I want You Deeper

Charlie was getting a workout. And that was the understatement of the year.

“I think you’re trying to kill me,” she said to Nicholas as she

stepped halfway up the second set of stairs.

The Lyon Street Steps was supposedly the “best show in town.” That was how Nicholas had sold it, anyway. They’d parked at the bottom and begun the long walk up to the top. She wasn’t sure how many steps there were, but the staircase was so steep, she bet no less than ninety thousand.

The problem was, Nicholas seemed to have no problem tackling these stairs. It even seemed like he slowed his pace to let Charlie keep up. This was kicking her butt.

“Sorry,” Nicholas said. “We’re almost there. Just a dozen or so steps farther.”

“A dozen or so steps” was way underplaying it. Charlie didn’t count them, but she’d guess there were at least thirty before they reached the top. The closer they got to the top, the more they had to make way for the runners who were heading down.

She supposed she’d asked for that. The first day she met Nicholas, when asked what was the most dangerous thing she’d agreed to do, she’d answered “hiking.” As he’d parked and told her what they were about to do, he told her this was the closest they could get to hiking right now. They were “hiking” up stairs in the middle of one of the most populous cities in the country.

“This is the best part. Come over here.”

Charlie’s foot had just left the top step when Nicholas gestured for her to join him. He was standing there, looking toward the staircase they’d just exited.

As she turned and took in the scene in front of them, her breath caught for a completely different reason. Wow. She immediately saw why he’d called this the best view in town.

“This is why I do the run up first,” he admitted. “The walk down is something else entirely. Let’s go.”

Already? Charlie needed to catch her breath.

“Water.” Charlie uncapped the bottled water-they’d stopped to buy one for each of them on the drive here-and took a long swig. It wouldn’t be enough to help get her energy back, though.

“We can rest up a minute,” Nicholas offered, seeming to get what was happening here. “I plan to take it easy on the way down. Just a little bit at a time. It’s all about the view.”

Charlie nodded, but she was still worried she couldn’t keep going. What if she passed out or something? Sure, it would be great to be rescued by Nicholas, especially if it meant mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but it would also be embarrassing.

“We can walk,” Charlie said after taking a deep breath, her heart rate slowing just a smidge. The tiniest of smidges, actually. Straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin, she did what she’d done from a young age. She put one foot in front of the other and gave every appearance of having it all together, even when she didn’t.

Nicholas fell into step beside her. “I can see why everyone likes you so much.”

Charlie glanced over at him. “Everyone likes me?”

“Sure. Of course. Elizabeth said you’re a hit.”

Charlie didn’t want to admit how happy that made her. She was a hit. His family liked her. That shouldn’t have been a big deal to her, but it was.

“That was nice of her.” Charlie kept her focus on her feet, worried about slipping on a step. She was so tired, it wouldn’t be all that difficult.

“I had a feeling my mom would take to you. You’re so graceful. Like a princess. If she’d met you in another environment, she definitely would have tried to set us up.”

Despite her efforts, Charlie almost slipped at that revelation. She wanted to look over at him, to see if he was serious. But she was afraid to find out he was.

“I guess that’s why you chose me,” she muttered under her breath.

“What was that?” he asked, leaning closer.

Charlie shook her head. “Nothing.”

She didn’t want him to know how much this news upset her. It upset her because she actually had feelings for him. Now she was learning that he’d asked her to join him this weekend because he’d “had a feeling” his mom would like her.

“Glad I could come through.”

Charlie heard the anger in her own voice and decided she needed to get that in check. If he detected it and asked what was wrong, she wasn’t prepared with an answer. There was no way to justify being mad at him over this without revealing she’d fallen for him. Fortunately, he didn’t ask.

“Stop here. Look at this.”

They came to a landing that offered a view of the area. Nicholas pointed out the San Francisco Bay, the forest, and all the mansions. It was breathtaking, but most of all, it was invigorating. Standing here, she felt like she was more powerful than all the buildings and people below them. It was all an illusion, of course, but she liked the feeling.

“If we had time, I’d take you to the Golden Gate Bridge. We could even tour a couple of museums. We’ll have to come back here.”

He dropped that bomb, then looked over at her, a half-smile on his face. All that did was confuse her. If he was just using her to get his mother off his back, why would he look at her like that? And why would he mention spending time together after this weekend?

Was that part of the ruse, too?

“When do you plan to let your mom in on all this?”

Her voice sounded much calmer to her own ears than she felt. She wasn’t angry as much as hurt-heartbroken, actually. If he planned to ghost her once the weekend was over, she was better off knowing now so she could keep her distance.

But his smile faded. He studied her face. Did he sense she had feelings for him? She’d be mortified if this led to the “I’m not ready to date” conversation.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

People were milling around, posing for pictures, stopping to enjoy the view. It felt like this moment should be carried out alone, but it wasn’t like they’d have the opportunity again. As soon as they returned to the hotel, they’d split up, and the rest of the day would be her watching the wedding as a spectator while he stood alongside his brother.

“You said you were going to tell her the truth after the wedding. Are you planning to do it next week or wait for the next time there’s a big gettogether to drop the news on her?”

“Maybe I won’t tell her. Maybe we’ll just see where this goes.”Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

For a moment, that threw Charlie off. But then she reminded herself that they had to get through this weekend. The last thing he needed was to dump her right now, then have to explain to his mother that his fiancee had fled the scene. He had to string her along at least through tomorrow.

Charlie shook her head. “You have to tell her. No matter what. You have to tell her that this was all a ruse.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” He stared ahead thoughtfully for a long time, letting out a long breath.

Charlie wanted to jump in and offer help, but that was the part of her she had to hold back. The part that cared about him more than she could allow herself.

“Let’s go.”

That sudden announcement surprised her, but even more surprising was the fact that he took off at a quick pace, not even waiting to see if she’d keep up. What had just happened here? Was he mad at her?

And if he was, as someone who was just pretending to care about her, did it matter?