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
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