“Come on up,” I said, and turned to Alfred. “I have a guest coming. Do you think we could manage some coffee, or tea, and something to eat?”
“Oh course, why, your uncle would always take a high tea,-“
“Ok, great, that would be lovely. See you in a bit,” I said quickly and turned toward the door. Opening it wide, I stepped out to see Charlie’s little car chugging up the winding driveway. I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders. I felt pent up like I did before an important performance, as if a lot rested on this moment.It does, a voice whispered in my gut.
Charlie got out of the car and approached across the gravel. Her beautiful face was a tight mask, and her chin was up like she expected a fight. I fought a smile watching her in all her indignant glory. I might be a tricky bastard, but by God, she was stunning when she was angry.
“Welcome to Ivy House, come on in,” I said formally, stepping back, and ushering her into the hallway. She turned her green eyes up to the high, corniced ceiling, staring at the gorgeous period features that I hadn’t appreciated until this moment, seeing them reflected in her eyes.
“Thank you,” she said primly, and then nodded toward the lavish hall that led into the house proper. “I’m ready to meet the new owner now.” There was a note in her voice that warned me against further trickery. Alas, it was already too late for that. Neglecting to respond, I turned on my heel and led her toward the drawing room, where a fire was burning merrily in the grate. Outside was cold as hell today and the air was thick with the promise of incoming snow. It was the perfect day to hole up somewhere warm, with someonewarm, and Charlie fit the bill perfectly. I’d never met someone who warmed the cold icy remnants of my heart as she did.
“After you,” I murmured, as I pushed the door to the cozy room open, and waited for her to enter. Once inside, I closed the door firmly behind us and made my way to one of the leather armchairs before the fire. Charlie shrugged her coat off and left it on a chair by the door and then turned suspicious eyes at me.
“Well? Where’s the owner, you better not say it’s you!” Her finger pointed at me in warning, and I bit down a rueful grin. “Well?” she demanded when I failed to speak for a moment.
“You told me not to say it’s me, so… I’m just following your wishes,” I started and stopped when she held up a hand.
“I knew it. All this pretence, for what? You could have just told me who you were and that this was your place right away. What has lying to me achieved except for making me feel stupid?”
I was up and across to her before I could stop myself. “You don’t look stupid, and I never lied to you. I didn’t volunteer the information, and yeah, ok, that was a dick move, but it didn’t hurt anyone.”
“It hurt me!” She glared accusingly up at me.
“Maybe that was just the fall on the ice yesterday,” I teased her.
Her mouth fell open with disbelief. “I can’t believe you. It hurt me to embarrass myself, gushing about getting to use Ivy House for a concert, and how maybe the local rock star would even help, and all the while, it was you. I refuse to believe that you weren’t having a laugh at my expense. There’s literally no other reason to play along and act like it had nothing to do with you.”
“You didn’t think maybe it was nice for me to meet someone who didn’t know, or care who I was? Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve met someone who just saw me – not the signer, not the millionaire, or Soren’s heir?”
My quiet tone reached through her anger, and like a balloon full of annoyance, her temper seemed to deflate. The warmth returned to her eyes, making me feel disarmed. I hated being vulnerable, and went to great lengths to avoid it usually, but here, standing in front of Charlie Winter, it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t hard at all, in fact, it felt good.
“I’m sure that’s not true, I mean, look at you. You clearly have plenty to offer apart from being THE Lars Nilsen. You probably mistake how much your fame attracts people, and how much of it is just you.”
My brow scrunched at her words. “Meaning?”
“Meaning…” she blew out a long breath, as though the incoming admission cost her, “some people are just magnetic, and you’re one of them.”
I stilled, shocked by that compliment. It was certainly not one I’d ever had before and coming from this woman, it meant a lot. There was much unspoken in that admission and I treasured it. Whether she realized it or not, with that statement, Charlie told me that she was attracted to me, drawn in inexplicably, even without knowing who I was, or my influence or net worth.
“Well, ditto, Miss Winter. Do you really have no idea how magnetic you are yourself? Surely, you must know.”
Charlie flushed and looked away from me. “We can hardly compare, anyway, that’s in the past, I supposed. Now all our cards are on the table, I guess we can move forward with the concert,” she said, her put-upon tone making me laugh.
“I warned you that I don’t like Christmas, charity or Sunshine Home. I wouldn’t suppose that holding the concert here is a forgone conclusion, no matter how much I might owe you for being a dick.”
Charlie stared at me, aghast. “You don’t like Christmas? Who doesn’t like Christmas?”
“Plenty of people, I should think. Isn’t the highest rate of suicide around the holidays?”
Charlie opened and closed her mouth, stumped by that stark fact for a moment, before recovering. “How can you not like charity or Sunshine Home? Are you a monster? What do you have against children without families?”
“Nothing, I was one, in fact, and I happen to think there are far better places and funds out there to give money to than Sunshine Home. As a former resident of Sunshine Home, I can assure you, it’s no magical place, in fact, it’s quite the opposite.”
“You grew up in Sunshine Home, right? When your uncle lived here?” Charlie said slowly. Her words were a blow to the gut, though there was nothing but truth to them. Yep, the reminder of my fucked up past was always a tough pill to swallow.
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” I warned her, seeing suffocating pity well up in her green eyes. “I didn’t want to live here with him, not after the pain he caused my mother. I didn’t like Sunshine Home, but it was preferable to Ivy House,” I told her firmly.
“I – I don’t understand,” Charlie said finally.