It’s warmer here than in New York, Charlotte muses and while it’s still cold the wind doesn’t quite bite at her the same way it did in the city. Justin is sitting on one quad his hood pulled back up over his head and shouting to Trace over the roar of the engine. He catches sight of Charlotte out of the corner of his eye and smiles.

“Hey Charlie, hop on,” he says nodding his head back behind him and Charlotte steps up to him then hesitates.

The remaining bit of seat that isn’t taken up by Justin’s slim frame seems ridiculously small to Charlotte and it’s glaringly clear to her now how intimate this is going to be, her arms around his waist, his back pressed to her front. She glances back at the kitchen, wondering if Lynn is watching. Maybe this isn’t a good idea.

“Earth to Al!” Justin exclaims and Charlotte jumps finding him looking at her expectantly. “Come on.”

She swallows hard, hesitantly placing her hands on his shoulders for balance as she swings her leg over the quad and settles behind him, keeping as much space between the two of them as possible. She rests her hands awkwardly against his waist as she settles behind him, the hum of the ATV vibrating her entire body. She gasps as Justin’s cold fingers curl around hers and he yanks her arms more fully around him, forcing her body flush against his.

“You’re gonna have to hold on,” he says over his shoulder as he revs the engine and before Charlotte even has a chance to think he takes off like a shot jumping twenty feet in a matter of seconds.

Charlotte gasps, her fingers digging into his chest, arms locking tightly around his body as gravitational force nearly sends her tumbling off the back of the quad. She feels Justin’s laugh vibrate against her chest and she scowls. She peeks out around his shoulder and her eyes widen when she sees them streaking towards the tree line, Trace and Ginger flying on ahead of them, Ginger’s hair whipping out behind her like a flame. Charlotte ducks her head back behind Justin’s shoulder as they race towards the thicket of trees and she closes her eyes, listening to the soft fwt as they cross the tree line and the sound multiplies tenfold, the ride turning bumpy as they race through the forest.

Charlotte takes it back, it’s freezing here. The wind bites at her hands and face, whipping her hair wildly off her neck, stinging her eyes. She shivers, trying to pull herself closer to Justin, savoring the warmth his body provides. She presses her cheek to his shoulder, trying to shield her face from the brutal wind, closing her eyes.

She lets out a soft squeal as they skid to a halt and she opens her eyes to find them deep in the heart of the woods, trees surrounding them, the gray sky visible in patches through the bare branches. Justin kills the engine and Charlotte scoots back as he stands, swinging his leg over to the side, hopping to the ground as he shrugs off his coat.

“Here,” he says holding it out to her and she pulls her arms to her chest suddenly freezing without his body next to hers.

“N-n-no I’m f-f-fine,” Charlotte replies her teeth chattering and Justin laughs.

“Yeah you’re f-f-fine,” he teases and shakes the coat at her. “Put it on.”

Charlotte does so reluctantly but she’s instantly grateful as his residual body warmth envelops her and the warm clean scent of him surrounds her. She pulls the zipper up and bunches her shoulders, trying to warm her ears.

“Here put your hood up,” he says tapping his own head, covered by the cloth of his hoodie.

Charlotte nods, reaching over her head and trying to fish out her hood from under his coat. She struggles and he laughs, sighing as he reaches to help her. She shudders as his cold fingers brush the warm skin at the back of her neck, wrestling the fabric out from under the coat.

“Move your hair,” he says and she reaches up, gathering her long locks in her hands and pulling it over her shoulder as he pulls the hood firmly over her head.

She looks down, trying to tuck her hair back into the hood and jumps as Justin unzips the coat a little to find the drawstring, pulling it tight until it covers her eyes. Charlotte slaps blindly at him and she can hear him laugh as his cool fingertips brush her face, loosening the hood from her face until she can see and then tying a smart bow under her chin.

“There,” he says, leaning back to admire his work and Charlotte looks at him. Really looks at him for the first time.

Little tufts of brown curls peek out from under the hood of his sweatshirt, fuzzing against his forehead and his cheeks are pink and wind burned. He’s standing stiffly, all his muscles tense from the cold and Charlotte feels bad for taking his jacket but he’s smiling, clearly happy to provide for her. And he’s sweet and charming and utterly and devastatingly beautiful.

Charlotte gasps at the thought, looking away immediately and biting her lip lest that thought creep out of her mouth against her will. She sits very still, her eyes unseeing as she assesses every little movement of her body, every thought in her head. Her heart is thudding steadily but a little quicker than usual, adrenaline racing through her veins. That’s just from the ATV ride right? It had nothing to do with the fact that Justin had just touched her face, the back of her neck, her hair. Her muscles are tense, her stomach fluttering but that had everything to do with the cold and nothing to do with the way he was smiling at her or the fact that he was so near. Right?

When had this happened? Between calling the florists and emailing the caterers, the nonstop meetings and endless filing, where did Charlotte have time to develop a crush?

“Come on let’s get you back,” Justin says finally and Charlotte nearly falls off the back of the quad, so horrified by her realization she’d almost forgotten he was there.

He swings his leg back over the ATV and Charlotte doesn’t move, holding her arms to her chest, her freezing hands shaking in one another. How could this have happened? How could she have let this happen? Justin was engaged. To her boss of all people. Of all the horrible rotten luck. Justin fires up the four wheeler and looks over his shoulder at her confused when she doesn’t grab on.

“You can put your hands in my pocket if you need to,” he hollers over the roar of the engine and Charlotte’s mouth falls open.

He reaches behind him and tugs her elbows, drawing her arms around his waist before guiding her hands into the pouch of his hoodie like it’s nothing and before Charlotte even has a chance to rectify the situation he’s punching the gas sending them barreling through the woods.

“I just have to find Trace,” he hollers over his shoulder as they barrel deeper into the woods.

They cut zigzags around the trees racing along, Justin’s head whipping around every now and then when he thinks he sees or hears something. Trace and Ginger reappear in a flash as they drift to a halt right next to them, spraying Justin and Charlotte with mud and dead leaves. Justin curses him vehemently but laughs as he chases Trace back through the woods

Charlotte’s arms grip around Justin’s waist tightly, her hands warm inside the pocket of his hoodie, pressed against his stomach. This is really a bad idea, the worst idea she could have ever had. Well technically it wasn’t her idea; it was Justin’s. She didn’t even want to begin to try and decipher what that meant. She gasps as they turn sharply, the tires spinning and spraying mud all over her pants and shoes. She hugs him tighter, holding on as he presses the quad to go faster and before she knows it they break the tree line and Justin’s house shines like a beacon in the late morning gloom.

They race around the side yard toward the garage where the back door stands open, revealing a large empty space for the ATVs and a few motorcycles. Justin and Trace each race for the opening and Charlotte ducks her head, pressing her cheek hard against Justin’s shoulder blade just waiting for the impact. But it doesn’t come, only the slight jostle of changing from grass to concrete and Justin’s laughter as he kills the engine, Trace idling in behind him.

Charlotte unwinds her arms from around Justin’s waist, horrified at the feeling of reluctance the action brings.  She slides quickly off the back, trying to put as much distance between them as possible but he doesn’t seem to notice, too busy gloating over the fact that he won, Trace rolling his eyes and stalking out of the garage. Ginger falls in next to Charlotte as they follow the boys back towards the house.

“That was fun!” she exclaims, running her fingers through her matted red locks, picking out clumps of dirt and dried leaves. “You and Justin must be pretty close.”

“What? Why would you say that?” Charlotte asks, her voice panicked and she swallows hard, trying to calm her racing heart.

“Well he let you have his jacket,” Ginger says laughing and shaking her head as if to say “silly.” “And Trace said he doesn’t let just anyone hang out with him like this. Says he’s really private.”

“Really?” Charlotte asks her brows furrowing in confusion.

She looks at Justin, whose back is to her, still gloating to Trace. Justin is one of the most open people she has ever met. Was this Trace’s way of letting Ginger down easy if Justin didn’t like her?

“Yeah,” Ginger says nodding as if she were the authority on such things. “Of course he’s really nice and charming to everyone but he doesn’t just let people in like he did with you and me. Like he’ll be polite and stuff but he doesn’t wanna hang out with just anyone. Like when he took you golfing before.”

Charlotte stops. “He told you about the golfing?” Her eyes snap to Justin whose head is tipped back in laughter as he disappears around the side of the house.

“Yeah!” Ginger exclaims nodding enthusiastically. “Er…well… he told Trace and Trace told me.” Ginger smiles shrugging her shoulders. “He doesn’t tell me much about Justin. Which why would he really they’re not that close anymore. Trace doesn’t like Amelia. I have no idea why because I think Amelia is just amazing! But anyway its kinda weird that Justin dragged you along to the driving range, that he usually would have just left you at the office or something.”

Ginger shrugs, swinging her arms, sighing as they round the house and Charlotte feels a little queasy. She had just thought that Justin was a nice, all inclusive kind of guy. Could Ginger be right? Did he really like her that much? Her stomach flutters at the thought and she nearly chokes on her sharp intake of breath, trying to pass it off as a cough.

She really doesn’t need this, she thinks as they catch up to the boys at the back door, Justin holding the door open for everyone. He’s engaged for chrissake. He’s in love with Amelia. He’d have to be to let her treat him the way he did. She will not fall into this. She will remain professional. She says this like a mantra in her head as she files past him but loses track of the thought when he smiles warmly at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Okay so she can have a crush. That she can deal with. It’s not like she has to act on any of these feelings. She would just have to deal with the butterflies and learn to suppress the goofy smile on her face every time he looked at her. She mentally kicks herself.

“JUSTIN what on earth…you’re FILTHY! What have you been doing!”

Everyone freezes finding Amelia standing from the kitchen table wearing a navy cardigan blouse with white shirting near the shoulder seams. She looks absolutely horrified at the sight in front of her and Charlotte looks down at herself as well as the others, finding herself caked in mud. She really hadn’t realized before. She was too busy concentrating on how warm Justin was. She mentally kicks herself again. Harder this time.

Justin grins at Amelia, pushing past the rest of them to stand in the middle of the kitchen, his shoes leaving muddy footprints on the white tile. Amelia looks at him wide eyed as he takes another step closer.

“Hey sugar,” he coos grinning innocently and Amelia narrows her eyes.

“You stay right there,” Amelia warns, holding a hand out in alarm.

“Come on baby give daddy a kiss,” Justin replies cheekily as he reaches out for her, taking another step forward.

Amelia scoffs. “I most certainly will not….stop…no…JUSTIN!”

Justin doesn’t listen as he snatches her to his chest and it’s a wonder how he’s able to keep a hold of her with her flailing the way she is. He picks her up effortlessly, throwing her small frame over his shoulder and she’s still shouting, kicking her legs as he bolts for the door, sprinting across the lawn.

They all watch in amusement and slight horror as Justin falls to his knees and wrestles Amelia to the ground, rolling her in the dirt and dried leaves. They can hear Amelia squawking at him, her fists pounding against his chest as she tries to right herself and he laughs wrestling her down again. Amelia struggles against him, pushing Justin’s chest hard and he falls backwards onto the grass and she tries to crawl away.       

“Oh would you look at them!” Ginger says, clasping her hands to her chest giddily. “They’re having so much fun! So in love.” She sighs whimsically.

Charlotte gazes out onto the lawn and the look on Amelia’s face is anything but loving.

“The man’s got a death wish,” Trace says, shaking his head as he turns back towards the kitchen island, snatching a warm cookie off the plate. Ginger frowns following him.

“You don’t want to be like them someday?” she asks and Charlotte thinks she hears Trace choke on his cookie.

But Charlotte isn’t paying them much attention as she watches Amelia struggle to pull herself to her feet, face contorted in anger, her mouth moving silently. Charlotte can only imagine what she’s saying. Something along the lines of “most childish impossible man” she would imagine. But Justin just laughs, biting his lip as he reaches for her hips, snatching her back down into his lap and the look of panic on Amelia’s face as she tumbles backwards causes Charlotte to cover her mouth with her hand to suppress her laughter.

Her heart twists in her chest when he doesn’t let her go, grinning and squeezing her under her ribs until she quits struggling and she can see his lips moving slow, talking to Amelia quietly and a slow grin creeps over his face when Amelia’s scowl begins to break and he laughs when she shoves his shoulder, annoyed at being charmed out of her anger. Charlotte turns away from the window just before Justin’s lips descend on Amelia’s, something similar to jealousy burning in her chest.

This is not good, she thinks to herself, chewing her bottom lip slowly. She shakes her head. She’s being ridiculous. It’s just a stupid crush. She’s had them off and on since she was nine years old and not much ever came of any of them. Why would now be any different. So she was attracted to Justin – her eye catches sight of a framed picture of him sitting on a hutch next to the door, seemingly taken at the beach several years ago, his hair fuzzing wildly, blue eyes squinted against the sun – who wouldn’t be attracted to Justin.

Charlotte would just have to deal with it. She would do her job. She would be polite and helpful and remain as professional as possible. This was her plan.

Because it worked so well the first time.