Responsibility isn’t supposed to be easy. My grandfather used to say that to me every time I called. Marion still says that to me, but if I leave tomorrow, she wouldn’t mind. She’d probably tell me I should have left a long time ago.
“Should we take photos with the Christmas tree?” Sadie asks. “Since our trip to the Rockefeller can’t happen because someone had to get married at Christmas.”
“I’m not coming to your wedding,” Sienna quips back.
“I’m going to get married in the town hall,” Sadie shoots back.
Scarlett laughs. “You’re probably going to have a bigger wedding than Sienna’s.Everyoneyou’ve ever met will be invited.”
“I like meeting people!” Sadie protests.
We stop in town square, in front of the tree and I take a step back as the Monroe sisters have their photo session. It’s interesting to see Scarlett with her family, something I never got to see. She’s different with people, more closed off. But seeing her with them makes me realize she was never closed off with me. She allowed me to see parts of herself others don’t get to see.
I got to see her fears and insecurities. I got to stay up with her at night because she had insomnia and couldn’t sleep. There were nights we’d stay awake and play cards or board games. Nights where we’d watch endless movies, and she’d sit beside me crocheting. Nights where she’d wake me up with her hands and mouth and I’d push into her warm body and there were no words spoken, our bodies doing all the talking.
Christ, how I miss her. If she comes back to me, I’ll never let her go. I’ll insist on dying first so I never have to be without her.
“Connie!”
I wince at the sound of the ridiculous nickname, turning to look at Jane. Her blonde hair is pulled into a high ponytail, and her cheeks are flushed pink from the cold. We’ve been friendly with each other since I came back but I’ve always kept my distance because I’m not interested in rekindling any relationship. When I left at eighteen, everyone believed I was leaving Jane behind and would come back for one day.
“Jane.” I nod at her, turning back to look at Scarlett. Her eyes are on us as Patrick takes Sienna and Sadie’s photo and Kate helps a family with theirs.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Jane says. “You haven’t been to the market since you came back, not even to see the tree lighting.”
“I’ve been busy,” I say.
“I’m sure it’s not easy being back here without your grandfather. I’m so happy you’re here.” Jane smiles up at me warmly and my stomach clenches with unease, especially when she lifts a hand and squeezes my bicep in comfort.
“I came here for Scarlett,” I say, my eyes swinging back to her.
Jane follows my gaze, and her smile drops when she sees Scarlett walking up to us.
“You came here for a woman who probably doesn’t even care about you?” Jane inquires.
“No, I came here for the woman I love,” I say.
Jane flinches, shock flickering across her face. I don’t want to be rude and I’m not going to compare the two women. But Jane needs to understand that I’m never going to want her or anyone else the way I want Scarlett. This is just the Christmas market. I will go to the ends of the Earth if Scarlett asks me to.
“We’re waiting for you to take pictures,” Scarlett says, walking up to us. She slips her hand into the crook of my elbow as she steps up next to me. I look down at her hand on my arm and raise an eyebrow in question.
She’s not jealous, but she doesn’t give up the chance to stake her claim.
“I was just catching up with Jane,” I say.
Scarlett looks at her, blue eyes hardening with anger. She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “We’ve never met, but you cancelled the order for my sister’s wedding cake,” she says.
“Technical errors happen,” Jane says, her smile just as brittle.
“I can’t imagine how much business you must lose with technical errors,” Scarlett says. “That happened at our shop once. We’d received an order for ten chocolate pies and lo and behold, the system deleted the order even though theconfirmation had been sent. Luckily, the customer called the day before to follow up on when they should pick up the order and we were able to get it out on time. Customer service is very important when you’re running a business.”
If she’d cut Jane, it would have bled less. My girl can be savage when she needs to be.
“We’re very busy during the holiday season and I don’t believe in overworking my employees,” Jane says, her tone sharp as cut glass.
Scarlett laughs lightly, her fingers digging into my arm. She’s so beautiful I can’t look away from her. I should step in and stop this fight, but Jane brought this on herself. There was no need to involve feelings with her business and I’d never been able to stop Scarlett.
“I agree. Which is why we try to make a lot of the orders ourselves at our shop. If it’s our mistake, it shouldn’t be our employee’s responsibility to solve it. Everyone has different priorities and SOPs for running their business.” Scarlett sighs. “Anyway, I’ll stop by tomorrow.”
