“You mean I’ll finally get to meet them?” I ask. Her arched eyebrow tells me she doesn’t miss my sarcasm. “Look at that, all it took was a break-up and a botched wedding.”
Grumbling something under her breath, Scarlett looks away, her cheeks coloring a faint pink. Even when we were together, I never worried that she didn’t introduce me to her family. I certainly didn’t want to introduce her to mine. Regardless of allthat, I knew I was going to marry her, and nothing was ever going to keep me away, so whether or not I met her family was a moot point.
“I’ll see you tonight at six outside the Inn,” Scarlett says.
“I’ll be there, baby girl.”
“Stop calling me that!” With a look over her shoulder, she walks into the kitchen, presumably to get Harvey.
I’m wrong. The town isn’t working against me. This stupid little boycott of theirs is going to work in my favor because now I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to see Scarlett.
ELEVEN
SCARLETT
I know I’ve made a huge mistake inviting Connor to the Christmas market based on how my family reacts. As in, they’re over the moon, thrilled, ecstatic, my mother probably thinks this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“What are you going to wear?” she asks, when I tell them. She’s lounging on her bed while dad, Sienna, and Sadie play scrabble. We had plans to go to Calgary today again since I missed out the last time, but they’re predicting a lot of snow tonight so we’re leaving it for another day. It’s a two-hour drive there and we should have started it this morning as opposed to the middle of the afternoon.
I carefully left out the part about Sienna’s wedding cake order being cancelled, or the fact that we no longer have bouquets. And if that wasn’t enough, we also no longer have the restaurant booking for the rehearsal dinner. This town is a cult and they all worship at the altar of Connor Hayes.
For a brief moment, I think I can’t really blame them. That’s clearly the kiss talking because I do blame them and him. This cult is ruining my sister’s wedding and Connor is ruining my mind with his brain melting kisses.
Holy fuck, I forgot what it was like to kiss him. His mouth had been soft and firm, demanding access to mine in an all too familiar way. I hated to admit that it felt…right. My body had eased against his as if I’d been waiting for him.
I’m so confused. And my mother is not helping.
“You know he broke my heart, right?” I ask my mother.
Mom frowned, looking at my sisters and dad. I hadn’t told them what happened, but I might as well. It’s not like it’s a big secret they can’t know.
“We dated for six months and one day, I went to his apartment and the doorman handed me a letter from Mr. Hayes. Apparently, he’d packed up a bag and left in a hurry. There was no call, no message. Connor was just gone.”
“That fucker,” Sienna hisses.
Mom wraps an arm around me and pulls me against her. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.”
Sienna and Sadie jump onto the bed and hug me and mom. “Daddy, come on,” Sadie urges.
Dad gets onto the bed behind mom and wraps his arm around us. “I knew I didn’t like that man.”
Mom kisses my temple, and my body relaxes into the mattress, giving into the family embrace. While the hug goes a long way in calming the turmoil inside my chest, it also reminds me that Connor makes me feel the same way.
He’s the only person other than my parents and sisters I have trusted enough to be completely at ease with. For the first two months of our relationship, it shocked me how much I wanted to give in, to not hold myself back from him.
“What was in the letter?” Sienna wonders.
“She’s never read it,” Sadie says. “It’s still in her purse, sealed.”
“What?!” The word is echoed by mom, dad, and Sienna. Their eyes swing to me, and I glare at Sadie. I told her that inconfidence, but I guess she no longer feels like she has to keep it since I’m talking about Connor.
“Shouldn’t we be focusing on Sienna? The one who’s here to get married?” I ask.
“What’s there to talk about? I locked Luke down in the ninth grade,” Sienna says. She sits up and twists her long dark hair into a knot before crossing her legs under her and facing me.
“You, sister dear, are the real problem. What do you mean you haven’t read Connor’s letter? He could have explained why he left.”
“Oh, come on,” Dad scoffs. “He couldn’t pick up a phone or send a message to explain why he left? He came to Alberta. He didn’t go into witness protection.”
