Oh.Wow. There was that flying and crash-landing feeling again, and I didn’t enjoy it any more this time than I had earlier. I hadn’t intended to say that. But saying it felt… right.
“What?” She leaned forward again, jaw open.
“That’s not an ultimatum—”
“Sure sounds like one!”
“It’s not. It’s me saying that I care too much about our relationship to keep pushing and pushing, and letting you put me off. I don’t want to resent you, and I will.”I already kinda do.
She squinted at me and made a helpless noise, like she’d been blindsided, and I understood. I’d held this back for too long.
“I’m sorry,” I said, hoping she’d know how much I meant it. “For letting things go on this long and not showing you exactly how serious I was earlier. I know I fucked up when I was younger. I did some really stupid things, and maybe they’re things you can never forgive me for. I mean, I hope you can—”
“That’s ridiculous, Constantine. Of course I can! You know I already have.” She rubbed a hand over her forehead. “I don’t understand how things got so off track. I don’t understand why you’re suddenly forcing things when we’ve been doing just…fine. Haven’t we? I mean, I know things have been tight financially. I know this is hardly ideal for any of us. But things are already getting better. We’ve gotten a whole bunch of new orders—” She grabbed a sheaf of papers and waved them at me. “For the holidays. Way more than I’d planned. I was thinking I could finally get you and Theo your bonuses. And that we could have a nice, peaceful Christmas. The whole family.” She hesitated. “Even Daniel, if he wants to come.”
Jesus.
My resolve wavered. But I knew if I didn’t take a stand now, once and for all, I’d be losing ground for the rest of my life. I’d always prided myself on never lying, but I had been. By not speaking up where it counted.
That was going to change. One step at a time.
I stood up. “We’regoingto have a nice Christmas. And I’m going to get that proposal to you in a couple of weeks. It’s going to begood. And I really hope you’ll keep an open mind about it. Not because I want to force your hand—even if you say no, I’ll still give you as many hours as I can for as long as I can. I’ll still care about Ross Landscaping, just like I’ll still care about you. But I truly think it would solve a lot of problems for all of us if you agreed. Okay?”
She nodded. It was kind of wooden, not so much an agreement as a kind of end to the conversation, and I recognized it because I’d done it so many times myself.
But again, baby steps, right?
“I’m not doing this because I’m angry. I promise. I’m doing this because I love you, and I really want to have the kind of family where we don’t have to hide things from each other anymore.”
And then I gave her a smile—an honest, genuine one, for the first time in a long time—as I left the office and got to work.
Chapter Thirteen
Micah
“Good morning, Micah!”Charlotte Fielding sang as I stepped into the business office at the Scarlet Maple Inn. “Thanks so much for coming down! The clients arrived, and I sent them down to the restaurant for coffee and pastries, but they should be back in just a couple minutes! They’re really impressed with your portfolio and they’re eager to meet you! What a gorgeous shirt!”
I blinked and looked down at the green shirt Con had chosen for me. “Thanks?”
Charlotte was always cheerful—kind of a requirement of her job as the head wedding coordinator for the Inn—but she was rarely this over the top unless…
“Oh, Lord.” I looked around the office to make sure we were alone, set my case on her immaculate desk, then leaned over and lowered my voice. “How bad?”
“What?” she said, eyes as blue and guileless as fucking Snow White in the forest with the woodland creatures.
I winced. “Damn. That bad, huh?”
“I don’t know what you could possibly mean.”
“I mean, the more obnoxious the client, the more cheerful you get. And the last time you greeted methischeerfully, the Sarah Palin lookalike was here planning the double wedding for her daughters.”
Charlotte’s nose wrinkled as she remembered.
“She wantedthe lucky winning floristto create topiary busts of her daughters, Charlotte. And throw them infor free. She brought that yappy lapdog with her and laughed when it peed on your carpet.” I’d never been so happy to tell a client I couldn’t possibly live up to their expectations.
“Princess Coco,”Charlotte spat, clearly still traumatized. She hesitated for a second, then looked out into the hallway to check if the coast was clear. She motioned for me to close the door.
“Okay,” she whispered, once it was firmly shut. “Between you and me, this groom puts Mrs. Clemenceandher Pomeranian to shame. He’s plastered, yet keeps drinking from his own hip flask when he thinks the bride isn’t looking. I’m waiting forhimto pee on the carpet and laugh.”
