The Bachelor (31 page)

Her eyes glittered in a way Charlotte hadn’t seen—ever. A lesson learned, she thought. A woman
could,
in fact, get over a man. Yet despite Beth’s ability to bounce back, Charlotte had her doubts it was as easy as Beth pretended.
Still, she smiled, glad to hear her friend was thinking clearly, even as she was mooning over the hunk du jour. “Does
he
have a name?”

“Thomas Scalia. Exotic-sounding, isn’t it?” As Beth spoke, the man in question turned and faced the window, seeming to meet
her steady stare. “He came up to me after the last baseball game. After you ditched me and ran.”

Charlotte didn’t reply to that dig. She’d already left a message on her mother’s answering machine that she wanted to meet
with both her parents. Her insides had been churning nervously all day because they hadn’t called back and she was anxiously
anticipating the moment.

As surprising as it seemed, Samson’s words had had an effect on her. So did Roman’s absence. She still wasn’t sure how to
reconcile the coin toss with his real desires, but she knew in her heart she didn’t want
them
to be over.

The time had come to deal with her parents and her past. Otherwise she had no future.

“Oh, my God.” Beth’s squeal jarred Charlotte out of her self-absorbed thoughts, “He’s coming inside.”

Sure enough, the door opened and Thomas Scalia strode inside. He had the cocky, confident swagger she associated with a male
in charge and Charlotte crossed her fingers. She didn’t want Beth to fall into the same trap with another dominating man who
wanted to take control and change the beautiful person she was inside and out.

The bells above the door jingled behind him as he walked to the desk. “Afternoon, ladies.” He inclined his head in greeting.
“Beth I already know.” He smiled, revealing dimples that had no effect on Charlotte, but obviously had Beth squirming in her
seat. “But I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.” He glanced at Charlotte only briefly.

“Charlotte Bronson,” she said, extending her hand.

He shook it. “Thomas Scalia. But you can call me Tom.” He spoke to Charlotte, but his admiring gaze never left Beth’s flushed
face.

Charlotte watched their wordless exchange with a combination of amusement and longing for Roman. She missed him with a desperation
she hadn’t known she could feel, making their last meeting and all the hurtful words that had passed between them seem trivial.
But there was nothing trivial about the coin toss and his feelings regarding commitment. Once Charlotte made peace with her
own ghosts, there was still no guarantee he’d want to settle down. Especially now that he’d gone back on the road.

“So what can I get for you?” Beth’s voice resonated with a husky quality and brought Charlotte back to the present.

“Now, that’s a loaded question.” Thomas leaned closer.

Beth fingered the bowl of chocolates on the counter. Her hand shook as she lifted a wrapped chocolate egg in one hand. Charlotte
watched in disbelief as Beth, the poised, accomplished flirt, popped a silver-wrapped chocolate Easter egg into her mouth
with trembling hands.

“I admire a woman who’ll eat anything without regard to calories or weight,” Thomas said with a grin.

Beth spit the candy out and dropped her face into her palms.

Charlotte swallowed a giggle. Apparently even the most accomplished seductress got nervous around the right man. “I’m mortified,”
Beth wailed, her voice muffled through her closed hands.

This time Charlotte did chuckle. Thomas whispered something low and obviously personal in Beth’s ear. As far as the two of
them were concerned, no one else in the world existed. Time to make herself scarce, Charlotte thought.

She glanced at her watch. Four-thirty P.M. “You know what? It’s quiet today. Why don’t we lock up and leave early?”

“Perfect,” Thomas said to Beth. “I was hoping to entice you to join me for dinner. You’re more than welcome too, Charlotte,”
he added politely, but she sensed the reluctance in his tone and grinned.

Beth shot her a pleading glance. Oh, no. No way would Charlotte be the third wheel at the start of a new romance. She’d let
these two muddle through the embarrassing beginning on their own. Charlotte touched Beth’s hand for encouragement. Beth could
handle this dinner with ease. As long as she unwrapped the butter pats first.

Charlotte forced a regretful shake of her head and began to gather her things. “Thanks anyway, but I have plans,” she lied.
“But Beth is free. She told me as much this afternoon.” Charlotte felt Beth’s gaze shooting daggers at her, but she didn’t
mind. Charlotte had more pressing problems. “I’ll lock up.”

“I won’t hear of it. You go on upstairs,” Beth said. “I’ll lock up behind me.”

Stalling. Charlotte recognized the tactic well. Beth obviously figured she and Romeo were safer in the shop than alone somewhere
else. Little did Beth know all the erotic things that could happen in this shop. Charlotte and Roman did. Firsthand.

She swallowed over the lump in her throat caused by the memory. “It was nice meeting you, Thomas.”

“Same here.”

Less than a minute later, Charlotte had departed and ran up the stairs to her apartment. The clatter of pans and sounds of
chatter greeted her as she put the key in the lock and stepped inside. So did the delicious aroma of fried chicken and mashed
potatoes, which brought back surprisingly good childhood memories.

Her stomach grumbled, a combination of hunger and fear, because she had no doubt her parents awaited her.

“Honey, she’s home.” Her mother’s next words proved Charlotte right.

Inside her usually solitary apartment, Charlotte found her family and a table set for three, fresh flowers and a pitcher of
iced tea in the center. Her parents met her in the small family room. Stilted hellos followed and Charlotte quickly excused
herself to wash up, needing a splash of cold water on her face for bravery and fortitude.

On the way to her room, she heard the whispering sounds of two people who knew each other well. A shiver passed through her.
This wasn’t how she envisioned her family at all. Yet they’d gone to a lot of trouble for this meeting, obviously taking her
phone call as an overture— which it was. Now she just had to find a way to make peace with her personal ghosts.

Dinner was a silent affair. Not because Charlotte intended to treat her parents to an uncomfortable meal, but because she
didn’t know what to say. It was years too late for anyone to ask how her father’s day at work had been, or how Charlotte had
enjoyed her job. She wondered if it was too late for everything. If so, it was too late for her and Roman, a notion Charlotte
refused to accept.

With the main meal over, Charlotte stared into her coffee cup and twirled her spoon around and around, mustering her courage.
“So.” She cleared her throat.

“So.” Annie looked up at Charlotte, so much hope and expectation in her eyes, Charlotte thought she might choke on it.

Her mother wanted a reconciliation of sorts and Charlotte could think of only one way. “Why haven’t you two gotten divorced?”
she asked over her mother’s fresh-baked apple pie. Her parents’ forks clattered to the table in unison. But she wouldn’t apologize
for asking what had been on her mind for years.

She needed to understand how they’d gotten to this point. It was time.

R
ussell stared at his daughter, deliberately not looking at his wife. If he let Annie sway him, he’d continue to take the blame
for their separations, but no more. And not just because he wanted a relationship with Charlotte, but because he had a hunch
her future depended on his answers.

His truthful answers. “Your mother and I never got divorced because we love each other.”

Charlotte lowered her fork and tossed the napkin on the table. “Forgive me, but you have a funny way of showing it.”

And that was the problem, Russell thought. “People have many ways of expressing their feelings. Sometimes they even hide things
to protect the ones they love.”

“Is that an excuse for being absent all these years?” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I thought I could do this. I can’t.”

She rose and Russell stood, grabbing her arm. “Yes, you can. That’s why you called me. If you want to yell, scream, throw
a tantrum, go ahead. I’m sure I deserve it. But if you want to listen and then go on with your life, I think you’ll accomplish
much more.”

Silence followed and he let Charlotte take stock, decide where to go from here. It didn’t escape his notice that Annie had
remained in her seat, quietly watching. Dr. Fallon had said any antidepressant medication took a while to work, so Russell
didn’t expect miracles overnight. If she didn’t feel ready to take part in the conversation, at least she was here, and he
knew what a huge step that was for her.

Charlotte folded her arms across her chest and exhaled a sigh of acceptance. “Okay, I’m listening.”

“Your mother always knew I wanted to act and I couldn’t make a living at it in Yorkshire Falls.”

Charlotte glanced at Annie for confirmation and she nodded.

“To make things one hundred percent clear, we got married before she ever got pregnant with you, and we got married because
we wanted to,” her father said.

“Then why’d you …” Charlotte paused and swallowed hard.

Watching his daughter’s pain, his heart nearly ripped in two, but there’d be no healing without tearing each other apart first.
He knew that now. “Why’d I what?”

“Leave?”

He gestured to the couch in the other room and they settled into the flowered fabric. Annie followed and sat on the other
side of their daughter. She grabbed Charlotte’s hand and held on tight.

“Why’d you go to California without us?” Charlotte asked. “If you loved Mom as much as you say, why not stay here or take
us with you? Would having a wife and a child have been such a huge burden? Would it have cramped your lifestyle?”

“No,” he said, clearly upset she’d think such a thing. “Don’t ever believe that. I couldn’t stay because being an actor is
who I am. I couldn’t sacrifice myself. Selfish, I suppose, but true. I needed to act and I needed to be in the best place
to follow my dreams.”

“And I always knew that.” Annie spoke for the first time, then brushed a tear off Charlotte’s cheek.

Charlotte rose and walked to the window, grasping on to the windowsill as she looked out. “Did you know I used to dream you’d
take us all to California with you? I kept a packed suitcase under my bed just in case. I don’t know how many years I held
on to that fantasy. Eventually I realized that being an actor was more important to you than we were.” She shrugged. “I can’t
say I ever accepted it, though.”

“I’m glad. Maybe somewhere in here …” He pointed to his heart. “Maybe you realized it wasn’t true that I didn’t care more
about my career than you.”

“Then why don’t you tell me how things really were?”

Russell wished the explanation were as concise and compact as she seemed to think it was. But emotions were involved. His,
Annie’s … it wasn’t simple. All this time Russell had thought by nurturing Annie’s need for familiarity and a child’s need
to be with her mother, he was helping them both. But as his daughter stared at him with huge, accusing eyes, he knew what
a huge mistake he’d made.

He drew a deep breath, knowing his next words were going to hurt her as much as or more than his long absences. “Every time
I came back, including this one, I asked your mother to come back to California with me.”

Charlotte took a step back, reeling from that piece of information. Her entire life had been built on the premise that her
father didn’t care enough to take them with her. Annie had fostered that belief. She’d never once said Russell had asked them
to join him.

Charlotte trembled, shaking in her denial. “No. No. Mom would have gone to California. She wouldn’t have chosen to stay here
alone, pining for you. Letting people talk about us. Letting the kids make fun of me because I didn’t have a daddy who loved
me.” She looked to her mother for confirmation.

Because to learn otherwise now would mean she’d unnecessarily lost out on years of having a father. Even if he wasn’t in town,
if she’d known he loved her, known he wanted her, her emotional foundation would have been more solid.

Surely her mother would have known that. “Mom?” Charlotte hated the little-girl sound to her voice and straightened her shoulders.
She’d handle whatever happened next.

Unbelievably, Annie nodded. “It’s … it’s true. I couldn’t leave town and everything that was familiar. And I couldn’t bear
to be separated from you, so we stayed here.”

“But why didn’t you at least tell me Dad wanted us? You knew he wanted
you.
You had that thought to keep you warm and comforted at night. Why didn’t you want the same for me?”

“I wanted what was best for you. But I’m ashamed to admit I did only what was best for me. The way you reacted when your father
left and the way you kept reading up on all those Hollywood books, I was afraid of losing you if you knew. You always were
more like your father than like me.” She sniffed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I thought you’d go to him
and leave me behind. Alone.”

Charlotte blinked. Feeling numb, she lowered herself onto the couch. “All these years, I blamed you.” She met her father’s
gaze.

“I let you, honey.”

And he had. While her mother had allowed her child to suffer, her father had perpetuated the lie that he’d abandoned them
both. “Why?”

He let out a groan. “At first, it was out of love and respect for your mother’s wishes. She was so afraid of losing you, I
couldn’t help feeling she needed you more than I did. And how do you explain all this to a little girl?”

“And later?”

“You became an angry teen.” He wrapped his hand around the back of his neck, shook his head, and began massaging. “On my trips
home you wouldn’t have a civil conversation with me about the weather. Then you went to college, moved to New York, and were
old enough to schedule your trips home so you could avoid mine.”