Cam and I had underestimated how awkward unloading a full-sized refrigerator from the bed of a truck would be, and we ended up having to wait around while Casper called in the troops. Bike after bike pulled up, some of them trailing a car or SUV, and soon, Charlie’s sisters and their husbands, Draco and Kara, and Kara’s parents were there in the driveway.

  “You know, we could use the tractor to get it out,” Charlie’s brother-in-law Mark said easily. “Why didn’t you just call me?”

  “That tractor’s cursed,” Draco said, sounding only half serious. “Last time we borrowed it the entire house burned down.”

  “That logic is frightening,” Charlie said, smiling at me as she handed me a beer and walked away again.

  She was the happiest I’d seen her in months. The tight way she’d held herself, even at her graduation party, had disappeared. As the crowd gathered in small groups and beer was passed around, she flitted from person to person, smiling and laughing. Her excitement was palpable.

  “I don’t know what you did to make it come back,” Kara said, stepping close to me. “But if you do anything else to take that smile off her face, I will end you.”

  “I won’t,” I said, my eyes on Charlie.

  “We’ll see,” Kara muttered, walking back into the darkness.

  “Kind of hard to believe,” Rose told me from a few feet away. “But my kid is usually the sweet, quiet part of that duo.”

  “Charlie’s the mean one,” Lily agreed. She smiled reassuringly when I opened my mouth to disagree. “Rose is the mean one in our duo.”

  “Truth,” Rose said, toasting me with her beer.

  Eventually, we got the fridge out of my truck and onto a dolly that we parked right outside the door of the cart, but we didn’t put it inside because Farrah started ordering everyone around. Within half an hour, there were people inside and outside the cart, paint brushes and rollers in hand.

  Painting the coffee cart in the dark.

  “This probably wasn’t our best idea,” Charlie said with a laugh as she found me in the shadows.

  “Can’t say I’ve ever seen paintin’ done by moonlight before,” I replied, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as we watched everyone painting. “Well, I’ve seen people taggin’ shit at night, but that’s different.

  Charlie chuckled as she leaned against me. “I’ll probably have to touch it up, but it was a good idea to try and finish it while everyone is here.”

  “You’ve got an awesome family,” I replied as we watched Leo pinch Lily’s ass, making her jump and splatter paint all over herself.

  “They’re not too bad,” Charlie said. “I better go help.”

  I watched her walk away, her ponytail swaying from side to side, and took a deep breath of the cold night air. We weren’t solid, not yet, but I figured we’d made a good start.

  It was late by the time the walls were freshly coated in paint and people started leaving.

  “We’re gonna grab some food on the way home,” Draco told me, dropping some unused lumber in the bed of my truck. “Any preferences?”

  “Didn’t have lunch, so I’d eat grass at this point,” I replied, making him chuckle.

  “Salad it is,” he joked. “We’ll grab you something. See you back at the house.”

  He and Kara left with Charlie not far behind them, and I walked around the cart making sure that I hadn’t left anything behind. I almost missed the wrench Charlie had thrown over her shoulder earlier.

  “Can’t thank you enough for all you did,” Casper said from his seat across the driveway.

  “No worries,” I said, walking toward him. “I was happy to do it.”

  “I can reimburse you,” he said seriously, taking a drag off his joint. “Had to set you back quite a bit, especially the fuckin’ fridge you brought back.”

  “It’s all good,” I told him, shaking my head. It had. I’d used a good chunk of what little I’d been able to save—but it was worth it.

  “Feels a little suspicious havin’ you buy all this shit after you fucked up with my daughter so bad,” he said easily, watching me for a reaction. “You tryin’ to buy your way out of the doghouse?”

  I jerked in surprise and stopped in the middle of the driveway.

  “It’s a legit question,” he said, still leisurely enjoying his smoke.

  “No, I’m not,” I said, tightening my fist around the wrench.

  “But you can see how it looks,” Casper continued.

  “I’m investin’,” I said after I got my temper under control. He’d waited to say this shit until we were done with the coffee cart, and while I respected how wily the old fucker was, it still irritated the shit out of me.

  “Investin’,” he repeated thoughtfully.

  “Yes,” I grit out. “In the future I’m plannin’ on havin’ with Charlie.”

  “Oh, is that what it was,” he said, his lips twitching.

  “Leave him alone, Cody,” Farrah said from inside the trailer. I looked up in surprise to see her face in the window. “Let the boy make his grand gesture in peace.”

  “She needed it,” I said to Charlie’s mom, not wanting her to think I was shallow enough to try and buy her daughter’s affection. “And I had it to give.”

  “Good boy,” she said to me. She put her hand against the screen in a gesture that surprised me by how sweet it was. Then she turned to look down at her husband. “Cody, save some of that for me.”

  After I’d tied down all the odds and ends in the back of my truck, I headed for home. For the first time in a while I was anxious to get there, to just be in the place where I felt most comfortable, to walk in and know Charlie was somewhere inside. When I pulled into the driveway, Draco’s truck was still missing but Charlie’s car was parked in the usual spot.

  I was looking forward to the fact that she didn’t have to work the next day and I’d hopefully be able to wake up next to her, and I wasn’t paying attention as I let myself inside and swung the door shut behind me. I probably should’ve noticed how quiet the house was, or the fact that every single light in the house was on, but I was too distracted. I kicked off my boots and jogged up the stairs in my socks, wondering if we had enough time for a little cuddling before Kara and Draco got home—and nearly fell back down the stairs when a softball bat swung toward my head.

  “What the hell?” I yelped as it barely clipped my forearm.

  “Thank fuck,” Charlie gasped, her body slamming into mine.

  Chapter 17

  Charlie

  I was brave. I was strong. I could take care of myself.

  But when I realized that it was Bishop’s head that I’d nearly clobbered with my bat, I was so relieved that I almost knocked him down the stairs.

  “What the hell is going on?” he asked, pulling the bat from my hand as he wrapped his other arm around me securely. “You okay?”

  “Someone was in the house,” I stuttered, still freaked way the fuck out.

  “What do you mean someone was in the house?” he asked, straightening. He pulled me closer. “Who?”

  “I don’t know for sure,” I replied. God, he felt good. Solid. Safe. “But I have a pretty good idea.”

  I started to pull him toward my room, but he wouldn’t budge.

  “I’m gonna check the downstairs,” he said, dragging me behind him as he took the steps two at a time. “You stand right here.”

  “You’re not leaving me here,” I argued, gripping his hand.

  “You’re standin’ by the front door,” he said, leaning down to give me a quick kiss. “You hear anythin’ or see anythin’, you go outside and get in your car.”

  “I’m not leaving you either,” I argued.

  “Charlotte,” he said, his voice low. “Stay.”

  “I’m not a dog,” I hissed as he strode away, disappearing into the kitchen.

  I was on edge as I waited for him to take the same route that I’d taken the minute I’d walked in the door a little while earlier and realized something was wrong. I’d already searched every room in the house, but I wasn’t about to dissuade him. I was pretty sure that I’d heard someone downstairs after I’d done my search.

  “Stay there,” he told me quietly as he passed me to jog back up the stairs. He grabbed the bat where we’d dropped it on the landing and rounded the corner out of sight. It must have taken less than a minute, but I swear to God, it felt like ten before he came back around the corner.

  “Nothin’,” he told me as he came back down the stairs and set the bat back in its spot behind the front door. “You sure someone was in here, honey?”

  “Positive,” I said darkly, grabbing his hand so I could tow him to my room.

  I stopped in front of the entertainment center and looked at the wall that I’d spent so much time on, waiting for him to see it.

  “Son of a bitch,” he breathed, reaching for the frame in the center of the collage. “That fuckin’ cunt.”

  Inside the frame of what should’ve been my brother Cam holding the twins when they were born was a photo of Bishop and Tabitha. They were smiling at the camera.

  “She came into my room,” I said softly, looking around us.

  I hadn’t left out anything that would embarrass me, and the room was clean, but I couldn’t help but feel violated that she’d been in my private space. My little piece of home that was perfectly mine. She’d seen the couch that me and Kara had picked up at a garage sale, the bed that my parents had bought me when I was a teenager, the quilt that my grandmother had made before I was born. She’d seen the size of the weights that I’d used when I worked out and the bag of makeup sitting on the floor in front of my mirror. They were little pieces of my life that didn’t really matter unless I knew someone had been looking at them without my permission. It felt gross and invasive. It made my stomach churn with nausea.

  “I’m goin’ over there,” Bishop said, stomping out of my room with the frame still in his hand.

  “Beauregard Augustus Bishop,” I yelled as he started down the stairs. “Don’t do it!”

  “Looks like the truce didn’t last long,” Draco said as he stepped inside the front door. “Where’s the fire?”

  “Tabitha broke into our house,” I said, hurrying down the stairs. “And Bishop thinks he’s going to defend my honor or something.”

  “Whoa,” Draco said, putting his hand out to stop Bishop just as Kara came in the door. “You don’t wanna do that, man.”

  “I really do,” Bishop replied. I wouldn’t have been surprised if smoke started billowing out of his ears. He held up the photo. “This was on Charlie’s wall.”

  “Holy crap,” Kara said, swinging her head toward me. Her eyes were so wide they seemed to take up half of her face. “She came in our house?”

  “Take a second,” Draco said calmly to Bishop, even though I could see he was barely keeping a handle on his own temper. “You can’t go rushin’ over there. They’ll call the police so fast, you won’t even be able to talk to her before they’re slappin’ you in cuffs.”

  “Worth it,” Bishop said, taking a step forward.

  “It’s really not,” I said.

  Bishop didn’t even seem to hear me. He was too stuck in his head. Draco looked up at me, his eyebrows raised, waiting for me to do something.

  So, like an idiot, I leaped from the second stair and clung like a monkey to Bishop’s back. To say he hadn’t been expecting me to do it would be the understatement of the century.

  He staggered in surprise, and I started to slide downward, unable to get a grip on anything.

  “Jesus, he’s going to drop you,” Kara screeched in panic, like I was dangling off a cliff instead of being able to reach the floor if I’d just put my feet down.

  “I’m going down!” I yelled, digging my fingers into Bishop’s shoulders as I slid. Apparently, Kara’s panic was contagious.

  “For Christ’s sake,” Draco muttered as Bishop reached under my legs and boosted me up on his back.

  “The hell are you doin’ up there?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at me.

  “Um.” I glanced at Kara and then back at Bishop. “Stopping you from doing something epically stupid?”

  “She was in your room,” he said, lowering me to the floor.

  “I know that,” I replied, circling him until we were face to face. “But don’t make it worse by going over there half-cocked—”

  Kara snorted.

  “I don’t need you to defend me,” I said, reaching up to put my hands on Bishop’s cheeks. “But I love that you want to.”

  “You don’t need me to defend you,” he said with a smirk, glancing at the top of the stairs.

  “Okay, when I think there’s a crazy person in the house, feel free to let your protective instincts run wild,” I replied. “But not when we know she’s not here and you’re just pissed.”

  “I’m just supposed to do nothin’?” he asked me in disbelief.

  “Not tonight, okay?” I said, leaning against him. “Let’s just eat whatever Draco brought home and then go to bed. I’m tired, aren’t you tired?” I was rambling, but it seemed to work.

  He let me drag him into the kitchen after he made sure the deadbolt on the front door was locked, and we all just kind of sat staring at each other around the table. I met Kara’s eyes and quickly looked away. But she was like a magnet, and within seconds I was looking at her again and we were both trying to hold back laughter.

  “What?” Bishop asked, looking between us.

  I looked at Kara and she stared back at me. Then I looked at the table. The ceiling. The bag of food. The kitchen sink. Nothing worked. My eyes met hers again and we couldn’t stop the explosion of giggles that burst out of our mouths.

  “Nervous laughter,” Draco said, smiling.

  “What?” Bishop asked in confusion.

  “It’s nervous laughter. The scare is over.” He looked at Bishop’s blank face. “It’s like a pressure cooker. Someone hit the valve and now the pressure’s escapin’.”

  Bishop looked at us, still giggling. “Okay.”

  “Just be glad they’re not throwin’ shit,” Draco said with a shrug as he started handing out meals to each of us.

  The laughter eventually tapered off and the four of us dug into our meals, nothing breaking the quiet until Bishop spoke.

  “I fuckin’ read her wrong,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “How the hell did I miss it?”

  “She’s been like that for years,” Kara replied before I had a chance to. “And she’s always been good at hiding it, at least for a while. You would’ve noticed it eventually.”

  “I’ve been readin’ people since I was old enough to talk,” Bishop said with a grimace. “I should’ve seen it.”

  “People are always on their best behavior at the beginning,” Draco said around a mouthful of food.

  “Except me,” I said with a shrug. “What you see is what you get.”

  “Puhlease,” Kara said, tossing a french fry at me. “You act all tough.”

  “I am tough,” I said, throwing the french fry back.

  “I’m gonna check all the locks,” Bishop announced abruptly, getting up from the table.

  “He feels bad,” Kara said, tilting her head to the side as she watched him walk away. “He should.”

  “He didn’t know,” I replied quietly. As soon as I said it, the words sunk in like talons, all the way to the bone. “Thanks for dinner, guys.”

  I got up and followed Bishop and found him checking the window locks in the living room.

  “I don’t even think we’ve opened those since we moved in,” I told his back as he pulled to make sure they were secure.

  “Just wanna be sure,” he said, turning to face me. “I can’t find how she got in.”

  “Maybe one of us left a door unlocked,” I said with a shrug. “It happens.”

  “I can’t believe she came in our house,” he said in disgust. “What the fuck is wrong with her?”

  “She feels like I’ve won,” I said simply, shrugging my shoulders.

  “That’s bullshit,” he spat.

  “It’s not though,” I replied. “I did. I bought the coffee cart. I got the guy.”

  “Who does that kind of shit? She’s got a new job and we’d only been on two fuckin’ dates and they weren’t even good ones.”

  “A narcissist,” I said dryly. “A mean girl.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head as he walked toward me. “I can’t even tell you—”

  “I know you are,” I said with a sigh, wrapping my arms around his neck as he reached me. “I am too.”

  “What the hell do you have to be sorry for?” he asked, pulling away.

  “For making you wait,” I mumbled, dropping my head against his chest. “For blowing you off while I tried to figure shit out.”

  “You were just doin’ what you thought was right.”

  “So were you,” I replied. Bishop huffed.

  “No I wasn’t,” he said, tightening his arms around my waist. “Knew it was stupid and went out with her anyway.”

  I looked up at him in surprise.

  “Told myself it wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “That I shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Fuck if that worked. I felt like an asshole the minute I brought her into the house.”

  “You sure didn’t seem contrite,” I joked.

  He laughed. “I was feelin’ a bit defensive,” he muttered apologetically. He sighed. “Damn, it’s been a long day.”

  “And a long night before that,” I agreed.

  “You get any sleep?” he asked softly.

  “Not much,” I admitted.

  “Me either.”

  “Kara, we’re going to bed,” I yelled, making Bishop smile.

  “Thanks for the update,” Kara yelled back.

  “Stop fuckin’ yellin’,” Draco yelled. “We’ve got neighbors!”

  I followed Bishop up the stairs and let him lead me into the bathroom, where without speaking we both started to undress. Climbing into the shower after him, I took in the broad expanse of his shoulders and the narrow flex of his hips. He really was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen.