Unknown - [Carly Phillips] The Bachelor (The Chandler Brothe(Bookos.org) (1)

She cringed at the thought. “No. My hands hurt. I need to spread out that kind of work. First I’ll stop by the Gazette offices and talk to Chase about an Easter sale ad. I can’t believe the holiday’s only two and a half weeks away.”

“Know what the best part of the holiday is?”

Charlotte tapped one finger against her forehead. “Hmm. Let me think. Could it be the chocolate Cadbury Bunny commercials?” she asked, referring to her best friend’s weakness.

“How’d you know?”

“Are you forgetting I sent you wrapped chocolate every holiday? I know you like I know the back of my hand.” Charlotte picked her bag up off the floor where she’d left it earlier.

“We get to pig out together this year.” Beth licked her lips in chocolate-heaven anticipation.

Charlotte laughed. “I’ll stop by when I leave the Gazette. If it’s quiet, I may just take the paperwork and bills upstairs.”

“I knew this would happen.” Beth shook her head sadly. “One day at home crocheting, and you’re hooked on the soaps.”

“Untrue.”

“Are you denying you’re going to watch General Hospital while you work?”

Charlotte gestured as if she were zipping her lips. She refused to confirm or deny. Of course she’d Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

watch General Hospital. Because one certain sexy actor reminded her of Roman.

Man, oh, man, she was in deeper trouble than she thought. “See ya later.” She waved and walked out the front door into the fresh air and inhaled deeply. “Much better,” she said aloud. She hiked her purse onto her shoulder and started down the road.

As she passed the outskirts of town and the final median of grass, daffodils, and other assorted flowers, she saw Samson weeding the flower beds and called out to him. He didn’t hear her, or chose to pretend he hadn’t.

“Oh, well.” She shrugged and continued on, grateful for the fresh spring air. As she walked, her thoughts drifted to Roman. Tingling anticipation mixed with trepidation over the words they’d exchanged and the level of commitment those words implied.

She wondered not only what Roman meant by working out a compromise, but whether she could trust in the love he’d given and the marriage he claimed he desired.

Roman let himself into the Gazette offices, using his key. The place was still quiet. It was too early for Lucy’s arrival, and from the look of things, even Chase hadn’t made it downstairs yet. Roman needed fresh-brewed coffee and fresher air than the stuffy office provided, so he left the door to the street open, then headed for the kitchen to make something strong and caffeinated to drink.

Daybreak had forced him out of Charlotte’s bed. He’d left her asleep. Only a kiss on her cheek and then he was gone. The town was talking enough about Charlotte and her family. He didn’t need to add to the gossip by walking out of her apartment in broad daylight. Leaving in the early morning was chancy, but he hadn’t been able to resist the opportunity to spend the night in her bed, her warm, naked body snuggled tight against his. As it would be for the rest of his life.

A tremor shook him hard. He might have acknowledged difficult truths—that he wanted to stop running, wanted to settle down, and that he did love Charlotte—but he’d be a liar if he said he wasn’t scared shitless. Not enough to change his mind. Just enough to make him human, Roman thought. He was on the verge of a major life change and it had him on edge.

He still couldn’t believe the words had came out of his mouth. Not that the words had been difficult. For a writer, they never were. But Roman always thought things through first, then spoke with precision.

He’d never before let emotion overrule common sense. But his feelings for Charlotte were over ten years in the making. He wanted to marry her and he did love her. He hadn’t planned on either declaration, but spontaneity was good. It kept a relationship fresh, Roman thought wryly.

But his hand shook as he worked on the coffee, counting scoops and filling the machine with water. His timing could have been better. He’d proposed in public, when she was coming off an emotional confrontation with her father, and before he’d had the chance to make decisions crucial to their future.

Given all that, he had to admit she’d taken his words better than he could have imagined.

But now that he was alone in the office he’d spent so much time in as a kid, he realized his escape from Charlotte’s bed was a good thing. He needed time alone, to figure out how to balance his life now, and he had no idea what came next. Though he figured contacting the Washington Post about that job offer would be a good start. The notion of picking up the phone didn’t instill in him the urge to run. He decided that was a good sign.

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“Hey, little brother. You’re up early.” Chase walked into the main room of the offices. “What are you doing here? Mom run out of Cocoa Puffs?”

Roman shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.” Because he hadn’t been home long enough to eat breakfast. He glanced at his oldest sibling. “You know, I just realized we’ve done nothing but talk about me since I hit town. What’s going on with you these days?”

Chase shrugged. “Same old thing.”

“Any new women?” Roman hadn’t seen Chase with anyone in particular since he’d been home.

Chase shook his head.

“So what do you do for company? What takes care of the loneliness?” Roman asked. And he wasn’t talking about just sex. The brothers never divulged that kind of information. Chase knew what Roman meant. They both experienced that damn loneliness that came from their choices. The kind Charlotte had taken care of for him.

With a shrug, Chase said, “If I need company, I have some friends in Harrington. You know Yorkshire Falls is too damn small to get involved without anyone knowing. But I’m not lacking for company. Now back to you.”

Roman laughed. Chase never could sustain a conversation about himself for too long. “What would you say if I told you the Washington Post offered me an editorial job?” he asked his oldest brother.

Chase padded across the room in socks, no shoes—one of the benefits of living upstairs—and joined Roman in the small kitchen area, where he poured himself a cup of coffee. He raised the mug. “Thanks, by the way.”

Roman leaned against the refrigerator. “No sweat.”

“I’d say don’t take a desk job because of the coin toss.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t pretend it didn’t happen.” The irony was, Roman was now grateful he’d lost the coin toss, glad he was forced to stick around Yorkshire Falls, glad he’d been forced to consider marriage. Because the circumstances had conspired to give him a second chance with Charlotte, the woman he loved.

The woman he’d always loved.

“That coin toss is the reason my entire life is about to change.” He shook his head. That hadn’t come out right. Actually, the coin toss had provided the impetus to begin a new life. But love was the reason he was marrying Charlotte. Not family obligation.

“Marriage is a huge step. So’s a baby. I know how bad Mom wants grandkids, but you have to admit, since Eric, she’s calmed down a little.”

“That’s because he’s keeping her too busy to bother us, but trust the one who sees her most mornings—she hasn’t forgotten she wants grandchildren and she’s still swigging Maalox.” Though sometimes Roman thought she seemed more active when she thought he wasn’t around, he figured he Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html