Page 98 of Mr. Big Shot

“Scarlett, wait.”

She stops and shifts out of her brother-in-law’s grasp. Nyles looks back at Scarlett, then sees me. His brows shoot up in understanding and he leaves her there, following the crowd to where Conrad and Hannah are getting ready to cut their cake.

Scarlett and I have been left all alone in the center of the dance floor. It’s not my location of choice. I could ask her if she’d like to come talk to me somewhere else, somewhere more private, but then I run the risk of a million things getting in our way.

She doesn’t realize what I’ve already had to go through to get here. For the better part of two weeks, I’ve tried to reconcile my feelings and build the courage to actually act on them. Tonight is the night, though I couldn’t have picked a worse occasion. Scarlett is part of the wedding; she has a role to play, a place to occupy. This is the first time I’ve had her completely to myself all evening.

A moment ago, I was panicked that the opportunity to talk to her had passed me by. I almost took the coward’s way out. I dipped out of the ballroom to get some air, to continue the back-and-forth argument in my head. It wasn’t an argument over how I feel about Scarlett; that’s set in stone. It’s everything else that’s the issue.

I came back from outside to find Scarlett’s parents talking with Lucy near the ballroom doors. I didn’t even pause, didn’t think.

“Have you seen Scarlett?” I asked the group.

Katherine frowned and shook her head. “I thought she was on the dance floor a moment ago.”

Anders looked over his shoulder, searching for his daughter. “Is it something for work?” he asked. “I could—”

I turned to him, stared him boldly in the eye, and tossed away my future at Elwood Hoyt, not with a gentle remark but with a bold finality. “No. It’s not work-related. Sir—Mr. Elwood. I’m in love with your daughter.”

Katherine gasped.

Lucy laughed with delight.

Anders just smiled, no shock evident at all.

Then he nodded approvingly. “Okay then.”

Okay then!?

I forged ahead. “I understand this is a bit unorthodox and it’s nothing that I planned—”

Anders held up his hand. “This is partly my fault.”

Katherine gaped at her husband. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“I did this,” he said, straightening his bowtie with a smug smile.

“You what?” Suddenly I sounded angry.

“Oh relax. I didn’t do anything nefarious. I played Cupid, put you two in each other’s path. It was my hope that you would come to care for each other. I love my daughter more than…well more than most everything on earth, and I wasn’t going to let her end up with a man like Jasper.” He shuddered at the thought.

“Why would you want her to be with me?” I asked, frowning in confusion.

Anders looked at me with an expression made of pity and maybe even a little humor. “I can’t think of a better man for her.”

Katherine clutched her chest. “I can’t believe this. I really cannot believe this.” Then to me, “Does Scarlett know!?”

I stiffened. “Not yet. No.”

“Well what the hell are you waiting for?” Anders asked me. “Why are you standing around talking to us?”

And so I went to find Scarlett on the dance floor. I wrapped her up in my arms and held her one more time before everything changed for better or worse.

Now, she looks at me expectantly, worry eclipsing every other feeling.

“I need to speak with you,” I tell her.

“Now?”

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