Ain't Misbehaving (27 page)

“Thanks.” Charlotte scooped up the handbag she’d dropped on the kitchenette floor and headed for the rear.

Outside, a bird sang in a nearby tree. The sun shone from a brilliant blue sky with not a cloud in sight. It heated her bare arms and the top of her head, yet ice chilled her from the inside out. She shivered and rubbed her hand up and down one arm. It did nothing to dispel the coldness encasing her.

Lies.

Her entire life had been a lie.

A glance to her right told her the reporters and photographers were still hanging around, waiting for her to depart. Abruptly, she turned left and stalked along the street, trying to outpace her thoughts.

Lies. All lies.

Once she reached Broadway, she hailed a cab and sank onto the rear seat with relief.

“Where to, love?” the elderly taxi driver asked.

“Remuera,” she said, giving the driver the address of Elizabeth’s house. Jenny and Rachel would both be at work. Elizabeth too. This was probably a wasted trip.

* * * * *

Ash finished his meeting and ushered the client out.

“Hey, boss.” Laura sent him a quizzical look. “You’re looking happy considering the stories in the paper today.”

About to enter his office again, Ash came to an abrupt halt. “What stories? Something about the engagement?”

“You’d better read this.” She handed him a newspaper.

He scanned the story, his brows drawing together.
Hell
. He ducked into his office and grabbed his cell phone and car keys. “Laura, take care of my appointments for the rest of the day. Reschedule what you can and get someone else to see the clients you can’t put off. Give them my apologies and reassure them I’ll be back in the office tomorrow.”

Ash strode from his office building, juggling his phone at the same time. He hit speed dial for Charlotte but the call went straight to voice mail. Next, he tried Maria.

“No, she’s not here, Ash. She said she needed to think.”

“Do you know where she went?”

“I asked her if she wanted me to ring you, but she said no,” Maria said, her tone full of apology.

“Thanks.” Ash slid behind the wheel of his car, thought for a moment and headed home. Two photographers lingered in front, but the house was empty. Damn it, where was she?

Surely she wouldn’t go to face off with Elizabeth?

He drew a sharp breath and let it ease out. That’s what he’d do if he were in Charlotte’s position.

Ignoring the clicking of cameras, he sped from his driveway and turned toward Remuera.

* * * * *

Charlotte rapped sharply on the front door, impatience prodding her temper. When no one answered, she twisted the handle and, to her surprise, found the door unlocked. She stepped inside, listened for a minute and headed for the kitchen.

Elizabeth, Rachel and Jenny were all there, but none of them noticed her arrival. They were too busy arguing.

“I can’t believe you did this to Charlotte. And Jenny.” Angry color filled Rachel’s cheeks. “An interview with the press? Really? What has Charlotte ever done to either of you? She looked after Gran when none of us could tear ourselves from our busy social lives. Surely you can’t begrudge her the inheritance that much. Charlotte loved Gran, and she showed it every day, which is more than any of us did.” Her voice was thick with angry tears, her hands fisted at her sides as if she wanted to do physical damage.

Charlotte remained frozen by the door, her throat and chest so tight it was a physical ache pounding in concert with the one at her temples.

“Dammit,” Rachel muttered. “I’m proud of Charlotte and everything she’s achieved. Am I envious? Hell, yes, but it’s a healthy envy. Her new life and fiancé are things I aspire to, and I intend to get both, but not by cheating and sneaking around, not by selling out my family to the press for money. Charlotte makes me want to be a better person, and I’d rather be related to her than to the two of you. I’m leaving. I can’t bear to breathe the same contaminated air.” She swung around and came to a halt when she saw Charlotte. Rachel’s face crumpled and she ran to Charlotte. For the second time, her oldest stepsister pulled her into an embrace. It was a fierce hug, painful even, but the warmth and well-meaning in Rachel’s touch thawed some of the ice inside Charlotte.

“I’m so sorry,” Rachel whispered. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay.” Charlotte found herself comforting her stepsister.

“It’s not all right,” Rachel said fiercely. “What they’ve done is despicable. Gran is probably rolling in her grave.”

“She’s probably already here haunting them,” Charlotte said because she knew Rachel was right. Gran wouldn’t have condoned Elizabeth’s actions.

“I hope so. I’m going to pack. My friend Julia keeps asking me to move in with her and share costs. I’m going to say yes.” Rachel hesitated. “Will I see you later? In the future, I mean? Could we meet for coffee or a drink sometime?”

Instinct and past experience made Charlotte want to say no, but the silent pleading in her stepsister changed her mind. She gave a stiff nod.

“Thank you.” Rachel glanced over her shoulder. “Give them hell.”

“What are you doing here?” Elizabeth’s belligerence held a trace of defensiveness, as if she knew she’d stepped far from decency.

“Is it true?” Charlotte demanded.

“Charlotte,” a familiar voice said from behind her. A hand slipped around her waist and she sank back against Ash’s hard chest for an instant before stiffening and jerking away.

She stalked toward Elizabeth, fury rushing up from her belly. It exploded from her like lava from a volcano. “Is. It. True?”

Elizabeth backed up half a step. “You can’t come in here. This is private property.”

“I am going to sue you,” Charlotte spat. “You can’t go around telling people—”

Amusement burst from Elizabeth in a harsh laugh. “It’s true. Richard isn’t your father. After your precious mother died, he was stuck with you.”

“He loved me.”

“He loved Lisa. You were part of the package.” Malice coated the words, a sense of satisfaction.

“Don’t listen to her poison.” Ash was a solid presence at her side.

Charlotte focused on Elizabeth, stalking closer, intent on her prey. “What do you mean?”

“Lisa had money.”

Charlotte rejected the words instantly. She remembered her parents together, their quiet laughter and whispering. Yes, they’d loved each other, but they’d loved her too. Then doubt surged through her as other memories—long forgotten—flickered through her mind in a slow-moving film reel. Another man. Big. So big. Shouting. Weeping.

She swallowed her escalating fears. “Who is my father? Where is he?”

“Jason Humphries went to jail for murder. He died three years later in a prison fight.”

Dead.
Charlotte gasped for breath, struggled to maintain her composure, but it was like sucking air through a straw. Her chest tightened. Black spots appeared in her vision. She sucked harder and a little oxygen made it down the narrow tube. A wheeze escaped as she fought for another breath. A roar rushed through her mind. Panicked. Painful.

She felt as if she were floating, untethered, without roots.

She stumbled for the door, determined to leave before the tears welling in her eyes overflowed to dampen her cheeks. She came face-to-face with Ash, stared at him. Her heart twisted in anguish as another truth struck her over the head.

Everything she’d thought of as truth was a big lie.

And now the publicity would go crazy, even worse than it had been to date. The facts about her father’s history and the lie she’d been unknowingly living would be rehashed in the press. And Ash…no, she was only prolonging the inevitable. She yanked off her engagement ring and pressed it into his hand, evading his grasp, not stopping at his hoarse, shocked words.

The publicity was hurting his business already, and she couldn’t live with herself if his clients deserted him because of his association with her. It was much safer to her sanity and her heart to leave now, before he left her.

Charlotte walked out of the kitchen without looking back.

Chapter Fifteen

Ash stared at the sapphire-and-diamond ring in his hand, paralyzed by what had just happened. Charlotte wasn’t thinking straight. She was distraught. They’d work this out.

A harsh laugh—one tinged with sly amusement—jerked him from his frenzied thoughts.

“I’m not surprised,” Elizabeth said. “Considering her father’s instability, Charlotte’s behavior is not unexpected.”

“Why?” For the first time in his life, Ash wanted to hit a woman. His gaze took in Jenny. “Why did you do this to Charlotte?”

“Charlotte gets everything,” Jenny cried. “She got an inheritance from Gran, she lands a job when she doesn’t have any training, and you. She snared you. Charlotte gets everything and she doesn’t deserve it.”

If they knew how carefully he’d wooed Charlotte, how he might have lost her because of their meddling. Instinctively he’d known something was broken in her, had recognized it because he’d felt the same pain battering him inside before, emotions fighting for freedom. The difference was the support he’d received from his father, his relations and friends.

Charlotte had never had the same safety net.

Ash sent Jenny a disgusted glare and turned his wrath on Elizabeth. “And you? What excuses do you have for your behavior?”

“Excuses?
Excuses?
” Elizabeth screeched. “That girl has been a boil on my backside from the day we met. I didn’t want another child, but I put up with her for Richard. I loved him. I thought I could make him love me in the same way.”

Ash gaped at her, shocked by her spite. Charlotte had been an innocent child. None of this had been her fault. He edged to the door, wanting to leave, before the filth in this house rubbed off on him. No. He needed to know everything before he approached Charlotte. In order to heal, she needed to understand the why of this mess.

“None of this is Charlotte’s fault. She was an innocent child.”

“She is the bloody key to every problem I have.” Elizabeth’s cool blonde façade melted into an ugly mask of resentment and anger. “All of Lisa’s money went to Charlotte. Richard had guardianship once Lisa died. I wanted him to get rid of her, but he refused. He loved Lisa and her daughter. Even when he was dying in the hospital, his last words were of Lisa and Charlotte. I loved him, and he cried out for her, for them.”

“What happened to Lisa’s money?”

“I spent it. It was easy since Richard made me Charlotte’s legal guardian.”

Jenny gasped. “You stole Charlotte’s inheritance?”

“Every cent,” Elizabeth said in satisfaction.

“But it didn’t make you feel better,” Ash said. “You made her into a slave, playing on her soft heart. You made her into Cinderella.”

Elizabeth shrugged and laughed lightly. “Can’t beat payback.”

“You make me sick,” Ash said. “Stay away from Charlotte. If you so much as look in her direction I’ll have you in court so fast your head will spin. Understand?” He was tired of playing nice. “And you.” He whirled on Jenny. “Don’t bother coming into work again. I’ll ask Laura to give you a reference, but I’m only doing it so I don’t sink to your level.”

“No. Please—” Jenny broke off under his furious glare.

Ash strode out of the McDougal house, feeling in need of a shower. Outside, he couldn’t see Charlotte. He rang Maria, asking her to let him know if Charlotte arrived at the boutique. He made a quick call to Laura and told her to cancel his appointments for the next two weeks.

“But I can’t reschedule everything,” she protested.

“Do it,” Ash said in a hard voice. “You and John can take care of everything between you. I’ll be in touch on a daily basis, but I won’t be in Auckland. Tell clients I have a family emergency. I’ll be at home for the rest of the day. Ring me around five.” He hung up before she responded and drove toward home.

Charlotte would have to go there at some stage, even if was only to collect her belongings. He’d wait until she arrived and make her listen to him.

* * * * *

Charlotte sat in the far corner of a café, staring into her coffee cup. The second she thought of Ash, the tears started again, raining down her cheeks. She bit back a sob, aware people were staring.

An elderly waitress delivered coffee and cake to a neighboring table and returned to hand Charlotte several tissues.

“There, there, dear,” she murmured. “I’m sure he’s not worth all these tears.”

“Thanks,” she croaked.

You shouldn’t have given back the ring,
Ms Feisty snapped.
Ash loves you.

Charlotte wasn’t so sure. How could she trust her instincts when she hadn’t known the truth about her own family? Heck, she’d never suspected a thing.

Ash loves you,
Ms. Feisty insisted.
He’s a good man. You need to talk to him, explain how you feel. He’s not a damn mind reader. And tell Ash you love him in return. You know you love him. You can fix this mess. All you need to do is talk to him. I don’t want to lose, Ash.
Ms. Feisty stomped her foot, and the dull ache in Charlotte’s head intensified.

She pushed away the full coffee cup, blotted her face with the crumpled tissues and took a deep breath.

Ash deserved an explanation about why they couldn’t be together. He needed to learn about the nerves gouged raw by Elizabeth’s revelations. Maybe he’d even forgive her, and they could remain friends. All she needed was a little honesty, a smidge of bravery. Friends was best while she found her feet and regained some sort of equilibrium.

Charlotte stood and left the café. She was at the stop for a few minutes before the bus arrived. Ignoring the hovering reporters and their hollered questions at Ash’s house, she opened the security gate and slipped through.

Ash was at the door to meet her. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head mutely, tears welling yet again, when she thought she’d cried every drop of moisture from her body already.

“Aw, sweetheart,” he whispered. His arms wrapped around her, his warmth, his familiar scent and his smoky voice calming as he murmured words of comfort.