She climbed out of the car and grinned when she saw him. “Hey, I’m not late, am I? I was just trying not to be as early as I was last night.”
“No, not at all. I guess I’m just a little overeager.” He shrugged. “You look beautiful, Charlie.” She did, too. He’d always thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. She’d grown into the most beautiful woman. She was still slender, despite the amount she ate. Tonight, she was wearing skinny jeans and a simple tank top and she looked fantastic.
“Thanks. You don’t look half bad yourself,” she said with a laugh and pushed at his arm.
That made Ben smile. She may look like a sophisticated lady, but she still behaved like a kid in some ways and he loved that about her. “Are you ready to go in and face them? I have to warn you that there is a lot of interest in us.”
“Hey, you know I can handle it.” She looked up at him, her eyes filled with concern. “Can you? We can get out of here, go somewhere else, if you prefer.”
Ben thought about it. He’d like nothing more than to have her to himself for the evening, but he knew it would only prolong the curiosity about the two of them. He made a face and gave her a rueful smile. “You know I’d much prefer to go somewhere else, but for one thing I’d rather get this over with, and for another I have a feeling you’ll enjoy it.”
She laughed. “I will, but not as much as I’d enjoy an evening for just the two of us.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on her nose. “I hope we will get one of those soon, but for now we should probably get this over with.”
“I hope we’ll get lots of those soon.” The way she smiled at him made his heart beat faster—and made him hope that soon they would share all their evenings together.
It took them forever to make their way through the bar. Everyone they passed wanted them to stop and talk. There were plenty of folk who remembered Charlotte and plenty more who were simply thrilled to see Ben with a woman. Charlotte laughed and chatted with all of them, greeting old friends and making new ones with her easy, outgoing manner that Ben loved so much.
By the time they reached the table where the gang was sitting, Emma looked as though she was about to burst. She struggled to her feet and flung her arms around Charlotte. “It’s about time too!”
Charlotte laughed. “You look amazing, Em! I’ve missed you, my friend, but it looks like I made it back just in time.” She eyed her huge baby bump. “When are you due?”
“Any time now, and you know there’s something I’ve been dying to ask you.”
“Give everyone else a chance, Em! Come on, Charlie, come sit down,” said Missy. “We’re all waiting to say hi, and there are lots of new faces to introduce you to.”
Ben was grateful to Missy for stepping in. He knew Emma desperately wanted Charlotte to be godmother to the baby. What he didn’t know was how Charlotte would feel about that. The two of them had skirted around it last night, but with both Emma and Megan almost ready to give birth, the subject of babies was laying heavy on his heart. He had to imagine that Charlie might feel the same.
Everyone scooted along to make room for the two of them to sit. Ben looked around at all the happy smiling faces and started to introduce Charlotte to those she didn’t yet know.
When he was done, she laughed. “It’s so amazing to be back here, to see so many familiar faces.” She smiled around at everyone. “I know at least half of almost every couple here.”
“So, what do you think, are you going to stick around and even up the numbers?” asked Pete.
Ben closed his eyes and let out a low breath. Why the hell had he asked that? Charlotte didn’t need that kind of pressure. He needn’t have worried. She smiled and met Pete’s gaze. “It’s good to see you haven’t changed, Hemming.” She turned to Holly. “I probably need to apologize to you in advance,” she said with a smile. “Pete never was my favorite, and I was never his. So, if … no, actuallywhenI’m rude to him, please don’t take offense.”
Holly laughed. “Don’t you worry about that. I understand completely and it’s always nice to see someone put him in his place.”
Charlotte grinned. “I think we’re going to be good friends!”
Pete groaned. “Great. Just great. Now I’m going to have the pair of you ganging up on me, right?”
“Absolutely,” said Charlotte with a grin.
Holly leaned against him and batted her eyelashes. “Aww, what’s the matter, Perfect Pete? Are the girls being mean to you?”
Pete shook his head. “Not yet, no. But I think it’s about to start.”
“You can bet your arse on that one,” said Charlotte.
Michael laughed. “I love the way you say that, Charlie. I haven’t heard it in years.”
She laughed with him and so did Emma. “It’s arse, not ass, right Charlie? Not like a mule or a donkey.”
Charlie nodded. “You got it, Em.” She smiled at Megan. “You look fabulous, too. How long have you got to go?”
Ben loved that Charlie somehow seemed to know that she needed to draw Megan into the conversation. Megan rarely spoke up voluntarily unless there was something important that needed saying, but right now she was smiling back at Charlotte, looking relaxed and happy.
