Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
After one busy morning, they made a stop at a local café and enjoyed a large mug of coffee, with a cinnamon bun. They were Charlotte’s favorites.
“So, do you think being a makeup artist is something you would like to do?” Maeve asked.
“Yeah, I think it is.”
“But?” Maeve asked, with a raised brow. “Don’t give me that look. I can see a ‘but’ in there somewhere. Tell me.”
“But I don’t see myself getting on a plane and flying all over the world. I think there would be a lot of work for me around here.”
“It is a great base, and when the salon opens up again, customers will come.” Maeve nodded her head. “All women deserve to feel beautiful. Makeup helps with that. It enhances their natural beauty, and of course can cover up as well.”
Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh as she recalled the nightmare smokey eye she had done on herself. “You’re right.”
“So, tell me, Charlotte. You’re young. Nearly nineteen. Is there a special guy in your life? A special girl?” Maeve asked.
She groaned. “We don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Where you play the role of stepparent. I don’t know what my dad has told you to ask—”
“Nothing,” Maeve said. “He hasn’t asked me to ask you anything. I was just curious about Savage. Doc said he was already on the scene before him. I also heard through the channels that he was the one to alert Sheriff Hayes.”
“It was good of him to respond,” Charlotte said.
“How did he find out?” Maeve asked. “I know I didn’t get to alert him. I don’t think anyone did.”
“Fine, fine, fine. I was able to text him and send him the alert to what happened. That is all.”
“So, are you and Savage a thing?” Maeve asked.
She looked toward her friend, and it didn’t feel right to lie to her. “No, we’re not a thing. I guess you can say we’re friends.”
“Friends?”
Charlotte nodded.
“Just friends?”
“I know it’s crazy, but yes, we’re just friends.”
“And do you want to tell me how that happened?” Maeve asked.
“Are you, like, wearing a wire? Has my dad put you up to this?”
“I care about you, Charlotte, and Savage is a little older than you.”
“My dad is older than you,” Charlotte pointed out. There was a bigger difference between her dad and Maeve, than there was between her and Savage.
He had let it slip that he was thirty years old, and that wasn’t old. Charlotte didn’t even think her father was that old. It was why it didn’t gross her out, hearing he was now in a committed relationship with Maeve. She hoped one day her mother might find what she was looking for, but she had a feeling that was not going to happen anytime soon.
“Okay, fine. Fine. I can’t argue with that one. Your dad is older than me. But do you want to know the difference?” Maeve asked.
“What?”
“I had a life before I knew your father. I was in relationships. Admittedly, not very good ones, and not ones I would recommend.”
Charlotte frowned. “Are you trying to encourage me to find someone else?”
“I’m encouraging you to live. If Savage is who you want, then go for it, but also understand that your dad is going to be pissed. I don’t know enough about club life, but I do know enough about life, to know that any relationship with you is going to come with bad consequences for Savage.”
She knew the consequences. “There is nothing going on between Savage and I. Honestly, we’re just friends.” Even though there have been a few times she had looked at his lips and thought about kissing him. Only, she didn’t cross that boundary. She was her father’s daughter. She was off limits.
That boundary shouldn’t be crossed, and she knew Savage and her father were really good friends. She was never going to be selfish enough to jeopardize that. It wasn’t who she was.
She took a long sip of her coffee.
“Right, we’re heading out to Mrs. Bernadette,” Maeve said, finishing the last of her coffee.
Charlotte got to her feet, shoving the last of the cinnamon roll into her mouth, as she followed behind Maeve.
She joined her in the car, sliding into the passenger seat. “I can’t believe you agreed to work on Mrs. Bernadette. She’s not a nice older lady.”
Maeve laughed. “Then you are in for a treat. You see, me and Mrs. Bernadette have an understanding.”
“An understanding?”
“Yeah, she doesn’t fuck with me, and I don’t fuck with her.” Maeve looked toward her and winked.
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“Nope,” Maeve said.
“How?” Charlotte knew most of the town of Rivermont Ridge absolutely hated Mrs. Bernadette. The kids that lived close by hated her, because she had paid a guard with a couple of dogs, and instructed him that any ball that landed on her property was to be seized and destroyed in front of the kids’ eyes.