Chapter Twenty-five

Charlie

“Do you need help with anything?” I ask Danielle, going into the kitchen to get a glass of sangria. So much for waiting until dinner, right? Danielle is standing at the oven, stirring the sauce to pour over enchiladas.

“Oh, you don’t need to do anything,” she tells me.

“I know I don’t, but I don’t mind, either.”

“I feel bad inviting people over and putting them to work.”

I laugh. “I offered, but I totally understand. Though I haven’t invited people over in a while. My apartment in New York was so small. We could hardly fit guests over.”

“So those roomy apartments you see on TV are all a lie, right?”

“Totally. Well, the lie would be how regular people afford them. I loved the area I lived in. It was close to Central Park and to work, but holy shit it was expensive.”

“The whole east coast is crazy expensive.”

I pick up the pitcher of sangria and fill up a wine glass. “Oh right, you said you went to Yale.”

“I did, and before that, I was born and raised in Connecticut. I have to say I like it here much better.”

“I do too.”

Danielle turns off the burner. “You don’t miss it at all?”

I shake my head. “Not really. I miss being challenged at work, but I’m sure once I get more clients here, I’ll come up against some hard cases.”

“You do not look like a lawyer.”

“That’s a compliment, right?” I ask with a laugh.

“I think so. I’m stereotyping, though Elle Woods didn’t look like a lawyer either and she turned out to be one of the best.”

“I might have identified with her a lot as a kid.”

“She’s not a bad role model,” Danielle laughs. “Sorry if I was weird earlier.”

“You weren’t,” I assure her. I look out through the kitchen window, watching Owen run across the yard in an attempt to get a kite up in the air for Jackson. He’s so good with his nieces and nephews. I bring my glass of sangria to my lips and suck down a mouthful or two.

“What do you need help with?” I ask Danielle.

“Uhhh.” She moves away from the stove. “The table needs to be set.”

“I can handle that.” I take one more gulp of sangria and set the glass down. “What cabinet are the plates in?”

“The corner one.”

I step around Danielle and open the only corner cabinet, pulling out a handful of plates. I take them to the table and then go back for more. Everyone but Archer is here, and I have to stop and count to see just how many we need. I’m starting to feel a little drunk as I count out. That’s eleven adults, right? And then two babies, one toddler, and Jackson.

“The kids have their own table,” Danielle tells me as she puts the enchiladas into the oven. “Well, just Jackson and Emma. Arya has a highchair and I don’t think Vi is big enough to even sit in one yet.”

“It’s neat that they’re so close in age. From what Owen said, Quinn and Scarlet are good friends.”

“Yeah,” Danielle says with a smile. “They are.”

“Do you hang out with them too?” I ask a little apprehensively as I pick up my sangria again.

“I do. They were friends before I came into the picture, so sometimes I feel like an outsider, but it’s never from them. It’s all me putting that persona on, if that even makes sense.”

“It does,” I tell her. “I used to know everyone so well. It’s a little weird being out of the loop.”

“Right. You and Owen dated since high school.”

I nod and open the silverware drawer. “Quinn used to feel like my own little sister. Archer was like a brother. And to come back and find them married with kids…” I shake my head and laugh. “Makes me realize how much I missed.”

“Does it make you want to get back in the loop?” she asks carefully as she sets a timer on the microwave.

“Actually, it does.” I pause for a second before taking the silverware to the table. I look outside again, seeing Owen lying in the grass as Emma tackles him. Dexter runs around wagging his tail, and three horses graze out in a pasture behind them. Everything is so picture perfect I’m not sure it’s even real.

So I do the logical thing and gulp down the rest of my sangria.

I finish setting the table and then fill glasses of water and set them at each place setting. Scarlet comes in, saying Violet needs a diaper change. I hold her once Scarlet’s done changing her diaper so Scarlet can go to the bathroom.

“She’s giving me baby fever and I don’t even have a boyfriend,” I tell Danielle as I look down at Violet’s precious little face.

“Right? She’s such a good baby too. I can only hope—” She cuts off when Mr. and Mrs. Dawson come into the house, followed by Dean, Kara, and Quinn, who’s holding Arya.

“Do you need any help, dear?” Mrs. Dawson asks Danielle.

“No, but thank you. Charlie helped me, and it’ll be about ten more minutes until the enchiladas are cooked through.”

“Should I call in the boys?” Mrs. Dawson asks.

“Sure. I’ll heat up the rice,” Danielle says.

“I’ll make margaritas,” Quinn offers, handing off Arya to her mother. She gets distracted when a fat orange cat comes running. She sits on the ground to pet the cat, and I leave the kitchen to go onto the back porch so I can call the guys in.

Owen sees me as soon as I step out. His eyes lock with mine and he raises his hand in a wave. Jackson throws a football at that very moment, and Owen pretends to let it hit him hard in the chest, knocking him over onto the ground. Jackson erupts into giggles, and little Emma toddles over to try and pull Uncle Owen back to his feet. Logan scoops her up and spins her around, and Weston steals the football, running away with it before Jackson can even see.

It won’t be long before Violet and Arya are big enough to play with their cousins, and soon Danielle and Logan’s baby will be here. Everyone is living out their dreams, and it’s not that I’m jealous, because I really care about the Dawsons and want them all to be happy…but I am a little jealous.

Owen broke up with me because he didn’t want to settle down and get married. He didn’t want to have kids or a family or the responsibility of being a husband and father.

But I wanted all that.

Yet I don’t have it.

Maybe it’s not him that needs to change, but me.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” I call, leaning on the porch railing. Birds chirp loudly and a slight breeze rustles the leaves on the tree line surrounding the pasture. I didn’t see Owen living in a house fit for Wisteria Lane, and I never thought Logan would end up living on a farm as picturesque as his parents’.

“Time to go in,” Dean tells Emma, who starts to throw a fit. Owen says something to Logan, and Logan smiles and flicks his eyes to me. Weston picks up Jackson by the feet, hanging him upside down. The boy screams and laughs, and my heart feels so full watching the Dawson boys play with these kids.

Going back inside, Quinn practically shoves a margarita in my hand.

“Want to smell this one?” I ask with a laugh.

“I already did. I might have tasted just a tiny bit of one too. Like, not even a sip but more like stuck my tongue into it.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Hopefully not mine.”

“Nah,” Scarlet says, twisting around in a bar stool. “It was mine. Doesn’t bother me, though it should, right? I mean, it sounds disgusting.”

“You love me.” Quinn wrinkles her nose and smiles, and I catch Danielle watching them. I remember what she said about feeling like an outsider, and suddenly I feel a lot more connected to Danielle than I thought I would.

I’m not a shy person. You can’t be a good lawyer if you’re shy. I can assert myself into any situation, but in social situations where it matters, I find myself more or less reserved. And while Danielle seems to be absolutely perfect for Logan, I can see how it would be hard to assert yourself into a tight-knit friendship like Quinn and Scarlet’s.

Maybe we could be frie—stop it. Don’t even go there.

Because I’m not taking things any further with Owen. Been there, done that, and it ended in heartbreak so severe I hardly survived it.

*

I grimace when I take a drink of the margarita. Quinn seemed so proud of herself for making enough for everyone, though, so I suffer through another mouthful. Owen steps up behind me, and I almost expect him to put his hand on my back again.

Hell, I want him to.

“So, we were going to wait until after dinner,” Logan starts, wrapping one hand around Danielle. The enchiladas aren’t quite done yet, and we’re all crowded in the kitchen, eating chips and salsa as we wait. “But…” He looks at Danielle and smiles.

“I’m pregnant!” Danielle blurts, eyes filling with tears. Everyone erupts in happy cheers, and Logan holds up the ultrasound pictures.

“You’re eight weeks?” Quinn gasps. “How the hell did you keep this a secret? I told everyone before the pee was even dry on the stick.”

“Gross, sis,” Dean mutters.

“I knew like a day after conception,” she taunts, and Owen laughs. “Archer is just that goo—”

“Oh, honey, congratulations!” Mrs. Dawson pulls Danielle into a hug. “We were hoping this was why you invited us over.” She lets Danielle go and wipes tears from her eyes. Mr. Dawson claps Logan on the back.

“Told you one day Dad would be happy you knocked someone up,” Owen says, making everyone laugh.

Owen comes back over by me, still smiling. He’s genuinely happy for his twin and seeing him care so much makes me feel an attraction to him I’ve been trying to deny. I gulp down another mouthful of the margarita. It does not taste good at all, and I’m wondering if I can dump it down the drain without anyone seeing.

I turn to do just that when Quinn asks if I want a refill. Giving her a begrudging smile, I take my drink to the table.

“This is really gross,” I whisper to Owen as he slides into his seat next to me. He takes the margarita from me and takes a sip.

“That is so strong. Did Quinn make this, by any chance?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“There’s probably three shots of tequila in that.”

“No,” I silently exclaim and then laugh. “I already had a glass of sangria and I just gulped most of this down!”

“You’re gonna be drunk,” he teases.

I shrug and take another sip. “As long as you’re driving, I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

He chuckles and reaches forward, taking a strand of my hair between his fingers. It’s something he used to do before, and would usually lead to me biting my lip because I knew it drove him crazy. We’d slowly move our heads together until his lips crashed against mine.

My breath hitches and Owen’s lips part. His eyes lock with mine and he twists my hair around his finger. Heart hammering, I lean in a little closer, getting lost in the darkness in his eyes. Then I blink and turn away.

What the hell am I doing?

Clearing his throat, Owen drops my hair and picks up his fork.

“Have you thought of any names yet?” I ask, needing to distract myself from Owen.

“I like Orissa if it’s a girl,” Logan says. “It’s from a book series I like.”

“Orissa?” Mr. Dawson’s eyebrows push together. “Isn’t that a city in India?”

“Only you would know that, Dad,” Quinn laughs. “It’s a little weird, but I like it.”

“Says the girl who named her daughter Arya,” Owen says under his breath, and Quinn shoots him a look. I elbow him and he laughs. “I’m joking. Arya is a badass, and the name, I’m sure, will be fitting.”

“Thank you,” Quinn says with a pressed smile.

“Owen is a really good name for a boy,” Owen goes on. “It’s a strong, masculine name, and he will be destined for greatness.”

“I’d make sure to avoid that one then,” Weston says and we all laugh.

“We haven’t come up with a boy’s name we agree on yet.” Danielle looks at Logan with a smile. “There’s so much pressure with picking a name.”

“Just don’t use Todd or Brad,” Owen quips and I give him a pointed look.

“These are really good,” I tell Danielle after I take a bite of my enchilada.

“Thanks. I got the recipe from my grandma’s cookbook. I might not be the best baker, but I can follow simple recipes at least.”

I don’t realize just how drunk I am until I stand up after finishing everything on my plate. I sway on my feet, and Owen, who just got up as well, puts his hand on my shoulder to steady me. I should be worried about how far gone I am, but all I can think about is how warm his skin feels against mine.

He takes my plate from me and carries it into the kitchen. I still have a bit of sangria left in my glass, so I take it and join the girls in the living room. Owen helps Logan clean up the dishes, and I take a spot on the couch where I can see him loading the dishwasher.

Quinn and Scarlet are making plans to meet up at the farmer’s market this week and then go meet Danielle for lunch since she’s working at the bakery. Dean’s wife, Kara, who I think is a teacher by the sounds of it, agrees to hang out with her sisters-in-law but doesn’t seem too happy about it.

“Are you able to meet us for lunch too?” Quinn asks me. “We’ll be downtown.”

“I think so. I don’t really have a set lunch break, and I only have one client of my own so far, so I’m pretty free.”

“Great!” Quinn smiles and looks at Scarlet, who’s about to say something. Weston catches her eye and shakes his head. She purses her lips and narrows her eyes at him in a playful glare, but she doesn’t say whatever she was going to. She and Quinn want to set me up with Owen, I know.

And maybe I am way too drunk because, right now, I wouldn’t mind.