An hour later, they were seated in the same diner booth Charlotte had occupied yesterday and leaning back to let their stomachs recover from Betty’s famous breakfast. As Nate ordered another refill for their coffees, Charlotte was reminded of yesterday morning when Lexie had confronted her here and filled her head with nonsense. Now, she couldn’t help but purse her lips and glance at Nate warily.
Amusement creased his features. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you involved with Lexie Price?”
The question popped out like a candy bar from a vending machine, instantly bringing heat to her cheeks. Nate looked just as surprised by the sudden inquiry, but then he chuckled. “No, I’m not involved with Lexie.”
“Does she know that?” Charlotte said coldly.
Nate’s chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh. “Who’s jealous now?”
“I’m not jealous. Just confused. She verbally assaulted me yesterday, you know. Came in here and told me to stay away from you. Oh, and she accused me of leaving you with a broken heart. What the hell is that about?”
To her bewilderment, Nate’s expression went cloudy with…guilt? She suddenly remembered her earlier suspicions, that he’d blamed the breakup on her to look good in front of the townspeople. But that couldn’t be true. Right?
“What exactly did you tell people about our breakup, Nate?” she asked in a careful tone.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“I didn’t tell them anything.” He sighed. “Which was probably a mistake since everyone assumes you dumped me and left town.”
Charlotte glared at him. “You let them think that?”
He looked defensive. “You know I don’t talk about my personal life with others. If they wanted to believe you left me, then big deal. The two of us knew the truth.”
“You put another black mark on my name!” She quickly lowered her voice. “So everyone thinks I was just some slut who dumped her boyfriend so she could move on to bigger and better things?”
“Why do you care what they think?” Nate grumbled in frustration. “These people mean nothing to you. Hell, most of them mean nothing to me.”
“Lexie means something to you,” she couldn’t help but snap.
“She’s a friend. Nothing more.”
A frown puckered her brow. “I can’t believe you’re even friends with her. She was terrible to me.” Nate didn’t answer, prompting Charlotte to scowl at him. “What, are you going to deny that?”
“No.” He spoke guardedly. “But…are you sure it was one-sided, Charlotte?”
She gasped. “Are you kidding me?”
He reached across the checkered tablecloth and took her hand, squeezing it gently. “All I’m saying is that you didn’t go out of your way to make friends.”
“Because everyone in this town was a jerk to me. Especially Lexie Price.”
Before Nate could respond, the cell phone she’d left on the table began to vibrate, causing the little milk containers to shake in their saucers. Clenching her teeth, Charlotte picked up the phone and glanced at the screen. When she spotted Georgia’s number, she banished the pang of guilt it evoked and swiftly pressed the ignore button. Damn it, she couldn’t deal with this now. Georgia had called her five times since last night, and each time Charlotte had ignored the call. Just seeing her assistant’s name on that screen reminded her of why she’d come to Paradise, and with the memory came a rush of remorse.
She felt that same rush now, and it was strong enough that she promptly dropped the subject of Lexie Price. So what if Nate’s friend believed Charlotte had broken Nate’s heart. That surely couldn’t be as bad as what Charlotte had set out to do.
She gulped some coffee. Damn it. She needed to tell Nate the truth. They actually had the opportunity to make things work this time. To be happy. Maybe her original intention hadn’t been to get back together with him, but now that she knew why he’d broken up with her all those years ago, she wanted nothing more than to be with Nate Bishop.
Only that couldn’t happen, not unless she was totally honest with him.
Tomorrow, she assured herself.
She was going to tell him everything tomorrow.
Cooper Grady grinned when he spotted the surprise visitor on his porch. She looked poised and sophisticated as usual, wearing a sky-blue silk blouse tucked into a pair of sleek black pants, with her polished red toes poking out of black wedge-looking shoes. Her blonde hair was tied up in a neat twist and her flawless features were free of makeup, which he’d always appreciated. He didn’t like fake rosy blushes on a woman’s cheeks—he preferred putting the flush there after a round of hot, sweaty sex.
“Hey, darling,” he drawled. “What brings you here so early in the morning?”
Lexie stood up at his approach. “I’m having a bad day.”