Charlotte rolled her eyes, “First of all, what do you need an assistant for? Second of all, that sounds a little too close to prostitution for my liking. And third? I like working. I like making my own money and not depending on anyone else.”
Declan wrapped his arm around her as they sat on the loveseat in her small living room, “My independent lady. I get it. I just miss you when you’re gone. I sound pretty clingy, huh?”
She laughed and kissed him, “If it were anyone else, yes. But I miss you, too. I think about you my whole shift.”
“Yeah?” he said. “I think about you your whole shift, too.”
They kissed, long and deep, like they couldn’t get close enough to the other.
He pulled away first, “As much as I want to keep going… and going. And going… I have to ask you something.”
“Sure,” Charlotte said, suddenly anxious. “What’s up?”
“Well,” he said slowly. “My parents have been bugging me about meeting you. I mean, they don’t know we’re together, but they’re curious about the girl that lives in the carriage house. And they’re not stupid, I’m sure they can figure out you’re not just some random College of Charleston chick shacking up for cheap rent. I think they sense something else is happening.”
“We’re together?” she teased. “Like, officially?”
Declan looked up at her, his eyes wide with surprise, “I mean… I assumed we were. Are. Right?”
She wrapped her slender arms around his neck, pulling him in for a long kiss, “Yes. Of course.”
When she finally pulled away, he continued, “Wow. That was good. Okay, so yeah. My parents want to meet you, and they’ve invited you to dinner tomorrow night. It will be here; Antonia is going to make a Lowcountry boil so it’s nothing fancy. Very casual. They just want to make sure you’re not a psychopath. But…” He smiled, taking her hand. “I think I want to also tell them you’re my girlfriend.”
Charlotte shifted nervously next to him, “I mean, won’t they think it’s kind of strange that your girlfriend now technically lives with you?”
“You’re in separate quarters,” he pointed out. “Is it too soon to tell them?”
Charlotte shook her head, “No. Definitely not. But I guess I should maybe think of living somewhere else. So it’s not too weird.”
Declan nodded, “I mean, I don’t care. But usually we only rent out the carriage house for the summer anyway. Which I should have probably mentioned. But don’t worry! I’ll help you find a place; I know everyone in this town. And if worse comes to worse, you stay with me for a bit.”
“At a frat house?” she asked. “No thanks!”
He laughed, “Okay, I get it. But no worries, I know I can find you a new place, with a much nicer roommate than Allyn Legare ever was.”
“I wish I could afford to live without a roommate,” Charlotte sighed, laying down on the couch, her head in Declan’s lap. “I can’t wait until the day I can truly be on my own.”
He ran his fingers through her hair, “Why so eager to be a loner?”
Charlotte looked up at him, “I don’t know. I guess I like the thought of being beholden to no one but myself. I want to revel in the freedom of living how I want and where I want. That’s what money is at the end of the day. Freedom. To make any choice you want.”
“Money isn’t always freedom,” he replied. “It can come with a lot of strings.”
“Well, not the kind of money I want,” she said. “Money that comes from my own hard work doesn’t come with strings attached to it. Which is why I can’t quit Dixie Garden. I’ve learned in the last few years that it’s always best to count on just yourself. Other people can let you down.”
Declan stood up, gently lifting Charlotte off of him as he did.
“Not everyone will let you down, Charlotte,” he said. “I never would.”
She smiled at him sympathetically, “You wouldn’t mean to. I don’t think you would ever purposefully hurt me. But there might come a time where you don’t have a choice. And if it happens, I always want to be prepared.”
Declan shook his head, angry now, “How can you say that? I’m telling you I wouldn’t. I love you, Charlotte.”
Silence. The sentence hung in the air, a sentence thick with meaning. She never would have expected him to say it.
“Declan…” she said. “I can’t…”
“It’s fine,” he said, coldly. “You don’t have to say it back.”
“I want to say it back,” she explained. “I’m just not- “
“I said its fine,” he replied. He looked at her with a sadness she’d never seen in his eyes. “I’ve never said that to anyone before. And maybe it’s fast. Maybe you don’t feel the same way. But it doesn’t change it. I do love you. And I would never let you down. I hope one day you’ll finally realize that.”
He walked over to the front door, “I’m going to take a shower and maybe sleep over at the main house tonight. If it’s okay.”