Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Maggie chuckled. “Ha! If only. My brother would love that suggestion, though. He can be a little authoritarian; though, luckily, he has Therese to temper his dictator-like instincts.”
“Hmm, your brother sounds scary,” Charli said with a grin as she glanced down at the menu.
“Nah, he’s a softy underneath it all. You just have to dig deep. I’ve actually been trying to set him up on some dates. Are you single? I bet he’d love you. You look just like that actress from Knives Out, and Jonathan couldn’t take his eyes off her when we watched it the other week.”
Suddenly, I stiffened. Maybe to Maggie, Jonathan was a deep down softy, but I knew him to be a mercurial fucker, and certainly not someone I thought Charli should date.
“Oh, that’s so sweet of you to say, but I’m newly divorced, so I’m not really looking to date right now,” Charli demurred, and relief set in. Thank fuck. The last thing I needed was to start developing a jealous grudge against the likes of Jonathan Oaks.
“That’s too bad. Not only are you his type, you’re an accountant to boot, and there’s nothing Jonathan loves talking about more than money and numbers.”
“Well, he sounds like a catch, but as I said, I doubt I’ll be dating anyone for the foreseeable future.” The statement was far more relieving to hear than it should be.
“If you ever change your mind, just let me know,” Maggie replied kindly as the server arrived to take our orders. I glanced at Charli as she nodded then focused on deciding what she wanted to eat. Just like on Friday evening when Jo had filled her in on what Aidan and Theo were up to these days, I felt that nagging, uncomfortable irritation. The idea of Charli possibly dating Jonathan in the future didn’t sit well, and not just because he had a reputation for being a bollocks and an impossibly tough boss, but because I didn’t enjoy thinking about her dating anyone.
And that was the crux of the matter because I was only a couple weeks out of a breakup, and I barely thought about my ex at all. If Steph were going on a date with Jonathan, I wouldn’t have cared less. In fact, I’d be relieved. But Charli … Maybe it was because of how we’d left things so unresolved as teenagers. Perhaps that was the reason why, though years and continents had separated us, some part of me still felt like she was, well, mine.
24.
Charli
Rhys was unusually quiet during lunch, but I couldn’t figure out why. We were alone on our way back because Shay had wanted to walk Maggie to her office. I got the sense something was weighing on his mind.
“Everything okay?” I asked, glancing up at his frowning profile.
“Huh?” His eyes flicked to mine then away. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”
“You sure? Is it work stress?”
“No, work is good.” He fell silent, casting me an odd look before he continued, “I know you told Maggie you aren’t dating right now, but I just wanted to say …” he trailed off and ran a hand over his jaw. My heart skipped a beat. I’d thought he’d acted a little strangely when Maggie had suggested I go on a date with her brother. Was that what had been bothering him?
“Rhys?” My eyebrows rose, expectant.
He blew out a breath. “Even if you change your mind in a couple weeks or months and feel ready to get out there again, I don’t think Jonathan’s a good fit. Maggie thinks he’s a great guy, but she only met him last year when she found out they were half siblings. She’s still got her rose-tinted glasses on when it comes to him.”
“Surely, he can’t be that bad if she decided to work for him.”
“The man hasn’t spoken to his own mother in almost a decade because of some petty grievance. I don’t care what Maggie says; he’s a fucking arsehole. If my mam were still alive, there wouldn’t be a day that went by where I didn’t want to see her.”
I pressed my lips together, understanding why anyone not talking to their mom would rub Rhys the wrong way. In a sense, I was still reeling from the news that she’d died. That her illness was the reason he’d stopped contacting me. At the time, I’d been wrapped up in my own hurt, full of teenage angst, feeling rejected and pushed out. Now, that hurt barely registered. I simply felt sad for Rhys going through something so horrible at such a young age and feeling like he’d had to ghost everyone just to get through it.
Reaching out, I gently touched his arm. “Hey, I get that, but everyone’s relationship with their parents is different. You can’t judge them when you aren’t in their shoes.”