Asleep

56 Whale Sharks and Fairytales

"I don't wish to instill Nora with false hope."

"You don't have to worry about that. You've made all her prospects bleak."

Pace rolls his eyes. "The pedigree was your idea. Besides, Nora, you find my son handsome, don't you?"

I reach for my wine glass. "Yes. Very," I add for good measure and take a sip, not daring to look at Charlie.

Pace reaches for his own glass. "My son would be a fool if he didn't find you beautiful."

Charlie's fork clangs against his plate. "Mom would be disgusted if she knew you were using me as an experiment."

A muscle near Pace's eyes twitches. Taking his cup in both hands, he sighs. "I hardly think she'd care considering she didn't hesitate to leave, never worrying about what happened to you."

"You locked her in a dream. She hardly got to know me."

My hand shakes, the wine in my glass trembling.

When Charlie said his mother was gone, I thought she had died. I didn't realize she had been in the dream. Does this mean she escaped? If it does, that means there's still hope I can get out.

"Enough, Charlie." Pace lowers his glass, slow and deliberate. "You've almost paid back your debt. Don't make me increase it."

Charlie presses his lips into a thin line and shakes his head.

"Eat. Both of you. No need to let perfectly good food go to waste." Waste, as if it's real.

I eat a tiny piece of fish, washing it down with wine. Hearing Pace talk about Charlie's debt regarding me is enough to make me sick all over again.

I've managed to get down half of my food when Pace drawls, "I don't feel the chemistry between you two."

A slice of carrot gets stuck in my throat. As I reach for my wine, Charlie says, "You're my dad. You're not supposed to see it or feel it."

Pace wipes his mouth with his cloth napkin and drops it on the table, signaling he's finished eating. "Kiss."

I nearly spit out my wine.

"Dad, I hardly think . . . considering the circumstances . . . It's inappropriate."

"I need to be sure I have your full cooperation. If you can't even kiss, how can you expect me to believe you'll have kids together?"

Can I excuse myself from the table? Is that allowed?

Charlie closes his eyes, his frustration evident in the lines on his forehead.

"Charlie," I finally say.

Opening his eyes, he takes my hand and pulls us to our feet.

This kiss will mean nothing. It's all for show. We're nothing more than actors.

He leans down, his mouth near my ear and whispers, "Don't move." His cheek brushes mine as he leans back only slightly to press his lips against my cheek.

He rifts us into his bedroom and pulls away, stalking to the open door leading out into the hall. With enough force to rattle his dresser, he slams the door shut.

Covering my eyes with my hand, I shake my head. This is going to be a disaster. I still feel where his lips touched my skin, and I can't get the feeling to go away. "He's going to kill us."

Peeling my hand away from my face, Charlie rolls his eyes, close once more. "He doesn't know that I didn't whisk you off to my bedroom to ravish you."

I pull my phone from my purse where it sits on his bed. "You mean you didn't?" I have three missed calls from Avery, a voicemail, and a text.