I step away from him and next to Sienna, grabbing her hand. She squeezes it once, letting me know she’s on my side. No matter what my family says to me, or teases me about Connor, I know in the end, they will always be on my side.
“Everything go okay?” Sienna asks.
“Yeah, Cathy just needed help with a couple of boxes.”
“You should buy some Christmas decorations,” I tell him. “Since there are none in your house.”
“When were you in his house?” Sienna asks.
Connor and I exchange looks and he raises an eyebrow in challenge. I take a bracing breath and look at my sister.
“Don’t panic, but we kind of hit a snag with all our bookings.”
Sienna blinks in confusion. “I’m sorry, what does that mean? What kind of snag? Which bookings?”
“It’s my fault,” Connor says. “Apparently the town has decided that Scarlett is the villain in our break-up and they’ve cancelled your bookings.”
Sienna opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again. Turning to me, she places both hands on my arms and meets my eyes. “Is this true? Do these people hate us because of him?”
“I’m going to fix it, Si. No one is going to mess up this wedding,” I say with all the conviction I can muster.
“I’m not a bridezilla and I can’t care less about my wedding right now,” Sienna says. “Luke and I can get married in town hall for all I care. I don’t want to get married in a town where people villainized my sister over some man.”
Feeling a surge of gratitude, I hug her, and she clutches me to her with strong, protective arms. Having sisters is like having built in friends. As much as we fought growing up, we’re each other’s best friend and would kill for the other, no questions asked.
“Why am I not invited to the sister hug?” Sadie is suddenly next to us, and we open our arms, pulling her in.
“You’re going to have the wedding of your dreams,” I promise Sienna. “That’s why Connor is here.” I look at him over her shoulder. “If he messed it up, then he’s going to fix it. Even if he has to learn how to bake a cake and become a florist.”
THIRTEEN
CONNOR
This woman doesn’t know the depths I’ll go for her. Because if she wants me to become a baker and a florist in the next seven days, I’ll make it happen. Hell, I’ve already got a florist booked for her.
I’ve been playing hockey since I was a kid and the one thing hockey taught me is how much I like to win. And I’ll do whatever it takes to win Scarlett back.
They pull apart from their sister hug and Sienna’s demeanor towards me is a lot colder. I’m not upset at losing whatever ground I’d gained in the past hour. Even though they frustrate me to no end, I still love my brothers and if this town turns against them, they’ll have to deal with me.
We exit the store and continue walking around the market. It’s been the same since I was a kid. My parents used to bring us here every year for the tree lighting and my grandfather continued the tradition. I feel a lot of guilt over leaving him, and at the same time, I know that I needed to leave because back then, this town wasn’t the place for me.
“Do you like living here, Connor?” Kate asks. I turn to Scarlett’s mother and find her looking at me.
“When I’m here, I miss the anonymity of New York. When I was there, I missed the quiet mornings of Silverpine,” I say.
“But do you like living here?” She asks again.
She has the same tenacity in her eyes that I see in Scarlett’s. I remember Scarlett mentioned her mother used to be an investigative journalist. On the other hand, her father, Patrick, has remained quiet, just watching and listening and I can see where Scarlett gets that quality. Holding herself apart even when she’s part of the crowd.
“I’m not sure. Being here comes with a lot of responsibility and reminds me that I left for a reason. But Cedar Creek has been in my family for generations and it’s now my responsibility.”
I feel Scarlett’s eyes on me from where she is walking with her sisters. It’s a lot of information I’d already shared with her, about never wanting to come back because I wanted to play hockey.
“You have brothers,” Kate points out. “Can’t one of them take care of Cedar Creek?”
“They can’t even take care of themselves,” I say, bitterness seeping into my voice.
“I’m sure it’s not easy being the only responsible one,” Kate says.
