“
Thanks for coming up and everything, but I
’
m overreacting. All I need is a redo. I'll just pretend it never happened,
”
she joked weakly.
Noah paused and then shook his head.
“
You
’
re not overreacting,
”
he said slowly.
“
A girl
’
s first kiss should be special. I can help.
”
Charlie made a face at him. The move called attention to a few cute little freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose.
“
What do you mean?
”
“
You said you need to redo your first kiss. That
’
s a great idea. But not here,
”
he said, gesturing to the bright walls.
Charlie sighed.
“
Yeah, it
’
s like a unicorn was butchered in here,
”
she said, startling him into a laugh. She shrugged.
“
This is my sister
’
s teen dream bedroom. Not mine.
”
“
Don
’
t worry. I get it. Stepmother number two did my room in the city entirely in pastels. It was so humiliating whenever any of my friends came over.
”
She giggled. Pleased that he
’
d been able to cheer her up he felt energized. But his work wasn
’
t done yet.
“
You have to let me make this up to you,
”
he said.
Charlie put her hands on her hips.
“
You want to paint my room?
”
He laughed.
“
No, I
’
m volunteering to help you redo your first kiss.
”
She froze.
“
No, thank you.
”
Noah felt a tiny little stab of disappointment before brushing it aside.
“
I
’
m not taking no for an answer. It
’
s my fault your first kiss was ruined so it
’
s up to me to make it up to you,
”
he said with an entreating smile as he backed away toward the balcony.
Charlie licked her lips.
“
Please don
’
t,
”
she said in a low voice, her face creased with unhappiness.
“
What
’
s wrong?
”
he asked.
What do you think is wrong? You
’
re behaving like an ass.
Why would she want to kiss him? He was worse than Sammy. All those mobs of female racing fans had clearly gone to his head.
Charlie
’
s hands twisted together.
“
I was joking, not making a suggestion. And handsome celebrities don
’
t go around kissing random strangers. You...you
’
re either feeling sorry for me or you
’
re making fun of me. Neither is a good reason to kiss you,
”
she said softly.
Well, that wasn
’
t exactly a rejection.
And she thinks you
’
re handsome.
“
Aw hell, that
’
s not true. Yes, I
’
m feeling chivalrous
‚
but trust me, guys only act this way when there is a pretty girl involved,
”
he said, crossing the threshold of the balcony and then turning to beckon her with a wag of his finger.
****
Charlie stared at Noah, uncertain what to do.
Kiss him, you idiot!
She gave herself a little shake. Her head was spinning slightly, and it was all due to Noah
’
s proximity. She had never been alone in her bedroom with a boy before. Not that Noah resembled a boy in any way. He was a man
—
an uncomfortably handsome one.
Noah was tall with brown hair and hazel eyes. His body was tall and muscular without being too bulky. And he was famous. He had gone to her school, Dalton Academy, and people there still talked about him constantly even though he had only attended for a few years before graduating early. His picture was in the trophy case next to a huge basketball trophy and his name was on another good-sized soccer plaque. Both the students and faculty followed his racing career.
Her stepfather Henry had said he was twenty-two now, which was crazy. Noah had finished college and gotten a masters degree in less than three years. After he finished school Fortune 500 companies had vied to recruit him, but then he
’
d given it all up to race cars
—
much to Henry
’
s irritation.
Charlie had never told anyone her sister had married his father.
“
Why are you doing this?
”
Noah shrugged.
“
Because I want to,
”
he said with a charming grin as he held out his hand.
Feeling dizzy, she took a hesitant step forward. He reached over and took her hand to lead her outside. She almost changed her mind when her bare feet made contact with the cool tiles of the balcony, but he drew her to the walled edge to watch the surf and she followed, almost instinctively.
Noah straightened.
“
We are going to do a little role-playing,
”
Noah said, looking down at her with warm eyes.
“
Pretend we
’
re at one of Dalton
’
s post-game parties on the beach.
”
He must think she was popular.
“
Err...I
’
ve never been to one of those,
”
she admitted with a brief duck of her head.
He hesitated before smiling again.
“
No worries. It
’
s pretty much like you imagine. People drinking bad beer and making out farther down the beach.
”
Charlie stiffened.
Noah
’
s smile grew broader.
“
Don
’
t worry. I
’
m not going to maul you. We
’
re going to pretend to take a little stroll away from the imaginary crowd.
”
When she didn
’
t take his outstretched hand, he cocked his head at her.
“
C
’
mon, what
’
s the harm in a little walk?
”
Something told her this was a bad idea, but she ignored her misgivings and took his hand.
Her body heated at his touch, but he didn
’
t seem to notice. Outside, the light was fading, but the balcony wasn
’
t dark. It was lit by the lights inside the house through the glass balcony doors that lined one side. Her room was next to a series of salons and offices that opened onto the terrace on the east side of the house. The master bedroom had a private balcony on the other side of the house.
Noah held her hand firmly as they made a circuit of the balcony terrace, making polite small talk the whole way. He pretended they had just met, asking about her classes, where she had grown up, and what she liked to do in her spare time.
At first Charlie answered his questions hesitantly, but Noah was so friendly and open that soon she was spilling her guts. She told him all about her love of poetry and her desire to work in the art world one day.
He leaned against the balcony wall and stared off in the direction of the beach.
“
That sounds like fun. I wish I was artistic, but I can
’
t draw a straight line.
”
“
Oh, I
’
m not a good artist. I
’
m only sort of okay. But I appreciate other people's work,
”
she said, taking advantage of his inattention to study Noah
’
s face.
On TV and in magazines he always looked handsome. In real life he was gorgeous
—
almost too pretty to be real. And she hadn
’
t expected him to be so modest. Who cared that he couldn
’
t draw? He was
Noah Masters
.
She couldn
’
t believe he was even talking to her. Given the way her life tended to go, she
’
d actually expected a much colder reception from him. From the little she knew, he didn
’
t get along that well with his father. Being nice to his father
’
s new family should have been a low priority. But Noah seemed so nice and down to earth for a celebrity
…
not that she knew any others.
Charlie understood having mixed feelings about a parent. Darla wasn
’
t her mother, but she was the closest thing Charlie had ever had. She had become Charlie
’
s legal guardian when she was four and Darla was twenty. Their parents had died in a car accident, and if her sister hadn
’
t taken her in, she would have gone into foster care. Darla had saved her from all that, but life had still been difficult at times.
Her sister was a force of nature, bright and beautiful, the kind of person who made you feel like you were part of something special by being around her. But Charlie had been with her in the lean times, before she had managed to catch two rich men in succession.
During that period, Darla had dragged Charlie from town to town, living off the largess of different men in between sporadic jobs. As a result, Charlie had fallen behind in school
—
so much that she was a year older than most of her classmates.
Although Charlie had appreciated everything Darla had done for her, she hated every second of that vagabond existence. She
’
d welcomed life with her sister
’
s ex-husband. Darla had married the much older businessman when Charlie was thirteen and life had finally settled down. She had to repeat the seventh grade, but with hard work, her grades had improved dramatically.
Life had been good. And then Darla had thrown a wrench into everything last year when Martin had taken her to a business party hosted by Henry Masters. After a whirlwind affair, Darla had divorced Martin and a few months later, married Henry.
Charlie still missed Martin. She had tried to call him a few times, but now that the divorce was final, he wanted nothing to do with her.
“
I
’
ve lost you.
”
Charlie
’
s head snapped up.
“
I
’
m sorry, what?
”
“
I seem to have lost your attention. Sorry, I
’
m usually considered a witty conversationalist,
”
Noah said with a self-deprecating smile.
She blushed.
“
Oh no, you
’
re great. I was...thinking.
”
“
About what?
”
Charlie fidgeted.
“
That we might have something in common.
”
“
And what might that be?
”
“
We both have complicated relationships with our nearest family.
”
Noah stiffened, and his amused expression dropped away.
Charlie hurried to apologize.
“
I
’
m sorry. I don
’
t mean to be so presumptuous. But Henry said we wouldn
’
t see you before Christmas. He implied things were strained between the two of you.
”
He gave her a long stare and then exhaled.
“
They are. I wouldn
’
t be here right now if my father was home. Hell, I probably wouldn
’
t be in the same state. Don
’
t get me wrong. We love each other and all, but we can
’
t be in a room for more than twenty minutes without getting into an argument about my future.
”