One-two-three-four-five
Over and over.
“Five times?” I slide back in shock. “How could this not have come up before now?” But even as I say that, I realize, “I’m being hypocritical. My own marriage hasn’t exactly come up, has it?”
Charlie’s expression is weary. “You tell someone you’ve been married, they understand. You tell them you’ve been married five times, they wonder what’s wrong with you.”
“So you kept it quiet…”
“Until I thought this might be going somewhere special.”
“I can appreciate that.” He turns my hand over. His fingers play with my palm as he admits, “I liked you quickly. That’s not like me.”
“I’m flattered.”
“I’m terrified.” The words burst out of him as if they’ve been bottled in too long.
I scoot forward until I have to use his thighs to balance or risk toppling to the floor between his legs. He wraps his arms around me before muttering, “Some of these stories I haven’t spoken of in years. Some haven’t been said aloud…ever.”
“Ever?”
“I vowed I wouldn’t scare you off.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “But you, Rhoswen Campbell, are different. You aren’t casual. You make me…”
“What?”
“Hope. Trust. Care. The most dangerous triumvirate in any man’s arsenal.” Before I can recognize his vulnerability, he goes on. “I need to tell you who I was so you can decide if we have a future.”
I slip my hand behind the back of his neck and pull his head forward so our foreheads collide. “Charlie, no matter what you say, I’m going to still be here.”
“When you know why my marriages happened and why they ended, I hope that’s still the case.” His voice sounds like they just announced doomsday was officially recognized as a U.S. holiday.
“I don’t know the man you were, Charlie Henderson, but the man in front of me makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. If it took a few marriages…”
He smirks. “Few is the new five?”
I roll my eyes before exhaling and staring directly into his. “If it took them to bring the man you are into my life then maybe they needed to occur.”
He swallows audibly before pressing a soft kiss to my lips. A soft, reverent kiss that brings tears to my eyes and allows him to steal what’s left of my heart without a word. When we part, he murmurs, “Let me tell you everything. I’ll understand if you want out.”
“I won’t,” I reassure him.
“If you do, I’ll understand,” he reiterates, before muttering almost to himself. “After all, the people who lived it couldn’t hack it.”
“I’m not leaving.”
A muscle jumps in his cheek as tension infiltrates his handsome face. “We’ll see.”
“I’m not one of them.”
Silence falls between us. Heavy and weighted. Finally, Charlie stands. He shifts next to me on the couch. “Then, I’m going to share everything, Rhoswen.”
I brace quietly, willing my voice to stay steady. “Start whenever you’re ready.”
The moment he does, I know there’s no going back. We’re stepping into a whole different level of our relationship. Charlie’s choosing me through his vulnerability.
My decision, by truly listening, is to choose him right back.
CHAPTER SIX
