Charlotte
“Who was that?”
“Edward.” I rearrange the napkin on my lap, trying to calm myself. “They’ve seen the story, I have to go home.”
“We’ll go this weekend,” he says flatly.
I frown. We?
“No, that’s okay, you can come up at the weekend to see me.” I pull my fingers through my hair, trying to sound casual. “I’m going to head back tonight.”
His eyes hold mine. “No.”
“What do you mean… no?”
“You’re not going on your own.”
“Spence,” I sigh. I need to go and see them alone first. I don’t need him coming in like a bull in a China shop. He’ll ruin everything.
“This is my mess, Charlotte. I’ll be the one to clean it up.”
“Spencer, I want to see them alone first.”
“That’s not happening.” He clenches his jaw and stares at me. “You stay in London and I’ll go alone.”
“What?” Has he gone mad? “You’re not going alone. We haven’t even discussed this.”
“We’re discussing it now. I go with you, or I go alone.” He stands, and without another word, he walks off to the bar.
I begin to hear my frantic heartbeat in my ears, what a mess. My worst nightmare is for him to go there and face them alone. He has no idea who he’s dealing with here. I just want to keep them apart so I can live in peaceful denial for the rest of my life.
Spencer orders two drinks and returns to the table. He hands me a glass of wine and I glance down at his.
Scotch. Gone are the cocktails and fun drinks, he’s back onto the hard stuff. I exhale heavily, unfortunately life is back to the hard stuff.
Spencer grabs the leg of my chair and pulls me closer to him. He rests his hand on my lap under the table, and I force a smile his way.
“I don’t want you to fight with them,” I whisper.
“I don’t want to fight with them, either.”
“I think it’s better if I see them alone first.”
He sips his scotch and then swirls it around in his glass. “And I told you the answer is no. I’m not leaving you alone to deal with this. The story is about me, let me defend myself. Why should you take all the heat alone?” He squeezes my thigh in reassurance. “Why wouldn’t you want me to deal with them?”
My eyes search his. “I’m terrified that they are going to scare you away,” I whisper.
He puts his drink down and takes my face in his hand. “Angel, I will not be forced from your life against my will. Not by anyone. You are the only person who can end what we have.”
“Promise?”
“I don’t need to, you already know it’s true.” He kisses me. “Don’t you?”
I smile softly, knowing he’s right. I do know he wouldn’t cower to Edward like everyone else.
Spencer Jones may be a lot of things, but a coward isn’t one of them.
“Do you love me?” he asks.
I nod.
“So, trust me. Tonight, we deal with your brother, whether he likes it or not.”
He makes it all seem so simple.
“Okay?” he asks.
I nod. “Okay.”
* * *
I’m freshly showered and dressed back in my sensible clothes-black Capri pants and a cream woollen jumper that sits off my shoulders. My hair is in a high ponytail, and I’m wearing black ballet flats. Gone are my sundresses from Santorini, along with any relaxation I had while I was there. My father and Edward have cut their trip short by two weeks to come home, and I know they mean business. Spencer is upstairs getting ready while I am sitting at the kitchen counter of his apartment, looking at the stories on my laptop.
The more I read, the sicker I feel.
Every tabloid has reported us over the weekend. There’s headline after headline about how the love rat Spencer Jones has struck again, how he will break my heart, how he is after my money, how there’s a huge Prescott family divide.
How he has been pursuing me for months. It’s complete rubbish. I didn’t even know him months ago.
I know my family will have read all these stories, and what hurts the most is the niggling little voice in my psyche screaming at me to listen to the warnings.
What if it’s all true?
It’s not. I know Spencer. I love Spencer.
This is what they do. They poison your thoughts with false stories.
My mind is in overdrive. I have no idea what’s going to happen tonight when I walk into my father’s house with Spencer in tow. I don’t know whether to call my father and pre-warn him, but then they’ll be ready and they’ll attack him with all guns blazing.
I’m confused what way is the right way to go about this. I still think it would be better if I went alone. But Spencer won’t allow it. What the heck happened in his office that day when he kicked Edward out, anyway? I want to know what was said, word for word. I pinch the bridge of my nose as I try to calm myself down.
“You ready?” Spencer asks.
I look up to see him dressed in a navy suit, white shirt, and a tie.
“You’re wearing a suit?” I ask.
He smooths his tie and shoves his hand into his pocket. “I feel more comfortable in a suit.”
My heart drops. What he means is that he feels more equipped to fight in a suit. “You said you didn’t want to fight with them?”
“And I don’t.”
“So why are you wearing a suit?”
“I’m not taking any shit tonight, Charlotte.”
“They’re my family, Spence.”
“I know that. But they need to know that you’re my future and you won’t be kept from me. I won’t stand for it.”
“Promise me you won’t fight with them.”
He picks up his keys. “Let’s go.”
“Spencer, promise me.”
His eyes meet mine. “I can’t do that. Let’s go.” Without another word, he walks towards the front door. I stare at the kitchen counter for a moment with my heart hammering hard in my chest.
Please let this go well.
* * *
Two hours later, we pull up at the large stone gates of my father’s estate, and Spencer punches in the security code. It was so long ago that he was here. How on earth does he even remember it? Wyatt and Anthony are in the car behind us, and I know they are feeling my nerves right along with me.
Their heads are about to roll, too.
The gates slowly open. “Main house?” he asks, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Yes.” I nod and stare down at my hands in my lap. We’ve said two words to each other on the whole trip here. Actually, we’ve said five. He asked me if I needed the bathroom when he stopped for petrol. It’s like he was already angry before he even got here.
I have a bad feeling about this. “Just let me do the talking,” I say.
Spencer’s jaw clenches as he looks through the windshield.
I watch him. “Spence? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you. I didn’t agree with you, that’s all.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t fight with them. In time, they’ll calm down and be reasonable. If you fight with them tonight, you’ll start a war and I’ll be so mad with you.”
His tongue comes out and trails over his bottom lip.
He’s arrogance personified.
“I mean it, Spence. Please, for me. Don’t fight with them.”
He reaches over and picks up my hand to kiss my fingertips, his eyes still glued to the road.
“Why aren’t you answering me?”
“Because I’m not promising you anything.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, let’s turn around and go home then. I don’t even want to go in if you have this attitude. This is my family, of course they are worried. How do you expect them to react to these magazine stories?” I snap. “I’m not exactly thrilled about them myself.”
He tilts his chin to the sky in defiance and gives a subtle shake of his head.
“What?” I snap.
“And there it is. You haven’t even seen them yet and already you’re beginning to side with them.”
“I’m not,” I snap angrily.
He smirks. “Whatever you say.” He pulls in and parks the car. My heart begins to thump hard in my chest. I grab his hand and look over at him as panic begins to set in. Is he right? Are they going to change the way I see this?
“I love you,” I whisper.
His dark eyes hold mine. “Prove it.” He gets out of the car and slams the door. I close my eyes.
Fuck.
Spencer
I open Charlotte’s car door and nearly rip the damn thing from its hinges.
I’m fucking furious.
Get your fucking arse back to Nottingham.
Nobody gets to speak to Charlotte like that.
Nobody.