Charlotte
The phone call from Stephanie Starz was exactly what Charlotte needed to get her excited about things again. It hadn’t even occurred to her to try to start up her own interior design business or consultation at all. She’d been so wrapped up in the mess of her personal life, she hadn’t even thought such a thing was possible. But now, it felt like anything was possible.
She couldn’t help but laugh at herself as she walked, almost ran down Main Street toward the hardware store. One phone call and her entire thought process had shifted. No doubt her therapist would have a field day with that, probably tell her how she needed to find happiness within herself before she looked outward.
And Lauren wouldn’t be wrong. But a job offer from Stephanie Starz was also an equally powerful way to find some joy. And she’d take it.
She was greeted by the tinkling of bells as she pushed open the door to the hardware shop and was instantly hit with the unique blend of wood, paint, and grease that she remembered. How long had it been?
When she was in high school and had first developed an interest in paint colors and designs, Charlotte had spent a lot of time in Howard’s Hardware, looking at paint chips, matching colors, and convincing Harriet, the owner’s wife, to give her sample cans so she could test them at home. Just setting foot into the shop again bought back all those memories, and so many more. Harriet had given her a hard time at first about her paint swatches, but Charlotte knew she secretly loved her frequent visits to the shop. So much so that it wasn’t long before Harriet started showing Char giant books of wallpaper samples, stencils, and catalogs for various furniture pieces they could order in.
Those early years of poring over catalogs, order books, and experimenting with color had been so important for Charlotte and were without a doubt the reason she’d pursued design as a career choice.
How could she have forgotten?
Char made her way through the aisles of the store, to the paint counter at the back. Her face lit up the moment she stepped in front of the paint chip shelves.
Home.
It had been too long since she’d lost herself in shades of gray and white. Looking for the exact right mix of cool and warm. A neutral that paired perfectly with a statement color. Char’s fingers drifted toward the greens. Healing aloe, evergreens, palace green, salamander. She couldn’t help but giggle at that one as her fingers pulled the card from the slot.
“Charlotte? Charlotte Davis?”
She turned to see Harriet Howard, looking just the way she’d remembered her as a young girl, if not about fifteen years older. Had it really been that long?
“Mrs. Howard?”
“Well, I thought that it must be you.” The older woman wiped her hands on her apron and grinned. “I’ve only ever known one girl in all my life who smiled at paint chips like that.”
Charlotte laughed and shrugged. “What can I say? There’s something about all the possibilities that’s exciting.”
Harriet took a slow step forward. “How about a hug?”
There was no way she could turn it down. Charlotte wrapped her arms around the tiny, old woman but didn’t hug too hard. Despite Harriet’s own tight squeeze, the woman was so frail-looking, Char didn’t want to break her. “I didn’t think you’d still be here,” she said when she released Harriet from the embrace. “After all these years, you’re still running this store.” She shook her head in wonder, but Harriet only laughed.
“Where else would I be? Besides, someone needs to keep this town supplied. Do you know we’ve been busier than ever with all the new construction in town? I can hardly keep up.” Her voice dipped. “And when Charlie died, well, I just didn’t think I could manage it myself.”
Char felt an instant shot of guilt. She didn’t know Harriet had lost her husband. Then again, how would she know? She hadn’t really kept up with much in Glacier Falls beyond her own family. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Harriet. I had no idea.”
“Time passes.” Harriet shrugged. “Do you remember Brett Bryant? I think you two were about the same age in school.”
Char grinned. “Of course I remember Brett. He was a few years older than me, but he was—”
“Always trying to get you to go out with me?”
“Brett!”
Without hesitation, Charlotte threw her arms around her old friend. “I had no idea you were still in town.”
She was starting to say that a lot, and it was starting to get more than a little embarrassing that she hadn’t paid any attention to her hometown after she left.
“I was in the city for a while,” he said. “I took some construction classes and got a diploma in business management. But there’s something about Glacier Falls.” He shrugged, his green eyes sparkling.
He’d always been handsome, but he’d really grown into his looks since high school. Charlotte still couldn’t begin to imagine thinking of him as anything besides the boy who would tease her relentlessly for hanging out in the hardware shop where he’d worked, but even she could admit he was a good-looking man. One who clearly had a heart of gold, considering the way he put his arm around Harriet and pulled her close.
“Besides, when I heard that Harriet needed help…well, it seemed like a good time to come home. Been back a few years now.”
“He’s been a lifesaver,” Harriet said. “I never would have been able to keep the doors open without him.” Her smile dropped. “It’s not like my Zoe would ever set foot through the doors, and well…”
She drifted off, and judging by the look of warning that Brett shot her, it was obviously a sensitive subject. Zoe Howard was a few years older than Char in school as well, and she didn’t know her well at all except that she’d been a bit of a handful for her parents back then, too.
“Anyway,” Harriet’s smile returned, “I see you looking at the paint chips, Charlotte. Are you working on another project?”
She didn’t want to say anything yet, especially because she didn’t officially have the job and was only there to pull together some ideas to show Stephanie. So all she said was, “It’s been so long since I’ve looked, I was curious about the season’s new colors.”
It turned out to be the right thing to say, because Harriet came alive and immediately began pulling paint cards to show her. “You inspired me all those years ago, Charlotte. Ever since, I’ve been sure to bring in all the new trendy colors.”
For the next thirty minutes, a sense of peace, happiness, and purpose washed over her as Charlotte and Harriet pored over the colors and Char started to piece together some ideas to present to Stephanie Starz. By the time she walked out the doors, her mind was bursting with ideas, and she couldn’t wait to get home to start putting them all together.
Nick
“She what?”
Despite knowing in his gut that it wouldn’t be easy, Nick still wasn’t prepared for what his lawyer relayed to him.
“She didn’t sign the papers?”
“No,” Chris confirmed for the third time. “And she informed my team that she would be—”
“Seeking custody.” Just saying the words out loud made Nick want to throw up. He glanced behind him at the guest house where his baby girl was still sleeping. He could take her and run. He had the resources that no one would ever find them. They could go off the—no.
That was crazy. A life on the run would be almost as bad as a life with an addict, unfit mother. And if Jessica was making changes, that wouldn’t be the life at all.
If Jessica was making changes. It was a big if. And the even bigger if was if she could maintain those changes.
How many times had Nick’s own mother said she was going to change and maybe even changed for a little bit before falling back into old habits? He’d lost count.
Maybe it wasn’t fair to presume Jessica would do the same. Plenty of addicts turned their lives around. It happened all the time. But sometimes it didn’t, and it was a pretty big gamble to take with his daughter’s future. And yes, Amelia was his daughter. He couldn’t think of her in any other way. Ever.
“So what do I do?” He interrupted Chris, who was going on about the law and parental rights and all kinds of other things. He needed the nitty-gritty. Details. Facts. What he could do to make sure they couldn’t take Amelia away from him.
“To be clear,” Chris started, “Jessica hasn’t made any formal declaration for custody. And she never actually said that.”
“You just said…”
“You didn’t let me finish. She told the team she’d be contacting you. It could be as simple as just wanting to know how the child is doing. She could be calling to explain herself. The fact is, we don’t know yet if custody is something she’s interested in.”
It was. How could it not be? How could she walk away from her child and not want her back?
“In the meantime,” Chris continued, “we’ll appeal to the courts for an adoption hearing. You will need to prove that you are the best possible choice to be Amelia’s parent.”
“No problem.” Nick paced back to the table and picked up his pen, ready to take some notes. “I am the best choice.”
“You think that.” He could almost hear Chris sigh. “And I might even think that. But we need the courts to think that. And I have to be honest—a single dad with no history of a serious relationship, let alone no actual partner to help raise the baby, might be a hard sell.”
“But I have—”
“Resources? Yes. You do. But you’re going to need more than money.”
Nick scribbled some notes but then lifted his head again. “More than money?”
“Yes, Nick.” Chris didn’t bother trying to hide his sigh this time. “More than money. You’re going to need a partner.”
“A partner?”
“For a genius, you’re not picking up on this very quickly.” Chris laughed. “Nick, you need a girlfriend. A wife, preferably. And you need one now. Actually, yesterday.”
Charlotte
Charlotte’s brain overflowed with ideas she could put together and present to Stephanie Starz for her new cabins. It was an amazing opportunity. No, it was beyond an amazing opportunity. It was the opportunity.
If she could impress Stephanie, she’d get the job. And not only would that kick-start a career she’d thought long dead, it could be the launch of an even grander career. Stephanie was huge. And that was an understatement.
The entire world hung off every single thing the woman did. If she chose Charlotte to design the interiors of her cabins…Char couldn’t even process how major that could be for her.
Not only would she be able to afford her own apartment away from her parents, she would be able to afford…well…a life! Which was why she had to nail this meeting. Stephanie hadn’t called it an interview, but it might as well be one. She was going to be in town in five days. And Char wanted to show her something that would make it almost impossible not to hire her.
Her mind was still preoccupied as she hustled down Main Street, eager to get home and start putting things together, when she heard a baby cry. She turned toward the grocery store, at the sound of the cry, and her stomach did that odd squeezey-flip thing it had started doing lately whenever she saw Nick Newton. Or maybe it was when she saw his baby, Amelia. She couldn’t be sure. Either way, she changed course, drawn to the pair like a magnet.
“Let me take her,” Char said when she got close enough to see that Nick was struggling trying to balance an arm full of groceries and the fussy baby. Before waiting for an answer, she took the baby, who almost immediately calmed in Charlotte’s arms.
“I don’t know how you do that.” Nick shook his head in amazement and adjusted his load. “She likes you.”
“You look like you have your arms full.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking.” Nick smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes the way it usually did. “I just needed a few things, so I didn’t bother with the stroller, but a few things turned into…well…I won’t bore you with the details. Thank you,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “Would you mind…” He used his head to gesture toward the parking lot.
“Not at all.” Char focused on the baby and tickled her under her chin. “She’s just so sweet.” They started walking. “And you’re doing it all on your own…that must be hard.” Char didn’t know Nick very well yet, but she did know he was a single father. From what she could tell, not many people in town knew the details about his situation. At least, if they did, they weren’t talking about it.
“It is hard.” He stopped at a sleek, black SUV and used his foot to wave under a sensor so the back hatch lifted.
Char lifted her eyebrows, impressed, but didn’t bother saying anything.
“I don’t say this very often.” Nick tucked the bags of groceries inside. “But it isn’t easy. And you know what’s even harder?”
She stayed quiet, pretty sure it was a rhetorical question.
Sure enough, Nick finished his thought. “Navigating the whole legal system.”
The comment jarred her. “Legal system? Are you being sued?”
“No.” Nick turned around. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just…well, let’s just say, the legal system is definitely not designed to make things easy for a single dad trying to secure custody.”
“Oh. I…I had no idea it was so…” She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Nick. I can’t even imagine how difficult that must be.” It felt like the most inadequate thing to say, but Charlotte really had no idea what to say. She wanted to ask him more about it, but it didn’t feel like the right time, and Nick didn’t seem like the kind of man to open up easily. She turned her attention back on Amelia, who was trying to grab her hair. “For what it’s worth,” Char said, “I think you’re doing an amazing job.” She smiled at the baby. “I mean, look at how happy she is all the time.”
Nick chuckled. “You don’t see her at four in the morning.” He reached out and tickled Amelia, who turned and beamed at her daddy. “Someone likes to wake up nice and early these days, don’t they?”
Amelia giggled and it was just about the sweetest sound Charlotte had ever heard.
“I’ll take her,” Nick said, his arms outstretched. “Thank you so much for your help.”
“Anytime.” His hands brushed hers as she passed him the baby, and her stomach clenched while a shock flew through her. Nick hesitated, as if maybe he felt it, too. She looked up so their eyes met and smiled.
The last thing Charlotte needed in her life was another man. Not after the whole thing with Billy and the way that had destroyed her. But maybe her therapist was right. Lauren had tried to tell her that not all men were like Billy. That, in fact, Billy was the exception, not the rule. Still. The idea of having feelings for a man again was terrifying. How could she ever trust her instincts after she’d gotten herself into such a terrible situation?
Char held his gaze for a moment, but finally looked away.
She wasn’t sure she could.
Mercifully, Nick turned and buckled the baby up in her car seat, giving her a few minutes to catch her breath and slow her racing heart, because her body clearly didn’t get the memo that her brain was trying to send. No men. Not now. Besides, even if she were ready to date—which she certainly was not—a single father who was clearly having some custody issues was probably not the best choice for her to get her feet wet with.
Nick straightened up and faced her again as he ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. She couldn’t help but notice the stubble on his chin. The start of a beard maybe? It was sexy. And there was no way she wasn’t going to notice it. Or the way it made her stomach flip when he smiled at her.
Dammit.
“Thanks again, Char. I really appreciate it.” His smile was deadly. “Oh,” he added. “I forgot to ask you if Stephanie Starz reached out to you?”
She shook her blonde hair back over her shoulder. “She did and…oh my goodness. I’m totally spaced. Thank you so much for recommending me! She said you gave her my number and…I can’t believe I forgot to thank you. I’m so sorry.”
How had that slipped her mind? She should have thanked him the second she saw him. Normally she wasn’t so slack on her manners. But something about Nick twisted her up inside. It wasn’t an excuse for the total oversight, but still…
“Oh good.” His eyes twinkled behind his glasses. “I’m glad she reached out. She needs all the help she can get with those cabins. It seemed like a perfect fit.”
“I really appreciate it, Nick. I can’t thank you enough. It’s an amazing opportunity.”
“I have no doubt you’ll nail it.” He smiled at her and for a brief moment, he didn’t seem nearly as stressed and preoccupied as he had been a few minutes earlier. But then it was gone. Amelia let out a squeal of protest in the backseat and he shook his head, snapped back into the moment. “I should get going. I need to figure out…well, I have some things I need to think about.”
And just like that, the stress and worry she’d seen in him earlier returned. Char had to wrap her arms around herself to keep from reaching out and hugging him. He looked like he could use one.
“Thanks again,” she said. “I owe you one, Nick. Really. I know there’s probably nothing I can do with this whole…” She waved her hand around. “But let me know if I can help in any way. I really wish I could do something.”
“Sure.” He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Looks like I need a wife. You want to marry me?”
She took a quick step back. “What?”
He roughed up his hair. “I’m kidding. Don’t worry.”
“Kidding about needing a wife? Or kidding about marrying me?”
He looked up and gave her a smile tinged with sadness. “Would it matter?”
She hesitated, unsure what to say.
Amelia shrieked again from her car seat, distracting them, and Nick turned to go. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’ll all work out. Thanks, Char. I’ll see you around.”
It’ll all work out.
His words lingered in her head as she watched him drive away. She couldn’t shake the terrible feeling that it wouldn’t all work out.
Nick
It was clear by Katie and Damon’s reaction when Nick showed up at their front door later that night with baby Amelia tucked into his arm that he looked every bit as terrible as he felt. Which was pretty bad.
After returning from his grocery trip, Nick had fed the baby and tried to eat something of his own, but he couldn’t focus. His mind wouldn’t stop running through scenarios. Running into Char had been a good distraction, but it had only been that. A distraction. He still didn’t have any answers.
Katie scooped up the baby and ushered the men into the front room of the grand house where Damon kept the whisky. His friend poured him a stiff one and handed it to him in a crystal tumbler before taking the seat across from him.
Nick glanced around for Katie and the baby, but Damon stopped him. “It’s okay. Katie’s got her, and she’s perfectly fine. Katie loves it and no doubt she’ll want to revisit the whole let’s have kids conversation after you leave.”
Damon smiled, but Nick couldn’t return it. Instead, he put the whisky down on the table in front of him and dropped his head into his hands.
Nick didn’t make it a practice to leave Amelia with babysitters, even when they were in the same house. Sure, he let others hold Amelia and bounce her around. But care for her? No. That was his job. Despite his friend Stephanie’s insistence that it would be fine to hire a nanny to help him out, even part-time, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t want her to be raised by strangers. Besides, he had the luxury of not having to work at the moment. Amelia deserved to be raised by a parent. Or at least a…he couldn’t think about what he was to her. Anyway, he knew he would have to hire a nanny or find some kind of constant babysitter situation going forward, but apparently he had bigger problems. He had to find a wife.
A wife.
The whole thing was ludicrous, and he couldn’t make any sense of it.
“I take it the call with legal didn’t go well.”
In response, Nick lifted his shoulders and dropped them again with a sigh.
“Are you going to run?”
Damon’s question shouldn’t have surprised him, considering he himself had thought about it. But coming from his by-the-book friend, it was startling.
“We’ll back you up, Nick. If you need to—”
“No.” He cut him off before he had the chance to actually convince him it wasn’t a terrible idea. “She doesn’t deserve that kind of life.”
Damon nodded a bit and took a sip of his drink. “Talk to me. What happened?”
Nick didn’t hesitate. The sooner he got it off his chest, the better chance he had to make sense of any of it. “I need a wife.”
Damon raised his eyebrows and smirked, but didn’t say anything until Nick was done relaying the story completely.
“So,” Nick wrapped it up, “if I’m going to convince the judge that I’m the best choice to legally adopt her, I need to be a family man. Stable and secure. And that’s only if Jessica doesn’t decide to come back into the picture.” He sagged back against the couch. “So you see, it’s a big friggin’ mess.”
“It definitely sounds like it.” Damon raised his glass to his lips, but put it back down before speaking again. “But you’ve come to the right place.”
Nick perked up. “You can find me a wife?”
His friend chuckled. “Do you forget how I got my own wife?” He tilted his head until Nick finally smiled, remembering that Damon himself had convinced his longtime best friend, Katie, to pretend to be his wife to satisfy some sort of crazy condition his father had on ElkView Ridge in order to buy his childhood home. “And see how that worked out?”
Nick couldn’t help it; he laughed and roughed his hands through his hair. “That’s different. You two were always in love with each other. And you had an obvious choice for a pretend wife.”
“True.” Damon put his drink down and stood, and stretched his arms over his head. “But still. I do have some experience in the area if you need a little help.”
“I can’t do what you did.” Nick shook his head. He’d rejected the idea almost as soon as Chris suggested it. A fake wife? Even if he did think it was a good idea, where would he find a woman willing to go through with it? His mind flashed back to Charlotte standing next to his vehicle. “Let me know if I can help in any way.” He almost laughed out loud. There was no way that was the kind of help she was offering. And even if he did think she was gorgeous and strong and talented, and would love to ask her out on a date if circumstances were completely different, there was no way he could ask her to do this. He needed another solution. A real one.
“Do what?” Katie reappeared with Amelia fast asleep in her arms. Nick stood by reflex and went to take the baby from her, but Katie quickly turned to the side and dodged him. “She’s asleep, Nick. I like holding her. It makes me think…” She lifted her eyes in Damon’s direction.
“See?” He shot a look at Nick and chuckled.
But Nick couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t say no. Instead, he looked at his wife with a look of love and adoration that, if Nick wasn’t so stressed out, he might have made a quip about how completely whipped his best friend was.
As it was, all Nick could muster was a shrug and an honest answer. “Being a dad is pretty awesome, actually.”
“See?” It was Katie’s turn to shoot the pointed word at her husband before turning to Nick. “And you’re doing an amazing job at it.” Her smile quickly turned to a frown. “What’s going on?” She glanced between the two men and back to Nick. “Damon told me there might be a…”
“Problem,” Nick finished for her. “I need a wife.”
Her eyes went wide and Damon filled her in on everything Nick had told him.
“Seems like an easy solution to me,” Katie said when the explanation was over. “Who do we know in town who can stand in for a bit?”
“You’re serious?” Nick finally reached for his whisky but still didn’t take a sip.
“Totally,” Katie said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because it’s insane?”
“Is it?” She tilted her head in challenge.
“You guys are different.”
“Are we?”
Damon laughed before Nick could reply. “Katie might have a point, though, Nick. Maybe Steph would do it? That would be believable.”
Nick chuckled, but there was no humor in it. The idea wasn’t too farfetched. After all, they were close friends. But Stephanie was a huge international star. What would that look like?
“It can’t hurt to ask,” Katie said. “I mean, what’s your other choice?”
In response, Nick took a sip of his drink and let the sharp liquor burn his tongue and back of his mouth before swallowing. He didn’t have any other choices. That was the problem.