Charlotte (Marked Heart #2) (16 page)

"You alright?" he whispered.

The word 'No' rang in her head as she replied, "Yea."

Scowling at her, Auggie asked, "You sure?"

Charlotte opened her mouth to answer
, but nothing came out.

Lifting her up and off of his lap, Auggie stood up and walked away, mumbling, "Alright then."

Counting backwards from ten in her mind, Charlotte pulled her thoughts together.

Standing up, Charlotte saw Auggie in the kitchen with his back to her. The unfamiliar feeling that was growing inside her was replaced by anger when she realized he was mad simply because she didn't answer him.

Swiftly making her way to the kitchen, she griped, "Is this what it's gonna be like?"

Turning to her, he snapped, "You tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Feelin' guilty?"

Giving him a stupid look, Charlotte questioned, "What?"

"Aren't you getting engaged or something?"

Taken aback by his issue, Charlotte asked, "This is about Trace?"

With a disgusted expression he griped, "I have to leave to open the bar in a few."

Placing her hand on his arm, she assured, "Augustus, Trace and I are not together. I don't know what I'll do when I go back but whatever it is, it won't be with him."

His eyes searched hers before asking, "Why'd you stop?"

"Why did you?" she countered, unwilling to answer.

A sideways smile formed as Auggie said, "You can't answer a question with a question."

"I can do whatever I want."

Nodding, he pulled Charlotte into a kiss before asking, "You wanna hang around here until I come back?"

The tingling in the pit of her stomach forced her to reply, "I'll see you tomorrow."

With a loud sigh, he walked her to the door.

Each time Charlotte reached for the doorknob, Auggie gave her another goodbye kiss. After around fifteen minutes of saying goodbye, she left with a smile that radiated from deep inside her and a lot to think about.

20

Wager

When Charlotte woke
, she knew what she needed. There was no better way to clear her head than to go shopping. She needed a dress for Sophia's baby shower, not that she needed a reason to shop but at least Emerson seemed happy, for a change, with her reason for leaving the house.

Trying to decide if she was willing to settle for a dress that was 'Okay' at the loc
al clothing store or if a forty-five minute trip to an actual department store was warranted, Charlotte headed toward the shoe section. A flash of plaid caught her eye, causing an almost giddy feeling to build inside her as she watched a gray beanie making its way through the men's department.

The store was
practically empty, aside from a few sales clerks and an old lady. Charlotte thought, so much for clearing her head, she was going to have a little fun.

Finding Auggie standing in the underwear isle, she quietly crept up beside him before warning, "Choose carefully."

Startled, he jumped a little as he turned toward her.

With a serious expression, Charlotte tapped her index finger against her chin, "Decisions, decisions."

She could tell he was holding back a smile as he
shook his head at her.

"Now, are you a tighty whitey man or boxer kind of guy?" Stopping to glance at the front his pants as if she could see right through them, she shared, "Ah, boxer briefs."

"What are you doing here?" he quietly asked with a laugh.

"Shopping."

"For men's underwear?"

"Now I am."

With a 'You're crazy' look he blurted, "What?"

Deciding to see what he was made of, Charlotte suggested, "I'll buy yours and you can buy mine."

His crazy look was replaced by a shocked expression as he snapped, "I am not going to the panty department."

Glancing around to make sure no one was looking, she ran a finger down the buttons of his shirt, asking, "Are you scared?"

Auggie quickly blurted, "No," before lowering his voice saying, "That's stupid."

"Because you're scared?" she taunted.

Charlotte could tell she was getting under his skin as he griped, "What kinda man buys panties?"

"The kind that's not scared."

His glare was a tad on the hateful side for a moment.

Auggie's eyes softened into a seductive expression that Charlotte had never seen on him, "You want me to buy your panties?"

Hold
ing her breath, she nodded.

"Stand still, then."

Auggie looked her up and down before stepping directly in front of her.
Even if she had wanted to, Charlotte couldn't move.

Staring down at her, Auggie placed his hands around her waist. Moving them lower
, he rubbed his palms up and down her hips. Charlotte sighed at the feeling. He stopped for a second, but her relief was short lived. His hands slid to her backside before taking a firm grasp on her behind. Fighting to keep her composure, Charlotte slowly exhaled.

Leaning to her ear, Auggie whispered, "Just getting a feel for your size," as he slowly released her.

Wide eyes, she watched him turn and walk away.

~

Auggie made his way
out of the store with a package of women's underwear in his bag, wondering what the hell had gotten into him. He couldn't help himself. Charlotte just didn't understand what she was asking of him. Buying her panties was going to drive him insane. Even though he picked out the most boring one's he could find, there was no way he would be able to think about anything else. It was hard enough to control himself around her and now every time he saw her, he would need to know if she were wearing the ones he bought for her. It was going to eat away at his brain. Not to mention she had the nerve to challenge him like that, like he was afraid of her little dare. When the idea came to him, he acted on it. An irresponsible impulse. He knew better than to touch her like that in public. Someone could have seen them together.

His palms were still tinglin
g from having her in his hands as he walked up to his truck. Auggie started to open the door when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Caught ya!"

Swinging around at the sound of his brother's voice, Auggie froze.

"Damn, did you rob The Store?"

Caught between thoughts of Charlotte's panties and the realization that his brother was standing right in front of him as he held a bag with them in his hand, he snapped, "What?"

Braden laughed, saying, "You might wanna consider going to confession man, whatever you got goin' on, looks like it's getting to you."

"Shut up," Auggie griped before asking, "Are you here for a reason or do you spend your afternoons harassing people in parking lots?"

"Nah, that's only on Thursdays," he joked before sharing, "Lily's birthday is coming up."

Auggie started to
gripe at Braden when he heard the clicking of heels against the pavement.

Without looking
, Auggie knew it was Charlotte walking to her car. It was just his luck that this moment was going to be as uncomfortable as possible. Auggie tried not to look over at her but he couldn't stop himself. Charlotte's face appeared flushed and it looked like she was trying to pass by without being noticed.

"Hey, hey Charlotte," Braden called out to her.

Auggie instantly glared at his brother wanting to smack him.

Through gritted teeth, he griped, "What are you doing?"

"Dude, she's hot," Braden blurted.

Forget smacking him, Auggie
was going to choke him out.

Apparently, Braden didn't know the hazards of what he was doing as he asked, "Wanna help me out with somethin'?"

Charlotte
gave Braden a suspicious smile before heading in their direction.

Tightening his hold around his shopping bag, Auggie held it behind his back.
Leaning against his truck, he looked away from her.

Charlotte's tone was guarded as she greeted, "Braden."

Braden's tone was friendlier than Auggie liked as he replied, "It's good to see you."

"Is that right?"

"Mmhmm... It's always good to see you."

Auggie
gritted his back teeth so hard his jaw started to ache.

With a slight laugh, Charlotte questioned, "What do you want, Braden?"

He gave a laugh back, answering, "I'm lookin' to get a present for my girl Lily, any suggestions."

"Is it a special occasion?"

"Her birthday."

There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she suggested, "Buy her some lilies and
play her a song."

Braden was oblivious as he replied, "That's a great idea," before swatting Auggie on the arm saying, "See, harassin' folks in the parking lot pays off."

~

Even though she didn't want anyone knowing what they had going on, it dug on her that Auggie was ignoring her. It was the bar all over again.

"Hello, Augustus," she stated.

Auggie stared at her for a moment before replying, "Charlotte."

Charlotte knew she was being irrational
, but that didn't change the fact that he had just groped her in the store, yet wouldn't crack a smile at her in front of his brother.

"Whatcha got there?" she asked, glancing at the bag behind his back.

Auggie
looked angry as his nostrils flared.

"Is it a secret?" she teased, knowing he was furious with her.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he replied, "Nope."

Curling the corner of her mouth into a smile, she shared, "What a shame, I like secrets."

Braden cut into the conversation, laughing, "Man, how can you not like her?"

Appearing as though he was about to lose it, Auggie pushed off from his truck.

Giggles erupted from behind them as a group of teenage girls slowly walked up. Whisper's followed as they were shushed by what appeared to be their leader. As soon as Charlotte saw the sparkly oversized bow step out in front of the group she thought, 'Fantastic', Silvia and her minions.

"Hi Braden," Silvia practically cooed at him.

Braden politely replied, "Hey there Silvia."

Gasps and giggles from the crowd
caused Charlotte to roll her eyes.

Silvia stepped closer to Braden, saying, "I saw you play at the fair. You were amazing."

"Yea," he replied, adding, "Glad you enjoyed it."

Nodding as she bit her bottom lip, Silvia shared, "I'll be eighteen soon."

Charlotte glanced at Auggie
who was staring at the display in front of him with a confused yet humored expression on his face as she thought 'Oh, you have got to be kidding me'.

Braden gave a wary smile as he said, "Well, happy birthday in advance."

Batting her eyelashes, Silvia replied, "Thank you," before asking, "Will you come?"

"Uhh..." was all Braden could say before Silvia informed, "Daddy is throwing me a huge party. It would be like a personal favor to me if you would come and play."

"Oh! Sure thing!" Braden blurted in relief.

"Fabulous. I'll be in touch," she replied, giving him a wink before heading back to her friends.

As Silvia's minion's crowded around her, oohing and aahing
over Braden's 'Personal Favor' to her, she was just showing off for her friends. Apparently, simply being a Roberts just wasn't enough these days.

Ch
arlotte started to wonder if Silvia's little display was really about impressing her friends or if the fact that she was standing there with Braden caused her to walk over and showoff.

Narrowing her eyes at Braden, she asked, "Are you friends with my sister?"

"Nah, I just know her."

Even though it seemed like Braden had a good heart, he was seeing a married woman.

"She made it seem like y'all are friends."

Braden looked at her like she was jealous as he replied, "I see her at the foundation all the time. I volunteer there, teaching a music class."

With a serious expression, Charlotte nodded.

"Silvia's a sweet kid, but she is just a kid to me," Braden assured.

Charlotte blurted, "Sweet? She's a demon."

Looking back to glare at Silvia
as Braden laughed, Charlotte saw her break off from her group of friends. Thinking 'And a sneaky little one at that' she watched as Silvia hopped into an old blue mustang and rode away with some knucklehead with a neck tattoo.

Charlotte knew there was no way Silvia's 'Daddy'
would approve. Shaking her head, she turned back just in time to see Auggie hop into his truck.

Guessing he was going to stay mad at her for a while, she said, "See you around Braden," and headed to her car.

Hearing Auggie's engine fire up as Braden shouted, "Thanks again," Charlotte figured she would go home and see if Lola was back from day camp.

~

Thankful Charlotte's kid sister showed up when she did, he was seconds away from cussing Charlotte smooth out. What the hell was she thinking? She knew what was in the bag. He knew what she was doing though. He could see it in her eyes. She was pissed at him for not speaking to her. But how was he supposed to in front of his brother when he had just felt her up and was holding a bag of panties for her in his hand.

Stopping before he pulled out of the shopping center, Auggie decided to send Charlotte a text.

A: My house?

He stared at his phone waiting for a reply.

C: Depends...

A: On what?

C: Are you going to speak to me?

A: Yes.

C: Will there be yelling?

Shaking his head at his phone
, he smiled.

A: Probably.

C: On my way ;)

When Auggie pulled up to his house, he grabbed his shopping bag and jumped out of his truck.
Charlotte must have sped like a crazy person to beat him there, but he was glad that she had. It gave him a good feeling to walk up and see her standing at his door.

"Is it already unlocked?" he teased.

Giving him a serious look, Charlotte replied, "You said not to break in anymore."

Staring at her, he
was at a loss for words. Pulling her in front of him, Auggie eased Charlotte into the corner of the porch and kissed her. He heard her purse fall to the ground a second before her arms slid under his. Auggie's shirt was pulled tight against his chest from the grip Charlotte had on it as she pressed him into her. Needing more, his hands pulled at her hips, so that she was firmly against him. It wasn't enough.

Frustration called him to a halt as Charlotte leaned her head back, breathing, "We're on the porch."