“We’ll see everyone tomorrow. Have a good night.” And without even acknowledging the plans they had, she turned and walked away, dragging their luggage behind her.
Connor watched until they were out of sight, and only his mother’s words made him look away.
“I can see you’re smitten with that girl again,” she said coolly. “I suppose you paid for this little getaway the four of you went on.”
“Mom…” he warned and then remembered his daughter was standing there. Looking down at Annabeth, he smiled. “You have school in the morning. So why don’t you go in and take your shower and put on pajamas, and I’m sure Grandma will read with you when you’re done.”
“Okay!” She hugged both grandparents before running into their cabin.
“You didn’t even lock the door, Connor?” his father asked. “That’s dangerous.”
“It’s fine, Dad. We have security cameras everywhere, and this section is just for the owners.”
“Still…you can’t trust everyone. You never know what people will do. They all know you come from wealth and might use their relationship with you to…”
“No one’s using anyone,” he said firmly, not liking the direction this conversation had immediately taken. Letting out a long breath, he considered that maybe he was just tired from the drive and overreacting. “So why didn’t you call and let me know you were coming?”
“We wanted to surprise you and Annabeth,” his mother said. “Although it turns out we’re the ones who were surprised. Why didn’t you tell us you were back with that girl?”
Damn.
“That girl has a name,” he said stiffly. “And I don’t feel the need to keep you up to date with my personal life considering I’m an adult. You may have had control over my life when I was younger, but we all agreed that you were done with that. You made a mess of my life with your own selfish ambition. I won’t allow you to ruin things with Lexi a second time.”
Pausing, he let out another long breath, hating how quickly his mood had changed.
Glancing over his shoulder, he almost willed Lexi to be there, but it was probably for the best that she had taken Jonah and gone back to their cabin. He’d hate for her to have to stand here and listen to his parents being snobs.
Again.
“No one’s ruining anything,” his father said, seemingly unfazed by his son’s obvious distress. “It’s not like you’re going to marry this girl. Have your fling or your fun, whatever you kids call it these days. You’re a powerful man, Connor, and you need a wife who will work beside you and understand your world, not someone who will sit back and just take your fortune.”
“You mean like Rachel did?” he asked sarcastically. “You do realize she only married me because of the family fortune. She didn’t work; she spent every damn day asking me to buy her things. And for the record, Lexi hasn’t asked for anything. Not once. So maybe don’t paint her as some gold digger when you don’t even know her, and clearly you didn’t spot one when she was right in front of you.”
“We know the type, dear,” his mother added.
He knew he wasn’t going to convince them of anything right now, and he was too tired to even try.
But he did need to convince Lexi that they were fine—the two of them.
Soon.
Now, preferably.
“Why don’t the two of you go into the cabin and spend some time with Annabeth? I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Going after Lexi?”
Glaring at his mother, he said, “Yes.” And without another word, he stormed off.
I feel like a damn child…rebelling against my parents…
Turning the corner, he didn’t breathe easily until he knew they were out of sight. When he got to Lexi’s cabin, he lightly knocked as he let himself in. She was walking out of Jonah’s room and paused at the sight of him.
And it was hard not to notice the deer in headlights look
Dammit.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “Is Jonah asleep already?”
