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“Oh, dear child, I don’t worry about you abandoning me. I worry about you abandoning yourself.” Aunt Laura disappeared into the café leaving Scarlet to prepare to be strong and do the right thing.
His truck came into view, so she straightened her spine and her resolve and headed inside. Chopping sounds and banging warned Scarlet that Aunt Laura wasn’t pleased.
Scarlet would prove to her next year that she’d spend Christmas with her, but this year she needed to be with Harris… Henry. Ugh, Aunt Laura had really done a number on her head.
The back door slammed shut followed by angry whispers from the kitchen filtering down the hall. Scarlet made sure her chair sat on the opposite side of the bistro table. Chin up, she offered a business smile when he entered the café. “Please, sit. I’ll go over the notes with you like I promised.”
“What happened?” Duke slid into the chair and reached for her hands, but she yanked them away and held them together in her lap.
“I’ve gone over everything, and the notes are on the page. The numbers are strong, but they are buried under a bunch of frivolous information that a bank doesn’t care about. You have a strong business, stop trying to convince them with lengthy explanations that you’re worthy of expansion and show that you are already doing well. Facts are all a bank will care about.”
“I see.” Duke leaned back, stretching his legs under the table until his foot raked along the side of her shoe. An instant flash of excitement clouded her plan for a moment, but she shook it off and bent her legs to tuck her feet under her chair. “Don’t do this,” he said, his voice low and longing.
“I’m not doing anything you didn’t ask. Listen, stop trying to apologize for your family name and start focusing on what you have to offer the world. No one cares about where you came from, they only care about where you plan to go.”
“I plan to go with you tonight to our spot. We need to talk, Scarlet.”
She clasped her hands tighter, digging her nails into her skin. “There is nothing to talk about.”
He shoved the chair back and knelt by her side, taking her hand in his and squeezing it tight enough that she couldn’t pull away but without hurting her. “You’re right. I need to stop worrying about being my father.”
“Stop.” Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them away.
“Look at me.”
She snapped her gaze straight to his and forced her voice to be calm and cold. “It doesn’t matter what you say.”
“It does.” He abandoned her hands and cupped her cheek. “Listen to me, and when I’m done, if you still want to leave, I won’t stop you.”
She swallowed the Christmas miracle with a Grinch chaser reminding herself that today might be fun, but tomorrow is what matters.
“My senior year, I lost everything, but the worst thing I did was lose you. I pulled away, feeling unworthy, when I should’ve fought harder.”
Her face muscles softened, and she drew her brows together. “What are you talking about? You decided to stay and take care of your father out of some sort of sick obligation.”
“No, I lost my ball scholarship because of a stupid prank.”
Scarlet’s world tilted. “I don’t understand. No, that’s not true. I would’ve heard about this. Small town, remember?”
“It was hushed because it was the mayor’s son. I agreed never to speak of it to anyone to avoid a felony charge. The mayor paid off the principal with a brand new car better than the one he owned, but the principal put the incident in my record and sent notices to the schools that had accepted me. The man was bitter because he signed a gag order, and when the papers reported the accident, it blamed him for reckless driving. He took it out on me. I thought it was personal then, but it wasn’t. He was bitter and needed someone to punish, and I was the easy target.”
Scarlet’s hands trembled, her lips trembled, her heart trembled.
“I wasn’t even the one drinking that night, but I was the last one in the car. I’m the one that set the emergency break. I didn’t know it didn’t work.” His hand dropped lower, his thumb brushing across her lips. “My father had to come bail me out of jail for a change, but he didn’t take me home to punish me. He drove me to the local bar, and I bought us both a beer knowing my life was over. I didn’t drink it that night, but I still have it on my shelf to remind me never to be that stupid again.”
She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “No. not true.”
“It’s true. All of it.”
Scarlet flipped through everything in the past decade—college, work, relationships. But she stopped at that night, Christmas Eve ten years ago. “I thought we were supposed to go on a date. I sat on the front porch for hours, waiting, and you never showed. No explanation. Only distance and an occasional wave from that night on.”
Her chest tightened and tears spilled out of her eyes. She shot up, trying to find air to breathe. Dizziness churned her stomach. Distance, air, something. She needed to get away from this.
His arms wrapped around her from behind, but she didn’t fall into them; she stiffened like they were the arms of a stranger. “I love you, Scarlet Cherish. I always have and I always will. Please, meet me at our spot tonight. Let me show you that I’m a new man. A man worthy of your love.”
She slipped from his arms. With all the strength she could manage, she faced him with the most sincere expression. “I’ll never forgive you. You abandoned me just like she did.” She took in a stuttered breath. “I’m leaving. I’m marrying Henry. He is a man who speaks the truth. A man who would never leave me waiting on the front porch like my mother and you did. He’s reliable, dependable, perfect for me. You, Duke Trenton, were never more than a high school crush. Take your business proposal and go.”
“Wait. I won’t let you go. I choose to believe in the legend. We belong together. We’ll be together by Christmas. Take a chance and believe me.”
