Imperfect Match (Elixir Bachelor Billionaires #1)

“I’m Sophia, Charlie’s grandmother. You can call me Oma like all the other kids in the family. We met briefly at your wedding ceremony, but I’m sure it was hard to remember every face from that evening.” Her smile is so sweet and gentle that I fall in love with her instantly.

She hugs Charles before kissing his forehead and then holds my hand, leading us inside the house. Photographs of smiling faces and family dinners litter the hallway. I’m sure sometime later, I’ll just stand here and spot the young Charles in these frames.

We cross a living room and step out of the glass door to the backyard. I almost gasp in surprise at the scene before me. There’s a huge fire pit in the middle of a sitting area, above which solar lamps hang from the trees, casting a warm glow. There’s a wooden bar in the corner and a huge man dressed in a three-piece suit manning it. In fact, every man is dressed the same way, proving they all came straight from work.

“You already know the boys.” Sophia nods toward Ray, Rowan, Archer, and Alex, who are all seated on the barstools laughing. Right beside them, there’s another group of a bit older but no less dashing gentlemen. I immediately recognize Charles’ dad, Oscar, and his friends, the famous Teagers. Everyone in Cherrywood knows the history of Elixir, and what started as a pharmaceutical company has now grown as its own business empire.

“Come on. I’ll introduce you to the rest.” Sophia leads me to the circular sitting area.

“Finally, you’re both here. What took you so long?”

“Chloe, as newlyweds they’re entitled to be late. I’d be worried if they showed up early for family dinners.” Sophia grins, and all the ladies snicker while my cheeks flame.

“Holy crap, Charlie!” Chloe squeals, pulling everyone’s attention to my husband. “I knew it wasn’t that you didn’t know how to smile. You just needed the right person to pull that out of you.”

“We all know why you appointed Charlie as the judge of those beauty pageants you hosted with your friends since you were thirteen, Chloe,” Archer quips as he arrives with a tray of cocktails.

“Yet he showed no interest in any of my friends, Daisy.” As always, Chloe wastes no time in coming to her brother’s defense. “For so long, I thought he played for the other team.”

Didn’t I, too? I barely hold back my snicker.

“Don’t think for a second that I’ve forgotten about the time you invited your classmate Jacob over for a movie night and conveniently left us alone, sis. I still get teased mercilessly about those excruciating two and a half hours.”

Charles motions toward the couch where Ray and Rowan flank Archer, before placing bowls of tortillas and guacamole onto the table. It’s almost surreal to see these men, who are infamously shrewd businessmen, in such an informal setting.

“Okay, if you kids are done bickering, I want to introduce Daisy to my girl gang.” Kristy motions toward the women seated beside her. “This is my sister, Rose. We both started at Elixir together.”

“And can you imagine, it took three years before Zander fell for our nerdy Rose?” says the woman whose face seems familiar, yet I can’t quite place her name.

“Like Aunt Hope pointed out, Uncle Zander and Aunt Rose had an office romance like you guys,” Chloe quips.

I gasp. “You’re Hope Teager! the owner of the coffee chain at our office and every other corner in the country!”

“Co-owner, dear. Vi and I co-own the business.” Hope nods toward the other woman, Vienna Teager, who has long hair and colorful tattoos of four paw prints on the inside of her wrist.

“Yes, I’m aware. My friends and I used to follow your YouTube videos and have made several failed attempts at trying to recreate your food art.”

Vienna grins. “You all are welcome to my kitchen anytime.”

“I’ve never been a part of such a big family dinner,” I blurt unexpectedly, my nerves and excitement once again getting the best of me.

“Then I hope we don’t scare you, Daisy, because this bunch can set records when it comes to family dinners.” Ray grins, getting a groan from everyone and a backslap from Archer.

“Don’t pretend we don’t know who baked Oma’s favorite cookies, Ray.”

My jaw drops hearing Chloe’s words. Did Raymond, the so-called real estate shark, have time to make cookies?

“I don’t think he made them because they are my favorite, honey.” Sophia smiles, looking between Ray and Chloe.

“You made them for me?” Chloe gasps before rising from her seat and dumping herself next to Ray.

“Of course I did. We finally have you back, and if my baking is going to make you stay, I’ll spend time in the kitchen daily.”

Rowan leans forward and musses Chloe’s hair before he signs something.

“Now all we need is for Rory to be back, and then the entire gang will be complete,” Charles whispers for only my ears, interpreting Rowan’s words for me. He adds, “Rory is Alex’s sister, the kid of the house.”

I’m suddenly so full of emotions. Everyone here is well-versed in sign language, but it’s not just that. Charles, the man for whom you’d rarely use the adjective considerate, is thoughtful enough to make sure I’m included in the conversation.