I shrugged because I was in no position to speak for Charlie.While I thought she enjoyed it, I didn’t know for sure because we hadn’t talked about it since it happened.The last thing I needed was to assume she had enjoyed it just because that was whatIwanted.
Jo nodded as if my silence gave her the answer she was looking for.
“She’s not in a position to play games right now, Axel.So don’t lead her on if you can’t follow through with the things you promise her.”
“I would never do that.”
“Not intentionally,” she said softly.“But I can already see that you’re letting your heart lead you instead of your head.I worry that your interest in her will cloud your judgment, and she can’t afford for you to make any mistakes.She’s walking a very thin line of trying to keep things balanced in her life; don’t make things harder for her.”
“What are you trying to say?”I asked, swallowing hard because I knew her words were going to hurt.
“I’m saying that you need to put your wants aside and worry about her needs.The only person that we need to focus on is Charlie and that baby.Keeping them both safe and alive is the only goal we have.Don’t let your heart oryour dickkeep that from happening.”
She patted my shoulder as she walked past me out of the kitchen into the bar, where Charlie was still waiting for her drink.I let out a heavy sigh and shook my head because Jo was right.I needed to focus on what really mattered and put my feelings for Charlie aside.
Fifteen
Charlie
Two weeks had passedsince the kiss with Axel, and we still had yet to talk any further about it.We’d left things how they were, with both of us knowing that it was something that shouldn’t have happened and could never happen again.While I knew that I would never see Jason to get a divorce from him, that didn’t make me any less of a married woman.
But it wasn’t just that we had kissed—it was that we had kissed and I had felt something I hadn’t felt in forever.Being in Nowhere was different, but in the best way possible.It was like I was making a home here and getting comfortable with the small-town life—more so, with Axel.He had proved to be more than just some random guy who took me in when I needed help.He was more like a best friend who listened when I talked, did little things to make life easier for me, and went out of his way to bring me happiness whenever he could.I was falling hard and fast, even though I knew I shouldn’t.
My body had adjusted the best it could, thanks to the support from the belly bands Jo had given me, but I was still constantly achy and in pain.Axel refused to let me do much and insisted I stay off my feet.It was boring, and I was going out of my mind, but the storm had yet to let up, which meant that I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The bigger problem was that I had no idea where I was heading next.Part of me had already gotten comfortable being in Nowhere and didn’t want to leave.But the other part of me knew it wasn’t safe to stay there because eventually the guys after Jason would find me, and I couldn’t stand the thought of bringing danger to everyone who had gone out of their way to help me.
I sat in the clinic’s waiting room, ready to see Dr.Foster for my weekly follow-up, while Axel stayed at the bar and helped Ashley prepare for the lunch crowd.The streets in Nowhere had been cleared enough for the small town to be functional again, but the roads in and out of town were still blocked and hard to get through.
“We’re ready for you,” Jo said, startling me as she came in and smiled at me.
I got up and followed her down the hallway to the room we always used.I climbed onto the bed and took my coat off so she could check my vitals.My morning had consisted of contractions that had started to take my breath away, but given I was now thirty-six weeks pregnant, it didn’t surprise me.My skin pulled so tight over my stomach that anything and everything hurt it at this point, though not as badly as the cut I had.Thankfully, that was healed and hadn’t gotten any worse than it had been when I first came to Dr.Foster for treatment.
Another contraction started, forcing me to bend slightly and hold my breath as my stomach tightened painfully.
“How far apart are your contractions?”Jo asked softly, not missing a single thing as she waited with the blood pressure cuff.
