The Grand Duel (The Grand Men #4)

Chapter 33

THIRTY-THREE

Charlie

Lissie

Do you have plans today?

It’s seven thirty on a Sunday morning

You’re obviously awake

I sit up in the bed, and Luna is instantly on me. I push her back and then pull her to sit at my side and not on my chest.

“Dais, come here.”

She shuffles herself up the bed and settles in the V of my legs, resting her head on my stomach.

Breakfast date and a trip to the cottage? I want to show you the outside.

I smile, and Luna must think it means something because she licks up my cheek. “Jesus, dog!” I say, wiping at the slobber.

I read over Lissie’s message again and then eye the dogs. “You wanna see Lissie today, pups?”

Luna whines. Daisy huffs a sigh.

I have to be back by 12ish.

On my way

She wasn’t kidding. My doorbell chimes as I’m pulling on my jeans, barely out of the shower.

I grab a T-shirt and jumper and jog down the stairs, pulling on the shirt whilst the dogs wait at the door.

“Back,” I tell them, pulling it open.

Lissie is standing on the other side, her hair pulled up off her face in a high bun on the top of her head. She’s wearing a pair of dark leggings with white trainers and the navy jumper she borrowed from me the other day.

She holds out a bag and two drinks in her hands, barely waiting for me to take them before she lets go and holds her arms out to the dogs.

“Hello, babies!” They jump at her, and she drops her head, letting them do their worst to her face and smiling the entire time. “Oh, I missed you this week!” When she eventually looks up at me, her smile widens. “That’s as good as any therapy I’ve ever had.”

I cock my head for her to come in, and she fights her way past the dogs and inside. “Good morning, Lissie.”

“It is. Are you excited?”

I check the drinks and hand over her tea. It’s been three days since she showed me the cottage, and I’ve not been back there since. “More intrigued.”

“Good. Intrigued is good. I was half expecting you to call me into your office this week and tell me you changed your mind.”

My lips curl down in contemplation. “I did call Mase and give him shit.”

“I know, he texted me yesterday.”

I look up from where I’m checking inside the bag. “What?”

She brings her tea away from her lips. “He texted me telling me you’d chewed him a new one and that it’s all good.”

“Mason texted you?” I say.

What the fuck?

Since when did my friends text my staff? The woman I’m…Lissie.

She smiles. “Well, I texted him telling him I’d taken you to the cottage, and that I was super thankful for all of his help.”

“ You texted him?”

Why does that bother me so much, and what the fuck is my heart doing?

“Yep. And then he texted back.” She widens her eyes. “Shocking, isn’t it?” She chuckles. “Come on, we can eat in the car.”

I grab the girls’ leads and my things and follow her out. “How did you get here so quick?”

“I was already on the way to Greggs when I messaged you. I was craving a cooked breakfast and didn’t fancy cooking it.” She peers up at me. “I just knew you couldn’t say no to me.”

“No,” I mutter quietly to myself. “Seems I can’t.”

When we pull up to the cottage, I pause and take in the entire front of the house. It’s hidden from the winding road, set back a little, the neighbouring houses plotted amongst one another in a non-uniform order that allows space and privacy.

There’s something oddly endearing about the way nothing is quite perfect on the drive in here. The cracks in the tarmacked road. The chipped, red-painted letter box. A broken sign for a fete that looks like it’s been there since the summer months, and the cars left haphazardly where not every home has a parking space.

And then you turn into this small haven, and it opens up, the house just as imperfect at the rest of the village but?—

“It has something, doesn’t it?”

I turn and look at her. “Show me.”

We climb from the car and take the dogs inside. Lissie tells me her ideas for the kitchen as she sets up the kettle and supplies she brought with her from home, and I have to agree, I like what she has in mind.

I also like looking at her, and when she’s talking, I don’t have to, and so I let her walk me through the entire house for a second time, nodding and smiling and agreeing with everything she says.

“Are you ready for outside?”

“Lead the way,” I tell her.

“So, you know you said stable doors would look really good in here,” she says, walking me through the kitchen. “Well, imagine a stable door with these windows here sashed and painted a lighter colour.”

She opens up the back door, and my brows rise, not expecting the back of the house to be as big as the front. “It’s huge.”

She steps out into the light rain. “You have a beautiful garden. It’s already so green.” She pulls a flower from a hanging plant. “Imagine how it will be in the summer.”

I look past her to the rest of the garden, trying to find its end.

“You have a field on the back of the garden which the previous owners rented to a local farmer. He kept cows in it mostly. He’s offered the same amount if you wanted to continue with it, or you can find your own use.”

I follow her down the garden path, chuckling in disbelief. “What would I do with a field?”

“I don’t know.” The dogs come running past us. “You could get your own cows.” She snorts and turns, stopping on the path. The rain catches along her hairline, making the fine hairs curl. “You’d go from Charlie boy to my little farm boy.”

She chuckles, placing a hand on my chest as my smile grows. “Funny.”

“It is,” she says, pushing me back, but I catch her hand, keeping her there.

I look down at her, the air around us getting thinner.

Her smile grows softer. “I know it was a bit much, buying the house.”

“I don’t know. I think I’m getting used to your a bit much .”

She pops a brow.

I smile, holding her hand to my chest, and look past her to the field that doesn’t seem to have an end. “Why would you do this?”

She drops her hand, steps away from me, then leads me to a little granite built shed. “When we were in Italy you seemed so different. So much more relaxed.” She starts to collect up logs and place them by the door. “I wasn’t sure exactly what it was that made you that way—” You did. It was you. “—but I knew I had to find the thing. Which is hard when the man doesn’t give a lot away,” she teases, letting out a strangled sound as she struggles with a bigger log. My amused smile follows her from the log pile to the door and back again. “And so, I thought I’d take what you had given me—which was basically your dream home—and I’d make it happen.” She drops the log from her hands and brushes them together. “It helps that you told me how much of a tight-ass you are and how Mason had to buy the penthouse for you. I’d never have had the idea else.”

I sieve through her words and wonder if she really did do it just to see me happy. For someone who hasn’t known me that long, it seems like a huge risk. Then again, Mase would’ve never agreed to it if he didn’t believe it was the right call.

“Can you chop wood into sticks?” she asks, reaching for the small axe on the ground.

I hold my hand out.

She hands it to me and starts picking up as many logs as she can hold in her arms. “I’ll go find some paper for the fire.”

I chop sticks and then carry them inside, the rain getting worse and soaking me through. I find Lissie by the fire screwing up newspaper, stuffing it into the base.

“Can I suggest some central heating along with the lovely fire, Charles?”

I bump her out of the way and take over, layering the sticks on top.

Within minutes the fire is roaring, and Lissie has made us cups of tea and coffee. I take them as she nears, and then she sits down on the floor beside me.

The dogs instantly worm their way into the space in front of us.

“Oh my goodness, it’s perfect,” she says with a sigh.

I look at her, her eyes closed and her smile so wholesome it makes my chest pinch. I revel in the heat of the fire.

And her.

“It is,” I agree. “Thank you, Lissie.”

She opens her eyes and looks across at me, her face glowing orange from the flames. “For the house?”

“More the reasoning.”

She takes a sip of her tea, her hands hugging the mug. “Does it surprise you that I want to see you happy?”

Confirmation of the reason shouldn’t make my stomach do whatever it is it’s doing. “It doesn’t surprise me. I guess it is what Edna hired you to do.”

“True, she employed me to help find you a balance. But I didn’t do it for that reason. I mean, any sane businessman would see it very differently and probably fire me.”

I smile. “There’s still time.”

She smiles back, nudging her elbow into my side. “I mean it, though. I know you pay me a wage every month, but I’m not here because of that.” She flicks her eyes up to mine and then down to my lips. “I feel like you do all these things for everyone else but never for yourself.”

“I don’t need things,” I tell her, trying to ignore the way she looks at me.

“Well, I don’t believe you. And whilst you tolerate my presence in your life, I plan to do them for you regardless.” She shrugs. “Just on a smaller budget.”

“Don’t spend money on me.”

She rolls her eyes and looks away. “Shh.”

I smile at the side of her face, wishing she’d bring her eyes back to mine.

“Have you heard anything from your sister since last night?” I ask after a while, knowing it had upset her this week.

“No,” she murmurs. “I thought I’d give them the weekend and then call. I can imagine Mum and Dad will need to get back after a week or so.”

“Do you know what you plan to say to her?”

I watch as she smooths her index finger over Daisy’s snout. “I’m just going to be there like always. It’s going to be a lot for them both. Willow won’t really get it, but it’s still new. And I get the feeling Jove will want me to do what she’s doing and plan something—she’s very impulsive.” She pauses, staring at the dog. “But that’s not what I want right now.”

“That’s fair enough.”

She looks up at me. “Thank you for telling me about your sister the other night. I can’t imagine it was easy. A little perspective is really helpful sometimes, but I can’t help wishing you didn’t have any to share.”

I give her half a smile. “Me too. But I’m glad I told you. That you stuck around after everything that happened.”

“You can’t get rid of me now, Aldridge.”

My phone starts to ring in my pocket, and I pull it out, seeing Nina’s name flashing up on the screen.

I frown, my eyes catching the time as I swipe to answer.

Shit .

“Nina, I’ve just seen the time.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” I look at Lissie, her head twisted and resting on her shoulder. “I’m at the cottage. I’m presuming you know about that.”

“Everyone but you, Charles.”

I shake my head and smile. Lissie’s eyes warm, watching me. “I won’t be long. I need to drop Lissie home, and I’ll be heading out.”

“You’re with Lissie?”

I look into her brown eyes, wondering if I even want to share her a little bit. “Yeah. She wanted me to see the gardens in daylight.” I pull the phone back slightly and mouth, Do you want to come to dinner?

Lissie instantly shakes her head, whispering, “I can get an Uber, it’s no big deal. Don’t worry about getting me home.” She stands, taking our cups to the kitchen.

“From the pictures it’s stunning. And the location.” I can hear the smile in Nina’s voice through the phone. “Puts you that little bit closer to us. We just need Elliot and Luce this way now.”

I frown, trying to listen to Nina whilst my mind is on the woman in front of me. “It’s great. Hey, Nina, you don’t mind if Lis comes over today, do you?”

There’s a brief moment of silence, just enough time for Lissie to turn at the sink and stare at me in panic across the room.

“Charlie Aldridge, is that even a question?”

“It would be rude not to ask.”

“I’m deeply offended that you did.”

I chuckle.

“My jaw is still on the floor, so for your benefit, I’ll get it picked up before you get here. Anything I should know?”

“Only that she’s painfully stubborn and might have to come kicking and screaming.”

Lissie’s arms cross as she watches me.

Nina snorts a laugh. “Get going then, the beef has just come out, and Luce is getting hangry.”

I hang up, pocket my phone, and then stand, walking to where Lissie is in the kitchen. “I didn’t invite you because I didn’t want to drop you home.”

“Then why did you invite me?”

“Why do you think, Lis?”

She stares at me and then shrugs.

“I like spending time with you.”

“I have a shift tonight,” she says, her words falling from her mouth in a rush but not as fast as my heart sinks to my gut. “I start at eight.”

My jaw goes taut. She’s worked the club three times this week, twice since I took her out to dinner. Both times I’ve barely managed to get a wink of sleep.

I swallow and take a second before telling her, “I can get you back in time for your shift.”

Her eyes flick between mine. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.”

“It will bother me more if you don’t come with me.”

Her lips curl up. “Well, I’d hate to upset the boss.”

“You’ll come?”

She nods. “What about the dogs?”

“They come, too.” I call to them and then pour water on the fire.

I don’t know what to feel as we leave the cottage and head for the estate. On one hand, I know it’s completely out of character for me to bring someone to dinner, and I know my friends will be losing their minds over how monumental that is.

But then on the other hand, there’s Lissie, knees curled up under her on the seat as she chats on about something Edna told her she has in her walk-in wardrobe, and there’s nothing at all monumental about that, her, or us, or with me taking her to dinner.

Not to me.

I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

For the terror to set in.

I felt it in the hotel room that morning in Italy—briefly—knowing I was well and truly somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be, but then she left me in the bed, and that , that feeling of not doing something I desperately wanted to do, that was monumental.

That was terrifying.

Wrong.

“Charles, are you even listening to me?”

I look down at her, her frown deep.

I smile and reach out to brush my finger over her nose. “Always.”