“I know, right?” Sutton enthused. “But…” She seemed to realize what was happening with the conversation as she shook her head and cleared her throat. “We should talk outlines. We have a pretty strict schedule.”
Two hours later,they’d made plenty of headway, and it was the first time in a very, very long time that Charlotte didn’t want a business meeting to end. Because itwasbusiness, she reminded herself as she watched Sutton slide into a light jacket and stand from their table.
“Where would you like to meet on Saturday afternoon?” Charlotte asked as they walked out, very aware of every time Sutton’s arm brushed against hers. “My office? My home? Or a café, perhaps.”
Sutton hesitated, and Charlotte wished she knew the thoughts rushing through her mind before she said, “I’ll be dropping Lucy off, so I’ll be on the road no matter what. So, maybe at your office?”
Charlotte nodded, relishing the chance to be with Sutton in a more private place. “Where will you be bringing her?”
“Um, Layla, my ex, lives in Bethesda, so I’ll be dropping her off for the night. We had some scheduling issues this week.”
Charlotte hadso many questions. Why was this idiot woman not married to Sutton anymore? What had happened? Why hadn’t they had more children? She knew Sutton would have wanted at least two. She loved having siblings far too much to not want that for her own children. How long had they been divorced? How had Sutton dealt with it all?
She was starving for the information, she found. She supposed it didn’t shock her; she was a curious woman.
As they walked to the curb, Charlotte slowed and turned to face her. The slight breeze wafted Sutton’s scent to her, and she allowed herself to breathe in deeply.
It was the same scent.
God.
“Do you need a ride?” she murmured as her driver pulled up to the curb.
Sutton fidgeted for a moment, before she caught herself and crossed her arms. “Ah, uh. No, thank you. I’m parked just across the street. But I’ll see you in a few days?”
“I’ll be there,” she confirmed, as she reached for the handle to the car, hesitating for a moment.
But Sutton turned and started walking over to her car, and Charlotte breathed through a long sigh as she dropped into the backseat.
It wasthe uncertainty of it all, she decided after the first couple of meetings. It was the uncertainty that had her changing her jacket a handful of times and feeling unsettled.
She hadn’t known what to expect with Sutton. How could she?
Shehadn’tknown what she wanted from Sutton. She’d been telling the utter truth to Caleb on the phone.
But, in the interim, she had been able to decipher some things that she wanted.
First, she wanted toknowSutton again. She wanted to see everything Sutton had grown into, wanted to witness what the young woman who had so much potential had made of herself.
She supposed that was maybe what had driven her to this in the first place.
But she didn’t know where to start with that, and Sutton didn’t make it easy. Once upon a time, with the Sutton of her memories, it would have been so simple. She would have let Charlotte bring her a cup of impeccable tea and sidetrack a meeting and delve into personal questions. Sheknewthat, as certain as she knew anything.
However…
Sutton was not the young woman she’d once known; that much had become clear within the next few weeks. Time changed everything; Charlotte knew that better than just about anyone.
Sutton didn’t blush or fumble nearly as much as she used to. She also was very fastidious at keeping thingsprofessional.
Much to Charlotte’s dismay.
It didn’t matterwhattopic they were on; it didn’t matter that these meetings were designed for Charlotte to disclose her own information. Charlotte always tried to turn the conversation back to Sutton. She couldn’t help it; the more she saw Sutton, the more she was hungry for the information she’d missed. She wanted to fill in every gap she had encountered over the last decade.
And Charlotte had learned some things, to be fair.
1: Sutton enjoyed living in D.C., despite the fact that she’d never planned to be here.
2: She’d written a dissertation on the Romantics. (And she’d eventually given Charlotte a copy of said dissertation. Which was delightful.) She’d also tracked down a copy of Sutton’s book of personal essays entitledTales of a Literally Hopeless Romantic. They’d been humorous and emotional, though Charlotte had skipped over a few. (“The Benefits of Friendship” and “It’s Not You, It’s Us” and “Ill-Fated From the Start” and “First Time [Redux]” and “Sapphire With Eyes to Match”… which she feared were about herself.)
