I promise there will be some CJ interaction in the next chapter. For now... poor Charlie. She's so miserable and has no idea how to get out of it. Fortunately for us, the answer is blindingly obvious! IJKS xx

Chapter Three

One month later, Charlie had settled into some kind of routine. She worked hard, still always doing over time and continued to be partnered with Angelo. He was taking her out to dinner for their one month anniversary and things appeared to be going well, although he was far happier than she was. Just as she suspected, things remained okay between them. They weren't terribly amazing and they weren't awful. And for the longest time, they hadn't fallen out. The sex was as adequate as it had always been and everyone seemed very happy that Charlie had got her act together and accepted that Angelo was the man of her dreams. Apparently. Ruby had been struggling. Her crush on Liam Murphy had become public knowledge and her boyfriend, Xavier Austin had dumped her. In order to lick her wounds, Ruby had agreed to move back home and Charlie was grateful at least for the rebuilding of their relationship after the difficult year they'd had. If anything made her truly happy in the world right now, it was that.

"Ready to go?" Angelo asked.

She smiled at the effort he had made to be all suited and booted.

"Yep," she said, grabbing her handbag from the side.

"You look nice," Angelo said, without looking at her as they headed out to the car.

She smiled and followed him as they prepared to drive into Yabbie Creek for their meal. Charlie steeled herself to have a nice time. She was happy, after all, wasn't she? Well, she was meant to be. And it was important to keep up appearances.

Arriving at the restaurant, Charlie and Angelo followed the waiter to their table. They settled down and ordered drinks before picking up the menu.

"Listen, Charlie, I wanted to ask you something," Angelo said.

She put her menu down and eyed him curiously. He looked jittery with nerves as he leant forward and took her hands. She let him and studied his face, feeling a little nervous herself.

"I think things have been going great between us," Angelo ventured. "Since we got back together... well, it feels like we're better than ever. Happier. More solid. Committed."

He studied her face as he said the last word, looking for some kind of reaction. She offered none.

"And well, I was thinking... why don't we talk about moving back in together?"

Charlie swallowed and her eyes widened. She withdrew her hands and sat up a little straighter.

"Angelo, you said you wouldn't..."

"What?" he asked. "Want to share my life with you? Want to let everyone know that you're mine? Want to be happy?"

Charlie sighed, feeling fraught and wondering how she was going to let him down.

"Angelo..."

"Charlie, why are you fighting this?" he asked. "Why are you so resistant to accepting that you and I are together, that we're for real and we're meant to be together forever?"

Charlie sighed.

"What about Ruby?"

"Well, preferably, it'll just be us but I do understand that she's your daughter and you'd like her to move with us so that's fine with me," Angelo said, desperate to convince her to say yes.

"I..."

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked, approaching with their drinks.

Charlie looked up, startled and Angelo explained that they needed more time. Charlie watched him nod and walk away. Her breath caught in her throat as, across the room, she saw none other than Joey Collins sharing a romantic meal with who Charlie could only presume was Lynda. Startled, she turned back to Angelo.

"What do you think?" he asked. "Why don't we just go for it?"

Charlie glanced back at Joey. She was laughing and touching her girlfriend's hand affectionately. She looked every bit as happy as Charlie felt miserable. Turning back to Angelo, she agreed quietly. He looked jubilant and Charlie spent the remainder of the evening listening to how exciting it was all going to be.