Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
The final day of the convention passed with the speed of pouring molasses in January.
Tilly tried to keep a smile on her face with the customers who were coming back for the final time to scoop up whatever she had left, or place orders for something they had not bought on an earlier visit that had been sold.
She also tried to stay away from Lottie who was watching her with concern and speculation.
“Are you Tilly?” She was straightening up for what she hoped was the last time when an older woman approached her.
“Yes, I’m Tilly Smith.”
After shaking the woman’s hand, Tilly sent a look to Lottie and with a tilt of her head, her sister ambled over to listen to the conversation.
“I’m Wendy Chapel and I own a Little boutique in the capital. I’d like to talk to you about selling your clothes in my store and on my website.”
Tilly blinked, then blinked again. “Really? That would be great, and I’d like to discuss it with you, but right now I’m beyond exhausted. Would it be possible to have a phone meeting in a few days?”
A glance at her sister told Tilly she had handled the offer correctly. Lottie smiled and nodded before slowly backing away several steps.
“I completely understand. These shows are almost more than I can take anymore, but I do love meeting all the Littles and their caregivers,” Wendy said.
“Here’s my card and a printout of the standard contract I use with vendors.
Call me after you look it over and we can discuss any questions or concerns you have. ”
Tilly accepted the papers with a grin. “Thank you, Ms. Chapel. I’ll be in touch.”
“Also, not to be critical, but I think you need to double your prices. Your clothes are so cute that people will gladly pay double what you’re charging,” she said with a smile.
She walked away before Tilly could respond. Instead, she laid the papers on her sales table and then rushed to hug her sisters. They squealed and danced around, only stopping when Rooker and Carri arrived.
“Wow, this place looks like you had a really, really good day,” Rooker said as he settled Carri on a folding chair.
“Yeah,” Carri agreed as she looked around. “What happened?”
Tilly only had a half dozen dresses, two tutus and a few t-shirts left, and Lottie had completely sold out of her candies earlier in the afternoon. There were also only about a dozen critters left to pack up.
“We did have another amazing day,” Lottie said with a smile.
“Yeah, and a lady who has a Little boutique in the capital wants to carry my clothing in her shop,” Tilly said, once again bouncing around in circles as she did another happy dance once more.
“That’s so amazing,” her younger sister said, wiggling in a chair dance.
“I guess I’ll have to get in line to discuss the business of stocking Tilly’s Tutus in my store,” Rooker said as he held his hand up for a high five, which Tilly gladly gave him.
Tilly giggled before she said, “We can discuss it at a later date.”
The sisters then got busy packing up what was left of their booths and piling things on the cart. When Carri announced that not only would she be giving Rooker the box of stuffies that was left, she would be moving in with the man, Tilly was not surprised.
What did surprise her was Lottie’s demand that the Rooker stay away from Carri for a week. Then she thought about it and realized that was probably a good idea. But she refused to allow Lottie to talk to Carri like she was a child who could not make up her own mind.
Before she could step in and smooth things over between her sisters, Carri spoke up and showed that she was stronger than either of them had given her credit for.
Tilly stood back and watched while Lottie laid down the law as she always did.
She wanted to tell her that Carri was old enough to make up her own mind, but Carter’s words that she needed to stop being the peacemaker rang through her head.
She stayed out of it as long as she could, but finally she’d had enough.
“Does this mean you also will be staying away from your man for the next week, Lottie?”
Lottie blinked and her cheeks began to turn a deeper shade of pink. “What man?”
“That one.” Tilly pointed to where Travis stood. “You two have been getting quite cozy over the past few days, going off in the evenings and not coming back to the hotel room for hours.”
“It’s not the same. We’re in …”
“It’s exactly the same. Just like you’ve fallen for Travis who neither Carri nor I have been introduced to, Carri and Rooker have fallen in love. At least Rooker was gentleman enough to introduce himself, and he put up with our questioning without a complaint.”
“Yeah,” Carri said, “if I can’t see Rooker for a week, you can’t see him, whatever his name is.”
“And I won’t see the man I’ve met and fallen in love with,” Tilly added, earning a shocked look from both her sisters. “For the next week, we’ll go back to being the three Smith sisters while we purge and pack the house.”
Lottie slowly nodded. “All right. I guess if Carri can do it, so can I.”
“What do you say, Carri?” Tilly asked.
Carri looked at Rooker who said, “We can do this, babygirl. It’s only seven days and then we’ll have the rest of our lives together.”
Carri nodded “I’m in. But I reserve the right to be grumpy without getting harassed for it.”
Tilly giggled. “I have a feeling we’ll all be grumpy by the end of the week.”
Now all she had to do was explain things to Carter. Or maybe not since she had not seen him since she’d left him at the park that morning.
By the time Carter was able to get into the ballroom, there were only a few vendors left. Tilly and her sisters were gone, leaving only a bag of trash and a stack of broken-down cardboard boxes on one of the tables the convention center had provided.
Had he fucked everything up by moving too fast?
At least he had her phone number and email. It wouldn’t take him but a few minutes to find her home address and go visit her. But then he noticed there was a message on his voicemail that hadn’t been there when he’d checked it earlier.
Pressing play, he lifted his phone to his ear.
“Hi, Carter, um, Papa. It’s Tilly. I wanted to let you know I can’t see you for a week.
Carri and Lottie and I made a pact that we would stay away from the men we met this weekend as a test to see if the feelings we’re feeling are real or not.
So, um, I guess that’s all. I hope I see you next Sunday. ”
When he called her back, her phone went straight to voicemail.
“Well, fuck,” Carter muttered as he closed out the app and returned his phone to his pocket. His day was just getting better and better. This did not bode well for the men under his command for the next week.
Though he thought he understand their reasoning, he needed to talk to Tilly now, not in a week. He needed to smooth things over and convince her that he would take things at whatever pace she wanted.
Stalking out of the building, he worked to hold onto his temper as he went to his truck and drove to the station.
After filing the reports he needed to take care of, including a notice to his superiors about the lack of leadership with the security team, Carter changed clothes and headed for the station’s gym.
Since shift change had happened two hours earlier, he had the place to himself, which was good because he was not in the mood to talk to anyone.
As he worked out his frustration, Carter began to formulate a plan on how to win his Little back from her sisters while getting their blessing on their relationship. His plan did not include waiting seven days before seeing her again.