Which was putting it mildly, in her mind. They’d really only interacted the one time, at the Spencer family New Year’s Eve party, and it had not been a pleasant experience for Charlotte; she could still remember the way Katherine had looked at her, as if she’d been able to justsensethat Charlotte wasn’t going to be good enough for Sutton.
And, in the end, she’d proven her right.
Here she was, a decade later, going to face the woman again, this timeafterbreaking Sutton’s heart?
On top of that, Regan and Alex were in there, too.
This Thanksgiving was a road map through all of the people in Sutton’s life who had known the truth about their relationship and had all, in some way or other, expressed distrust for Charlotte. Who had warned Sutton away from her even before she’d broken both of their hearts.
She bit at the inside of her cheek as she admitted in an irritatingly small voice, “Facing down any political foe seems a lot simpler than this.”
Professionally, Charlotte was certain of herself.
When it came to matters of the heart… this was all new.
And these were people whom Sutton adored, loved in her selfless, wholehearted way. People who had been there for Sutton when Charlotte wasn’t.
Charlotte was happy to be in Sutton’s life again, and to say that she was unconcerned about what these people might think, about what they might say to Sutton about hernow, might be the lie of the century.
“I’ve spent years building up a reputation so that when I walk into the room, professionally, those who stand against me know they will be in for an arduous uphill battle, and I…” She blew out a deep breath from the very pits of uncertainty inside of her. “Right now,Ifeel like I’m on the very base of the steepest hill.”
Caleb was quiet for a few beats before he cleared his throat and spoke, loudly and assuredly, making her startle at the tone. “Charlotte Elizabeth Thompson, you are aforceto be reckoned with, do you hear me? You aren’t about to be intimidated by people at a Thanksgiving dinner! You are intimidated by no one! You were brought up by the most intimidating person either of us will ever know! Get in there.”
Charlotte’s eyebrows lifted in consideration. “Decent job.” She’d admit; her brother’s pep talk did give her the extra motivation to get her ass in gear.
“I’m your brother. It’s my job to know how to get through to you. Now, go. I’ll talk to you later!” And he was gone.
Charlotte took in a deep breath; shewasCharlotte Elizabeth Thompson. She could stand the heat she might get. She certainly wasn’t a withering wallflower.
A knock on her window made her jump, accidentally slamming her hands against her steering wheel as her heart pounded.
She turned to see none other than Katherine Spencer standing at her door.
There was truly no time like the present, was there?
Charlotte steeled herself, cut the engine, and quickly packed her work haul into her bag, the disorganized motion making her grimace inwardly. She didn’t want to prolong this encounter now that it had begun.
“I came out to grab some things from the car,” Katherine started speaking as Charlotte opened her door, a bag, indeed, in her own arms, “and saw you sitting in yours. For the last half an hour or so?”
She arched an eyebrow at Charlotte, and so Charlotte knew,thatwas how it would be from the start. She appreciated the certainty, in a way.
“Yes, well, I had some work to finish up.” She gestured at her own bag. She took in a breath and smiled at the older woman. With streaks of silver running through her hair and subtle laugh lines next to her eyes and mouth, Katherine Spencer appeared as attractive and dignified as ever, like she’d seen the future coming and had shaken its hand, inviting it over as a friend. “It’s lovely to see you again, Mrs. Spencer.”
Katherine raised her eyebrows at Charlotte as they started walking to the house, returning her smile with one that wasn’t what Charlotte would say wascoldbut that certainly wouldn’t call friendly either. “And you, Senator Thompson.”
“Oh, I’d prefer if you’d call me Charlotte.” She gestured around them. “We aren’t here on business, after all.”
Katherine eyed her bag. “Some of us aren’t.”
Oof. Had that make her come off as a workaholic? Which, shewas, fine, but she thought that she’d been balancing her friendship with Sutton very well. She’d taken more time to justbeand exist in the moment with Sutton in the last weeks than she’d ever done for herself in years.
“Of course I’m referring to the book my daughter is writing about you,” Katherine expanded on her theme.
Charlotte did not overlook that Katherine hadn’t said thatshecould refer to her as anything other than Mrs. Spencer. Duly noted, but not surprising.
“Right,” Charlotte confirmed, treading very lightly.
If she approached Katherine in the way she would approach anyone in the political world, she wouldn’t necessarily want to give much away until she knew exactly what her stance was. She knew Mrs. Spencer’s stance on her wasn’t “good,” but she also didn’t know exactly what all Katherine knew about her and Sutton.
