Page 49 of His for the Holiday

22

SUTTON

Winnie had been elated to have another sleepover in the big house tonight with Grandpa and Grandma, but my dad was definitely suspicious when I dropped her off. She gave me a quick hug, her thin little arms squeezing me as hard as she could.

“Bye, Mam! Sleep tight. See you in the morning.”

As soon as she released me, those red curls sailed out behind her at the speed with which she turned and ran inside, but my dad stood in the doorway, his gaze looking me up and down.

“Where are you off to?” he asked, obviously noticing that I was dressed up. “You look much too nice to be staying home.”

“I’m just going downtown for drinks with a friend.”

It wasn’t a lie. Hawk was a friend and I was meeting him for a drink, but the way my dad’s eyebrows arched told me he knew I wasn’t being entirely truthful. Before he could ask, however, Mom called out from inside.

“Leave her alone, David. Get in here. Winnie’s getting Scrabble ready for us.”

He held my gaze for another beat before he shook his head, but didn’t say another word as he shut the door, calling back to my mom that he’d be right there. As I left, I wondered why he was being so weird right now.

Sure, Hawk had broken my heart, but that had been over ten years ago and I was looking at things now with a fully developed frontal lobe. I was already fully aware that none of this meant anything, and while it was true that my heart was involved again, my eyes were wide open.

Since Thanksgiving was next week, downtown Portsmouth was glimmering with lights and decorations that made it feel like something out of a movie. There was a small night market going on in the square, and that was where I was meeting Hawk.

Trying to put all my worries about my dad out of my mind as I approached the beautifully decorated streets, I decided to just take everything day by day. With Calen’s potential visit coming up, Dad’s concern, Mom’s weird encouragement, and Winnie’s hope that her role in the play would make her father love her again, there was just too much going on for me to take it all onboard at once.

What I could do, right now, was to appreciate my hometown’s love for Thanksgiving and to enjoy being in the States for it for the first time in years. When I got to the market, I walked around a little bit, but it didn’t look like Hawk had arrived yet.

Grabbing a hot cocoa complete with sprinkles, whipped cream, and tiny marshmallows, I admired the lights and the decorations, stopping at every little stall to see what treasures the locals were producing these days. I was actually enjoying myself until a too-sweet voice rang out from behind me.

“Sutton! There you are.”

I groaned internally, twisting to see Hailey racing to catch up to me like we were old friends. God, why does she have to be everywhere?

Dressed in a pink pea-coat and white jeans with cute little ankle boots, her golden hair shone under the warm lights strung up in the square. She looked like a freaking vision and instantly she made me feel like the ugly duckling again.

“Congratulations on Winnie’s lead role,” she said, over-the-top sweet again. The syrupy smile on her face was contradicted by the ice in her eyes, though. I had no idea why she was even pretending. “Clancy is crushed not to have gotten it. I just hope Winnie can perform on the day.”

I frowned, really not liking the way she’d said it. Almost like it’d been a threat. Taking a step closer to her, I folded my arms and cocked my head, looking her right in the eyes. “What is your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem.” She batted her lashes innocently before sending me a cold, pitying smile. “I wouldn’t give someone like you a single thought, actually. Let alone to give you enough thought to develop a problem with you.”

I saw the malice glinting in her eyes as she stepped forward, though. Holding my gaze, that fake-ass smile spread a little bit wider. “It’s so nice having Hawk back in town, isn’t it? The prom king to my prom queen. We were so perfect together.”

“Maybe you should go tell your husband that,” I said snidely, immediately ashamed of myself for sinking to her level, but fuck this bitch.

Feeling horrible about the encounter as well as my own behavior, I stared at her for another beat. When she opened her mouth to speak again, I ignored her. Instead of waiting for her response, I turned and stormed off, deciding to just go home.

“Sutton!” Hawk called to me from somewhere, but I didn’t even bother to turn and look. “Hey, where are you going? I’m sorry I’m late.”

Footsteps crunched on the dry leaves behind me. Suddenly, he was there, his voice light and easy as he fell into step beside me. “Emery and the boys kept me for a minute, but seriously, where are you even going?”

I felt his gaze on the side of my face as I kept looking straight ahead. My hands were in fists at my sides as I continued my march away from the market. “Sutton? Are you okay? What happened? You look really upset.”

“Of course, I’m upset.” I spun to face him, my heart shattering as I looked into those clear blue eyes. I’d known it was coming, though. I’d simply thought I had more time. “Why are you even talking to me, Hawk? What changed that suddenly made you want to be around me again? In public, no less.”

His lips popped open and his jaw slackened, but I’d only just hopped onto my high horse. There was a lot more where that had come from.

“I’m still the nerdy girl with my head constantly in books,” I snapped, breathing hard. I took in his windblown dark hair and the hurt suddenly flickering in his eyes. I wished I could stop myself but I couldn’t.