Page 13 of Holiday Intercepted
Scott shook his head. “I tried. But this is ridiculous, Taylor. We’rebrothers. You feel alone in this world, but you don’t have to. Let me be yourbrother—”
“Be my brother? You couldn’t even be my friend, Scott!” I slammed the empty whiskey glass onto the counter and looked around as the entire dining table turned to look in our direction. “Fuck,” I muttered, running my hands through my hair then clamped them to my hips. “My senior year, I lost my mom to cancer. I lost Tiffany to my dad of all people. I damn near lost my scholarship. And I lost my bestfriend.”
Scott shook his head and his eyes filled with moisture. “You always saw it that way. That you lost a friend… but really, you could have gained a brother, if you had letyourself.”
“It was a lot to digest,” I sneered. I hated that this still had so much power over me. That Scott’s lies still affected me so much. “Maybe we’ll get there someday, but I don’t see that happening any timesoon.”
Scott tossed his hands into the air and they fell to his sides with a loud clap. “Fine. You won’t see me the rest of the weekend. I’m not going on the ski trip and I’ll skip the tree lighting. Hell, I’m not even coming to work tomorrow anyway, so the inn is your territory thisweekend.”
“Wait,” I snapped. “You workhere?”
Scott paused for what felt like an eternity, spinning to face me. “I own the place,” hesaid.
I stumbled back, shaking my head. “Is that why they comped my room? It was actuallyyoudoingthat?”
He shrugged. “I was trying to make amends in any way I could. And since you didn’t want to talk or seeme—”
I closed my eyes briefly, hating that we were stealing focus from Cam and Lydia’s big day. “We can’t do this here,” I whispered. “Nottonight.”
I tried to walk past him, but Scott moved in my way, blocking me. “Then when? Because if not now, it’ll never happen. You know it and I sure as hell know it,too.”
I sighed, wishing I could completely numb the pain so I didn’t have to think, or feel any of these old wounds rip open. The whiskey wasn’t doing its damn job. I backed away from Scott, from the bar, from the party. “I can’t stay here tonight,” I said. “Scott… I know that what my dad and your mom did isn’t your fault. I don’t blame you for my dad’s indiscretions. I don’t hate you, even though I know it seems like I do. It’s just too painful. I’ll never understand how someone who claimed to be my friend since childhood could lie to me foryears.”
Scott sighed and as I turned to walk away, Paige was standing there in front of me. Her ice blue eyes were tilted in concern and she stood in front of closed doors, blocking us off from the dining room. I froze and watched as her breath hitched her chesthigher.
From behind me, Scott said, “Well, I’ll never understand how someone could leave town and abandon his best friends for twelve years. Forget about me. You disappeared on Cam and Steve. We’ve all screwed up… just don’t stand there and think you’re blameless in allthis.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing all the ways I fucked up in the last twelve years. “I know I’m not blameless,” Iwhispered.
