Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“I thought chefs were great at following instructions. Like recipes and whatnot.”
Connor looked up from the vegetables he was chopping and wondered what Axel was talking about. “We are. Why?”
“Dude, you knew the only thing we asked of you was to leave Lexi alone until she was ready to see you.”
“I…”
“She was barely here for five minutes and you were right there at her car!”
“I thought it would be best to get the initial greeting out of the way,” he reasoned.
“And waiting for her at your cabin?”
Okay, that one was an impulse.
“It’s my cabin,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure everything was in good condition before she went it.”
“You know damn well everything was in great condition because you inspected it after it was cleaned! You’re pushing boundaries and it’s only been a few hours. You need to back off. Please.”
“Did she complain?” he asked casually, not wanting to sound overly concerned.
“No, she didn’t complain. I’m complaining! Walker’s complaining! And I’m sure if given the opportunity, Jayce and Kelsey would complain too!”
“I just…”
“What the hell were you thinking?” Harlow demanded as she walked into the kitchen.
Connor let out a huff of annoyance. “You know, I get that you’re all concerned about Lexi being comfortable, but let’s not forget that I’m one of the damn owners, okay? I refuse to be locked up in the kitchen and questioned any time I leave to walk around.”
“But you’re not just walking around. You’re walking directly to Lexi,” Harlow explained. “I thought this was all settled.”
“It was! I was just…”
“Oh, good. You’re here,” Walker said casually as he joined them.
“Where else would I be?”
“Um…I don’t know. I think Lexi’s by the playground, so maybe you’d be there,” Walker said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “And she took her son down to see the lake, so you could be there too.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” Connor said wearily. “I get it. I was out of line and you’re all pissed. Message received.”
“Are you sure? Because I thought we were all clear on this a week ago,” Walker said. “If this is going to be too much…”
“It’s not!” he snapped before reeling himself in. “It’s not. I went and said hello, I talked to her about how we all eat together and how I didn’t want my presence to be a deterrent.”
“So she’s going to eat with us?” Axel asked.
“No. She said her son eats earlier, so it probably wouldn’t work.”
“I wouldn’t mind eating earlier,” Harlow shared. “And you’ve mentioned more than once that it would be easier for Annabeth if we ate earlier.”
“What are you doing?” Walker asked her. “We’re trying to make sure Lexi doesn’t have to spend time with him, and now you’re trying to find a way to make it happen.”
She sputtered for a moment. “I’m just saying that I feel bad thinking of her and Jonah just sitting by themselves while we’re all up here.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Connor said quietly. “I’m making fried chicken for dinner, and…I’ll start it early. We can eat at 5:30. If you can convince her to join us, I swear that I’ll sit as far away as I can and I won’t speak to her unless she speaks first. Okay?”
The three of them exchanged glances before nodding.
“I’ll go talk to her,” Harlow said before kissing Walker and leaving.
As soon as the back door slammed shut, Connor braced himself for the lecture he was certain was coming.
So, while going back to chopping vegetables, and not looking up, he simply said, “Okay. Say whatever you need to say.”
“We already did,” Axel said. “It just felt like you needed the reminder to give Lexi some space. None of us except maybe Kelsey knows what’s been going on in her life, but she specifically asked not to have to interact with you, and you knew that.
You knew it, and you went out of your way to see her. ”
He continued chopping.
“Look, I’m sure your curiosity was piqued,” Walker reasoned. “And now that you saw her and exchanged pleasantries, you can go back to the original plan.”
Slowly, he put the knife down and braced his hands on the cool stainless steel. “Here’s the thing: no one asked me about the plan before you all agreed to it. Now, I believe in being reasonable, and I will give her space. But there is a history between us that has nothing to do with any of you.”
“Okay, but…”
“No one asked if I was going to be okay with having Lexi here,” he quickly interrupted.
“No one bothered or cared about how seeing her again would affect me.” Swallowing hard, he shook his head.
“She was the one.” He silently cursed the fact that his voice cracked on that admission.
“She was the only one, and I had to break her heart. I’ve lived with that guilt for close to fifteen years.
And now I’m supposed to just be okay with her being here while she hates me and deal with everyone’s shit because I’m weak. ”
At least Walker and Axel had the decency to look a little guilty.
“I’m working hard to get everything food-related ready for the resort.
I’m building a menu, a staff, a place that guests are going to enjoy.
I moved into a rental house that I’m not particularly fond of so I’m glad it’s only temporary, while working with architects to build someplace that will be a home.
I barely sleep at night because on top of all that, I’m planning my next restaurant that will be right here in Harbortown.
” He let out a long breath. “And I’m doing it all while raising my daughter by myself.
So, excuse me for a moment of weakness.”
And with that, he walked over to the walk-in refrigerator to take out all the chicken and ingredients he’d need for tonight’s dinner. He slammed the bowls down and stayed focused on the task in front of him.
“Can I say something?” Walker asked after several long moments.
Connor shrugged.
“You’re right. We didn’t talk to you first, and we should have. But…I don’t think it would have changed anything. Lexi is in a bad way right now and needs help. I think that takes precedence over you just being uncomfortable because you were forced to break up with her at sixteen.”
Axel stepped forward and helped himself to a red bell pepper strip. “Is it possible that you’re just romanticizing the relationship because your parents made you break up with Lexi?”
That made him stop and look up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…everything feels…you know…like more when you’re a teenager.
First love and all that. And it’s not just you; I think we all have a story of that first girl and how you thought it was the greatest love in the world.
Whether it’s hormones or just being too young to fully understand your feelings, maybe there’s a chance that you’re holding on so strongly to those feelings and the guilt because you’ve always wondered… what if.”
He wanted to disagree on principle, but maybe Axel had a point.
Had he just built the relationship up in his head because he hated the direction his life was forced into? Was he holding on to memories of Lexi because the thought of marrying her was preferable to the woman he actually married?
“Well, shit.”
Walker came up beside him, resting his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “You okay?”
“I guess I never thought about it like that,” he admitted gruffly. “But now that it’s out there, I suppose it’s possible. I just don’t know where it leaves me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s one thing to just say that I romanticized the whole thing, but without taking the time to get to know Lexi again, I’ll never be absolutely sure.”
Axel groaned. “I wasn’t trying to give you a reason to harass her.”
“No, no, I get that. But you see what I mean, don’t you? I’ll still never know if we never get to talk. We never got any closure.”
Grabbing a carrot, Walker nodded and moved to sit on a stool.
“Okay. At some point, the two of you might be able to talk. And I think you should. But it has to be on Lexi’s terms. Don’t push and don’t come up with crazy reasons you have to run into her.
Just…let it happen naturally. Neither of you is going anywhere.
You’re both working and essentially living here—or close to here—and there are a lot of things that you need to focus on that are slightly more important than teenage love. ”
Again, he wanted to disagree on principle, but this time, Walker had a point.
“Fine. I’ll wait and let whatever’s going to happen happen organically. For all we know, she’s going to stick to her guns about not eating with us, and we’ll both be too busy to even see each other from a distance.”
“Let’s hope,” Axel murmured.
Connor glared at him briefly before looking at all the food he had to prep and cook.
“Now that we have that semi-settled, can we let it go? I need to get dinner started if we’re going to eat early.
Annabeth will be getting dropped off in about thirty minutes, so I’d like to be further along with this so I can spend a few minutes sitting and relaxing with her. ”
“It's awesome that you were able to coordinate with a carpool that didn’t mind bringing her all the way here to the resort,” Walker said. “I’m sure that wasn’t easy.”
“It’s not really a carpool as much as it’s a nanny.”
“A nanny? Why?”
“Because I have a lot to do here and there are times it might not be easy for me to get away to be there for after-school pickup. And once the resort opens, I’m not really sure it’s a good idea for Annabeth to be hanging out here.
I’ll be distracted, and there will be too many strangers.
Plus, with a nanny at the house, she’ll be able to have playdates with her friends. ”
“That makes sense,” Axel commented as he snagged a handful of pepper strips. “Where did you find her?”
“She’s Swati’s aunt,” he explained. “She’s retired and was looking for some part-time work. Annabeth and I met her for lunch last Sunday and we ended up spending the entire day together. She’s very nice and caring and had excellent references.”
“Namely, Swati, right?” Axel asked.