“It’s not like it was on your CV: ‘Celebrity wannabe.’”
“She understood that. Adriana wasn’t upset when we ended things. Mugsy said she took it very well.”
“Mugsy? Why was she there?”
“I was a mess. Didn’t leave my room for days. So Mugsy flew to California and talked to Adriana.”
“You mean, Mugsy broke up with Adriana for you?” Jean’s silence was deafening. “Did you ask her to do that?”
“Well, no. I was too caught up in it to see a way out.”
“And you didn’t feel like that was overstepping? By a lot?”
“She meant well. And it was such a relief, like she pulled me out of a hole in the ground.”
Jean grumbled under her breath.
“It was for the best,” Charlie assured her. “The publicity was great for business, and my parents finally let me go to Australia, as long as I agreed to come back here after. But at the last minute I couldn’t do it, so I got off the plane, and then I met you.” He longed to reach for her hands but wasn’t sure Jean was ready for that. “I was so happy when you didn’t know anything about me except… me.”
“Perks of answering the door naked.”
Charlie didn’t remember answering the door. He’d looked up, and there she was—and all he really wanted out of life was to keep being surprised by Jean.
“When this is over, would you consider giving me another chance?”
“Who’s asking?”
“Me. Charlie.”
She poked him in the chest. “Charlie who?”
He grabbed her hand, holding it in place. “Charlie who loves you.”
Chapter 33
It was like their first meeting all over again, only with more clothes. Jean could only stare at Charlie, who had taken her attempt at a knock-knock joke and turned it into so much more. This was a different kind of nakedness, but she was transfixed all the same.
A drumbeat started on stage, slower than the pounding of Jean’s heart. “Your dad’s looking for you,” she told Charlie, since he wasn’t paying attention to anything but her.
It felt like she was walking on lily pads, barely maintaining her footing on the shifting surface of this conversation. She needed time to wrap her head around everything he’d told her about his past before she could dig into her present feelings—much less discuss the future.
“You should probably go over there,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t spot it for the evasion it was.
“Only if you come with me.”
So much for her plan to sneak off and scream at the moon until the churning in her head subsided. She nodded at him to lead the way.
From behind, Jean watched Charlie’s shoulders tense the closer they got to the stage. The music grew louder with every step, the lights more blinding. She slipped her hand into his, giving a quick squeeze to sayI’m right here.
Mr. Pike was vibrating with excitement when they finally reached his side.
“This is it, Charlie boy. Everything we’ve worked for. What a moment! Are you loving this or what, Phil?” he asked, turning to his other side.
Daddy K gave Jean one of his bedroom looks, gaze flitting to the hand Charlie was still holding before he smiled at her again.
A guitarist joined the drummer on stage, adding a new layer to the staccato beat of the drum. Anticipation was building into something thick enough to bite, colored lights flashing their own rhythm. Even this audience of middle-aged beverage moguls was caught in the swelling tide, joining in on a slow clap that was almost in sync.
Girlfriend knows how to make an entrance, Jean thought as the dancers and backing vocalists took their places one by one. She cheered for her new friends, and Pax waved back as the clapping turned frantic. A flurry of movement at the far end of the stage could only mean one thing.
