Rescued

Chapter 17: How Easy It Was

*** Charlotte's POV ***

I headed to Jamie's begrudgingly. We hadn't ever made it to his place while we were together and now I felt like a double agent entering enemy territory. I shifted uncomfortably on his porch while I waited for him to answer. The first thing that struck me was that I didn't hear dogs barking. Where were Nestor and Mac?

The door was thrown open and Jamie grinned at me. His grin used to elicit a warmth in my belly, but now it felt like a lead balloon was sinking. "Come on in, gorgeous."

He took the bags from my hands and leaned towards me like he expected a smooch. I folded my arms over my chest and walked away from him, gazing around. "Where are the dogs?"

"Nice to see you too, Charlotte." He grumbled.

I sighed, realizing that I was going to make this harder if I couldn't at least feign being minimally cordial. "I'm sorry. This is just...awkward because it's still raw, you know?"

He sighed also. "I do. And I have a confession about the dogs that may make you hate me more."

Every nerve cell in my body fought to react as I tried desperately to calm my response to his phrasing. He wasn't going to admit to the fighting, was he? "Oh?"

"Nestor stays at the shop full-time because I really did want a guard dog, despite your advice. And Mac...well he is living with my sister now. He needed a bit more than what I could give him with how long I work." He revealed. It wasn't what I expected, but I also didn't believe him.

I forced a smile and nodded. "Well thanks for letting me know."

"Of course. I hope you don't hate me now." He said hopefully, giving me a sideways glance with those sharp blue eyes of his.

"Nope." I answered simply because what else could I say.

He was about to say more when I heard an excited pounding on his front door. I knew exactly who it was. I threw a genuine smile at Jamie and he waved me toward the door. I opened it and was immediately attacked by my best friend.

"He did it! HE DID IT! I am officially off the market for life!" She yelled as we jumped around excitedly like little girls. I hugged her tightly, allowing myself to get swept into the moment with her.

I congratulated Morris who looked both pleased with himself and maybe a bit terrified as Dani and I lapsed into wedding planning mode. I heard a bottle of champagne be relieved of it's cork, glancing over to offer Jamie a small smile of appreciation. He poured glasses and handed them off.

Once we all had a glass in hand, he raised his. "To Dani and Morris. May this only be the next step in your happy journey together. Cheers!"

Dani beamed at Morris and then back to me. "Maybe we won't be the only ones with things to celebrate!" She winked and nudged me. I shook my head at my crazy best friend and felt Jamie's gaze on me.

I put the attention back where it should be. "So tell us the whole story."

Dani gladly obliged, giving us all the details of their trip. That moved into her throwing out ideas of when they were thinking for the wedding, color palettes, and of course, the super important question for me. "And you'll be my maid of honor, right?"