Chapter 12
If it’s snowing, I’m not going.
Weston
“M erry Christmas!” I shout as I enter my childhood home.
Mom bustles out of the kitchen. “Aren’t you handsome?”
We’re all dressed up in Prohibition era costumes for the Smuggler’s Holiday Masquerade Dance. It’s tradition to attend the dance on Christmas Eve on Smuggler’s Hideaway.
It’s a fun night. There are prizes for the best costume, a secret gift exchange – assuming you can smuggle a gift in – dancing, and lots and lots of moonshine.
I can’t wait to find out what outfit Scarlett is wearing. I bet she’s sexy as hell in a flapper dress. Those dresses can’t hide her curves. Curves I long to touch again. Curves I want sleeping in my bed every night.
I straighten the tie of my bootlegger costume. “I prefer the word dashing.”
My sister, Sophia, groans. “Of course, you think you’re dashing.”
I spin in a circle to show off my outfit. “Aren’t I?”
“Personally, I think Flynn is the dashing one.” She stares up at my best friend with hearts in her eyes.
I swallow my growl. I can’t complain about my little sister and my best friend hooking up since I helped get them together. Without my assistance, they would have danced around each other for centuries. But all I want is for the two of them to be happy. The dancing around needed to end. So, I made sure it did.
Flynn smiles at Sophia. “And you’re the most beautiful flapper in the history of flappers.”
And now I’m done. I feign gagging. “Enough with the lovey-dovey stuff. I accept your relationship, but there’s no need to flaunt it in my face.”
“Don’t you want to fall in love, big brother?” Sophia asks.
A vision of a woman with long dark brown hair, light green eyes, and pink, pouty lips flashes in my mind. Scarlett is smart and fun and witty and sexy as hell, but love? I’ve only known her for a few days. It can’t be love.
“Nah,” I say. “Love isn’t for me. I’m a lone wolf.”
“Even after this weekend?” Flynn asks.
There’s no longer any need to wonder if the island gossipmongers found out I was stuck at Scarlett’s cabin for a few days.
I glare at him. “I thought you didn’t listen to gossip.”
He waggles his eyebrows. “Is it gossip if it’s true?”
“I’m not enjoying this new side of you.” I’m lying. I’m happy for my best friend. After his mom died and his dad abandoned him, I became his only family. But now he has my sister and the rest of my family.
“You’re stuck with me, bro.” He emphasizes the bro to remind me we’ll always be brothers no matter what.
Dad strolls into the living room wearing a costume similar to mine. White shirt, black vest, black tie, a pocket watch, and flat cap.
“Oh my.” Mom fans herself. “Someone is looking mighty handsome.”
Dad wraps an arm around her waist and hauls her near. “All for my beautiful bride.”
He melds his lips to Mom’s and Sophia gags. “Gross. No. No making out in front of your impressionable children.”
I chuckle. “If you think this is making out, Flynn is doing things wrong.”
Dad ends the kiss and tucks Mom into his side. “Who’s ready for the Smuggler’s Holiday Masquerade Dance?”
“I’m ready to dazzle the women with my charm.”
My stomach heaves at my words. I don’t want to dazzle any women with my charms. Correction. There’s only one woman I want to dazzle with my charms. Scarlett.
Sophia elbows me as she passes. “Don’t be an asshole.”
“She’s not wrong,” Flynn agrees as he hurries after her.
Mom pats my arm. “I’m always here if you want to talk.”
I start after her but Dad throws an arm around my shoulders to slow me down. “Walk with me, son.”
We start toward the town hall where the Masquerade Dance is held. It’s also where bootleggers stored their stash during Prohibition, which is the reason the island is named Smuggler’s Hideaway.
“You know,” Dad says and I bite my tongue before I groan. He doesn’t give lectures often but when he does, they’re usually long and painful. “Your mother and I fell in love very quickly.”
“I know, Dad.” Their story is the stuff of legends.
“But did you know I took one glance at your mother and decided I was going to marry her?”
My brow wrinkles. “But you didn’t know her.”
“I knew she was beautiful, smart as a whip, and funny. What else did I need to know?”
I think about the girlfriends I had in my twenties. The ones who couldn’t deal with my job as a police officer. “If you were compatible.”
“I’d think a weekend stuck in a log cabin during a snowstorm would be a good test as to whether a couple is compatible.”
Apparently, everyone on the island knows about the time I spent with Scarlett.
“Why are you pushing me?”
He squeezes my shoulders. “I want you to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
He meets my gaze. “You are?”
Damnit. He’s right. I’ve been going through the motions for a while now. And when Flynn fell in love with my sister, I started to feel an ache in my heart. An emptiness that won’t go away. Except I didn’t feel it the last few days with Scarlett.
We reach the town hall where Mom is waiting for us on the steps. “Just think about what I said,” Dad says before joining her.
Anticipation fills my veins as I enter the ballroom for the Smuggler’s Hideaway Masquerade Dance. Everyone is wearing masks, but I don’t worry about spotting Scarlett. I’d recognize her pink, pouty lips anywhere.
I weave my way through the crowd as I search for her. I ignore the women who paw at me. I’m not interested in what they’re offering. There’s only one woman I’m interested in. Where is she?
I plant myself near the bar where I can watch as people enter.
“Here.” Flynn shoves a glass of Buccaneer’s Whisky into my hand.
“She’s not here,” I grumble.
“Who?”
I frown at him. “Are we going to play games?”
He holds up his hands. “Sorry. I’m confused since I thought you didn’t want a woman.”
“You weren’t keen on settling down until recently.”
“Wrong. I didn’t realize I could have the woman I wanted until recently.”
I grin. “Good thing I stepped in to help.”
“And now it’s my turn to step in and help.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You better not fuck with the plumbing at her cabin.”
“Nope. I’m going to tell you what an idiot you’re being.”
“I’m not an idiot.” The door opens and I glance over to make sure I don’t miss Scarlett’s entrance.
Flynn chuckles. “Staring at a door waiting for her to arrive isn’t being an idiot?”
I elbow him. “You’re confusing me. Am I supposed to want to see her or not?”
“Scarlett’s family never comes to the Masked Dance.”
“What? All the locals come.”
“The Harris family doesn’t come. They celebrate Christmas Eve alone in their farmhouse.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “How do you know?”
“I have my sources.”
“Whatever.” Disappointment hits me and I rub a hand over my heart where an ache is forming.
Flynn nudges me toward the door. “Go to her.”
My feet won’t budge. “Nah, I’m good.”
“Don’t be a chicken.”
“What if she can’t handle me being a cop?”
His eyes widen. “Is that what your problem has been all these years? You think women can’t handle being with a cop?”
I snort. “You try coming home after a twelve-hour shift to discover your girlfriend has dumped you because you missed dinner with her family again.”
“And now every woman on the face of the earth is incapable of dating a cop because of one selfish bitch? Do you think Scar is a selfish bitch?”
Scarlett is the furthest thing from selfish. She nursed me back to health despite how I treated her in high school. She made all of our meals while we were stuck in the cabin. She tried helping me dig my patrol car out of the snow.
And when I left because I had to get back to duty, she didn’t complain. In fact, she ordered me to ‘go help’.
“You love her,” Flynn declares.
I open my mouth to deny it, but my heart knows the truth. Yeah, I love her. Scarlett Harris is the woman for me. Dad’s right. I don’t need to wait years to figure out how I feel.
He pushes me toward the door. “Go get her.”
Good idea. I’m done waiting for her to show up.