Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Once I have myself together, I put the car in Drive and head home. The journey is quick, and when I see my sister's car in the driveway, I smile. I can’t wait to share this news, and then tonight, I have to tell Spencer. I just hope he understands my need to make sure that I did this on my own. I hope we can get past this. I have faith that we can, and when we do, I want to tell him what he means to me. I want to tell him that I’ve fallen madly in love with him. I want to finally feel as though I can stop holding back and let this relationship of ours take flight. I want to see where we can go. All the images in my head lead to forever, and I really hope that he’s on the same page, or at least the same chapter as me.
I don’t bother pulling into the garage since I’m leaving again. I do grab my purse and phone and head inside. “Audrey!” I call out.
“In my room!” she calls back.
Kicking off my heels, I toss my purse and phone on the couch and start down the hall. I knock on her door, and she tells me to come in before I push it open. “Hey.” I smile at her.
“Have you been crying?” she asks.
I nod. “Yeah, but I’m good. I promise. Happy tears.” I point to my eyes that are once again welling up.
“Oh! Did Spencer propose? Let me see the ring,” she demands.
I toss my head back in laughter. “No, Spencer did not propose. We’re not there yet.”
“You’re not there yet. That man would change your last name in a hot minute if he thought you would be okay with it.”
“Huh,” I say, stepping into the room and sitting next to her on the bed. “Funny, because I would totally be okay with it.”
“Seriously? Who are you, and what did you do with my sister?”
“Stop.” I lean my shoulder into hers. “I love him, Audrey.”
“I know you do.”
“I haven’t told him yet. I’m a shitty girlfriend that I tell my sister before I tell him.”
“I’ll pretend like I don’t know,” she says with a chuckle.
“I got the job,” I tell her.
“What?” she screeches as she jumps off the bed. “Charlotte!” She grabs my hands, pulls me to my feet, and crushes me in a hug. “I’m so fucking proud of you. Mom and Dad would be so proud of you,” she says, her voice filled with emotion.
“I hope you know they would be proud of you too.”
She nods, then pulls back. “So, the happy tears?” she asks.
“Yeah, the happy tears.”
“When do you start?”
“I don’t know. The CEO, Susan, called me herself. Human resources is supposed to contact me soon to work out all the other details. It’s a huge pay raise, vacation time, and every benefit you could ask for. This is what I always wanted to do.”
“It’s funny how things have a way of working out,” she says.
“Definitely.” I tug her into another hug. “I’m staying at Spencer’s tonight.”
“How did he take the news?” she asks.
“He doesn’t know.”
“That you got the job or that you applied and got an interview?”
“That.” I point at her, feeling the guilt wash over me.
“Charlotte! You haven’t told him? He’s going to be blindsided.”
“I know. I just—I wanted to get this on my own. I didn’t want him to make a phone call or write a letter. I wanted them to want me for what I can offer them.”
“How do you know he would have done either of those things?”
I shrug. “I guess I don’t know for sure, but I know Spencer, and if he thinks that I want it, then he’s going to do whatever he can to help me get it. It was that or try to talk me out of it, and I don’t want to be the woman who slept her way to the top. Besides, my boss, Lucia, hates me because she wants my Spencer.”
“He only has eyes for you,” she assures me.
“I know,” I admit.
“He loves you.”
“I hope he still does after he learns that I kept this from him.”
“It’s going to take more than this for him to let you go. In fact, I’m not sure there is anything that you could do to make him not want you.”
“This is the last and only thing,” I tell her. “No more secrets. It’s been stressful and hard to keep this from him. Every interview I wanted to call him, but I talked myself out of it.”
“I’m going out tonight, but if you come home and need me, or if you need me at all, just text me.”
“Hot date?” I ask her.
“Nah, just a group getting together for dinner.” Her eyes tell me a different story, but I can’t dwell on her secrets right now. It’s time for me to go spill my own.