Page 83 of Floored (Frenched 3)
you moved here to be a dad. That still doesn’t explain why you felt like you had to hide it from me.”
“I didn’t do it to hurt you, Erin. I did it because one of Laura’s stipulations for time with Madison is that there can’t be any women around. That’s why I don’t date.”
I bristled a little. “That doesn’t seem fair, not that you deserve any breaks from her.”
“That’s what she wanted. And I had no room to argue.” He looked uncomfortable. “After Laura and I were separated but before we divorced, there were times that Madison saw other women at my house.”
Nauseated, I put a hand over my mouth.
“It confused her, and she asked her mom about them. Of course, Laura was livid. Rightfully so.”
I didn’t even know what to say.
Charlie rolled his shoulders as if to relieve tension or shrug off the shame of the memory. “So in order to prove I was serious about being a father, I had to promise that there wouldn’t be any women coming and going around Madison. And there haven’t been.”
“Not that you’ve been celibate,” I said archly.
“I’d be lying if I said that. I don’t want to lie anymore.”
Ugh. At least he looked me in the eye.
“But there hasn’t been some sort of parade of women in and out of my bed, either, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he went on. “I have Madison every other weekend now, and I’ve been really focused on her, adjusting everything in my life to be a better father—and enjoying it too. In fact, until you, it had been months. And if you’re wondering, no—there hasn’t been anyone since I met you.”
“Not even Krista with a K?” I couldn’t resist asking.
That brought a cautious smile. “Especially not Krista with a K.” He lowered his voice. “After that rainy night in your kitchen, I told myself to leave you alone—I knew I couldn’t offer you what you wanted, what you deserved.”
“But you didn’t leave me alone,” I said pointedly.
He shook his head. “I couldn’t. I wanted to see you again so badly, and I figured if I took a date to your class, I’d be safe.”
I blinked—that was his plan? Boy, had he botched it. “You might have been safe. Except that you came back later.”
He closed his eyes and exhaled, and I wondered if the sight of me crawling toward him on the studio floor was going through his mind like it was mine. “I did.” He met my eyes. “And I don’t regret it.”
I crossed my legs.
Lowering his voice to a whisper, he leaned forward. “I thought maybe we could just do it once, get it out of our systems. I didn’t know how good it was going to be.”
My arms and legs prickled with goose bumps. It had been good. More than good.
“Afterward, when I went outside to throw the trash away, I was so mad at myself. Because I could feel something happening with us, and I didn’t want it to. I couldn’t let it.”
I nodded. “I remember. It felt like forever before you came back inside.”
“I was out there beating myself up. Because I hadn’t gotten you out of my system—in fact, it was the opposite—you were completely under my skin. But I had to go back in and act like it was no big deal. Give you the lines I’d rehearsed.” He shook his head. “Believe me, I didn’t feel that way.”
“You’re a good actor,” I said flatly.
“I was trying very hard to convince myself and you that what we’d done hadn’t affected me. That’s why I said right away I couldn’t date you. I did that for both of us—so we wouldn’t start wanting something that couldn’t happen.”
Uncrossing my legs, I leaned forward, putting both palms on the table. “But it did happen, Charlie. What about last weekend? What about telling me you wanted to give me more?”
His blue eyes pleaded with me. “That was all real. Things changed. I do want to give you more, Erin. I want to give you everything. But I also said I needed time. You said you could be patient with me, remember?”
“I meant I could be patient with you slowly opening up. This is not the same thing at all.”
“Yes, it is,” he insisted. “These are personal things about me that I don’t share with anyone up front.”
