Page 69 of Trash the Dress

He makes it to the door this time. “Zander, where are you going?” I ask.

He stops but barely casts a glance over his shoulder. “I think we need some time apart. I’ll call your parents to come over, but then I’m going to High Road for a while. I’ll come back and see Atlas every day and check on you, but I think we need some time to regroup, and you need to figure out what it is you want from me,” he says.

“I know what I want, but I don’t know how to overcome my fears that you’ll hurt me. I can’t survive you breaking my heart,” I rush out.

“I told you with love comes risk. The stakes are high. You have to decide if you can put both our pasts behind us, or if you’re going to throw us in the trash like you did your last wedding dress.”

“Tell me how to put the past behind us when yours tries to sabotage me…us at every turn?”

He smiles sadly. “You trust me to take care of it, Scarlett. I told you I’d keep your heart safe. But I can’t do that if you don’t give me the chance to—if you haven’t really even given it to me to protect.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Zander

Shawn and Sally Shepard arrive with Scarlett’s best friend, Anna, in tow.

Scarlett and I didn’t speak after I made her talk to me when she showered earlier today. I waited until her parents arrived to get ready to leave.

But before I did, I kissed Atlas and whispered to him how much I love him before handing him back to Scarlett. I glanced at her as she stared at me with red-rimmed eyes.

It guts me knowing the tears she’s cried the last few hours are because of me, but we’re at an impasse. If she can’t trust me, we have a foundation filled with gaping holes, not just cracks.

I hug Scarlett and kiss her forehead before turning away and grabbing my duffel bag from the floor. I can’t linger for long because I’ll stay. I packed a few changes of clothes; I plan to crash on my couch in my office at the bar.

I nod at her parents and best friend and then start out the front door. As I’m about to reach my truck, I hear footsteps behind me. “Zander, a word?”

It’s her dad, Shawn. Things may have started off rocky when we told them about the baby, but when they explained their story, it made a little more sense. And they’ve been very close to Scarlett once those bridges were mended.

I open my truck door and toss my duffel in before turning to face Shawn. “Sure.”

“Look, I know you don’t want me to butt in where I’m not wanted, but please be patient with my little girl. The last year has been a lot on her, on both of you. The hormones in pregnancy and even well after can affect her emotions and the way she responds to things. And I’m sure you know that. But I see the way you look at her. I know you love her, so don’t give her up because it’s not as easy as you thought it would be.”

I reach into my pocket and pull out a black velvet ring box. “I have no plans to give her up. Scarlett and Atlas are my world, but I can’t do this if she doesn’t trust me.”

He nods. “I understand. And I don’t know much about what happened to you, but I know it was similar to what happened to her. I also know you’ve had quite a bit more time to recover from it than she has. Think about it from her perspective.”

“I am. That’s why I’m staying away for a few days to let her clear her head. I don’t want to be without them for even a second. But she needs space from me to figure this thing out for herself. The ball is in her court,” I tell him and open my truck door again.

Before I close the door, he says, “I can respect that. But don’t stay away too long or lead her on. The protective instincts you feel for Atlas are the same ones I feel for my little girl and my grandson.”

I nod in understanding, but he stops me one more time. “By the way, you have my blessing to marry my daughter. If you can get past this hurdle, I think this wedding will be the one thatsticks,” he says before walking back into my house to stay with the woman I love and our son.

The first nightwithout Scarlett and Atlas is torture. She sent me a video of him sleeping and texted me goodnight and she missed me. I told her the same. Because I do with every breath I take and every beat of my heart.

I’ve second-guessed my choice to stay at the bar at least a dozen times last night and a dozen more today. Dad keeps giving me a look that seems to be a mix between sympathy and frustration. I’ve asked him his opinion, but only told him the bare minimum details.

I think he sees why I’m here instead of at home where my heart is, but he’s also irritated at the situation enough to have called my mom. She dropped in a few times to check on me, but she made it clear I better take my butt back home where I belong in a couple more days. I love that they love her and Atlas the way they do. I knew they’d be great at being grandparents, but seeing the love they have for Scarlett is something else. She’s not just some woman to them, she’s the one that gave them everything too when she brought Atlas into this world and saved their son from a loveless existence.

It’s Thursday and the dinner rush is almost over, so I decide to take a break and head to my office. I’m about to check my messages, but realize I left my phone in the kitchen where Dad is. I talked to Scarlett earlier, but it’s past time to check in again.

I start for my office door after grabbing a bottle of water out of my mini fridge but stop short when Vivian fills my doorway. “Hi, Zander. I was hoping to catch you.”

“What do you want?” I say through gritted teeth.

She starts to touch my face, but I sidestep away from her.

“Don’t be that way. I’ve missed you. I miss us. I told you before I wouldn’t give up,” she says in a voice that I used to long to hear but now I find downright whiny.

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