Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Charles

Melody’s hair was ratted, and her eyes were puffy. She wore a plain red nightgown that was long enough to reach her feet, but somehow it seemed elegant on her. I didn’t know what I was doing. Frankly, I acted on impulse. I scooped her into my arms and held her against me.

“Charles,” she murmured.

“Shh. Shh. It’s okay.”

Her body gave way, and she slumped against me.

I couldn’t lie; there was some primal part of me that loved how much she needed me in this moment. There was another part of me that wanted to ram my fist into Peter’s face. I had to push that away right now. I swept her up and carried her up the stairs.

With each step, more old memories rushed over me. I had spent a lot of nights in this little apartment growing up, playing Scrabble or Monopoly or a million board games. The funny part was that my brothers usually came too, and we would be huddled around the little table in the living room. Her mother would buy us pizza and soda pop, and we would laugh and argue over the games.

I put her down on the bed, and she pulled me down to her. “Just hold me.”

There was no other place I would rather be. I held her and let her cry. I wanted to soothe her. For a long time, she just held onto me, and I rubbed little circles into her back. “It’s okay,” I said, over and over. “It’s okay.”

At some point, she fell asleep. I did the gentlemanly thing: I tucked the blankets around her, and then I found a throw blanket on a chair next to the bed, wrapped myself in it, and snuggled against her. I relished the opportunity to be with this woman after all these years. I could hardly believe this was not a dream. Maybe second chances could happen. Maybe Grandmother was right. Maybe God’s timing and a bit of Christmas magic could cure most anything.

The next day, I woke, and she was still in my arms. Her face was streaked with black makeup. She was tucked into my shoulder, and protectiveness surged in me like a tidal wave.

Once, before my parents passed away, we had come to Jewel Cove and Grandmother had kept bunnies. I’d loved those bunnies so much. One of the bunnies had gotten sick. It’d troubled me so much that I’d taken that bunny and fallen asleep with it in my bed. When I woke up the next day, the bunny was trying to get free and hop around. My brothers had teased me about that bunny for so long, but my grandmother had loved how much I had tried to care for it.

I hadn’t thought of that in a long time. It was nice to think of that story. It was even nicer to have Mel in my arms. I loved looking at her face right now, relaxed in sleep, without wondering what she was thinking or if I was doing the right thing.

On the bedside table, a neon clock read seven-thirty, so this was sleeping late for me. Usually, I was up by six-thirty or seven and working out. Today it was worth skipping the workout. If only I could grab my phone and order something through Uber Eats—chocolate muffins and hot chocolate or coffee—but I didn’t want to wake her up.

I didn’t have to wait long before she stirred. Then her eyes flew open, and she stared at me like I had broken into the apartment. She pushed me away, yanked back the covers, and stood, running a hand through her hair. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.”

I laughed and propped myself up on one elbow, staying in bed.

“Are you …” She pointed to me and rubbed a hand over her eyes. “Here? In my bed?” I could tell she was processing last night, and I couldn’t blame her. It had been a long night for her.

I nodded, enjoying her little moment of panic. “We talked for a long time and …”

Understanding dawned on her face. “You came to me. I was so upset, and you came to me.” Slowly, she got back on the bed and scooted to me, framing my face with her hands.

I closed my eyes, relishing her touch.

“My knight in shining armor. I was so upset, and you came.”

I opened my eyes and peered into her brilliant green ones. I touched her blonde hair. “Of course I came. You needed me.”

She sucked in a breath. “I don’t want to need you, but I think you might be right. Maybe I do.”

Before I could stop myself, I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. “It’s okay to need me. I think I’ve always needed you.” My voice broke, and it surprised me.

She pulled back, and her eyelashes fluttered. A smile lit up her face.

“How can things be so different and then stay the same, especially after all this time?”

She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know.”

For what seemed like a long time, we just stared into each other’s eyes. I had always loved her. I’d never stopped. Now I was falling in love all over again, and it felt amazing.

Suddenly, she jerked to a sitting position. “It’s Christmas Eve, and I’ve got to get showered and help people today.”

I stood and helped her make her bed. “I’ll go check in with Grandmother, and then I’ll come back and help you.”

She ran her hand over her hair and turned to look in a little mirror above her dresser. “I look awful.” She turned back to me with an accusatory expression. “How could you even look at me?”

I laughed and pulled her into my arms. “You look beautiful,” I said, brushing a hand through her hair. “You’ve always been beautiful, Mel. I always want to look at you.” I leaned in and kissed her lightly. “But you’ve got to take care of the store, and I’ll be back later.”

“Okay. See you later.”

“Yes, you will.” I made my way to the bottom of the stairs, but there was so much excitement pulsing through me that I ran back up and kissed her again.

She giggled and pulled back. “You’re crazy.”

“I think I’m crazy in love with you.” The words spilled out, and there was no taking them back.

For a moment, she didn’t say anything, and then she shook her head. “I can’t process that yet. Don’t make me do that.”

Crap. I’d messed up. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

She rapidly blinked. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s obvious that we have a lot of feelings and years between us. I just don’t know what I’m doing. I feel overwhelmed and happy, but I don’t know what all of it means, okay?”

I hugged her. “Okay. I’ll let you go.” I didn’t want to let her go, now or ever, but I made myself step back. “See you later.”

“See you later.”

I dashed down the stairs and hoped I hadn’t messed everything up. I jumped into my truck and took off, feeling like this might be the best Christmas ever.

When I arrived back at the King estate, Henry told me to please go to my grandmother’s room.

Feeling like a kid, I knocked, and Hazel opened the door. My grandmother was waiting on the little loveseat couch in front of the television. There was a soap opera on, which made me smile. My grandmother would always watch The Young and the Restless.

“Are you sure you can miss this episode?” I teased.

My grandmother grinned at me. “Pretty sure.” She gestured at the television. “Would you turn that off while we talk?”

I pressed the power button and sat next to her, taking her hand carefully into mine. “How are you today, Grandmother?”

She cocked her head to the side. “The question is, how are you?”

I couldn’t help but spill my guts to her. This woman was so dear to me. I told her about being auctioned off as a date, and I thanked her for sending the credit card. I told her about the rest of the night and how when we’d been talking on the phone and Melody had started crying, I’d taken a chance and gone to her.

Grandmother sniffed and wiped away a tear as I told her about Melody’s ex-husband and the way he’d treated her. “I never liked that Peter.”

That made me smile, because my grandmother was a loyal person. ‘Loyal to a fault’ would be the perfect way to describe her.

I slid my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into me. “You are the best grandmother.”

She sniffed and said, “Will you ever forgive your grandfather for what he did?”

“I don’t know yet.” I leaned in and kissed her head, then stood. “I have to get ready and then go back to her. I promised I would help her in the store today. I’ll plan on being back around five and getting ready, and then we can go to the fundraiser together. Does that work?”

She shooed me away with her hand. “Of course. I am just grateful that you two found each other again.”

I didn’t want to jinx this whole thing. “Me too.” I began walking toward the door.

“Charles?”

I paused and turned back. “Yep.”

“Do you love her?”

I didn’t even miss a beat. “Of course I do.”

A smile played at my grandmother’s lips. “You always have, grandson. You always have.”