The Decoy Date

Chapter Nineteen

There's no better feeling than waking up in somebody else's arms, Imogen thought to herself as she snuggled into the warmth of the quilt and the body spooning her. Then it dawned on her, there were arms wrapped around her; alarm tensed her body as she tried to remember what had happened the night before, she hoped the alcohol hadn't blotted out all her memory. I didn't drink that much, I remember the karaoke, then the snow and Charlie! Charlie slept over here! Charlie has his arms around me!

Her eyes opened and she tried to look at the person behind her without moving but it was impossible, instead she looked down at her own hand that was intertwined with another hand that wasn't hers. Yep, that was definitely Charlie's hand; she had it bad if she knew exactly what his hands looked like. She smiled as she moved her fingers slightly in his and began tracing patterns on his skin with her thumb, they looked almost perfect together.

Behind her Charlie began to stir and pulled her tighter to him, she'd forgotten how nice it was just to be held and the thought of staying like this forever crossed her mind. Cold air hit the back of her neck and her shoulders as Charlie pulled away from her, she turned her head to see what was wrong and met his eyes with hers. They bored into her with such intensity she wanted to look away but couldn't bear to, they shared the same longing look as hers and in that moment she thought maybe just maybe he felt the same way as her.

It seemed like forever that they simply stared at each other but in reality it was only seconds before his face dropped down to hers and his lips found hers. This time there was no hesitation he pulled her body close to his and pushed her into the pillows leaving her hot and breathless. Imogen moved her arms around his neck and let them wander down his back, playing with creases in his t-shirt. His right hand moved down her back to cradle her hip and sneaked under her t-shirt to touch the bare skin of her waist; making her gasp.

"Imogen, Imogen are you up yet? . . . Oh Sorry!" She pulled back from Charlie as she heard her mother's panicky tones, she was panting slightly as she looked to the opening at the top of the stairs and saw her mother looking embarrassed and flushed. "I didn't mean to disturb the two of you, when you're ready Imogen I need your help with Daisy." Her mother began to creep back down the stairs.

"What's wrong with Daisy?" Imogen asked trying to clear the lust and longing from her head, Charlie was no longer touching her and she felt at a loss without his arms around her. When they had both seen her mother standing there they had broken apart instantly like two lusty teenagers when one of their parents walked in. Her mother stopped on the third step and looked back at her.

"She and Sam got into a big argument last night and she's saying that the wedding's off and she no longer wants to marry him. I'm going to meet her for breakfast and was hoping you'd come with me."

"They were fine last night, I'll get up now." Reluctantly she pulled the duvet from her body and instantly felt cold; it wasn't just the fact she was leaving the warmth of the bed, it was losing the warmth of Charlie and the moment they'd just had. She looked up at him and gave him an apologetic glance before searching for a pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt to put on. "Sorry, it'll probably be just some huge overreaction to something Sam's said while he's been drunk, Daisy's one hell of a drama queen."

"Don't worry about it, family's family. I'd do the same if it was Catherine or Molly." He smiled but it never reached his eyes where disappointment settled in the deep pools of blue, matching her own feelings exactly. There had been something different about the kiss, neither of them were playing around or waiting for the other to respond, both of them just let their feelings and passion flow.

She trudged over to the stairs and looked back at Charlie sitting on her bed, thinking how wonderful he looked just lounging there in a t-shirt and his boxer shorts. "I don't know how long this will take, knowing Daisy probably all day. If I don't see you before then, I'll see you at the rehearsal dinner." He nodded and smiled before she crept downstairs to the bathroom, secretly wanting to strangle her sister for disturbing the best moment with Charlie.