“You’re not going to be my groom, Connor,” she says.
“Give me one good reason why not,” I reply.
Scarlett releases a deep breath. “Because this isn’t a movie and I’m not going to leave everything to move to a small town because you have a very niche business that can’t be done anywhere else.”
“Technically, I can’t move the ranch to New York. We can buy a ranch in New York and leave Oliver to run things here. I’ll have to come back a few times a year to make sure everything is running fine but other than that, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. Not because I don’t mean them because I mean every word. I know I left her to come here, but the past year and a half has made me realize I will leave Silverpine for Scarlett. Choosing her might make me selfish but I can’t live without her. Maybe, just maybe, she can’t live without me either.
“You left me to come back and now you’re going to leave for me?” Scarlett questions. She doesn’t look upset, which is saying a lot.
“Leaving here to be with you will be the easiest decision I’ll ever make,” I say with all sincerity. “Leaving you was the hardest decision and one I had no choice but to make.”
Scarlett looks down at the wedding book, fingering the edge of the binder. This isn’t a conversation I want to have here, where anyone can walk in. I feel Jared’s gaze burning into my back.
“Cam is going to make your sister’s cake,” I say. Changing the topic is the best option.
“I haven’t agreed, yet,” Cam says from the other end of the bar.
Scarlet leans forward to look at him. “What can we do to convince you? I’ll pay you the same rate that I was going to pay Jane.”
“I’m not exactly worried about the money. Connor will pay me whatever I ask,” Cam says, running a hand over his beard. “I’m not a baker anymore. I run a bar. I don’t think I’m qualified for the job.”
“As long as the cake is edible, we won’t complain,” Scarlett says. “But if you feel like it’s too much, we won’t pressure you.”
Cam looks thoughtful, his grey eyes locked on Scarlett. He’s my friend and I know he wouldn’t try anything with Scarlett, but a part of me still wants to shield her.
“Come back here tonight and I’ll prepare something for you,” he finally says.
I straighten in my chair immediately. “Why tonight?”
The place is going to be loud and crowded, exactly the kind of place Scarlett hates. Exactly the kind of place I hate and don’t want to be in. But if she’s here then I’ll have to be here becausethere’s no way I’m going to leave her in a bar surrounded by drunk men hitting on her.
“Because I need time to bake something for her to try,” Cam says, reasonably.
“Tonight is perfect. All the cousins are coming into town this afternoon and we need a place to celebrate the bride,” Scarlett says excitedly.
I glare at Cam, and he winks at me. The asshole knows exactly what he’s doing. Scarlett opens the wedding book again, drawing my attention to her.
“Next on the list is a place to have the rehearsal dinner,” she says. “I don’t know what the booking situation is like, but I was hoping we could do it at the lodge.” She looks at me in question.
“It’s yours, you don’t even need to ask.”
I’ll tell Harvey to move around reservations as needed. Scarlett is a priority and her reservation comes first.
Since Cam has reluctantly agreed to make the cake, I tell Scarlett about the florist in Calgary. “We’ll have to drive down there to meet with them. We can go tomorrow, if that works for you.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “Are you sure they’ll be available? The wedding is next week.”
“Don’t worry about it. I promised that I’m going to make sure your sister’s wedding happens without a hitch and I intend on keeping that promise. Whatever you want is yours.”
A blush blooms across her cheeks and Scarlett looks down, hiding it from me. She gets off her stool and picks up the wedding binder again.
“Well, since that’s settled, I should get back to my family.”
Walking to the end of the bar, she leans across the counter towards Cam. “Thank you so much for helping us. I can’t wait to try what you come up with tonight. Can I give you my number, in case anything comes up you can give me a call?”
“For sure,” Cam says, passing her a napkin to write her number on. Scarlett quickly scribbles her phone number and passes it back to him.
