Beneath the Ice Ch. 06

"Well, look how long it took him to bring up tonight."

"Did you know he was going to surprise me with the dress fitting last week?"

Joelle grinned and nodded. "He asked me where to take you."

"Well, that was very thoughtful of him."

"I thought so." Joelle reached over and patted her arm. "He's devoted to you. To you and Zoe, you know."

Charlotte blushed and nodded, looking down at her hands on the table. "I know. He's wonderful. I don't know that I deserve him."

"I'm sure you do."

Drawing in a deep breath, Charlotte struggled for a change in subject. The last thing she wanted was to get all weepy and make her make-up run. "So, have you started nesting yet? Painting the nursery or anything?"

Joelle laughed and shook her head. "Mostly I've been sleeping and trying not to throw up."

"I get it." Charlotte looked around again and squinted at the edges of the big room. "Do you know which direction the ladies' room is?"

"I think you have to go back out to the hall. Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be all right." Alexei was still deep in conversation with his other table companion. "Can you tell Alexei where I've gone?"

"Of course."

Charlotte smiled and shoved back from the table. She wove through the after-dinner crowd, smiling when she saw people starting to move around on the dance floor. There was a band and people did seem to be enjoying themselves, in spite of the lackluster dinner.

Out in the hall, it was a little quieter and she found the ladies' room. Inside, there were a few other women but when Charlotte washed up after finishing in a stall, she was alone. As she turned to dry her hands, a woman walked in. They smiled at each other in that way of strangers passing, but both did a double take a moment later.

"Charlotte?"

Charlotte squeezed the living daylights out of the paper towel in her hands. "Theresa?" She hadn't seen her sister in years. Not since the summer she'd told her family she was keeping her baby. "Oh my God. It's so nice to see you." That's what you're supposed to say to family, right?

She tossed the paper towel in the garbage and walked towards her older sister, wondering if she should hug her or not. Theresa opened her arms though, and they did embrace. Briefly, and not without some awkwardness, but it was a hug nonetheless.

Charlotte stepped back with a smile. "How are you?"

Smoothing a hand over her darker red hair up in an intricate, tight knot, Theresa gave her a hesitant smile. "I'm well, thank you. And yourself?"

"I'm great." Charlotte folded her hands in front of her, surprised at how much she meant her response.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Theresa's icy blue eyes swept over Charlotte from head-to-toe.

"Oh, well, would you believe my boyfriend brought me?" Charlotte brushed a hand over the gold trim at her waist before meeting her sister's eyes again. "Would you like to come into the big room and meet him?"

Theresa pursed her lips and gave a short nod a moment later. "Sure. Give me a minute and I'll walk back with you."

Charlotte nodded and they moved around each other. She stepped out into the hall to wait for Theresa, looking up in surprise when Alexei called out her name.

"There you are." He strode up to her side, one big hand settling low on her back as he bent to kiss her.

She smiled and pressed her hands to his chest. "Here I am."

He kissed her again, lingering longer this time, so that Charlotte's skin burned with desire when he stepped back.

"Are you ready to leave?" His voice was low and growly, just how she loved it.

Stifling a laugh at his eager look, she shook her head. "We can't leave yet. Even Joelle and Olle are still here."

Alexei made a disgruntled noise and lifted one of her hands to his lips. As he did that, the ladies' room door swung open and Theresa walked out. She halted a few feet from the door, taking in the sight of Charlotte with Alexei and her lips curled into a smile that Charlotte couldn't read. Was she pleased? Embarrassed to have caught her sister in a PDA?

Nerves fluttering, Charlotte moved a step away from Alexei and held his hand in hers. "Alexei, this is my sister, Theresa."

Alexei started at the introduction, shooting a wide-eyed glance at her before lifting a hand to shake Theresa's. Charlotte returned his gaze and shook her head once, indicating that they could discuss the surprise appearance of Theresa later.

"Theresa, this is Alexei Novikov." Charlotte cupped a hand around his arm, smiling up at him.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Woods."

Theresa's mouth twisted as she shook Alexei's hand. "It's Helmsford, actually."

"Oh." Charlotte swallowed hard. "Right. Sorry, I forgot about that." Easy to forget when she hadn't been invited to the wedding a little more than a year ago. To be fair, Theresa had eloped to Hawaii, and no one had been invited. At least she'd received a picture of the happy couple in the weeks following, complete with a caption about said elopement.

Theresa met Charlotte's gaze and nodded. "Understandable, considering."

Alexei's gaze bounced back and forth between the women. "Are you here with your husband?"

"Yes. Clyde Helmsford. You've probably heard of him." She said it more as a statement than a question, but Alexei nodded anyway.

"I have met him once. Nice man. His firm was invited here tonight, I believe."

Theresa lifted her chin, a more genuine smile covering her face. "Indeed. So." She glanced at Charlotte again. "What are you two doing here?"

"Alexei is a player for the Blackhawks." Charlotte pressed herself closer to his side, desperate for his warmth.

"Really?" Theresa's eyebrows shot up and she gave the big man a once-over. "I see."

An awkward silence fell between them until someone called Alexei's name from down the hall. Alexei squeezed Charlotte's hand before giving Theresa a brief nod.

"Please, excuse me."

Charlotte watched him go and turned back to her sister, wondering what to say now.

"Does he know about-- everything?"

Charlotte blinked at Theresa's abrupt question. "What?"

Her sister tilted her head to one side, her expression one of genuine concern. "Does he know our family's... issues?"

Charlotte almost laughed at the way she phrased it. Issues indeed. At least Theresa wasn't sweeping it under the rug. However awkward this whole encounter was, it would be worse if her sister tried to pretend nothing was wrong.

"He does." Charlotte exhaled and straightened her shoulders. "I've told him everything, and he's met Zoe. They get along wonderfully."

Theresa nodded, her expression softening a bit. She still looked concerned but didn't say anything else about it. Charlotte could only assume her sister hadn't wanted to say the wrong thing in front of Alexei but they didn't know each other well enough for her to be sure. Not anymore.

They started walking side-by-side, heading back to the main room.

"Have you spoken to our parents recently?"

Charlotte sighed. "No. How are they doing?"

"I haven't talked to them in a few months either." Theresa glanced at her. "They ask about you now and again. I never know what to tell them."

"That's surprising." Charlotte held back her scoff. "Don't you tell them that we don't talk either?"

"I do. Last time they got a little snarky about it, and that's why I haven't talked to them since."

"What? They got mad at you because you weren't talking to me?" She did scoff then. "That's rich, considering they barely take my call every Christmas."

"Maybe they don't know what to say."

"Only one way to rectify that."

Theresa stopped walking a few yards short of the big doors to the main function space. She faced Charlotte with a frown marring her face. "I think I feel the same way, Charlotte."

Charlotte was shocked by Theresa's candor. On the other hand, after so much time, she supposed she wasn't sure what to say either. "You can't go wrong with 'hi, how are you'."

Her sister's lips twitched in what might have been a smile. "I suppose you're right. To be fair, it's not like you've tried reaching out to me either."

"I call on the holidays." Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest. "And if you recall, I tried reaching out plenty of times when I first moved to the city." She left the rest unspoken, the parts about being desperate for any contact, any sort of relationship with the only person she'd known in the whole of the city. Back when Charlotte had been alone, with a newborn baby and no idea how to live on her own. Now was not the time to bring any of that up.

"You're right." Theresa sighed and fussed with her purse for a moment before extracting a card. "Here. This has all my contact information. If you want to call, I'd like to hear from you."

Charlotte blinked, staring down at the little rectangle in her hand. "Are you serious? What about Mom and Dad?"

"They've been asking about you more recently." Theresa snapped her little clutch closed. "I think they might be interested in reaching out, but if you're not ready for that, I won't push you."

"They have my number." Charlotte wouldn't be the one to make the first move. She'd done that for the whole of the first year after they'd all written her off. She was fine now, with friends, a home, and a good job. She didn't need to cobble together a relationship with her estranged parents, particularly if they didn't genuinely want one with her.

"Charlotte--"

She wasn't sure what Theresa was about to say, since her sister cut herself off. She looked nervous again and stepped closer to Charlotte. "I hope you call, truly. I don't want you to think I'll only talk to you if Mom and Dad say it's okay."

Charlotte nodded after a moment's hesitation, unsure of what to say. Once upon a time, that had been exactly the case. She wasn't sure if she believed her but she nodded anyway. Maybe they could reconnect but this fancy event surrounded by strangers wasn't the best setting for that.

"Sure."

Alexei appeared at her side, his arm circling her back. "Hello again."

Theresa smiled at him, some of her apprehension fading away. "Would you both like to come and meet my husband?"

Charlotte glanced up at Alexei, who looked back down at her, letting her know he'd go along with whatever she wanted. "Yeah, okay. I'd like that."

Theresa led the way through the crowd to her table, where a middle-aged man with a receding hairline stood and kissed Theresa's cheek as they approached.

"Hello there." He reached out to shake Alexei's hand. "Alexei Novikov, right? We met at the homecoming gala a few months ago."

Alexei nodded as he shook the man's hand. "Yes. Nice to see you again, Mr. Helmsford."

"Clyde, darling, this is my sister, Charlotte."

Clyde did a double-take before his face broke out in a wide grin. "Oh, Charlotte. How wonderful to meet you." Instead of shaking her hand, he swept her up into a massive hug, surprising the rest of them. He stood back with his hands on Charlotte's shoulders. "Of course you're Theresa's sister. Look at the two of you."

"It's nice to meet you." Charlotte didn't know what else to say, either about his comments or his effusive greeting. She stepped back up to Alexei's side, eager to lean on his quiet strength.

"Theresa has told me so much about you, I feel as if I know you already."

Charlotte darted a look at her sister, who gave her a crooked smile. Swallowing, Charlotte managed a smile for Clyde. His tone wasn't malicious by any stretch, and in spite of their awkwardness, Theresa hadn't said anything rude either, so Charlotte decided to take Clyde at his word. "Well, I'm not sure what to say to that. I hope she hasn't been too hard on me."

"Not at all." Clyde's big brown eyes softened as he wrapped an arm around his wife and reached out to clasp Charlotte's shoulder with his free hand. He dropped his voice so no one around them would be privy to their conversation. "She's told me time and again how she wished that you two could reconcile. I've been encouraging her to reach out to you for months."

Charlotte didn't know what to make of Clyde's statement. She blinked hard a few times and shot a quick look at her sister. "I'm glad to hear that. I've missed spending time with Theresa as well."

"Wonderful. You must both come to dinner at our place. Soon." Clyde looked up at Alexei with a grin and dropped his hand from Charlotte's shoulder. "We can all get to know each other."

"Oh, well, Alexei is leaving tomorrow and we already have plans over the holidays." Charlotte looked up when Alexei squeezed her side. "But, perhaps I could come over one night before that." She cleared her throat and lifted her chin. "With Zoe."

Clyde's face brightened. "Is that your daughter? Zoe? What a beautiful name. Yes, you must come over, both of you. Isn't that right, my darling?"

Theresa's cheeks were a little more pink than before and Charlotte couldn't help but smile. Was Theresa embarrassed by her husband's effusive affection?

"Yes, of course. Any night that works best for you, Charlotte. Our schedules are pretty empty from now until the New Year, actually."

"Okay." Charlotte tapped the card she still held in her hand. "Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Yes, please do." Theresa stepped closer and pulled Charlotte in for a hug, much more easily than that first moment in the ladies room. "I mean it, Charlotte. I'd love to see you again." She pulled back so they could see each other's eyes. "And not years from now."

Charlotte nodded, swallowing back the thick lump in her throat. Alexei's warm hand smoothed around her back in circles, soothing her, as if he knew exactly how difficult this whole scene was for her. "I will call, I promise."

Theresa nodded, her own familiar blue eyes misty as well, if Charlotte wasn't mistaken. They drew apart and Theresa turned to slide back into Clyde's embrace. To Charlotte's further surprise, Clyde planted an affectionate kiss on Theresa's forehead, his arm hugging her close.

"Wonderful." Clyde faced Alexei and Charlotte, Theresa tucked tight to his side. "We'll let you get back to your evening, and your other companions. So wonderful to have run into you here, Charlotte."

She smiled in reply and turned away as Alexei guided her from their table. She didn't speak, just clung to her date as they moved through the crowd. Instead of heading back to their table, she found herself in the center of the dance floor, Alexei tugging her into position as a new song started up.

"What are we doing?"

He gave her a soft smile and squeezed his hand around her fingers, plucking the card from her fingers and tucking it into a pocket. "We're dancing."

She smiled back, some of her tension easing away as she moved into his arms. "Okay."

They moved around the hardwood floor for several beats until Charlotte let out a slow breath and sagged in his hold.

"Are you all right? Would you like to leave?"

She shook her head. "I'm okay. That was just-- unexpected."

"I can only imagine."

They fell silent again, moving in wide circles in and around the other dancers until the song ended. Instead of moving off, Alexei kept her close, twirling her around for another song.

Finally, as a third song started, Charlotte tugged on his hand. "Come on. Let's get some drinks and see how everyone else is doing."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and pushed up on her toes to kiss his cheek. She knew now that he'd spun her around the dance floor long enough for her to get her bearings again. "Thank you, Alexei."

He cupped her cheek in his hand and brushed the softest of kisses over her lips. "You never have to thank me for that, lyubov moya."

She sighed and let his warmth seep into her skin. They moved off the dance floor together a few seconds later and got fresh drinks from the bar before heading back to their table. There, Olle and Joelle were getting ready to leave.

Joelle hugged Charlotte close as she stood from the table. "Sorry to bail so early. I can barely keep my eyes open."

Charlotte smiled and hugged the woman close. "Don't worry about it. Go home, get some rest. We'll talk later this week."

Joelle nodded and released her, turning to Alexei to give him a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug. They walked off, waving good-bye to their other table-mates as Charlotte and Alexei took their seats again.

An hour or so later, Charlotte let herself get swept out of the room and out of the event altogether. Alexei had decided he'd had enough and after the earlier surprising emotional reunion, Charlotte was more than ready to go as well.

At home, Sarah was dozing on the couch but roused enough to give Charlotte a quick rundown of her evening with Zoe.

"She insisted on sleeping in her dress." Sarah grinned as she stood from the couch and stretched. "So good luck getting her out of it tomorrow."

Alexei smirked as he peeked in on the little girl. "We'll figure something out."

"Thank you so much, Sarah." Charlotte walked her friend to the door and gave her a hug before locking up after she was gone.

In the bedroom after brushing her teeth, she let Alexei undress her and tug her down into bed, both of them naked.

At first, he held her against his chest, running a soothing hand up and down her back. But Charlotte wasn't sleepy. Her mind was buzzing far too much in the aftermath of everything that had happened over the evening. She lifted her head and ran her fingers over his face, down his cheek, and across his lower lip. He bared his teeth and nipped at her fingertip, making her giggle.

"Shh." He rolled her to her back, kissed her silent, and she let him.

─────

As promised, Charlotte called her sister the next day. Their conversation was stilted but they managed to make plans for Charlotte and Zoe to go to their house for dinner the next Sunday night.

"Zoe doesn't have any allergies to any foods or anything, does she?" Theresa asked.

"Nothing has come up. She doesn't like brussel sprouts, but that's about it."

To Charlotte's surprise, Theresa had laughed. "Of course she doesn't. You used to throw them across the room when you were little."

"Did I? I don't remember that at all."

"Well, Mom and Dad didn't try to force the vegetable on you again after the third try, I think."

"Wow." Charlotte shook her head. "I don't mind them now, so long as they're cooked properly."

"We'll leave them off the menu, to be safe." Theresa chuckled. "You two can come over any time after six. We usually eat around seven."

"Sounds great. See you then."

"See you."

Charlotte ended the call and walked out of her bedroom to see Zoe right where she'd left her, on the couch, watching Moana.

"Mommy, I want to be a wayfinder."

Charlotte grinned and sat beside her daughter. Wayfinder, princess, Wonder Woman. Was every child the same with their brief obsessions? "Yeah? Out on the ocean and everything?"

Zoe nodded, her expression earnest.

They settled in to finish watching the movie together. Later that evening, Alexei called from the team's first stop on their lengthy road trip, Winnipeg.

"I spoke to my sister."

Alexei made a rough noise and Charlotte heard rustling as he moved around. "And?"

"We made plans for dinner on the weekend."

"That's good."

Charlotte hesitated. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"You don't want to go for dinner?"

"I don't know. I mean, you saw how we were last night. What are we even going to talk about?"

Alexei chuckled. "You won't be alone with her, will you? Zoe and Clyde will also be there."

"Yeah."

"Clyde talked enough for all of you last night."

Charlotte smiled and shifted over in bed, facing her window. "You're probably right. It's just so strange, after all these years, that's all."

"I understand. I'm not sure if I'd be as calm as you are if I had family suddenly appearing before you."