Summary: To avoid being alone with James, MC (Charlotte) inadvertently ends up in an awkward breakfast with James and Chris.
“Who’s that?” Chris asked, squinting against the morning sunlight as he followed Charlotte’s gaze down to the silver Lexus that had just parked in front of the house.
“My … friend who’s lending me the cabin. James Ashton.” Charlotte only hesitated for a moment before she called James her friend, but she immediately hated herself for it. Chris had just opened himself up so much to her, telling her about Nicole, and Charlotte was full of nothing but lies and secrets. “I didn’t know he was coming up today,” she said, the only true thing she could bear to admit in the moment.
“Hey, Charlie,” James said with a grin as he ascended the stairs, a grocery bag in one arm.
“Hey,” Charlotte said, certain that neither man on the porch missed the strain in her voice. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Yeah, that would’ve ruined the surprise,” James said with a grin. “Hey, I’m James,” he said, holding out this hand to Chris, who stood up and shook it. Charlotte slowly climbed to her feet as well, unsure of how to proceed.
“Chris, nice to meet you,” Chris said with his easy smile.
“What’s in the bag?” Charlotte asked, gesturing to the paper sack.
“Well, knowing you, there isn’t any real food in the house, so I bought some groceries to make breakfast,” James said.
“Hey, it was nice meeting you, but I’m going to take off,” Chris said, trying to politely extricate himself.
“You’re welcome to stay,” James offered. Charlotte knew etiquette was reflexive after years of being groomed to be an Ashton.
“Oh no, thank you, but I don’t want to–” Chris started to say but Charlotte interrupted.
“Yes! You should definitely stay,” she exclaimed, a little too loudly. Both men eyed her curiously, but Charlotte couldn’t think of anything other than avoiding being alone with James. “I’m sure James bought way too much food for just two people.”
“It’s true,” James agreed, although Charlotte detected a slight tightness around his mouth, imperceptible to most–most anyone but Charlotte.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude …”
“Absolutely sure,” Charlotte said decisively. The three of them made their way into the cabin and Charlotte wondered what in the fuck she’d just done.
When the three of them sat down to eat breakfast at the kitchen island, Charlotte felt like she was every one of her nerves was crackling with anxiety. Everyone was being exceedingly polite, herself included. Her speech had inadvertently grown very formal and about four minutes in, Charlotte had noticed she’d stopped using contractions. It was a weird anxiety tic, but she’d take that over blurting out how she was actually feeling. She found it hard to focus with James in the room. What was he doing there? She’d thought he was still on his honeymoon. Should he still be on his honeymoon? Where did Vanessa think he was? Christ, she doubted they’d even sent out their thank you notes from the wedding yet and here he was, showing up on the doorstep with a bag of groceries.
What if James didn’t gone through with it? The thought caused Charlotte to pause mid-chew, although neither man noticed as James and Chris chatted politely but stiffly about property values, a topic that would’ve caused her eyes to glaze over if she hadn’t been so consumed by her own thoughts. She glanced over at his James’s left hand but he was holding it in a way she couldn’t quite see.
“Who needs more coffee?” she asked suddenly.
“Charlie, you still have a full cup,” James said with a bemused smile, gently poking her side. Charlotte stood up quickly.
“Yeah, but you know what I’m like, by the time I’m done brewing new coffee I’ll be done with my old coffee and I need a steady stream to keep me functional,” Charlotte said, not realizing until the end that she’d said it all in one breath. She knew she was babbling and had to chill out, but the situation was too weird, too surreal.
“Maybe we should look into getting you coffee in an IV,” Chris said, his smiling blue eyes meeting hers and, for the first time since James had arrived, Charlotte felt herself relax a little.
“Did you ever get around to figuring out how the espresso machine works?” James asked as he gestured towards the counter.
“Nope, strictly brewed coffee for me,” Charlotte said as she walked over to the brewer and replaced the filter. She remembered Zig standing in that very kitchen, working the very espresso machine in question. That night of the storm … the fire … Charlotte’s anxiety spiked back up and she felt like the room had suddenly gotten very crowded.
“You’re hopeless,” James teased good naturedly. “I can show you while I’m here. What would you do without me?”
“So, how long have you guys known each other?” Chris asked, changing the subject.
“College,” Charlotte said automatically, without thinking as she poured in the coffee grounds and hit the start button. “My freshman year, his junior year.”
“We dated, actually. Years ago,” James added.
Both a lie and a truth, Charlotte thought. It occurred to her how much of her life had turned into this gray area, somewhere between truth and lies, freedom and dependence. When had she become this person?
“Wait a minute …” Chris said, a grin spreading across his face. “You wouldn’t happen to be the boyfriend who … on the stage in the auditorium …”
“Ah, I see you’ve read The Freshman,” James said, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, my mother loved the inclusion of that detail.”
Chris laughed. “I did read it, but if it makes you feel any better, I wouldn’t have known that was you if you hadn’t brought up dating. Charlotte disguised you well enough, I think you’re okay.” Chris winked at her. “She’s a great writer.”
Charlotte felt a warmth in her stomach when Chris said that, blooming under his praise.
“However,” Chris continued, “she won’t let me read what she’s currently working on.”
“Ah, yes,” James said, nodding. “She won’t show me either.”
“I didn’t start it until I came up here to the house, there was nothing to show,” Charlotte said.
“Great, can I see it now?” James asked, smiling in a way that Charlotte both loved and hated.
“Absolutely not,” she said. Both men laughed.
“Oh, damn,” James said, glancing down at his elbow of his shirt. “Syrup. I’ll be right back. Charlie, pour me another cup of coffee when it’s ready, will you?”
“Sure.” Charlotte waited until James was out of the kitchen and she heard the door to the hallway bathroom close. “I’m sorry I roped you into this.”
“No, it’s fine,” Chris said as he stood up coming over to stand beside her.
“Really?” Charlotte asked, raising one eyebrow at him. Chris laughed and slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him.
“Okay, fine, it’s a little weird, but I got to spend more time with you this morning,” he said as he kissed her temple. “Besides, you had to meet Nicole under bad circumstances last night. At least I met your ex in a nice way and everything is out in the open, right?”
“Right,” Charlotte said. Liar, liar, liar.
“Hey, I’m sorry to have to duck out, but I need to get back so I can open the flower shop. Will you tell James I said thanks?”
“Of course,” Charlotte said. She kissed him, trying to revel in the feel of his lips during what she was sure would be their last kiss. She knew she had to tell him, but right now, with James just down the hall, didn’t feel like the right moment. Not that there was ever a good moment to admit you’ve been sleeping with your engaged ex-boyfriend. Current boyfriend. Current mistress. Chris deserved better than this, she knew that. He kissed her back sweetly, like it was the first of thousands more to come. And in another life, if she was a different person, a better person, maybe it could have been.
“Think about Germany, okay?” he said as he brushed the hair off of her face before finally releasing her and heading towards the door.
“Germany?”
Chris paused and looked back at her. “It’s what I was trying to ask you on the porch. My brother is getting married there this summer and I want you to come. No pressure or anything, but … think about it. I’d love it if you came with me.”
He gave her one more smile and a small wave before he let himself out the front door. Charlotte heard the bathroom door open again and she swallowed the tears that were fighting to get out. She turned her back to the hall doorway and grabbed a new coffee mug from the cabinet, sloppily pouring the burning coffee into it. Some of the hot liquid sloshed over the edge, scalding her hand, and Charlotte nearly dropped the mug.
“Ow, shit!” Charlotte hissed, her tears evaporating in the burn.
“Are you okay?” James asked, crossing the kitchen quickly.
“Yeah, just burned my hand,” she said.
James turned on the faucet and gently guided her hand under the cold water. Relief spread over her hand and Charlotte exhaled.
“Where’s Chris?” James asked, glancing around the kitchen.
“Had to go to work,” she said, focusing on the water coursing over her hand. “He said to say thank you.”
“Seems like a nice guy,” James said lightly.
Charlotte let her eyes travel up her arm from her hand to where James was carefully holding her arm with his left hand to keep it under the water. There was the ring, a classic gold band. Elegant, sophisticated, and it probably cost more than her car. She hated herself, but she wondered briefly what Vanessa’s band looked like.
“James, what are you doing here?” Charlotte asked quietly.
“Can’t a guy stop in to say hello?” James asked, his attempt at lightness and a joke falling flat.
“A guy can,” Charlotte said. “But this is an awfully long way to come just to say hello when a guy is supposed to be on his honeymoon.”
James sighed. “I need to talk to you.”
“Did you lose my phone number?”
“This isn’t a phone call kind of conversation.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“If I called you, you might hang up on me,” James countered.
Charlotte considered this. He wasn’t wrong. “Okay, fine,” she said as she reached over and turned off the kitchen sink. “Let’s talk.”
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