I bite my lip. The old Charlotte would deny it. She’d try to take the words back and make excuses. But that girl isn’t me anymore, and I’m done lying, even to myself.
“Yes,” I simply say. “I am in love with him.”
“Jesus,” he lets out.
“I didn’t expect to fall for him, believe me. The man drives me fucking insane.”
Ben’s eyes widen, and I just throw my hands up. “Yes. I dropped the F-bomb.”
“God, you really have changed,” he says.
“Yes and no. I’m still me, but I’m not afraid of life anymore. Or love. Or taking chances.”
“So if you love him, then why didn’t you tell him you’re pregnant?” Ben asks.
“I was going to,” I say, and it’s true. “I just wasn’t sure when the right time would be. I mean, until recently, we haven’t even been getting along.”
“Holly said she sensed some tension,” he says with a hint of a smile.
“Yeah. He’s kind of infuriating, honestly,” I admit.
“Now you know how I feel,” Ben says, and I smile slightly too.
“Infuriating. Stubborn. Smug. But also…” I trail off in another direction. “Sweet. Funny. Compassionate. Strong. Charming.”
“Alright, alright. I get the picture,” Ben says, and I giggle. Then we both sigh.
“You gotta fix things with Holly,” I tell him.
“She’s going to have to open the door first,” he says, and he’s not wrong.
“She will. Keep trying. She deserves to be chased,” I say, and we both stand up.
“You’re right,” he admits. “I’m going to let her cool off for a bit and try again.”
“Good idea,” I say. “I’m going to go back to my cabin and pick up the pieces of my life…or attempt to.”
Ben offers a genuine smile, and I head off.
“Hey Charlie?” he asks, and I bite back a smile. I give up. He’s never going to call me Charlotte.
“Yes?”
“So do you. Deserve to be chased, I mean.”
Once I walk inside my cabin, I close the door behind me. Josie is sitting on the bed, waiting for me.
“I was wondering where you were,” she says with genuine concern.
“I was talking to Ben,” I say.
“Not Gavin?” she asks.
“No. I was trying to talk to Holly because I feel terrible. She didn’t really want to talk,” I say, sitting down on the bed with a defeated sigh. “Then Ben showed up and tried to talk to Holly, but Holly didn’t want to talk to him either. So Ben and I ended up talking.”
“And how did that go?” she asks, and the tears break.
“God, I don’t know, Jo,” I say. “All of it is such a mess. One minute we were having a snowball fight and the next minute I’m telling Ben I am pregnant. Everyone happened to walk up exactly when I was telling him. Now Ben knows I slept with Gavin. Gavin knows Ben is my ex. Holly knows I am Ben’s ex, and everyone knows I’m pregnant and I just–”
