Chapter 4

Christmas arrived. When my mother dragged me out of bed, Charles was already sitting in our living room.

He and my father were locked in a fierce chess match, neither willing to back down. The coffee table was buried under a mountain of high-end gift sets he'd brought over.

My mother was all smiles as she pulled me aside, lowering her voice. "Sue, this Charlie is the salt of the earth. He's sharp, he's polite, he's a hundred times the man Adam ever was."

I glanced at Charles' profile as he concentrated on the chessboard. His features were so sharp,…