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  “That’s a huge accomplishment! Congrats on the new job.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Why am I getting the impression you are less than thrilled?” he laughs. “Did you not want to be an attorney?”

  “Not necessarily. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I am thankful and proud of my accomplishments, and I like law, but the idea of me sitting behind a desk all day in a stuffy office isn’t my cup of tea.” I have no idea why I am spilling out all of this information, but I feel completely at ease sharing for once.

  After I manage to steer the conversation away from my career, we talk easily for a couple hours under the warm sun. We learn that we are both from Chicago, although he’s originally from Alabama which explains his fuck hot accent. His Dad’s name is Charles, and he goes by Charlie, which gave us both a good laugh. We both are complete music junkies with goofy as hell personalities. I am absolutely beguiled by his intelligence and easy sense of humor. I still can’t believe what he does for a living. Looking at him you would peg him as a pro athlete, a construction worker, professional bad boy, but nope; a freaking surgeon. It should be illegal, really.

  After chatting for so long, I realize that we seamlessly fit together like two pieces to a puzzle. I laugh until my cheeks hurt, and I cannot remember the last time I had fun like this. Actually I can, it was that night. Before. Before my world was turned upside down.

  Andrew:

  Fuck me, this girl is remarkable. She’s hilarious, charming, smart as hell, and honestly the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. She makes my heart beat a little bit faster, and I feel like a teenager with a first time crush. The cute freckles on her sun kissed nose, her sparkling emerald colored eyes lined with thick dark lashes, and her mouth. God, the things I can imagine her doing with that mouth. Even her voice gets to me – low and somewhat raspy, not high pitched and giggly like the girls I’m used to dating. We have so much in common and with every passing minute, she keeps drawing me in, and I just want to dig deeper and find out more.

  I don’t think a woman has ever been able to hold my attention in a conversation for this long, but with Charlie I can’t seem to get enough. I hang on every fucking thing she says, yet, behind her beautiful smile and corny jokes, I sense that there’s something she isn’t saying. I only catch glimpses of it when she’s talking, or telling stories about her friends and her smile slips ever so slightly. It’s something I’m familiar with, something that mirrors the broken pieces of my own soul.

  I glance at my phone realizing that I have lost hours talking to Charlie, and I have several missed texts from Ethan and Parker. I would stay with her all day if I could, but I don’t want to push my luck. Waiting for a break in conversation, I say, “I hate to leave you Charlie, but unfortunately I am being summoned.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been gone awhile too. Kate and Laney will be sending out a search party soon enough.” She laughs

  “Have dinner with me tonight.” I know it came out as a demand rather than a question, but I really don’t want to give her the opportunity to refuse if I can help it.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m here with my sister and my friend and I can’t really ditch them.” She says hesitantly. I can tell she doesn’t really want to decline my invitation, so I make it so she can’t.

  “Bring them along. We can make it a group thing. I would love to continue our conversation, and you’re right. It’d probably be rude if I ditched my friends too. Give me your number, and I will text you the details when I have them.”

  “Alright, that sounds good. As long as you’re sure though…” She eyes me skeptically, but still scribbles her name and number on a sheet of paper from her notebook, and hands it over.

  Honestly, I can’t think of anything I want to do more in this moment than kiss her, but I know that would scare her away for sure. So I settle. Standing up I grab her hands and pull her up into a hug before she can protest. She smells of coconut suntan lotion, honeysuckle and clean shampoo. She smells like home and her body fits perfectly up against mine. She only comes up to my shoulder and my arms wrap around her, hugging her curves in all the right ways.

  I want to just stand here and hold her like this forever. Her nearness comforts me, surrounds me, but I have to release her before she notices how attracted I am to her. I can’t help it, and end up giving her a kiss on the top of her head and reluctantly let her go. She steps back out of my embrace leaving a void, and smiles shyly up at me. She gathers up her small bag and gives me a small awkward wave, and I fight the laugh that wants to escape. She’s just so damn cute.

  “Guess I’ll see you later then.” She turns and starts walking away.

  “Charlie!”

  “Yeah?” she asks spinning around in the sand.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “The best conversation I’ve had in years.”

  “Anytime.” She says grinning and turning back towards the entrance to the resort.

  I stand here with a huge ass grin on my face, and watch her until I can’t see her anymore. I am so addicted to this girl already and it has only been a few hours. All I know is I don’t think I am going to be able to let her go, and that kind of scares the crap out of me.

  Charlie:

  I play it cool all the way into the hotel. I can feel Andrew’s eyes on me the whole time. Then, once I walk through the doors, I practically sprint all the way to our room. Ok, let’s be honest. I do sprint… like an idiot. I burst through the door to find Laney and Kate eating breakfast on our patio.

  “Jeeze Charlie, you scared the shit out of me.” Laney says, placing her hand over her heart.

  “Sorry! I just have a lot to tell you!” I pant, bending over at the waist to catch my breath. They are both looking at me like I’ve completely lost it.

  “What’s going on?” Kate asks stuffing her face with bacon.

  “I met a boy. Well not a boy, a man. A yummy, delicious, intelligent, funny man – from Chicago! And get this, he invited me to dinner tonight. Well not just me. All of us. He is here for work, but his friends are here on vacation and we are all supposed to meet up tonight.” I say. I’m doing that thing where you talk as fast as you can and say it all in one breath. If you’re a girl, you know what I mean.

  “He’s here for work? What does he do?” my sister asks.

  “That is what you picked up out of all of that?” Laney asks, giving Kate a pointed look and reaching for her toast.

  “Stability and work ethic is important.” Kate says shooing Laney off her plate. “Well?” my sister continues, ignoring Laney’s glare.

  “He’s a pediatric surgeon, but he has been travelling teaching new surgical techniques to local hospitals, and other stuff.” I say proudly.

  “You know how to pick ‘em. Atta girl.” My sister says, still chewing.

  “I think my ovaries just exploded.” Laney says swooning.

  A couple hours later, when I haven’t received any calls or texts from Andrew, I start to get nervous. I wonder if he changed his mind, and that thought alone makes my stomach turn thinking I might never see him again.

  “Come on, let’s go get some lunch on the beach and soak up some sun.” Kate says trying to pull me out of my funk.

  “I suppose.” I say, heading over to grab a swimsuit from my bag.

  Just then there’s a knock at the door, so I hurry to the bathroom to finish getting dressed in my favorite Mara Hoffman bikini. Laney jumps up to answer it and speaks briefly with the person on the other side. She comes back wearing an enormous grin, and carrying a large bouquet of white roses, fuchsia peonies and green hydrangeas. It is absolutely beautiful.

  “Where’d those come from?” I ask curiously.

  “I dunno, why don’t you read the card and find out.” Laney replies.

  On a pearly white envelope, my name is written in clean handwriting. I tear it open to read the note written on heavy cardstock.

  Charlie-

  I enjoyed our morning
more than you can possibly imagine, and I can’t wait to learn more about you. I have made a reservation for six at Fegallo’s at 7:30 PM. Can’t wait to see you again.

  x- Andrew

  “Where can I get me one of those?” Laney asks as her eyes scan the card over my shoulder.

  “He has friends.” I say.

  “He is too good to be true.” Kate says skeptically.

  I feel a twinge of anxiety with her comment. He is too good to be true right? No guy can be that perfect on and off paper, but throughout our whole conversation today, Andrew seemed nothing but completely genuine.

  “I suppose we’ll find out tonight.” Laney says gathering up her bathing suit.

  “Come on, let’s go have some fun for a while.” I say packing up some beach essentials into a bag.

  The three of us spend a fun day in the sun, snorkeling and riding jet skis. Sufficiently sun kissed and salty, we make our way back to our room to get ready for dinner. Thank goodness we have a few hours.

  Searching through the clothes I packed, or rather the clothes that Laney packed for me, I decide on a high waisted black pencil skirt, a tight black matching cropped tank with an ivory lace cropped blouse over the top. It shows just a small strip of skin around my middle, but otherwise it is relatively conservative. I slide on some black heels and pull my wavy hair into a messy ponytail. I decide on keeping my makeup simple with some bronzer, nude lipstick and just a bit of eyeliner and mascara. I spritz myself with my favorite perfume and we are ready to leave.

  My heart is pounding and my stomach is doing flip-flops as we head down to the restaurant, and I am so glad I chose comfortable heels because it is quite a walk across the resort to Fegallo’s. It is a beautiful Tuscan inspired restaurant, which you would think would be out of place on a Caribbean island, but it is anything but that. High ceilings with large sliding wood doors that open it up to the water. Large rustic wood tables and antiqued iron pendant lighting cast a subtle glow over the entire dining room. It is absolutely stunning; transporting you to a different place entirely.

  When the hostess is walking us to our table, my eyes fall on Andrew. He’s deep in conversation with the two guys he was with last night. Feeling my gaze, he looks up and his face breaks into a radiant smile. The other guys look up following Andrew’s line of site. When their eyes fall on us, they all stand and friendly smiles form on their faces.

  Laney leans in to whisper in my ear, “Dear Lord, that level of hot shouldn’t be allowed at one table.”

  I completely agree and nod my response, but I’m not even paying attention to the other guys. My gaze is locked on the six foot something dream with dark messy hair, sparkling blue eyes and incredible style. When I near the table, Andrew steps around to greet me, pulling me close to his body into a warm hug. He smells clean, like fabric softener and mint.

  “You look absolutely beautiful.” He whispers into my ear, before releasing me so he can pull out my chair. The boy has manners for sure.

  Andrew and I make our introductions and the conversation flows easily between the six of us like we are old friends. I learn that Andrew’s friend Ethan is an architect and like me, Parker is an attorney. Although he does criminal defense, and has a lot more exciting stories. Throughout our meal, Andrew’s hand never leaves my thigh or my hand. He is in constant contact, and I can’t complain because for whatever reason I feel like I can’t get close enough to him.

  Chapter 3

  Andrew:

  The ladies excuse themselves from the table, and we all stand like the gentlemen we are. Those women are certainly a handful, but I do not think there is any denying that they are leagues ahead of last night’s company. Charlie kept my friends’ attention with her funny stories and never ending jokes. She and Laney played off each other and Parker and Ethan were eating out of their hands. Hell, I am not sure what red-blooded male wouldn’t be.

  Ethan claps me on the back, “She’s a keeper man.”

  I smile a wide smile in return, thinking the same thing myself. I know that we have only had a couple conversations, but she has this effect on me that’s indescribable. It’s almost like she puts pieces of me into place, and beyond that, she’s funny, and smart and beautiful. Charlie is literally my dream girl, one that I never knew could exist.

  “Definitely a fucking ten, man. I like her.” Parker says eyeing a couple of girls walking by. “Her sister is smokin’ too man.” He says waggling his eyebrows, like a creep.

  “Dude, she’s married. Didn’t you notice the big rock on her hand or the way she kept saying, my husband this and that?” Ethan shakes his head.

  “Never stopped me before.” Parker shrugs

  “You’re so full of shit, Parker James.” I say knowing he would never cross that line. Parker doesn’t exactly have the best of standards when it comes to his hookups, but he does have morals. I know he would never go that far.

  “Listen guys,” I continue, “I hope it’s alright but I’m going to ask Charlie to go for a walk or something with me. Can you make sure Kate and Laney make it back their room ok?”

  “Not a problem.” Ethan says with a nod, he is a solid guy and I know I can trust him to be responsible.

  The three of us sit for a few minutes discussing our fantasy football teams. We are in a heated debate over running backs when Charlie catches my attention as she strides back to the table with straight shoulders and a sexy sway to her hips. She gives me a shy smile and, God, it does something to my fucking insides. Every laugh, every smile, every small touch turns me inside out.

  “Hey beautiful,” I say standing as she approaches the table, “Would you like to go take a walk with me?”

  She blushes, turning to her friends. “Sure, will you guys be ok?”

  Parker says, “Don’t worry; we’ll walk them back to your room.”

  Charlie eyes him and says, “Mmmhmm, be good.”

  I can’t contain the laugh that falls out. She barely knows Parker, but she already calls him on his shit. I take her small soft hand in mine and lead her towards the exit. My body warms instantly by her touch, and I lead her towards the beach. Abruptly she stops, and bends down, leaning into me to remove her shoes, making her so tiny against me.

  “So, tell me. Why law? You don’t really strike me as the type of person that would be happy sitting behind a desk all day.” I ask, curious about her career choice. Charlie is such a funny, vibrant woman and it seems like such a shame for that to go to waste. I have a hard time picturing her pioneering the world of mergers and acquisitions. Not to say that she isn’t brilliant, but I’ve only just met her and I know she needs more to be fulfilled.

  Her face falls and instantly her brows knit, but she recovers quickly. “I suppose it has always just been part of the plan.” She states simply, but everything about her face and body language tells me it’s anything but.

  “If you could do anything though, what would it be?”

  “Hmmm.” She muses, tilting her face towards the sky, a smile tugging at the corner of her full lips. “I suppose I would own my own business, or be a musician of sorts. I have always wanted to do something creative. I love music and it might be fun to own a music store or a venue or something.”

  “I could see you doing that. Why don’t you then? You seem like the type of woman who goes after what she wants.” I push just a bit further, but I know that is a topic that is closed for discussion now because she swiftly changes the subject on me.

  “What do you love most about your job?” she asks.

  “Well obviously I love the kids. They don’t deserve the cards they are dealt, and I feel like if I can give them a part of their lives back, it gives me part of mine in return. I suppose I always wanted to be a doctor. I genuinely like people and feel like I need to help.” It’s true, my mother always jokes that I would give a checkup to anything that would sit still long enough for me when I was a boy. I spent enough time in the hospital as a kid that I idolized the doctors, my own personal heroes.
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  “Come from a long line of doctors?” she asks casually, as we continue to walk hands intertwined along the sand. Nothing feels more natural than this, like she was meant to walk beside me.

  “No, not at all. My grandfather on my mother’s side was in oil. My father’s side is a long line of bankers and lawyers. My Dad had hopes that my brother and I would assume his role and take over the firm eventually, but it just didn’t feel right. Luckily, my parents are really supportive and encouraged me to do something different. Something that made me happy.”

  “That’s awesome, did your brother become an attorney then?” she asks, knocking the wind from my sails. I didn’t even realize I had mentioned Graham. I don’t often, but everything about us is so relaxed that I must have let it slip. I mean, it’s only logical that she would ask, and if our relationship continues, I’ll have to tell her everything someday, but not yet. I don’t want to see that look on her face. The one that inevitably comes when the story, my story is told.

  “No, he passed away about ten years ago.” I say, looking away so she can’t see the pain in my eyes, everything about Graham cuts me deep. Deeper than any loss I could imagine. I can barely speak his name without coming undone.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have asked if I had suspected.” She says sadly reaching up to place her hand on my shoulder. The light went out of her eyes and a broken look mars her beautiful face, and it crushes me. “I understand. I know how it feels to lose someone close to you. I’m not especially good with talking about things like that, but if you need to, I’m here.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.” I say pulling her into a tight hug, wanting to lose myself in her completely. Silently, I wonder who she has lost and if the darkness I see in her is the mirror image to my own?

  Charlie:

  Andrew and I fall back into a comfortable conversation, tossing questions back and forth. It’s like a deeper version of twenty questions, trying to uncover all the traits and quirks that make us so attracted to one another. After the mention of his brother, it took a while for Andrew’s easy smile to reappear. Sure, he was smiling on the outside, but it was a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. If you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t notice anything was wrong. However, I am an expert when it comes to pretending and deflecting hard conversations. I have become a master over the past five months, so I know the pain he is swimming in. I drown in it daily; occasionally resurfacing only to have another crushing wave drag me under.