“I was out to get you this week. When I saw that email, I forwarded it to Nate.” Lexie frowned. “He deserved to know the truth.”
“I was going to tell him.” Charlotte swallowed. “The moment I realized I still loved him, I knew I had to tell him the truth.”
The blonde looked surprised. “You were really going to tell him?”
“Of course.” She sighed. “I might’ve come back to town with bad intentions, but that changed once I spent more time with him. Everything that happened between us, what I thought happened, ended up being a lie. I’ve spent all these years thinking he was a heartless jerk, but once I found out why he did what he did, revenge wasn’t on my mind anymore.”
Charlotte noticed Lexie biting her bottom lip, looking thoughtful, as if she was working something over in her head. The blonde was quiet for so long that Charlotte finally said, “What are you thinking, damn it?”
The corners of Lexie’s mouth lifted in a smile. “Just wondering how on earth we’re going to fix this.”
“Fix it?”
“Yep. Because it’s obvious you love Nate, and trust me, he loves you too. I saw him yesterday and he was absolutely dismal.”
She couldn’t stop her heart from doing a tiny somersault. “He was?”
“Uh-huh. And I don’t like it.” Lexie glared at her. “Think whatever you’d like, but I do care about Nate. A lot. I don’t want him to be unhappy, so I guess you and I need to put on our thinking caps and find a way to undo the damage we did.”
Charlotte eyed her warily. “You and I?”
“I told you before,” Lexie said with the careless wave of her hand, “we’re going to be best friends. That is, if you’re ready to let bygones be bygones and actually get to know me.”
She had to grin. “I’ll consider it.”
“Good. And while you consider that, let’s consider a way to get you and Nate back together.”
“That could be a problem,” Charlotte said with regretful breath. “The tour starts this weekend. It’ll last a month.”
“Where’s the first stop?” Lexie asked, all business.
“Right here. Radio City Music Hall, Friday night.”
Lexie let out an impressed whistle. “Nice. Okay. Well. Here’s what we’ll do then.”
Chapter Nine
Nate was only half awake as he opened the front door. The incessant knocking had finally dragged him off the couch, which he’d fallen asleep on last night. He hadn’t had another date with his tequila bottle since the day Charlotte left—getting wasted really wasn’t his thing—but the moping had continued. Completely fucking unmanly, he knew that, yet he couldn’t seem to muster up enthusiasm for anything. He’d worked at the pub all week, chatted with customers, served drinks—but his heart hadn’t been in it.
Charlotte had taken that heart when she’d skipped town again, and this time he doubted he’d ever get it back.
So moping it was, and to hell with what anyone thought about it, especially Lexie, who yet again had decided to grace his porch, after being AWOL since the night he’d banished her.
“Morning,” she said brightly, her cheerful tone making him wince.
“Mornin’,” he mumbled as he opened the door so she could come inside. “What do you want, Lex?”
“Lots of things. But right now, I want you to shave that god-awful depression beard and hop into the shower.” She clapped her hands as if addressing a boardroom full of executives. “Come on, get to it. You’ve got a plane to catch.”
Nate just stared at her. “What on earth are you babbling about? I’m not going anywhere.”
“Oh yes you are. You’re on the eleven-thirty flight to LaGuardia, but we have to get there at least an hour before, according to the e-ticket confirmation.” She glanced at the expensive silver watch on her slender wrist. “It’s nine-thirty now, so we need to get going.”
Nate felt like he’d wound up in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Or maybe in the movie Freaky Friday—had he switched bodies with someone and Lexie was confusing him with the person who was actually going to New York?
“Stop standing there and get ready,” she said, looking annoyed.
“Not until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
“Well, Charlotte and I talked it over, and we think—”
“What?” Shock slammed into him. Along with a tiny pang of sorrow at the sound of Charlotte’s name.
“Yeah, we’re friends now,” she replied with another wave of the hand. Those pale blue eyes narrowed. “By the way, she told me what you said to her the night she left town. I can’t believe you, Nate. You couldn’t have thought of any other way to convince her to go to Julliard?”
Okay, this definitely wasn’t his life. Granted, he hadn’t spoken to Lexie since he’d asked her to leave his house four days ago, but four days was hardly enough time for Lexie and Charlotte to strike up some weird, magical friendship.
He rubbed his suddenly aching temples. “Lexie. I’m really confused. Can you please just start from the beginning?”