Shark Out of Water (17 page)

“Your parents keep extra clothes on hand for people when they visit?”

Guy shook his head. “No, I had Sabine picks a few things out for you and Warren. It is too much hassle to pack all the clothes needed for one of my parents’ events. We both keep a wardrobe here so we can pack light for traveling. My bags have been lost too many times. I prefer to only bring carry-ons. Sabine is the same way.”

“What do we do with the clothes when we leave?” Charlotte asked.

“You leave them here for the next visit.”

Charlotte’s lips turned up just a bit. “Next visit?”

“Of course. Do you think I would let you slip away from me so easily? If not because I adore you, because my parents have never been so pleased to see me!” Guy chuckled at her. “I must bring you every time I visit so they will be nice to me and stop trying to trap me here.”

“Your parents love you,” Charlotte argued.

“
Oui
, but you are the only choice of mine they have approved of since before I left for university.” Guy would have preferred to stay there convincing Charlotte of what a treasure she was, but the maid appeared in the doorway again with a gentle reminder that they needed to hurry. Guy sighed. “I will leave you to get ready, unless you need my help?” he said with a grin.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and stepped out of his grip. “Somehow, I don’t think your idea of helping would actually be much help.”

“
Non
, but it would be
plus de plaisir
.” It would be
much
more fun than dinner.

Chapter 19

Un Bébé

The firm look Guy directed at Warren as he jumped on the bed was completely ignored. Guy supposed he should do something more to stop him, but it was difficult to reprimand him when he looked so adorable in his miniature suit and tie. Guy would have to redo the tie and tuck his shirt back in before they went downstairs for the party, but he only shook his head as Warren continued to bounce.

It had been a long time since Guy had come home and enjoyed himself so much. His family adored Charlotte and Warren. They doted on them almost to the point of being intrusive. Warren was already happily calling Sabine
Auntie
, and Guy had even overhead him referring to his parents as
grand-maman
and
grand-papa
. He was not sure if Charlotte had heard him as well, but he chose not to comment on it either to his parents or Warren.

He suspected it might upset Charlotte to hear her son referring to Guy’s family as his own, but for Guy, he felt confident this would not be the last time they were together. It also heartened him to see how much Warren was enjoying being around his family. The boy loved his mother fiercely, but it was clear to Guy that he wanted more.

Charlotte could not travel home to see her parents very often because of work and finances, and her father’s back problems and her mother’s failing eyesight prevented them from traveling to visit them as well, so Warren did not see his biological grandparents very often. Jackson’s parents had been older than average when they started a family, and had both passed before he and Charlotte married, so Charlotte was left with very little family support as she raised Warren. It was just the two of them most of the time. Of course, Warren had friends at school, and Mindy, but it was not the same as having family close by. Guy contemplated that thought as he reached for his dress shirt.

“Guy,” Charlotte called out from the next room, “could you help me for a minute?”

“Of course,” Guy replied. “I will be right there.” He forgot what he had been about to do before Charlotte called for him and started for the door. At the last second, he turned back to Warren and said, “Do not fall off the bed and hurt yourself.”

Warren nodded and continued to jump. Shaking his head, Guy walked out into the hall and then into Charlotte’s room. She was facing away from him, but must have heard his footsteps. “I can’t get this dress zipped up all the way. Do you mind getting it for me?” she asked.

“Of course,
ma chérie
.” He stepped up behind her and reached for the zipper, but her bare shoulder was too enticing to resist. He forgot the task entirely and slipped one hand onto her stomach as the other one gathered her hair away from her shoulder. Her body went slack as he pressed his lips to her warm skin.

“Mmm,” Guy muttered. “What are you wearing? You taste of strawberries.”

Charlotte whimpered as Guy kissed her skin again, and again. She sighed as her head fell back against his shoulder, giving him access to the soft skin of her neck. “Sabine,” she whispered. “She gave it to me.”

Guy’s arm tightened around Charlotte, closing any distance between them. “My sister is the devil,” Guy growled before kissing Charlotte more fiercely.

“Hmm?” Charlotte asked, though she sounded decidedly unfocused on the answer. Her own hand tightened around Guy’s, her chest heaving with each breath.

“I will speak to my sister.” He kissed her again, this time reaching over her shoulder to touch the bare skin of her collar bone.

Charlotte moaned softly. “Did she do something wrong?” Her breathless voice only made Guy want her even more.

“Wrong?” Guy asked as he spun her in his arms. Charlotte’s eyes widened as she stared at Guy’s bare chest. Her hands touched him hesitantly before pressing flat against his skin as she struggled to breathe. It was pure agony not to pull her over to the bed in that moment. “Yes,” Guy said, though it killed him to say it. “She is trying to help you seduce me.”

“She is?” Charlotte asked, though she did not seem particularly against the idea in that moment.

Guy nodded. “Strawberries, they are a weakness of mine and she knows this.”

“Your sister knows what kinds of things turn you on?” This time Charlotte did seem surprised.

“A past girlfriend of mine told her, unfortunately, and she is using it against me now.” Guy shook his head. Sabine had mentioned at dinner the first night how much she liked Charlotte, and warned Guy not to mess things up as he usually did. Clearly, she did not trust him and thought to push them together, but she had taken it too far.

Charlotte was only half focused on the conversation. The majority of her attention was on trailing her fingers up and down his chest. “She doesn’t seem to know that we…that I’m not supposed to be seducing you,” she said quietly, “no matter how much I might want to.”

Crushing Charlotte against his chest, Guy groaned as he held her. His fingers found the zipper and slid it up her back slowly. He pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, “If I do not leave now, I will not leave at all.” Charlotte nodded against his chest, though she clung to him.

Guy pulled away quickly before doing something he knew could possibly hurt her and rushed away, muttering that he would set his sister straight. He leaned against the wall outside his bedroom for several minutes, trying to calm himself back down, before entering the room and getting Warren ready for the party a second time. By the time he managed to wrangle the boy into sitting still long enough to be made presentable, he looked up to find Charlotte standing in the doorway. The way her eyes lingered on him nearly sent him right back to his previous thoughts. Warren saved him again by yanking on his arm repeatedly, asking if it was time to go yet.

The trio walked down the staircase and toward the ballroom, the only one speaking being Warren, though neither Charlotte nor Guy knew what he said. It was almost a relief to find his parents and hand Charlotte and Warren off to them soon after spotting his sister. Guy begged an abrupt apology before dashing off after her.

Sabine seemed surprised when her brother slipped up next to her and gripped her arm tightly. Her laugh cut off at the touch, leaving the gaggle of men fawning over her looking rather perplexed. “
Pardonnez-moi
,” Guy said, “I must borrow my sister.”

He did not wait for anyone’s response before dragging her away. Sabine was too polished to object in front of a crowd. As soon as they made it to the hallway, though, Sabine began whacking Guy with her tiny purse. “What is wrong with you?” she demanded. “Why would you drag me away from such company?”

“Why are you trying to interfere in my relationship with Charlotte?”

Sabine’s face screwed up in confusion. “What?”

“The lotion. Why did you give it to her?”

“Only for encouragement,” Sabine said with a shrug. “I like Charlotte very much and I do not want you to lose her. You are very good at screwing up relationships, Brother.”

“Pulling tricks like that will be what causes me to lose her, Sabine,” Guy said harshly. When she only stared at him in confusion, he forced himself to calm down and explain. “Charlotte and I, we cannot be sleeping together.”

“Why not?”

“She will be starting chemo next week. She cannot get pregnant yet. Even though it would be unlikely, we cannot risk it. You must understand this and not try to interfere. Please, Sister.”

Scrunching her brows in confusion, his sister said, “But there are plenty of ways to prevent pregnancy. Has her doctor forbid it?”

“No,” Guy said, “but Charlotte is too frightened of the possibility. She already has Warren to worry about if the treatment does not work. Risking a pregnancy, no matter how small the chance, is too much for her to handle right now. We have already spoken about it. Perhaps she will change her mind later, but this is what she wants for now, and I will honor it.”

Sabine’s whole countenance changed. Guy knew his sister loved him, but he had never seen her regard him in such a way. “Guy, I am so sorry. I did not even consider. I would never mean to hurt either of you.”

“I know,” he said, blowing out an anxious breath. “I know you did not mean any harm, but it is already so hard to resist Charlotte.”

“I will not interfere again. I promise.” She wrapped her brother up in a hug, and he returned the favor. She stayed there until his anger and worry faded. When she pulled back, she looked up at him curiously. “You said
yet
, earlier.”

“What?”

Sabine stepped back and considered him carefully. “You said Charlotte could not get pregnant
yet
. Does that mean it is an option after her treatment is done? Is this what you want?”

Standing in front of his sister, he found himself at a loss for words. “I…I do not know, maybe, it could…” Guy closed his eyes and dragged his hands down his face. “That is a long time from now, Sabine,” he finally said.

“
Oui
, but it is worth thinking about, yes?” She smiled softly at him and squeezed his hand. “You would be wonderful with
un bébé, mon frère
.”

He did not attempt to stop her when she walked away from him and back to her drooling admirers. Instead, he found Charlotte. She was still standing with his parents. Warren was bobbing around the food table with a
nounous
close behind to keep an eye on him. Guy slipped up behind Charlotte and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“
Oui
, it is fine.”

She did not push him any further, but seemed content to enjoy his company. Many old friends approached them, even after Guy’s parents wandered off to enjoy the celebration. Guy fielded the guests’ questions and introduced Charlotte to each one as his girlfriend. That earned him a few icy stares from some of the younger women who were used to his flirting, but he was not bothered by their reactions. Most of the guests were quite pleased to meet Charlotte and peppered her with compliments.

Though Guy enjoyed introducing her to everyone, after a few hours it was clear her strength was waning. After letting the
nounou
tailing Warren know that he was taking Charlotte to her room and asking her to bring the boy up when he was done gorging himself on treats, Guy led Charlotte up the stairs to her room. After helping her with her zipper, he stepped out to the hall to avoid a repeat of earlier that evening. However, when he stepped back in, he was no less entranced with her wearing loose cottons pants and a t-shirt.

Charlotte looked at him questioningly when he stripped off his shoes and jacket. “Guy, you don’t have to stay. I’ll be fine. You’re missing your parents’ party.”

“They will not even notice I am gone,” he said and he pulled her down to the bed with him. Despite her argument, she curled against him with no further protest. They lay in silence for a few minutes before Guy asked, “What are you thinking?”

Charlotte pulled against him more tightly. “About how happy I am right now.”

“You are glad you came, yes?”

“How could I not be?” She smiled up at him. “Your family is wonderful. I was so nervous to meet them, but I feel like they’ve already taken Warren and me in as part of the family.”

“
Oui
, they have,” Guy replied seriously. “I think they would be more devastated to have you two disappear than me.”

Charlotte started to smile, but it faded quickly. Guy knew she realized as well as he did, that if the chemo did not work, she would disappear from all of their lives. Biting back her fears, Charlotte changed the subject. “Your mother invited us back when Warren is out of school. She said it’s beautiful here in the summer.”

“It is,” Guy agreed.

“She also said…it was a lovely place to live.”

Groaning, Guy buried his face in the pillow. “I am sorry,” he mumbled, “they are like piranhas, trying to capture you before you can escape.”

“They’re sweet,” Charlotte said. “They just care about you and want to see you happy.”

“Still, they should not be making such comments.” Guy expected her to say something, laugh, or tease him, but Charlotte remained quiet. Worried his family had offended her, Guy sat up on his elbow and looked at her seriously. “Charlotte, I am sorry if they upset you.”

Touching his arm gently, Charlotte shook her head. “It didn’t upset me. I just…” Her head dipped down. “I just never thought I would ever find myself in a serious relationship again. I really hadn’t even considered it, to be perfectly honest. Losing Jackson was so hard, but…”

Guy suddenly felt every other concern disappear. All that mattered in that moment was Charlotte. It was difficult to breathe, but somehow he managed to ask, “But what?”

“I miss this, Guy. I want to have this again, to not be alone, to care about someone again, to be cared about. It feels good being with you, and I don’t want to lose that.”