Chapter 11 - Scarlett
ELEVEN
SCARLETT
I know I’ve made a huge mistake inviting Connor to the Christmas market based on how my family reacts. As in, they’re over the moon, thrilled, ecstatic, my mother probably thinks this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“What are you going to wear?” she asks, when I tell them.
She’s lounging on her bed while dad, Sienna, and Sadie play scrabble.
We had plans to go to Calgary today again since I missed out the last time, but they’re predicting a lot of snow tonight so we’re leaving it for another day.
It’s a two-hour drive there and we should have started it this morning as opposed to the middle of the afternoon.
I carefully left out the part about Sienna’s wedding cake order being cancelled, or the fact that we no longer have bouquets. And if that wasn’t enough, we also no longer have the restaurant booking for the rehearsal dinner. This town is a cult and they all worship at the altar of Connor Hayes.
For a brief moment, I think I can’t really blame them. That’s clearly the kiss talking because I do blame them and him. This cult is ruining my sister’s wedding and Connor is ruining my mind with his brain melting kisses.
Holy fuck, I forgot what it was like to kiss him. His mouth had been soft and firm, demanding access to mine in an all too familiar way. I hated to admit that it felt…right. My body had eased against his as if I’d been waiting for him.
I’m so confused. And my mother is not helping.
“You know he broke my heart, right?” I ask my mother.
Mom frowned, looking at my sisters and dad. I hadn’t told them what happened, but I might as well. It’s not like it’s a big secret they can’t know.
“We dated for six months and one day, I went to his apartment and the doorman handed me a letter from Mr. Hayes. Apparently, he’d packed up a bag and left in a hurry. There was no call, no message. Connor was just gone.”
“That fucker,” Sienna hisses.
Mom wraps an arm around me and pulls me against her. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.”
Sienna and Sadie jump onto the bed and hug me and mom. “Daddy, come on,” Sadie urges.
Dad gets onto the bed behind mom and wraps his arm around us. “I knew I didn’t like that man.”
Mom kisses my temple, and my body relaxes into the mattress, giving into the family embrace. While the hug goes a long way in calming the turmoil inside my chest, it also reminds me that Connor makes me feel the same way.
He’s the only person other than my parents and sisters I have trusted enough to be completely at ease with. For the first two months of our relationship, it shocked me how much I wanted to give in, to not hold myself back from him.
“What was in the letter?” Sienna wonders.
“She’s never read it,” Sadie says. “It’s still in her purse, sealed.”
“What?!” The word is echoed by mom, dad, and Sienna. Their eyes swing to me, and I glare at Sadie. I told her that in confidence, but I guess she no longer feels like she has to keep it since I’m talking about Connor.
“Shouldn’t we be focusing on Sienna? The one who’s here to get married?” I ask.
“What’s there to talk about? I locked Luke down in the ninth grade,” Sienna says. She sits up and twists her long dark hair into a knot before crossing her legs under her and facing me.
“You, sister dear, are the real problem. What do you mean you haven’t read Connor’s letter? He could have explained why he left.”
“Oh, come on,” Dad scoffs. “He couldn’t pick up a phone or send a message to explain why he left? He came to Alberta. He didn’t go into witness protection.”
I wave a hand toward dad. “Exactly. At least one person is on my side.”
Sadie sits up, pushing her hair behind her ear. Mom remains next to me, brushing her fingers through my hair.
“Okay, can we establish that we’re not Connor fans?
” Sadie says. We all nod. “Excellent. That being said, isn’t there a possibility of there being a totally valid explanation for why he left?
” She holds up her hands. “I’m not saying he did the right thing or that he couldn’t have called or messaged.
I’m just saying, there has to be a reason why he left. ”
I chew on my bottom lip. “I guess his grandfather got sick.” My voice is soft as I say it. “When Marion said Christmas was her husband’s favorite holiday and he died two years ago, that kind of aligns to when Connor left. But again, that begs the question of why not just tell me.”
“There’s an easy way to find out,” Mom says. “Just ask him.”
“I’d rather not,” I say. It’ll be like opening a can of worms and I already know anything he says is not going to be enough.
“Don’t be a chicken,” Sadie says. “If you don’t ask him, we will.”
These people have never heard of boundaries.
I’m worried if I ask him and he says he left because his grandfather was dying, my anger will ebb a little and I don’t want that.
I want to continue being angry at Connor for as long as possible because that will mean I’m not going to get my heart broken again.
“What are you going to wear?” Mom asks softly, again. “You need something with a little oomph, a little sexy and come hither.”
She does an overexaggerated pout and twists her body, pushing in her shoulders to highlight her cleavage--while wearing a turtleneck.
My sisters and I watch her in horror.
“Okay, well, we won’t be doing any of that,” Sienna says. “But I agree with wearing something sexy and come hither.”
“I don’t want to hear that,” Dad protests, cringing.
“I’m going to wear my cable knit turtleneck and the barrel jeans with boots,” I say, off the top of my head. It’s the least sexy outfit I can think of, and it will cover everything. Problem solved.
I forgot that I don’t live in a democracy because I don’t get to wear what I want. Instead, I’m shoved into tights and a chocolate velour short skirt paired with brown boots and an oversized sweater.
“We still have to be mindful of the weather,” I reminded my sister when they held up a corset top.
Sadie blow dries my hair into big waves while Sienna does my make-up, as if I’m incapable of doing both those things.
It reminds me of my second date with Connor when we drank champagne as they got me ready for the date.
Back when they didn’t know his name and thought he was just a cute guy I met outside the arena.
That was a fun night on all counts. Connor took me to see a concert by a popular pop princess, who was trying out some new songs in a small venue.
He held me close, and kept the people away, making sure my drinks were fresh and safe.
He was always so mindful of who was around me, like he expected someone to attack me when people were more likely to focus on him.
“Can you guys please be normal?” I ask my family, when we’re all dressed.
“We’ll try our best, but we can’t make any promises,” Mom says.
She hooks her arm through mine and leads me down the hallway to the stairs. Voices drift up to us as we go down the stairs and we find Connor and Marion talking in the lobby. When Connor looks up, I have this surreal thought like my family is giving me away to him.
It makes me want to run back up the stairs.
The corner of his mouth turns up just a little, and I think he’s having the same thought. Only he likes it. What is this bizarre idea he has that we’re getting back together? I suppose telling him that we have to spend time together doesn’t help me.
“Connor,” I say in greeting.
“Hellion,” he replies. I guess it’s better than baby girl.
I turn, introducing him to my family. He’s as charming and courteous as I expected him to be.
“My, you’re tall,” Mom says, tilting her head back to look at him. “Kissing must have been a real back bender.”
“Mom!” I cry, cringing hard.
“I didn’t mind,” Connor said, amicably. “It was like a reward.”
Everyone beams at me, except dad who’s still skeptical, and I roll my eyes. I can do without the cheesiness.
“Shall we go? We don’t want to miss all the fun.”
I push everyone towards the front door, which leaves me right in front of Connor we exit. He's wearing jeans and a thick sweater under a black jacket paired with black boots. Damn, he looks delicious enough to eat. I’m never going to survive tonight or the next week.
As we’re about to walk out, he leans down to whisper in my ear. His scent surrounds me, and I breathe him in, clean, crisp air and the hint of something smoky.
“You look beautiful, baby girl,” he says, the rasp in his voice sending shivers down my back. “Did you do this for me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Connor,” I say, “I did it for me. And for the cute guy I’m going to find for a vacation fling.”
Connor’s laugh follows me out of the Inn and to the car.