“Charlotte, are you telling me you were jealous of her because of me?”
“I wasn’t jealous of her relationship with Winston if that’s what you were originally thinking.” She takes another sip from her drink and my gaze settles on her pursed lips. “I thought maybe there was something going on between you two.”
I want to laugh, but I don’t. When I first met Ash, I thought she was hot. And she was on my side. I liked that. But I’m not attracted to her. She belongs to Winston. He’d have my ass if I even looked at Ash wrong.
Besides, he’s my brother and I would never do him dirty like that.
“There’s nothing going on between me and Ash,” I say, my voice quiet. “There never has been. She’s with Winston. She’s his wife.”
“I know.” She nods. Sighs. “I’m silly. I just—she’s beautiful.”
“She is,” I agree.
Pain flickers in Charlotte’s eyes. “And sophisticated. She fits into the Constantine family perfectly.”
I bark out a laugh. “It wasn’t always like that. Trust me. My mother hated her.”
“Really?” She sounds surprised.
“Definitely.” My gaze tracks her every little movement. How she tucks a wild strand of blonde hair behind her ear. How there’s another strand stuck to her upper lip thanks to the gloss she’s wearing. She tugs the stray hair away, her index finger lingering at the corner of her mouth and heat surges inside of me.
I’m filled with the sudden urge to kiss her.
“Does your mother hate me?” she asks.
I slowly shake my head when her gaze finds mine. “Sometimes I think she likes you better than me.”
She laughs. “I doubt that. She dotes on you. I think you’re her favorite.”
“Only because I kiss her ass,” I mutter.
“No. It’s more than that, and you don’t have to act like a tough guy in front of me like you do everyone else. It’s okay to admit you love your mother and that you’re close to her.” Her smile is small, her eyes full of sadness. “I’m not close to either of my parents. They don’t seem to care much for me.”
My heart breaks for this girl. Woman.
My wife.
“Who are you close to in your family? Any of them?”
“Mainly Crew. We’re close in age and our brothers are a lot older than us, so we spent most of our growing-up years together. My mother tries, but I’m not like her at all. I don’t want to shop or gossip, and those are her two favorite things to do.” She looks away, her lips parted, her expression thoughtful. “As we got older, Crew and I grew more distant. He’s a Lancaster male, after all. He can’t be too soft and spend so much time with his sister.”
The Lancasters are the worst, I swear to God.
“It’s why Seamus knew he could take advantage of me,” she continues.
Shock courses through me at hearing his name—mixed with a fair amount of anger. “How did he take advantage of you?”
Her gaze finds mine, those blue eyes full of unfamiliar emotion. “I don’t want to talk about it on our honeymoon, but…you have to believe me, Perry. I didn’t want him at our wedding. There’s no way I would’ve wanted him near me, after what he’s done. And I didn’t invite him either. Isn’t it your family who’s big on keeping their archrivals close at hand?”
Winston told me exactly that. He even said McLoser could show up. I don’t know why I’m so focused on the fact that Charlotte invited that asshole.
Our server arrives with our meals, interrupting our conversation, and we eat in comfortable silence, commenting on how delicious the food is. How I think Charlotte should slow down on the pina coladas, but she ignores me and orders another one, hiccupping in the middle of her request, which makes her laugh.
My wife is well on her way to being drunk.
I think about what she said, the earnestness in her gaze, and I realize…
I believe her. She didn’t invite him.