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Bronson barely spoke for the next week and Charli was going out of her mind with worry. Things had been wrapped up at the police station. Aria and Davis had been formally charged, Canon was handling the details and the original will had been revealed.
There was nothing left to do, but Charli still felt ill at ease and she knew she wouldn’t feel better until she was able to help Bronson out of his funk.
Not that she would blame him for having a hard time. No one wanted to have all their family secrets spilled and discover that what they thought they knew wasn’t even close to the truth.
“Hey,” Charli said softly as she came inside her home to find Bronson sitting in the front room.
He smiled at her, looking more awake than he had in several days. “Hello, beautiful.”
Charli carefully sat down on the couch, aware that her clothes were dusty from her recent job. “Did you eat lunch yet?”
Bronson shook his head. “Nope.” He shut down the laptop on his legs. “And I heard a rumor that you’ve got a thing for Melody’s smoothie bowls, so would you like to go get one?”
A flutter of hope lit in her chest at his invitation. Maybe he was finally coming out of his depression. “I’d love to, but I’m filthy.” She looked down at her work overalls.
Bronson chuckled. “Who cares?”
“I do!” she argued, but her smile gave away the fact that she wasn’t upset.
“You met with Mr. Filchor looking worse than that,” Bronson pointed out. He set aside the computer and stood, offering his hand. “Come on. Nobody’ll notice.”
“Says the guy who’s clean,” Charli grumbled, letting him pull her out the door.
The ride to the smoothie shop was quiet but comfortable. Bronson held her hand the whole time, which was more affection than she’d received in the last several days combined. There was a part of Charli that was worried that she was losing Bronson.
The house was done, the mystery was solved and their relationship was going nowhere.
He’s been hurting, she reminded herself. Give him time to grieve and come to terms with everything that’s happened.
The words were on repeat in her brain. She’d been telling herself that since everything happened at the police station, but the more days that passed, the harder it was to believe.
He still held her hand, but there’d been no words of reassurance, no celebration of their accomplishment, no talk of the future, no kissing or hugging. And considering how much Bronson seemed to thrive on touch, Charli knew that wasn’t a good sign.
She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision. The last thing she needed at the moment was to let Bronson know she was hurting. It would probably only drive him away even faster than he was already drifting, and she knew it was selfish, but she wasn’t ready to let him go.
She loved him. Truly and deeply. They’d already been through the depths of purgatory together and it had only made her even more determined to see them work out as a couple. She knew his secrets, but she was losing the man.
Her actions at the house and support during the family situation apparently hadn’t been enough.
Bronson parked and they got out, heading inside. The line was long and Bronson whistled low under his breath. “Looks like Mel is popular today.”
“It’s warm,” Charli explained, trying to inject some enthusiasm in her tone. “It’s always packed when the sun comes out.”
“Makes sense.” He huffed a laugh. “She should move down to California. She’d be packed all the time.”
Charli nodded. Her thoughts had taken a bad direction in the car and now she was struggling to keep her head above water. Usually she just stayed busy and it helped her forget her own heartache. Now that she was still, it was coming back in full force.
It took a half-hour and a chat with Mel to get them out the door and on the sidewalk.
“Let’s walk,” Bronson said, taking her hand and starting down the side of the street.
Charli sipped her favorite fruity concoction, but it sat heavily in her stomach.
“I owe you an apology.”
She snapped her head in his direction. “What?” Bronson gave Charli a sad smile and her heart faltered.
This is it. He’s going to break up with me.
“I’m sorry.”
When he didn’t say anything more, Charli nodded and pulled her hand away. “It’s okay. I get it,” she said softly. She was going to be sick, and as soon as she was by herself, she planned to cry until she couldn’t cry anymore. She turned to go, but his hand stopped her.
“Where are you going?” he asked, looking confused.
Charli frowned. “You just...” Her eyebrows twitched and she scrunched her face. “I was leaving because you just broke up with me.”
Bronson’s eyes widened and his face blanched. “What?”
She opened and closed her mouth a few times. “Uh...I’m lost.”
He dropped her hand and pushed his own through his hair. “I’m such an idiot,” he muttered. Spinning back to her, Bronson grabbed the back of Charli’s neck and met her lips in a hard, sensual kiss. When he pulled back after a moment, they were both breathing heavily. “I wasn’t apologizing because I was leaving. I was apologizing that I’ve been shut down for the last few days.”
“Oh,” was all Charli managed. Her emotions had done a complete reversal and she wasn’t quite sure which way was up anymore.
He chuckled and kissed her forehead before stepping back. “Come with me,” he said, grabbing her hand once more and leading her more purposefully down the sidewalk. “I know I haven’t been myself,” he began as they dodged other people. “But I promise my feelings for you haven’t changed.” He looked over and winked, the old Bronson starting to shine through. “If anything, they’ve only gotten stronger.”
Charli felt her cheeks flush. Now she felt like the idiot. Somehow, she’d put two and two together and gotten seven.
He squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry that my behavior led you to believe otherwise,” he said softly.
Charli shook her head. “No. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
Bronson jerked to a stop. “Nope. No blaming yourself here. I’ve been absent. I should’ve seen how this was affecting you and I didn’t.” He turned her so they were looking straight at each other. “I’m sorry, Charli. I’ve been working through so much this last week, and despite the fact that you’ve been through the whole ordeal with me, I shut you out.” He sighed and looked away. “But I think I needed to. I needed time inside my own head to force everything into its place.”
“I get it,” Charli said, interrupting him. “I need space sometimes too.”
He grinned. “I know, which is partly why it didn’t occur to me that you’d think I was getting ready to get rid of you.” His eyes turned slyly to the side and Charli followed, only now noticing that they were standing in front of the old warehouse. “In fact,” he continued, “if you’ll have me, I plan on giving you very little space for a long time.”
*****
BRONSON WATCHED HER eyes widen as she looked around. “I don’t...I don’t understand.”
He took her smoothie and his own, setting them down and out of the way before turning her to face the building. Then he stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You once told me that you had your eye on a building, but it had been sold before you could get it.”
She nodded jerkily.
“Is this the building?”
She nodded again and Bronson gave an internal sigh of relief. He had been almost positive this was the place, but with all the chaos, had never actually asked.
“I happen to know the new owner,” he whispered in her ear. She stiffened in his arms and Bronson ploughed ahead. “He wants to hire you as a partner to help him fix it up.”
Charli spun, nearly knocking him in the nose. “You bought it?” she gasped.
Bronson nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“How?” She shook her head, a few tears trickling down her smooth cheeks. The look of betrayal in her eyes hit him square in the gut.
“I didn’t know,” Bronson rasped. “You didn’t tell me until afterwards that you had any plans for it.”
Her face fell and her chin nearly touched her chest. “I know,” she relented. “I...was afraid to share my dreams, because I was still struggling to open every part of myself to you.”
Bronson dared to reach out and put his hands on her upper arms. “Do you think you can let me in enough to work with me again?”
Charli raised her face, her eyes going back to the building as she wiped away her tears. “What are you wanting to do with it?”
Bronson swallowed hard. “I’ve got a couple of options, and I was hoping you would help me decide.”
She looked back at him. “Okay.”
“My first thought had been to build a Fathers and Sons chapter up here in Seaside Bay.”
Her eyes widened. “Would you be around to run it?”
Bronson nodded and slowly began to pull her in closer. “But I also had another thought.” The moment between them grew thick as molasses, and Bronson had a hard time keeping his eyes off her lips. He’d been deprived of them too long, but he needed to settle this with her first. “A beautiful woman planted the idea in my head that this would make a great showplace for restored furniture.”
Charli put a fist over her mouth as a broken sob slipped through her lips.
“Which do you think would be a better fit?” he asked, slowly wrapping his arms around her back. When she was settled into his chest, he brought his lips to her hair. “Keep in mind that if we put in a furniture place, I’d have to rent it out to this bossy woman who likes to think she’s in charge.”
He laughed when she leaned back and punched him in the shoulder.
Her smile died a moment later when she met his eyes. “It feels wrong to take this opportunity away from those kids,” she admitted. “What kind of person would I be if I said to go for the restoration store?”
Bronson shook his head. “A normal one,” he assured her. “I can always find another place for a chapter here. Now that my inheritance is on its way, I’ll have enough left over from the sale down in California to put a down payment on something here.”
“Are you sure?”
Bronson nodded. “Charli...would you be willing to help me renovate this old building and then rent it from me?” He brought his nose down to hers. “If you’re nice, I might even let you work out a rent-to-own option.”
“Nice?” Her lips curled into a sly smile and her hands slipped behind his neck. “How nice would I have to be?”
“Very nice,” Bronson teased back. “You’d have to let me be all touchy-feely with you and go on dates with me and spend time working with me.”
“Would I have to call you boss?” she asked, pursing her lips in thought.
Bronson flared his eyes. “I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s a good one—oof!”
She punched him again.
“Enough already,” he said, laughing. “This is not the way to start things off with your new boss.”
Charli grew serious. “No,” she responded. “But this is.” Raising up on her tiptoes, she brought their mouths together and the world held still.
Bronson wrapped his arms tighter around her and let Charli’s touch soothe the inner corners of his mind that were still raw. It would take some time for him to recover completely from the betrayal of his siblings, but with Charli near, Bronson knew it would happen.
He’d already informed his brother that he was staying in Oregon during the conversations they’d held while Charli was at work. Despite the fact that Bronson had shut down emotionally for a few days, he’d actually accomplished quite a few things. He wasn’t quite done surprising Charli yet.
As if she could read his mind, she pulled back. “Where are you going to stay?” she asked breathlessly. “I mean, I know we have room at the house, but...”
Bronson shook his head. “It wouldn’t be right for me to stay with you and Felix.” He gave her a crooked grin. “I was actually thinking that Brooklyn could use some of her good fashion sense to help me furnish my new place.”
Charli’s eyebrows shot up. “You have a place in mind?”
“I have a place,” Bronson said, waiting for her to catch on.
She stared hard, then opened her mouth in an ‘O’. “You’re going to stay at the Miller place?”
“Why not?” Bronson asked. “I already own it.”
“Geez,” Charli lamented. “I think you own more land in Seaside Bay than I do and you just got here!”
He laughed and tugged her back in. “It wasn’t quite intentional,” Bronson said softly. “The first one was under duress and the second was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter,” Charli said against his T-shirt. “I’m just glad you have a reason to stay.”
“The properties have nothing to do with why I’m staying,” Bronson corrected her. He pulled back just enough to see her face. “I told you that I love you, Charli. That hasn’t changed. And even though I know you’re not to that point yet—”
“But I am!” she shouted, looking surprised at her own outburst.
He froze. “You...are?”
Charli nodded slowly, her lips pinched together. “I know I have a hard time speaking my feelings, but I do. I love you, Bronson. I’ve loved you for a long time now. I’ve just been too scared and distracted to say the actual words.” She grimaced. “I did kind of hope that my actions would speak louder than words, but I still should have said something.”
With a whoop, Bronson hugged her close and lifted Charli’s feet off the ground. She stumbled when he put her down. “I’ve changed my mind,” he said, cupping her cheeks and kissing all over her face.
“Hmm?” Charli hummed, her eyes closed as she enjoyed his attention.
“I don’t think I can be your boss anymore.” He left his lips against her forehead. “I think we should just be partners.”
“Oh, good,” Charli breathed, grabbing his neck to hold him still. “I’ve always enjoyed a good partner.” She tugged and Bronson met her halfway.
Partners...colleagues...boyfriends and girlfriend...Bronson knew it really didn’t matter what they called each other. All that mattered was that Charli was his for now and eventually he’d make her his forever.