Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
ASHLEY
Iwake up to a blanket of snow outside. A very thick, very deep blanket.
Carter has been sleeping in my bed, and when I roll over to look out the window like I do first thing every morning, I’m met with a sheet of falling snow.
It should probably be my first indication that things won’t go as planned today, but all I see and feel is Carter.
I’m in too deep with him, and everything has a rose-colored tint for me.
I’m near the window, looking at the falling snow and how much has already fallen overnight when a set of hands wraps around my waist from behind.
Carter rests his chin on my shoulder. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” I turn in his arms to face him. “How did you sleep?”
He gives me a cocky grin. Guess he liked how I woke him up in the middle of the night last night. “Much better after our middle-of-the-night activities.”
I hum low in my throat. “Same.”
“I need to get in the shower and wash up before Steph and Doug arrive. Thought maybe you could join me. You know, to conserve water.”
“Oh, of course, it’s all about water conservation.”
“I’m nothing if not a staunch environmentalist.”
I laugh, burrowing my face into his chest. “Well, if it’s to save Mother Earth, then how can I say no?”
Carter pulls away, then bends and throws me over his shoulder, carrying me to the en suite.
I don’t bother complaining. There’s no point in pretending I don’t want to be in his arms.
We take a leisurely shower that involves orgasms—one for him and two for me—then towel off.
“I’m going to go get dressed.” Carter kisses the tip of my nose and leaves the en suite.
His clothes are still all in the other room he was staying in. I’ve thought of telling him to move his things into my room for the rest of his stay, but I wasn’t sure if that would seem too forward.
Humming a Christmas carol, I leave the bathroom and choose a sweater and a pair of jeans from my dresser. I’ve just gotten dressed when my phone rings from where it’s plugged in on the nightstand. I walk over and frown, seeing my sister’s name on the screen. She should already be up in the air.
“Hello?”
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve called, like, five times!” My sister’s voice is frantic and has that stressed out tone I recognize.
My stomach sinks to the floor like falling snow. “Steph. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
“Everything! Everything is wrong!”
I sit on the bed with the phone pressed to my ear. “Why aren’t you on a plane?”
“Because there’re no flights going into Vermont or the northeast at all.”
“What?” My head whips to look out the window, and yeah, the snow is still steadily falling.
“Apparently there’s some freak weather event going on. Like, a once-in-a-hundred-years kind of snowstorm.”
“Are you serious? I didn’t hear anything about that. I mean, I knew it was supposed to snow, and I thought you might get delayed, but that’s all.”
“I’m not delayed, Ash, I’m not coming. To my own wedding!” She cries and tears automatically form in my own eyes.
I know how much work and money went into this and how much she wants to be married to Doug. I feel horrible for the situation she’s in.
“Don’t cry, Steph. We’re going to figure something out.
” I rack my brain to keep it together as my sister sobs.
I put the phone on speaker and pull up my weather app.
“It’s supposed to clear out the day before Christmas Eve.
Maybe everyone can change their flights and come out then.
You could have a Christmas Eve wedding.”
“I can’t ask everyone to change their holiday plans. Most people were just coming in and out for the wedding. Maybe it’s just not meant to be.”
My spine stiffens, and I straighten on the edge of the mattress. “You and Doug are meant to be, Steph.”
“I know, I know. I mean the wedding. Maybe we should’ve picked a tropical island to get married on like everyone else. I mean, first I can’t make it when I planned to because of work and now this. It just feels like maybe it’s not meant to happen the way I envisioned.”
I’m quiet for a beat, not sure what to say. I feel devastated for her. “When and how it does happen, it will be magical.”
“I feel awful though. You and Carter did so much work for us.”
“Don’t worry about that. It should be the least of your concerns.”
“God, why is this happening to me?”
Tears track down my face as Carter comes back in the room. When he sees the state of me, he stops in his tracks before rushing over and sitting beside me on the bed.
“What do you need me to do?” I ask, trying to pull it together.
“Everyone flying in needs to know the wedding isn’t happening,” Steph says, and Carter jolts beside me on the bed and widens his eyes. “They probably all assume that, given they can’t get there, but I don’t want to leave anyone guessing.”
“I’ll handle it.” I sniff and wipe my cheeks with the back of my hand. “I’ll call all the vendors too.”
“You’re the best, Ash.” Her voice wobbles, and the sound is a punch to the gut. “I’ll call later when I’m calmer.”
“You call me whenever. Any time of the day or night, all right?”
“All right, love you.”
The line goes dead, and I toss my phone to the side on the mattress.
“What the hell is going on? The wedding’s off?” Carter’s face is full of confusion, his phone already in his hand, probably ready to call Doug.
I burst into tears, concern for my sister covering me like a blanket. Carter pulls me into his arms and rubs my back, soothing me. Or doing his best to at least.
When I finally compose myself, I pull back and explain the situation to him. He frowns while he listens, forehead wrinkled.
Once I’m done, he blows out a long breath and pushes a hand through his dark hair. “I’m gonna have to call Doug and see how he’s doing. I can’t believe this.”
I nod. “I feel so bad for my sister. You dream of your wedding your whole life and now everything she wanted is ruined.”
“What can I do to help?”
More tears track down my cheeks. “I’m too upset to call everyone. I’ll probably cry and babble, and no one would understand me. Would you be able to do it if I got you a list with all the names and numbers for the guests? There’s not that many since it wasn’t a huge wedding to begin with.”
“Of course. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. You can count on me.”
The words have no sooner left his lips than his phone rings. He fishes it out of his jeans and looks at the screen, appearing annoyed.
“Who is it?” I ask.
“My boss.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “I have to answer this.” Carter cringes a little and picks up the phone. “Hey.”
I listen, crying silent tears as Carter deals with his boss. It’s obvious something has gone wrong at work and that he’s been tapped in to fix it.
A few minutes after the call begins, Carter says, “Yes, Ralph. I’ll make sure it’s handled right away.”
I’m looking at my hand curled on my lap, but when I hear Carter’s comment to his boss, my head whips in his direction.
As he hangs up, he gives me a pleading look. “I’m sorry, I have to take care of this.”
This, on top of everything, seems to be the thing that upsets me the most. “You just finished telling me that I can count on you.” My despair morphs to anger in my veins.
“You can. I just have to take care of this first. Our biggest client has an issue with the server on their site, and it’s right before Christmas. Every minute lost is tens of thousands of dollars for them in lost revenue.”
My arms fly up in front of me, almost of their own volition. “By all means then, don’t let my personal crisis prevent you from saving the billionaires and the shareholders of the world.”
His jaw flexes. “It’s not like that. I can’t just tell my boss no. As soon as I’m done dealing with this, I’ll make those phone calls for you.”
“Don’t bother. They can’t wait.” I stand, ready to go down to my office and get the list off my computer.
I move to walk past Carter, but he holds my wrist and stops me from passing him. “Ash, don’t be like this. Don’t let your temper get the best of you. I’m sorry, okay?”
“This isn’t about my temper.” I yank my hand from his grip. “I get it. I do. But do you want to know what hurts so much? You’re setting me aside for a job you don’t even like. One you’re not even sure you still want to be doing.”
“Regardless, it’s still my job currently.”
“Aren’t you technically on vacation? How am I supposed to feel when you’re moving me to the bottom of the list of priorities for something you don’t even care that much about? What does that say about how you feel for me?”
He swallows hard. “What? This has nothing to do with how I feel about you.”
“Maybe not to you, but to me it does. How are we ever going to make long distance work when you can’t even put me first when we’re in the same place?
How many missed FaceTime calls and canceled trips to see me should I be expecting, Carter?
Because this really isn’t giving me much confidence, I have to be honest.”
He presses his lips together. “You’re overreacting.”
“Ha!” My chin tilts up as a caustic laugh escapes. “If you want overreacting, I can give that to you.” I stomp toward the door, and slam it as hard as I can.
The sound echoes through the hall, and I can’t help but think of how final it feels.