22. Scarlett
Chapter 22
Scarlett
I roll over the next morning as Cian walks out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. He hasn’t shaved, but his hair is wet from the shower. He sees my open eyes and gives me a grin.
“Good morning,” he rumbles.
“Morning.”
“I ordered you some food. Henry and I are going to drive down to Autre. We shouldn’t be gone for more than a couple of hours.”
I sit up and run a hand through my hair. “Oh. I didn’t realize you were heading down there.”
He crosses to his suitcase. “I hadn’t specifically planned on it but being this close, I’d feel strange if I don’t stop in and say hi. Especially with Fiona and Saoirse.” He shoots me a grin that almost looks sheepish. “I miss them.”
My heart gives a little squeeze. I love that. He’s close to his family. And I would feel the same way. I looked Autre up after hearing about it on the podcast. I could never be within twenty miles of my sister or daughter and not see them.
“Do you want me to get ready and go along?” I feel strange but I don’t know if it’s stranger to go along or stay back.
He pulls jeans and a tee from his bag and chuckles. “Are you going to agree to marry me?”
My eyes widen. “Um…”
“Until you are,” he continues with a soft chuckle. “It’s probably not a great idea to introduce you to everyone. When I get there, they’re going to grill me about meeting up again with the girl I’ve been hung up on for two years. Not to mention my arranged marriage in Cara. If I bring you along, we’re not getting out of there for seventy-two hours minimum. Not until they know everything about you and have completely won you over. And if you’re not careful, we’ll end up married by the local judge before they let us leave.”
I swallow hard. “I thought your family wanted you to marry the other girl.”
“Yeah well, the people down in Autre are mostly adopted family, and they are hopeless romantics. They love that I fell head over ass for you in one weekend and have been pining for you for so long. They’re all Team Scarlett.”
Lots of emotions are swirling, not the least of which is a warm fuzzy feeling that I probably shouldn’t examine too closely.
“So I’m safer here,” I say. “Got it.”
He chuckles again and drops his towel to get dressed.
I stare.
He catches me and smirks. “There will be time for that when I get back.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say with feigned innocence.
“Ha ha,” he says, pulling boxers and then jeans over the main subject of my interest. That still leaves a lot of skin and bulging muscles, though.
He rounds the bed and leans over to give me a kiss. “We’ll be back in a little bit.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Go to the spa if you want. Put it on the room.”
Oh, I like the sound of that. I look toward the bathroom. “Or I might take a soak.”
He straightens and shakes his head. “The bathtub is for both of us later.”
I’m grinning stupidly as the door shuts behind him.
Damn, I really like that guy.
Room service arrives a few minutes later, and I am sipping a perfect cappuccino and munching on delightful strawberries when a thought occurs to me.
I suddenly have a wonderful idea of how to spend the next couple of hours.
And I end up grinning stupidly throughout my quick shower and my phone call to the concierge for help with my plan.
An hour later, I walk through the door of a tiny bar along Bayou Road in Autre, Louisiana. I never would’ve found it if it weren’t for directions from the man at the gas station on the corner as I came into town.
There’s no sign on the building, but this looks like how he described Ellie’s bar.
I park my rental car on the edge of the gravel lot after spotting the car Henry drove us to the hotel in yesterday.
As I step through the door, the room is dark enough it takes my eyes a moment to adjust so it’s the aroma that hits me first—beer, spices, bacon or sausage or both—then the sounds. There’s laughter, conversation—including a loud, “Fuck no!”, and clinking silverware against plates and cups. Once my eyes adjust, I take in a room full of mismatched tables and chairs of all sizes, a long bar along the one entire side of the room with stools of various heights and types.
But the mishmash of “types” doesn’t apply only to the furniture. The people are a hodgepodge as well. There are all sizes, shapes, genders, and ages. And they all seem to be talking at once.
Which means the only person to notice me is the older woman behind the bar. She’s short, has wrinkled tan skin, and wears her long gray hair in a braid down her back. She gives me a big grin. “Hey there.”
Her smile makes me smile. “Hi.”
She beckons me down the bar and points to an open stool.
Just then a loud laugh draws my attention, and I look at the back table. I see Cian right away.
He hasn’t noticed me though, so I slip onto the bar stool. I can watch him from here. I’d love to spy for a few minutes and just watch him with his friends and family.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asks.
“Sweet tea and a menu?”
She hands over the menu, then starts filling a glass with ice.
I surreptitiously glance at the table to my left. Cian is sitting so that I’m to his left, rather than straight on so I can study the table without being noticed. I take note of the beautiful, dark-haired woman who I know is Fiona, Cian’s sister. The girl to his right is his niece, Saoirse. For a second, I’m hit by a sense of what people must experience when they run across celebrities in public. I’ve only seen these people in photos, and I’ve read about them—or listened to stories about them—on the podcast so they seem a little larger than life to me.
I’m thinking of how cool Mariah would think this was, when Cian looks over. His mouth drops open, and his eyes widen as he straightens. Henry, who is sitting two chairs down, notices Cian’s reaction and looks in my direction. His eyes widen, then he blows out a breath and pushes out of his chair and comes toward me.
I turn back toward the bar as the bartender sets my tea in front of me.
“Take your time with the menu. I’m Ellie. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“I’m Scarlett. Thanks.”
“Are you in town visiting someone?” she asks as Henry slides onto the stool next to me.
“No, um, just got hungry and asked where the best place to eat was.”
“And that place was full so you ended up down here?” Henry asks.
“Just because you say it with that fancy accent doesn’t make it funny,” Ellie tells him, swatting at him with her towel.
Henry chuckles. “Love you, El.”
“Look out for this one,” she tells me, pointing at Henry. “Lots of ladies fall for that British thing. I get it. And the blue eyes aren’t bad either. But he just got his heart broken, and he’s gonna be flirty with you so you tell him he’s pretty and charming and make him feel better.”
I cover my grin with a sip of my tea as she moves off down the bar.
I look at Henry. “You’ve been here for an hour and they already know that you’re heartbroken over Ruby?”
“Ellie is practically a mind reader,” he says with a shrug. “Plus being sad gets me extra gumbo.”
I look at him for a moment. “Sorry about the heartbreak thing, by the way.”
He nods. “Funny thing is, if Ruby wasn’t so dedicated to you and Mariah, we wouldn’t have as much in common, and maybe I might not have fallen for her so hard.”
I nod. “Ironic.”
He turns and leans an elbow on the bar. “So, what are you doing here?”
“I figure he’s undercover in my town to get to know me better, so I thought I could be undercover in his for a little bit and maybe pick up a few things about him.”
Henry is giving me a look that seems almost impressed. “Okay. Well, the thing is, I’m going to have to sit here and pretend to flirt with you.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you don’t want everyone to know who you really are. And if anyone else flirts with you, Cian will come over and make it pretty obvious that you’re taken. And if he does that… well, it’s going to be pretty obvious that you’re taken. And as soon as everyone knows that you’re taken by him?—”
“He said they would have us married before we left town.”
Henry nods. “Something like that.”
“Because they all love him?”
Henry’s expression softens. “Something like that.”
I look over his shoulder at the table. With the way Henry is sitting next to me, it’s very convenient that I can pretend to be looking at him but actually watch Cian. I don’t think that’s an accident. “Or something exactly like that?” I ask.
“Scarlett,” Henry says. “Everyone loves Cian. Everyone wants him to be happy. You might be the only person I know who’s been able to resist giving Cian O’Grady what he wants. So, yes, if they catch on that you’re her , they will want him to have you. Because that’s what he wants.”
I swallow and somehow refrain from admitting to Henry that I may not always hold the record for resisting giving Cian what he wants.
“Were Fiona and Saoirse really happy to see him?”
“Thrilled. Of course, they want to know all about you and our trip to Ohio.”
“What are they going to think about you flirting with someone so soon after having your heart broken?”
“They’re going to think I’m trying to get over it. And then when you leave without me, they’ll feel bad for me and I’ll maybe get an extra serving of bread pudding. I’ll definitely get extra moonshine.”
I laugh. “I hope you have a place to stay so you don’t have to drive.”
“Well, yeah, we live about four blocks away.”
Right. Of course they have a place to stay. They live here when they’re not in Ohio with me.
“Okay, so ask me your questions about Cian, his family, this town.” Henry picks up his bottle of beer and takes a sip.
“Alright, who are all of these people?”
“Besides Fiona and Saoirse, Fiona’s husband is the big guy with the longer hair at the end with the little girl on his lap. That’s their youngest.”
I couldn’t miss him. He’s the one with his hand on the back of Fiona’s neck.
“The guy in the firefighter uniform is Michael, the fire chief. Cian does volunteer work with him.”
I frown. “What? Cian is a firefighter ?”
“Yeah. You didn’t know?”
“No. That’s what he does for work?”
“Volunteer.”
Oh, sure, that makes it different.
“The other guys sitting around are mostly Landrys. Ellie’s grandsons.” He nods in the direction of the bartender. “Some of them own the swamp boat tour company, some of them work at the animal park. One’s a cop. One does construction. They basically just take care of the town. Cian kind of works with all of them.”
“Cian also works with the cop ?”
“Okay, not the cop. But he does tours for the swamp boat tour company. He does some construction with Zeke. He’s even worked for Knox, Fiona’s husband. Knox is the city manager and he’ll put Cian to work doing landscaping, painting, and whatever else he can come up with.”
I turn even more fully on my stool and pin Henry with a serious look. “So Cian is a handyman? Does odd jobs all over town? Jack of all trades?”
Henry shrugs. “Yeah. I guess. He just likes to hang out with everyone and is happy to help out.”
I shake my head. “And he’s been building these communities and homes for single moms all over on the side.”
Henry just nods.
“He said he hasn’t told anyone else about the projects.”
“Cian hasn’t told anyone but me and he only told me because he had to travel to check them out and hire people to manage them and I had to go with him.”
“Why do you think he doesn’t want anyone to know?”
“I don’t think that he’s keeping it a secret necessarily. It just isn’t something he feels the need to talk about.”
“Why not?”
Henry puts his beer bottle down and rests his elbow on the bar, pinning me with a look. “Cian is extremely intelligent and is the youngest child of a family of very high achievers. He has a lot to live up to, but he’s naturally curious and creative and sociable. He’s used to being the supporter. The one who helps everyone else out. That’s what he loves. Seeing where there’s a need and pitching in however he can. Driving an airboat up and down the bayou, fighting fires, feeding tigers, braiding a little girl’s hair, it doesn’t matter. It’s kind of all the same to him. He just wants to help.”
I look at Cian again. He’s watching me. When our eyes meet, I feel warmth swirl through me. He’s such a good guy. Everyone should know that.
“So it’s more that he just didn’t think to tell anyone about the community project. He doesn’t think it’s a big deal? He’s just helping those moms.”
“More or less,” Henry agrees. “He was excited to show you because he wanted you to know your idea was amazing.”
“I was excited to see it, but it happened because he made it happen.”
Henry nods. “It’s also the first thing he’s really built on his own, from the ground up. Everything else he does is filling in gaps on things other people already have going on. But because of you, he has something that’s truly his. He’s not used to that.”
“So he doesn’t know how to show it off?”
“Right.” Henry pauses. “Seems you two have that in common.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you seem very happy staying quiet and that you don’t really want to do anything that would get people talking.”
“Yeah, well, when people talk about me in Emerald it usually includes a ‘remember when’? or ‘can you believe her?’” I say dryly.
“And?” Henry asks. “Isn’t the idea to show them that you’ve changed ? How better to do that than to have them recall something from the past, while talking about something great you’re doing now?”
I open my mouth, but then close it.
I guess…he has a point. Even if they did say, ‘she’s the one who got knocked up out of wedlock and kicked out of her father’s church’, but then talk about how I’m helping with a foundation that provides resources for single mothers, that really would show that I’m using my circumstances to grow and do something good.
“You and Cian talked about me and the foundation on your drive to Autre today?” I guess.
He smiles. “Of course. It’s the biggest thing on Cian’s mind right now.”
“And you think I should consider his idea to make me president of the foundation and not just help behind the scenes?”
“Yes. I do.”
“I would want to talk about him too. Everyone should know who he is and how he’s involved. He deserves to shine.”
“I agree,” Henry says.
“You should tell him that. You’re his best friend. You should encourage him. Or you should tell everyone what he’s been doing.”
“Nah.” Henry lifts his beer. “You’re way prettier to look at and your voice gets this sweet little note to it when you say Cian .”
I laugh and swat his arm. “It does not.”
“Definitely does.”
And I believe him, actually.
“Hi!”
Suddenly a petite brunette pops up between Henry and me.
Henry gives a little eye roll. “Fiona.” He loops an arm around her neck. “It took you a lot longer to come over here than I expected.”
This is Fiona O’Grady, Cian’s sister, up close and personal.
I swallow.
Fiona grins at Henry but then looks at me. “I wanted to watch you talk to her for a little bit.”
“Why’s that?”
“To see how she acted toward you.”
“How she acted toward me?” Henry repeats, glancing at me.
“Like she likes you as a friend, but like she doesn’t want to sleep with you. Sorry.” She sticks out her hand. “Hi, I’m Fiona. Henry’s friend.”
There is so much energy emanating from this woman that I’m still blinking and barely manage a, “Hi,” as she takes my hand and shakes it. “Um, I’m Scarlett.”
“You can’t tell me she doesn’t want to sleep with me while she’s sitting right here,” Henry tells Fiona, removing his arm, and pushing her away.“That’s terrible wing-woman behavior.”
“You asked what I thought.”
“I didn’t. I simply repeated ‘how she acted toward me’. It wasn’t a question.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Fiona doesn’t seem sorry. “He’s broken hearted,” Fiona tells me. “Don’t believe anything he says. I know the British accent really does it for some women, but he’ll just be using you to get over her.”
Right. Got it. Fiona is buying the ruse that Henry is over here flirting with me. And she’s here to warn me off. Because he’s heart broken. Over my sister.
Well, Fiona probably doesn’t know that part. But this is…weird. And funny.
“Ellie said the same thing,” I tell her. I give Henry a look. Wow, these women are really not wanting him to hook up. What’s that about?
“Oh good. No offense, but we’re hoping he can figure things out with her.”
“The girl he’s broken-hearted over?” I ask, definitely interested in that.
“Yes. I’ve known Henry a very long time and I’ve never seen him in love before.”
“I’m not in love with her anymore,” Henry protests.
Fiona ignores him. “There must be something really special about her. So we don’t want him messing anything up before he has a chance to fix things. No offense,” she says again.
I nod solemnly. “I understand. I actually agree with you,” I tell her. “I think he needs to try to work it out with her, too.” I meet Henry’s gaze.
He narrows his eyes.“There’s no way to work it out. We’re not in love anymore.”
We both ignore him this time.
“He told you about her?” Fiona asks me.
“I know everything,” I say, not exactly lying. “It’s clear they’re a good match.”
“How did you two meet?” Fiona asks.
“Henry and I stayed at the same hotel last night and Cian mentioned this is where they were coming for lunch today. So I did follow them, but you’re right, I don’t want to sleep with Henry.” There, that was all truth. Technically.
“Oh, good then.” Fiona seems pleased with all of that information.
Fiona’s happy energy reminds me of Cian. Without thinking, I look up and find him, still sitting at the back table. But his eyes are still on me. He’s watching my exchange with Henry and Fiona with a strange expression I can’t quite describe, but he’s not missing a single detail. I’m not sure he’s even blinking.
“You should come to the animal park before you leave,” Fiona says. “We’re all heading over there now. It’s got a whole fall theme going on with leaves and pumpkins and hay bales.” She laughs. “We have a lot of hay bales anyway, but there are extras now for decoration. With scarecrows and all that fall stuff. It’s adorable. Charlie loves this shit. Plus, we’ve got pumpkin spice lattes and cider and apple cider donuts and caramel apples. You’ll love it.”
It does sound fun and I’m actually kind of dying to see it. I want to take a swamp boat tour and walk down Main Street, and just soak this town in. This is where Cian has lived for the past few years. This is where so many people who are important to him are located. Not just his family, but lots of friends too.
I also want them to know who I am.
That thought hits me right between the eyes. And right in the heart.
It sucks my breath out of my lungs.
I don’t want to just eavesdrop. I don’t want to be undercover. I don’t want people to think I’m here because Henry flirted with me at the hotel in New Orleans.
I want to be here with Cian.
I want to hold his hand. Have him introduce me to everyone. Have him show me around and tell me stories about the place and people.
I want Fiona to either smile and hug me because she’s so happy that Cian found me or give me ‘hurt him and I’ll kill you’ big sister vibes or…anything, really. I just want to be a part of all of this with him .
Dammit. This is the opposite of getting over him.
I smile at Fiona. “That sounds fun. I’ve heard of your animal park. Of course.”
“Oh, love that,” she tells me. “Tell the kid at the ticket booth “alpaca spit”.”
I laugh. “What’s that?”
“Code for a free admission. I’ll see you over there.” Then she turns and heads for the back table.
As if on cue, everyone sitting there starts getting up, talking, grabbing bags, and kids. They start filing out of the building, some through the front door, some through the back.
“You really want to go over to the park?” Henry asks.
“Well, yeah. They have giraffes and penguins.”
He grins. “They certainly do.”
“Is that okay?” I ask, suddenly not sure. “I mean, it’s full of visitors, right? I can just blend in.”
Cian ambles by and pauses for a second. “If you touch her, I’ll put cayenne in your tea bags.”
Then he keeps walking, following Saoirse out the door.
Henry chuckles and finishes off his drink. “Yeah, I don’t think you’re going to just blend in.”
I look at him with wide eyes. “You’re going to touch me?”
Henry shakes his head and stretches to his feet, tossing a twenty on the bar. “No. But he’s still not going to be able to stay away.”
“You don’t think so?” I slide off my stool too, trying to pretend like there aren’t butterflies flitting about in my stomach.
“You, here? In one of his favorite places on earth? With his people? There is no way he’s going to be able to pretend he barely knows you, not to mention being able to keep his hands to himself.”
“Oh.” I chew on the inside of my cheek. “Should I just leave?”
He laughs. “Hell no. This is going to be more fun than I’ve had in a week.”
I start toward the door with Henry right behind me. “Oh, this is all about entertaining you ?” I ask.
“Damn right.” He pushes the door open for me, and I step out into the bright, hot Louisiana sun. “It’s you and Cian’s fault I’ve been stuck close to Ruby, seeing her, hearing her, smelling her, but not being able to have her. I deserve to see the two of you stammering and fumbling around for an hour or two.”
“You know, if you hadn’t spilled the news about finding me living in Ohio, you wouldn’t have had to bring Cian to Emerald and you and Ruby could have just gotten over each other,” I remind him.
Henry simply grunts at that.
I start across the parking lot. The road in front of the bar leads down to the Boys of the Bayou swamp boat tour company’s docks and beyond that is the entrance to the Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild animal park.
I look up and notice Cian standing under a tree at the edge of the parking lot, clearly hanging back from the rest of the group that’s walking down the road. He’s got a baseball cap on now—a look I haven’t seen on him before—and he looks like a regular guy. A very hot, regular guy. But my heart trips a little as I get close enough to see the way he’s watching me. And the way his mouth tips up as I approach.
“Yeah, tell me again how upset you are that I brought him to you in Emerald,” Henry says dryly.
Well, upset is probably an exaggeration.
“I’m really fucking glad you’re here,” Cian says when I stop in front of him. Henry continues on past us.
“Yeah?”
“And you gave my sister and Ellie your real name.”
I nod. “I…” I swallow. “Just like with you, I didn’t want them calling me someone else’s name.”
That makes heat and something that looks like affection— very strong affection—flicker through his eyes.
I take a breath. “But I didn’t even think…did you tell them about me? My name I mean? When you were…”
“In love and looking for you for almost two years?” he fills in.
My stomach swoops. “Yeah.”
“I told them about you. But I didn’t give them your name. Scarlett won’t give you away.”
“Okay.” That’s probably good.
“But the way I won’t be able to leave you alone today, probably will.”
My heart flips. “I just really wanted to see the giraffes,” I say, but my voice is stupidly breathless. And I can’t hide my smile.
“Witch,” he says softly, giving me a smile that makes my panties warmer.
Then he tucks his hands into his pockets, turns, and we start down the road. Side by side, not touching, yet I feel him—his whole presence—wrapping around me.