
“What’s wrong with this one?”
Leaning over the top of the rack separating them, Derek gave her a straight face and said, “It covers more than your shoestrings.” Then, he waggled his eyebrows.
Charlie glared at him through narrowed slits. “Very funny. I’m going to go try it on.”
As she made her way to the dressing room, it hit her that she was still smiling. She knew Derek was only flirting like that to help her relax, but still. She’d almost forgotten how much fun he was to be around.
Charlie had been conflicted. She was more than grateful for everything Derek had done to help but felt unworthy of his efforts. After all, she’d put herself in this situation.
But over these past few days, something had started to change. She could feel it deep inside. Like a regrowth of sorts. And she owed it all to Derek.
It took a couple of days, but eventually, she began to relax. She realized she could say and do the things she wanted without the fear of being reprimanded.
Simple stuff, like throwing her hair into a ponytail and going makeup-less, brought her a ridiculous amount of joy. As did spending time with Derek.
They’d hung out on the beach and gone for walks around town. He took her out to dinner a couple of times. Not like a date or anything. Just two friends becoming reacquainted.
But her favorite evenings were the ones where they stayed in. He’d grill some burgers and they’d veg out and watch old movies together.
Through it all, Charlie was able to just...be. Derek had no idea what a precious gift he’d given to her.
Then this morning, she’d actually woken up with a spark of hope. She remembered what he’d said to her that first night on the beach and started to think, maybe he was right.
Maybe she really could be the person she once was. Or even someone better.
Excitement stirred as she remembered all the dreams she used to have and accepted the possibility that they weren’t out of her reach, after all. The best one involving the goofy, loving man waiting for her right now.
There was only one problem.I’m still married.
Deciding to tackle that issue later, Charlie got busy trying on the swimsuit.
As she did, she thought of how Derek had woken her up this morning. He’d wafted fresh coffee under her nose, promptly informing her of today’s plans.
Even though they were only going for a ride on his parents’ sailboat—the gulf water was always too chilly for her to enjoy swimming in it this time of year—she’d still wanted to wear a suit to help with her tan.
When she’d told him she didn’t have one, Derek had simply shrugged and said, “Guess we’d better go shoppin’ first.”
What was intended to be a quick in and out had turned into more of a full-blown shopping spree. The very first store they’d gone into was having a huge sale, and Charlie hadn’t exactly packed clothes meant for a stay at the beach.
Soon, she had a cart full of shorts and capris, a pair of tennis shoes and some cheap flip flops, and a few t-shirts and other tops that would never have been allowed had she been shopping with Caleb.
It was silly, but buying these things and dressing the way she wanted, rather than how he dictated, felt a little like flipping him the bird and telling him to go to hell.
“Charlie? You still in there?”
