TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 356

Three hundred and fifty six

Wesley’s POV

Charlie’s confession wasn’t on my list of things I expected him to say, but I laughed under my breath.

“Well, that’s a relief, I guess. Now I understand why you’ve been so determined to protect her. When did this even start?”

He said nothing, but his fingers tightened around the bottle.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“She wanted you, Wesley. How else could I have convinced her otherwise?”

“So what are you going to do now? Tell her?”

His expression grew guiltier.

“She knows.”

My mouth fell open.

“How long?”

He looked away.

“Charlie, talk to me.”

“It’s been a while.”

His hesitation told me there was more.

I waited.

“We fooled around, and I’ve never felt more guilty.”

My mouth fell open again. Charlie was the closest person to me in this fucking world.

“You slept with Barbara?”

“I’m sorry, Wesley.” His face crumpled. “I swear, I didn’t mean for this to become what it did. I’d been asking her out for a while, then you suddenly told me you were with her, and I thought… I thought I’d lost my chance.”

I shook my head, disappointed.

“Wesley, don’t do that. You don’t have the right to get defensive. You and Barbara weren’t even in a relationship.”

“That isn’t the point, you bastard. “I was close to punching him. “Since when did you start hiding things from me? I trusted you. More than that, I’ve treated you like my twin brother. We’ve shared things we didn’t tell anyone else. You know how much I hate lies and secrecy, and people saying one thing to my face while doing another behind my back.”

Charlie raised a hand.

“I knew you were going to blow this out of proportion. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“Blow it out of proportion?” I bellowed. “So if my relationship with Barbara hadn’t been fake, you would’ve slept with her?”

Charlie looked away.

I knew he was struggling with his guilt while clinging to the fact that Barbara and I had never been together.

“Look, Wesley, this was a mistake, and I’m sorry.”

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“You’re not surry enough.” My voice dropped. “I trusted you to be honest with me. If the tables were turned, how would you feel if I did this to you?”

He said nothing.

I turned and walked out before I said something I would regret.

By the time I returned to my room, Isabella was watching me. She pushed herself up against the pillows.

“Did I wake you?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

She studied me. “What’s wrong?”

I sat on the edge of the bed and dragged a hand over my face.

“Charlie slept with Barbara.”

I didn’t look at her, but I knew she was just as stunned.

I shook my head. “I can’t believe how foolish he was.”

She said nothing. I grabbed my keys from the dresser.

“Wesley, where are you going?”

“I need to get out. If I stay, I’m going to explode.”

I headed for the elevator, still trying to contain the anger twisting through me. The doors opened into the lobby. When I stepped outside, a familiar red sports car pulled into the driveway. 1

Barbara had the nerve to come here.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as she stepped out, carrying several gift bags.

“Happy birthday, darling.”

This woman had come to my office naked the night before, accused me of killing her sister, and then apparently slept with Charlie. Now she was standing in front of me with birthday presents, pretending to be someone who hadn’t done anything wrong. I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or walk away.

She hurried toward me and wrapped her arms around me. I kept mine at my sides.

“Thank you,” I said when she pulled away. “But I don’t need your gifts.”

“Wes, I went too far yesterday.” Her gaze softened. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done any of that. I just wanted to come here, wish you a happy birthday, and fix things between us.”

“You’re sure you want to fix things?”

She nodded eagerly. She looked sincere enough to fool anyone who didn’t know what I knew.

“Fine. Follow me.”

We headed upstairs. Charlie was in the living room, just who I needed. He stopped when he noticed Barbara beside me, his expression changing from confusion to alarm.

“Wesley, really?”

“Barbara came on her own,” I said. “She wants to patch things up. I thought this was a good time.”

Barbara’s face shifted between Charlie and me.

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“What’s going on?”

“Yesterday, when you came to my office and tried to seduce me, what exactly were you thinking? Is that your way of trying to win me back while sleeping with Charlie?”

Her face drained.

“What?”

“You don’t have to deny it,” Charlie said, moving closer to her. “Wesley already knows. You and him aren’t together. You can be

with me.”

Barbara stared at him in shock.

“I love you, Barbara. I’ve told you that. I’m madly in love with you. Stop playing games and let us be together.”

She pulled her hand away when he reached for it.

“What are you talking about?”

Charlie frowned.

“Barbara?”

“You’re lying.”

The baffled look on Charlie’s face made me burst into loud laughter. I couldn’t help it. The same Barbara who had convinced me that she and I were together was now standing there pretending she had never been with Charlie. And Charlie, who had just confessed his feelings to me, looked like he’d walked into the wrong house. 1

“Wesley, shut up!” Charlie snapped.

I raised both hands in mock surrender, still laughing.

“I’m sorry. This is just fucking hilarious.”

Emma appeared from the hallway, her hair disheveled and sleep still heavy in her eyes.

“What is going on?”

“Come and listen to this, Emma. It’s the biggest joke of the century,” I said between laughs. “Our dear Charlie confessed to me that he loves Barbara and that they’ve been sleeping together. Now Barbara is standing here pretending none of it happened.”

Emma’s mouth fell open. She looked at Charlie, then at Barbara.

I saw pain cross her face when she looked at Charlie. It reminded me of when she was younger and had been so close to him. He’d rejected her because he saw her as family. They had been inseparable before that. Since then, she had resented him.

“You slept with Barbara?”

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