“Remember the contest?” she asked, still smiling.
“You mean the one that almost killed him?”
Charlie laughed a little harder then. “Yes. I thought your mother was going to kill you both.”
“Right? Of course, you just sat over there like little miss innocent and let us take all the blame.”
“Excuse me? Iwasinnocent. You two were the idiots who wanted to see who could cram the most chocolate chip cookies into your mouths.”
Derek’s raised a smug brow. “And I won, thank you very much.”
“Only because Eric choked, and I had to run and get your dad so he could perform the Heimlich.”
“Then”—Derek snickered some more— “when Dad got it to break loose, cookie crumbs shot out all over the kitchen.”
“Your mom was so mad!”
Charlie laughed so hard, then, her shoulders shook, and tears started running down her face. She was still pressing a hand against her burning abs when she finally caught her breath again.
“Oh, wow.” She wiped the tears away. “I haven’t laughed that hard in...” Her smile began to dim. “A really long time.”
“That’s a damn shame.” Derek looked at her sincerely. “You have a beautiful laugh.”
Their gazes remained locked, and Charlie found herself thinking of another time. Another life. One where she thought this man would become her future.
Clearing her throat, she stood from the bow and began focusing on the mess in front of them.
“Are you done? I’ll take this stuff back downstairs since you brought it up.”
When she reached for his now-empty plate, Derek eased his hand around her wrist. With a gentle tone said, “Sit back down.”
She flinched slightly, but not as bad as she normally would have. This was Derek, and Charlie knew he would never, ever hurt her that way.
“Why?” she whispered.
“We need to talk.”
She swallowed nervously. “About what?”
Using his free hand, Derek lifted her chin so she’d look him in the eye. “You. Caleb.” He paused before adding, “Us.”
“I don’t want to talk about Caleb.” She pulled her arm free and went back to tidying up the mess.
“I know you don’t. But, darlin’, we need to. Like it or not, he’s still your husband. It’s not like you can just hide out here and pretend like he doesn’t exist.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “We just got here.”
Derek looked away, his forehead creasing with unease. “Charlie, these last few days have been some of the best I’ve ever had.” His eyes met hers again. “But we’ve both been avoiding the giant-ass elephant in the room for days, and I can’t do that anymore. We need to clear the air and then make a game plan for what happens after we leave here.”
Charlie set their empty paper plates back down on the boat and crossed her arms in front of her. Damn it, things had been going so well. Why would he want to ruin that?
You’re just pissed because you know he’s right.
“I’ll figure something out.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” she grumbled, hating how just the idea of talking about the past and her screwed-up life with Caleb had destroyed her blissful mood. “I’ll think of something.”
