Trading for Love

14. Compromise

Vincent POV

" How long will the meds be in her system?"

The ER doctor had just finished wrapping Charlottes hand after trimming and stitching it. Not before giving her a heavy dose of pain meds first of course. Charlotte had been giggling and talking out of her head the whole time he had been working on her.

He snapped his gloves off, tossing them on the pile of gauze he had been using to dab at Charlottes hand. Watching him stitch her hand had been a grueling process. He took entirely to long and seemed to take to much joy from Charlotte giggling like a school girl at everything he said. If Charlotte hadn't needed her hand taken care of I would have gladly beaten the man to a pulp for even eye balling what was mine.

Mine. Was Charlotte truly mine? She seemed happy to come with me when I'd offered her an escape at Andres but she had seemed less than thrilled to be given that contract this morning. Was she only with me to save her father? Was she waiting on some kind of savior? Surely she wasn't execting Anthony to save her. She would be worse off with him than she was with me and that was saying a lot. Then in the car, on the way here, I had snapped at her. There were so many things I had needed to get accomplished today and that had all been side tracked by Charlotte. My frustration at the situation had boiled over and had been misdirected at her. My outburst had made for a quiet and slightly uncomfortable ride into the city. Charlotte hadn't looked scared, but she was more than apprehensive to say anything either.

" About six to eight hours. She'll start to come around in a few hours. If she has any pain after the meds wear off, something over the counter should do." I nodded to him as I shot off a text to bring the car around.

After one final check on the bandage secured to Charlotte's hand, the doctor left to get the discharge taken care of.

Charlotte watched him leave before turning her glassy gaze on me. Her lopsided smile tugged at my heart, something in me enjoying the fact that she was smiling at me, even if she was medicated.

" You're much cuter than he was," she giggled. My stomach flipped at her compliment. By all means I had been called handsome by a multitude of people in life but no one had made me feel anything from it. I could feel blush attempting to creep up my neck but I quickly cleared my throat and focused on the wall behind Charlotte in an attempt to force it down. She had to be the first person in my adult life to ever call me cute and it tickled a spot in my soul that gave me a funny feeling.

* * * *

By some miracle we made it home with no further incidents, Charlotte giggling most of the way until she finally fell asleep. I'd put her to bed in her room before retiring to my office in an attempt to get something done today. As I sat at my desk though, my computer displaying all the emails that needed answered, I found myself unable to focus on them. Instead, my mind kept wandering back to Charlotte. By no means was she turning out to be what I had expected.

When she had appeared in Andres entryway I had thought she had to be deranged to point a gun at me, no one had ever gotten away with that. Then the look of defeat on her face at the mention of marrying Anthony would hurt anyones heart, even mine. She had looked so dejected and miserable that I had formulated my plan on the fly. I had thought at the time She was just the answer to my problems but now... now I was thinking the opposite must be true. The more I thought about it, the more I knew there was so much more to it all. Somewhere in me, I could feel something much deeper for Charlotte. It made me want to protect her, give her freedom, provide her everything the world had to offer and more. Charlotte was going to make this no easy task though. The more time I spent with her, the clearer it I became that behind that gorgeous smile and carefully controlled facade, laid the carefree and reckless soul of a lover. And I wasn't prepared for her to take over my life.

I was contemplating my next steps when my office door flew open, bouncing off the wall as Evelyn stomped into my office.

" Evelyn what have I-"

" Who is she?" Evelyn growled as she came to a stop in front of my desk. She crossed her arms over her chest, as her chin jutted out. In all the chaos of last night and this morning, I hadn't found time to speak with Evelyn so of course she had found out.

I sighed pinching the bridge of my nose. Was there a good way to explain this to her? Would it really matter if she didn't know the truth?

" She... She is my wife." I could have knocked Evelyn over with a feather. Her eyes went wide as saucers, her body going stiff as a board. I think she even held her breath for a moment, but a moment was all she needed to think before the questions came rushing out.

" When did this happen? What is her name? Where did you meet her? Why didn't I get to meet her before now? Why did you get married so fast? Is she pregnant? Where did she-"

" Enough!" I snapped cutting Evelyn off. She quickly sank her teeth into her lip, cutting off her stream of questions.

" It was very sudden for all of us. I met Charlotte through a work acquaintance and she's had an eventful couple of days so she is resting. Does that satisfy your curiosity for now?" I asked as I ran a hand back through my hair. Evelyn contemplated this for a moment before sinking into one of the plush armchairs on the other side of my desk.

" Why?"

" Evelyn I need more context than that to-"

" Why her? Was it love at first sight?"

" Do you really think this is any of your business?" I chuckled leaning back in my chair, attempting to keep my composure. Leave it to Evelyn to try and poke holes in all of this right off the bat.

Then as if things couldn't get any worse, Charlotte walked through the door, a mischevious grin on her face. She sauntered across the room, her hips swaying as she walked. She had changed out of her tattered shirt and jeans for black leggings and yellow tee that made her look like she was glowing in the evening sun. Her auburn curls bounced as she walked, catching the sun perfectly.

As I watched her she rounded my desk, giving me a quick wink before literally taking my breath away. I had turned as I watched her and Charlotte took advantage of my position, sliding onto my lap. My hands went to her hips on instinct and thank god they did because I was to occupied with the new feeling of her soft tee against my fingertips to stop her from pressing her lips to mine.