Little Secrets: Holiday Baby Bombshell

“Michael gave me a verbal offer on a unit for himself a few weeks ago,” Sawyer said.

“I’m dying to get into the hotel. It’s so much closer to my office. My commute takes way too much time.”

“Are you serious?” Charlotte asked.

“The more important question is, are you serious?” Sawyer asked. “It’s a big commitment.”

Charlotte twisted her lips tightly. “Yes, I’m serious. I need a place to live. I gave up my apartment when I went to England. I’m already living and working out of the hotel. I can quite literally do a showing at any time, day or night. And these apartments will be the only thing I’m working on. You’ll have my undivided attention, unlike with another agent, who might be such a hotshot that he’s juggling hundreds of properties.”

“She might have you there,” Sawyer said. “You can’t deny that’s a compelling argument for her half of the listings.”

Michael had a long string of counterarguments cued up in his head, but the reality was that Charlotte was Sawyer’s sister. In Michael’s experience, family won out over nearly everything. Sometimes, it even won out over money. Michael needed to focus on his long game, especially with Gabe Underwood on his heels. Sawyer Locke and his brother, Noah, were quickly becoming some of the most prominent real-estate developers in the city. The sooner Michael aligned himself with them, and elbowed Gabe out of the picture, the better. That meant playing ball.

“I’d never want to get in the way of family,” Michael said. “I understand it’s important you give your sister this opportunity.”

“Thank you,” Sawyer replied earnestly. “I really appreciate it. Truly. I owe you one.”

Music to Michael’s ears. “Happy to do it.”

“We can get the paperwork in line later today and be on our way.” Sawyer rose from his seat. “I’m ready to get these sold. It’s one of the final pieces of the puzzle for the Grand Legacy.”

“I’m so excited to work together. Thank you so much for the chance,” Charlotte said, embracing her brother. That was the reason Michael hadn’t stood a chance when he walked into this room. Family bonds were always the strongest.

Sawyer walked them into the lobby, but didn’t have time for long goodbyes, as his admin let him know he had a call. Charlotte was putting on her coat. Purely out of habit, Michael lifted the empty sleeve for her. She yanked it from his hand. “No, thank you. I’m good.”

“I’ll go down with you.”

“I’m taking the stairs.”

“Me, too.”

“Suit yourself.” Charlotte held on to both railings as she descended the stairs, preventing Michael from walking next to her.

He stopped her when they reached the lobby. “Charlotte, hold up for a second.” He grasped her arm, but dropped his grip immediately when he saw the disdain on her face. “You gave up your apartment when you went to England? Were you planning on staying?” The timing still seemed odd to him. She’d dumped him, disappeared from his life altogether, and then he’d heard from a friend that she’d run off to Europe without saying goodbye to anyone.

“I didn’t know how long I was going to be in London, but my lease was up, so I just put my stuff in storage and left.”

Michael shrugged. “Must be nice. Running off at the drop of a hat, no responsibilities to tie you down.”

“I was regrouping. And spending time with my aunt.”

Regrouping. Michael wasn’t sure what that meant, but he knew very well that it was Charlotte’s inclination to leave when she had a problem. “You know, you can’t run away every time you hit a rough patch. My dad practically drilled that into my head.”

“You can stop right there, okay? You don’t even know why I went to England. Don’t assume.”

“So tell me.”

“Um, let me think.” She set her finger against her temple. “No.”

Good God, she was stubborn. “All I’m saying is that you have to keep going when things get tough. This was a problem when we were together. You were always letting the little things get to you. And you were always coming to me with your problems, expecting me to fix everything.”

Charlotte nearly blew steam out of her nostrils. “First off, I don’t remember asking for your sage life advice. And second, you have a lot to learn about women. I never wanted you to solve my problems. I wanted you to listen.”

The biting tone she’d taken gave him pause. But only for a second. “Fine, then. I’m listening. Tell me why you went to England.”

She glared at him. “It’s a little late for listening. Goodbye, Michael.” She opened the building door with a shove.

Charlotte. Always the drama queen.

“Dammit,” she muttered. “I forgot to have Lily call me a car.”

Michael followed her as she shuffled to the curb. “Do you want me to do it? Or I’ll call Lily.”

She rifled through her handbag, hunched over it while resting it on her leg. “No. I’m fine taking a taxi.”

“Then let me give you a ride. I have my car. It’s cold out here. You’ll freeze.”

He took a step toward her and she shot him another one of her piercing looks. Her breaths left her lips in puffs of white and her cheeks began to turn bright pink. “I like the cold.”

“No, you don’t. You hate it.”

“You think you know me, Michael. But you don’t. You never took the time.”

Clearly, they were having two separate conversations. He didn’t have the patience for more of her thinly veiled innuendos about his personal shortcomings. “Okay, then. Have a nice day.” He turned and headed for the parking garage.

“I hope you have the worst day ever!” she called back.

Fine. Be like that.

He trudged around the corner and retrieved his car. When he pulled out of the lot, Charlotte was still standing on the sidewalk, looking for a cab. A heavy sigh left his throat. It would be easiest to turn on his blinker, take a right turn and leave Charlotte to fend for herself. But there was this little voice inside him, a voice he normally ignored, suggesting that he might have a few things to make up for, even if he might never know his actual past transgressions because Charlotte spoke in secret code most of the time.

He rolled down his window and the icy air rushed inside. “Charlotte. Come on. I’ll give you a ride.”

“A cab will come along any minute now,” she replied, not looking at him.

The street was dead. You’d have more luck if you walked over to Seventh Avenue. “I’ll turn on your heated seat.”

She glanced back over her shoulder. That flash of her blue eyes was still pretty damn potent from this distance. “Fine.”

Shoulders bunched up around her ears, she hurried around to the passenger side as Michael rolled up his window. The instant she climbed inside and closed the door, her sweet vanilla scent hit his nose. Her presence was impossible to ignore in the confines of the car. It sent a powerful wave of recognition through his body. Even with her prickly attitude toward him, if she said she wanted him, he’d go so far as to blow off work for an hour. He never did that for anyone.

“You have to promise you’ll drive carefully.” She rubbed her hands together in front of the vents. Without asking permission, she reached over and cranked up the heat.

“Charlotte, you know me. There is no such thing as careful.”

* * *

Charlotte’s heart was beating so fiercely, it didn’t even faze her when Michael laid on the horn and yelled at the car in front of him. Everything was getting to her right now, like having the air sucked out of her triumphant announcement that she was going to buy an apartment, only to learn from Michael that he’d made an offer to Sawyer weeks ago. It was bad enough that he’d never said a thing while they were together about cooking up a deal with her brother to sell the Grand Legacy units. It was the perfect illustration of the divide between Michael and Charlotte. A normal couple, a real couple, would have discussed such things.