Katherine lifted her eyebrows. “Ah. Well. Nothing too important, I hope. Can I take your jacket?”
Charlotte diligently unzipped it, handing the jacket to her. “For the last couple of years, I’ve attended Governor Labelle’s get-together,” she informed Katherine, who hummed as she nodded slowly, scrutinizing Charlotte once again.
Charlotte figured Katherine would understand exactly what she was telling her.
Charlotte not only did have standing New Year’s plans, but they were with politicians she worked with frequently and handfuls of her own constituents, with whom she did her best to maintain a good relationship.
But coming here, to see Sutton, to try to form a better relationship with Sutton’s family, even with a last-minute invitation, was worth more than that to her.
She took in a deep breath, pulling together her courage as Katherine took to hanging Charlotte’s jacket in the nearby closet.
“I’ll be honest,” she pushed the words out, straightening her spine. She could do this; she could talk toanyone, even if that person was Katherine Spencer.
She’d grown up with Elizabeth fucking Thompson as a grandmother; there was no one and nothing more intimidating than that.
She’d made her own New Year’s resolution on the drive to Boston: fearful or not, she wasn’t going to leave this party without getting to the bottom of whatever was between herself and Sutton. And she was going to be as honest as she needed to be to do so. Even to people who weren’t Sutton herself.
A relationship with Sutton would also mean having as good a relationship as possible with Sutton’s parents, even if it wouldn’t be smooth sailing. Charlotte wasn’t afraid of hard work.
“I’m surprised that you invited me tonight, and I’m more than a little curious as to why,” she asserted.
Katherine turned to face her as she slowly pushed the coat closet closed, clearly a little surprised by Charlotte’s words.
Admittedly, Charlotte was glad she wasn’t the only person who wasn’t on even footing.
“I’d like to think you know me well enough to know that you are engaged in a personal relationship with my daughter. And that’s important to me,” Katherine answered, her tone measured.
“Yes. But I don’t have to know you well enough to know that six weeks ago, you weren’t very pleased about my relationship status with Sutton,” she challenged. “You were very direct about it.”
She didn’t think she would ever, decades from now, forget how sharply and swiftly Katherine had told Charlotte that she’d shattered Sutton’s heart. How those words and what theymeantmade her feel.
“And, clearly, you didn’t invite me when you invited the majority of your guests tonight. Therefore, I have to presume thatsomethingelseis going on.”
Charlotte held her chin high and searched Katherine’s gaze with her own, her heart pounding as she wondered if she’d get any clue as to what was happening with Sutton.
Katherine pursed her lips and nodded as she studied Charlotte. “Ah. Truthfully, Sutton is less of the reason I invited you here tonight. Mostly, it was because of Lucy.”
There was a warm note that creeped into Katherine’s voice that Charlotte could hear even as she tried to figure out what Lucy had to do with her getting invited to this evening’s main event.
“I’m afraid I’m not quite following,” she admitted.
“My granddaughter has talked about you quite a bit in the last few days. I hear you were responsible for making sure she received her favorite Christmas present. That she made you a clay pot in school. She says you’ve been playing checkers with her…” Katherine trailed off, holding Charlotte’s gaze with her own. “My personal feelings aside, I don’t see Sutton or Lucy in person as much as I very much wish I could. But I can get to know the people in their lives and try to take comfort that they are surrounded by people with their best interests at heart. Not inviting you in the first place was a part of a caution I take with you, due to the past, which felt like something I had to reconsider.”
There was a mixture of both contrition and matter-of-factness in her answer that Charlotte could appreciate.
“I do.” The words worked themselves out of her. She cleared her throat when Katherine sent her a searching look, explaining, “Have their best interests at heart. I do.”
She couldn’t mean those words more. And she wanted, very badly, for Katherine to see that.
Especially right now, while she was so unsure of whatever was going on.
“You said, the last time that we saw one another, that you wanted me to really think about my actions. And I have,” she asserted.
No, she didn’t have to justify herself to Katherine Spencer, but damn, if she didn’t want her to know that Charlotte wasin this. That she wasn’t playing with fire, about to burn both of them again.
And she found that it felt good to say the words aloud andmeanthem so ardently.
She also found that it felt good to surprise Katherine. To defy the expectation she’d set for Charlotte, given what had happened in the past.
