Both women laughed, and then Lexi glanced down at her watch. Her blue eyes grew wide. “Oh, crap. I didn’t realize how late it was getting. I’d better get going or I won’t be ready for the dinner rush. I’ll see you later, right?” Lexi stood and grabbed her purse off the back of the chair.
“Of course.” Charlie stood, too. She picked up the copy of her business plan. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, now that we’ll be working together.”
“The business. Right. Yeah.” Lexi gave her an odd smile. “Well, I’d better go. Thanks for lunch.”
Lexi hurried off, leaving Charlie wondering what that was all about. Making her way through the traffic, Charlie’s thoughts turned to Derek and the glorious time they’d spent together.
God, she loved that man. Neither had actually said the words yet, but that was fine. Charlie already knew he loved her.
She could see it every time he looked at her. It was there, in the gentle way he touched her. She just hoped he knew she loved him, too.
Charlie knew he’d rather her be living with him, but Derek seemed to genuinely understand her need for independence right now. It wouldn’t be forever.
The need to be on her own two feet was simply too strong for Charlie to ignore. She needed to have her own place, all to herself. To pay her own bills and make her own way. Just for a little while.
Most importantly, she needed time to not only reflect on everything that had happened but also focus on her future.
Pulling into her designated parking spot, Charlie grabbed her things and made her way to her apartment building’s main entrance.
Derek had insisted she find a place with an internal entrance, rather than one with an exterior door.
According to him, those were much too easy to break into without being noticed. Always the protector, he’d gone to every single apartment she’d looked at and insisted he had a say in the one she ended up renting.
Derek ran background checks on all the building employees and had even given the front desk staff a picture of Caleb with strict instructions to inform him immediately if they ever saw her ex. Charlie wasn’t worried.
He had no idea where she lived now, and she had a brand new cell phone with a completely different number. Plus, with everything Derek had hanging over Caleb’s head, Charlie didn’t see him risking everything just to try to come after her again.
Once inside, Charlie locked her door and went over to her small dining room table. She dropped her purse and keys onto the smooth surface and toed off her slip-on wedges.
Relishing in the way the soft, plush carpet felt beneath her bare feet, she looked around her modest apartment and smiled.
It wasn’t anything like the place she and Caleb had shared, which made her love it even more.
As she started to make her way back to her bedroom, the tiny hairs on the back of Charlie’s neck stood on end. She felt uneasy, all of a sudden. As though she weren’t alone.
That’s impossible.
The door was locked when she got here, and no one had said anything to her or Derek about Caleb being spotted.
Shaking off her nerves, Charlie picked up her pace and stepped into her bedroom to get ready.
Derek had texted her earlier to say he’d be here at six to pick her up. He refused to tell her what he had planned, only that she needed to clear her schedule for the rest of the night.
Smiling at all the delectable things he may be planning, she decided to take another shower. She’d taken one this morning, but knowing the evening would most likely end with more lovemaking, Charlie wanted to be extra fresh for Derek.
After a quick shower and shave, Charlie dried herself off. She then lathered the lotion Derek had come to love across her silky-smooth skin.
With a towel wrapped around her body, she opened the bathroom door. A cloud of thick steam billowed out into the bedroom, making it impossible for her to see the man standing in front of her.
When the steam cleared, Charlie screamed.
“Sorry, darlin’.” Derek threw up his hands. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Damn it, Derek!” she scolded him. “You about gave me a heart attack.” After taking a few minutes to calm her racing heart, she asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming until six.”
He gave her that tummy-tingling, slow grin of his. “I wanted to surprise you.”
Charlie huffed out a laugh. “Well, you succeeded.”
