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Skylar tried to think over the past month with honest appraisal. Rhett didn’t like discussing his past, but had she truly expressed her desire to know him deeper? Her need to please others often made her too agreeable.
Confrontation was difficult. Her family thrived on chaos and drama. There was so much of it in her life, she learned to avoid additional conflict whenever possible. But some confrontation could be healthy. Like her grandmother had said, good relationships come from good communication.
She didn’t have to meddle in Rhett’s personal life to the degree Gran liked to meddle, but if they wanted to grow as a couple, Rhett would have to share something more personal than his appreciation for a North Carolina sky.
Maybe Skylar could explain why she needed that and, if they truly were meant to be, he’d understand that openness was a must with her.
The terrifying possibility that he might not be able to open up, however, left her shaken. No matter how bad things were at the moment, she wasn’t ready to lose him. She wanted them to figure this out.
She smiled up at her grandmother through glassy eyes. “Thank you.”
Gran pointed to her chest. “You should see the shape of my heart. It’s been through hell and back. But it still beats strong, and no matter how many times I want to strangle your grandfather, our love remains the realest thing I know, and that gets us through whatever shitstorm comes our way.”
Skylar sniffed. “What about my class?”
Gran shrugged. “You made a mistake. You’re human. I’d bet a million dollars you won’t make that same mistake twice. Learn from it, forgive yourself, and move on. Tomorrow’s another day.”
20
It took Skylar a while to face reality. Even after hiding away at her grandparents’, surrounded by love and blind acceptance, Skylar still wasn’t fully convinced she could handle what might come next, but she was certain she needed to.
There were only two days before Christmas Eve, and then her world would be overrun by relatives and festivities. She still wasn’t sure how she would handle facing her dad and uncle.
Despite her doubts and insecurities, she got up, fixed her hair, put on her makeup, and went to clean up the mess she was in. She still had some gifts to get, so she had no choice but to face the music and head into town.
Unable to recall specific guests from the party, Skylar only remembered a blur of scrutinizing eyes judging her. When she got into town, however, she felt those same eyes ogling her again.
The problem with living in a small town was that everyone knew everything about everyone, down to what color underwear people put on in the morning. And since she was related to half the town, she often felt even more exposed.
The hair on the back of her neck rose as she passed people on the sidewalks and they stared. It was impossible to tell who had been at the art gala or heard the rumors, but they all seemed to know.
While waiting in line for a hot cocoa, two women looked at her and one covered her mouth and whispered something in her friend’s ear. Were they whispering about Skylar, talking about how she’d slept with the mayor and caused a scene at the gala?
Her stomach soured and she no longer wanted her hot cocoa, but the barista had already begun fixing it. Skylar steeled her nerves and forced herself to wait.
The women finally left, but through the front window of the café Skylar caught them staring at her as they walked away. In a town the size of Jasper Falls, there was no escaping the backlash of a good scandal. But this was the first time Skylar had been the focus of town gossip.
She wished there was time to finish her shopping online. Being so exposed drained her on an emotional level she never experienced before. But, no matter how much it pained her ego, she kept her chin high and finished shopping.
The cashier at McGinty’s, a girl she recognized from Hannah’s class, studied her as she rung up her order and chewed a mouthful of watermelon-scented bubblegum.
“You’re Skylar Marcelli, right?”
Unease snaked through her veins. “Yes.”
The girl smiled and leaned closer. “Are you really having an affair with the mayor?”
Her jaw locked. She sliced her credit card through the swiper and punched out the commands to finish the transaction.
“Thanks a lot.” She snatched her bags.
“You forgot your receipt!”
The lump in her throat prevented her from responding.
When she reached her car, her hands were shaking—and not from the cold. Everyone knew her personal business. And she hated—hated—that the cashier girl called it an affair, as if her and Rhett’s relationship was something tawdry or immoral.
They were two consenting adults! If her father hadn’t reacted the way he had, no one would have ever twisted things into some sort of taboo affair!
