I DO, BUT HERE'S THE CATCH by Pamela Burford

Author:Pamela Burford [Burford, Pamela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

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Charli took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you."

Amanda, Sunny and Raven exchanged glances. Raven's husband, Hunter, asked, "Should I leave?"

Charli gave him a shaky smile. She shook her head. Though she hadn't known Hunter long, they'd established an instant rapport. He was almost like a brother, as encouraging and supportive as her three best friends, all of them now enjoying Sunday brunch at Hunter's comedy club, called Stitches. "No," she said, "you should hear this, too. Maybe … maybe it would help, to get a man's perspective." She took a deep breath. "Where should I start?"

Raven set down her drink, a mixture of apricot nectar and champagne. "Is it about Grant?"

Charli nodded.

"I sensed there was … a little trouble," Raven said. "I was hoping it was my imagination."

"It wasn't your imagination." Charli had agonized over the decision to confide in her lifelong pals. For the past two weeks since her wedding, she'd been too ashamed to do so. Perhaps subconsciously she'd hoped Grant would change his mind, that their marriage would miraculously turn into a normal, loving one. She now knew that if that was going to happen, she'd have to make it happen.

She stared at her plate, laden with a Greek omelette she'd barely touched. The lively sounds of Stitches buzzed around her: chatter and laughter, bluegrass music drifting from speakers, the clatter of flatware on the club's signature mismatched china. Framed antique story-magazine covers adorned the dark paneled walls. Irresistible aromas filled the air, although Charli's appetite had deserted her.

"I don't know how to say this. It'll sound so … bizarre."

A reassuring hand settled on her right shoulder—Sunny's hand.

"Our marriage is more of a … a business arrangement." Charli glanced up to gauge her friends' reactions as she continued, "We don't sleep together. There will be no children. It's the way Grant wants it. He married me to help him become partner in that stuffy law firm he works for. They don't like bachelors."

Raven and Sunny stared slack-jawed at her. Amanda muttered a string of curses under her breath. Hunter's features tightened into an angry mask. He asked, "And you agreed to this?"

"No, but … he thought I had. I mean, when he proposed, he said something about it being a, um, companionable marriage. Stuff like that. But he didn't really spell it all out. He felt bad about that, later. He thought I understood."

"Don't you dare make excuses for him!" Amanda hissed, her face blooming with angry color.

"I'm not. He just… It's complicated."

"He's using you," Sunny said miserably. She looked around the table. "And we arranged it. We introduced them."

"This isn't your fault," Hunter told them. He shoved his fingers through his dark, wavy hair, which was long enough to curl over the collar of his faded, black denim shirt. "No one could have predicted that this guy would be so completely screwed up."

Tears dogged Charli's throat. "I love him."

Amanda groaned and dropped her head into her hands.

Sunny said, "Charli, you're just confused—"

"I do," she insisted.

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