The Billionaire's Temporary Bride (Scandal, Inc #3)(53)

It wasn't the flowers or the venue or the fact that the wedding was only weeks away and they still hadn't invited anyone. She didn't care about that. The real worry was that playing the role of Jack's wife wouldn't be enough. Charlotte wanted to be something more than the bump in the polls that got Jack elected. Their few shared moments of intimacy were spectacular, but she wanted to know he needed her and that she could rely on him. She didn't want to spend several months of an arranged marriage figuring out if he wanted the same thing.

Charlotte looked at the flower arrangements one more time. She had seen so many arrangements and bouquets that she felt like she needed to lie down.

Jack, or at least someone working for him, was taking care of all the other aspects of the wedding except for the floral arrangements and Charlotte's dress. All she had to do was pick a florist and be done with it, but she couldn't even do that.

Charlotte tried to focus on the flowers. The arrangement before her looked like a landscape of daisies and baby's breath. Charlotte hadn't even picked the florists herself. Callie had given her a list of suggestions and called on her behalf.

None of that changed the fact that Charlotte was overwhelmed, completely, utterly out of her depth, and it had nothing to do with flowers. Charlotte threw her hands up in frustration.

"I don't know," she exclaimed. "They're all perfect and beautiful. Maybe if I had more than seventy two hours to decide, I could figure out which ones I wanted. Do I want calla lilies? Do I want begonias in the centerpieces? I wish I had an answer, but I don't. I just don't."

Callie turned to the florist. "Would you mind if we had a minute alone to talk things over, Maury?"

"Of course," the old man replied. "Whatever you need, Ms. Haven. I'll go check the stock out back. Let me know if you have any other questions."

Callie pulled Charlotte aside. "Is everything alright? This isn't about the flowers, is it?"

"I don't know if I can go through with this," Charlotte admitted.

Callie tensed up and stared at her. "Why? What did he do?"

Charlotte shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. "He didn't do anything. He's been wonderful, but that's the problem. I like him. He's wonderful."

"How is that a problem?"

"Because I want this to be real," Charlotte replied. "I want to stop pretending to love him so I can actually love him."

"Do you like him or do you love him?" Callie asked.

"I don't know. I think I might love him," Charlotte said. "It's just so hard to know what's real and what isn't, and I feel like I'm being pulled in a hundred different directions at once, and all I want is a chance to step back and figure out what the hell is going on."

"Take a breath," Callie said. She pulled Charlotte in for a hug.

"What am I supposed to do?" Charlotte asked. Callie's hand rubbing over her back made her feel a little better, but she was trying not to have her voice break.

"Well, you're supposed to marry him," Callie said with a smile, "but what do you want?"

"I want this to be real."

"Then make it real. Tell him how you feel."

"And what happens if he doesn't feel the same way? What happens if he does feel the same way, but he's too afraid to admit it? He's opened up to me, Callie. He trusts me, at least a little, and I feel like if I push him too hard, I'll lose that. I don't know if I can lose that. He needs me, and I'm starting to think I need him too."

"These are all good questions, but before we can answer them, we need to choose the flowers," Callie said. She pulled back and gave Charlotte an empathetic smile.

Charlotte couldn't help but laugh. She looked at the arrangements one more time. They were elaborate, beautiful and undoubtedly expensive, and if it were just her wedding and not some spectacle for Jack, she would have gone with something much less… Off to one side, Charlotte noticed a simple bouquet of small white flowers sticking out of a mason jar.

"What do you think of those?" she asked Callie. She pointed past the oversized arrangements.

"They're simple," Callie said. "I'm not entirely sure they're one of the options."

"I like simple."

"Then you're falling in love with the wrong guy."

"I don't mean to be bitchy, but I can only argue about the decor or my love life right now," Charlotte said.

"They're beautiful and tasteful, and I'm sure Jack will think they're great. This is your wedding, and if you want simple arrangements, you should have them. Just tell Jack how you feel. To be clear, for that last point, I'm talking love life, not flowers," Callie said.

"Good," Charlotte said. "I've reached a decision. I'm going to tell him how I feel."

"Do you want me to drop a few hints to him about this? I could have Logan nudge him in the right direction. You know how close they are."

"No," Charlotte said, "absolutely not. This is my doing. I fell for him, and if I want this to be more than an arrangement, I need to take care of this myself. I just need to figure out the right way."

"Speaking of arrangements," Callie said, she nodded toward the back of the shop as the florist reemerged.