5. Allie

5

ALLIE

W hile Hans brews the coffee, he hands me his phone.

My hands tremble as I push the numbers to call Dad.

“Who’s this?” he answers gruffly on the first ring.

“Dad, it’s me.”

There’s silence for a long heartbeat, and I hear the sound of a door closing. “Allie? Your mother is going nuts over here looking for you.”

His voice is low, and I let out a long sigh of relief. He’s giving me a chance to explain myself before telling Mom I’m on the line.

“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t go through with it, Dad.”

He’s quiet for a long time. “Dad?” I finally say, “are you angry with me?”

He lets out a long sign. “Not angry, sweetheart. You should have told me.”

“I couldn’t,” I say. “Not with Mom around.”

He grunts into the phone. I haven’t told Dad the truth, the reasons for marrying Ryan that made me think I could go through with it. But he knows what my mother is like. He was married to her.

“Is she very angry?”

“Well, she broke one of the vases in the cabin and yelled at the wedding planner.”

I cringe as he tells me. My mother has a temper on her, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of it right now.

“Where are you, Allie Cat?”

I glance around Hans’s bedroom where I’m taking the call for some privacy. It’s a plain room with navy blue duvet on the bed, a bachelor’s cabin.

“I’m safe, Dad. I’m with a friend.”

“Are you indoors? They think this storm is going to be a bad one.”

“Yes. I’ve got a fire going and a hot drink. I’m fine. But Dad, I don’t want to come back yet. I can’t face Mom when she’s like that.”

He sighs down the phone. “If you’ve got shelter, then I suggest you stay for an hour or so. Your mother isn’t being reasonable right now.”

“How about Ryan?”

“Last I saw, he was drinking at the bar. Poor boy looked relived to tell you the truth. It’s his parents who are as angry as your mother.”

It makes me feel a little better to know Ryan isn’t taking it badly. Maybe he was forced into this as much as I was.

“Okay. I’m going to stay here for a few hours. Then I’ll come back and face the music.”

“Who’s the friend you’re with?” Dad asks.

I don’t want to tell him about Hans. My Dad’s protective of me, and he’s likely to hunt him down if he thinks his little girl will be compromised.

No chance of that, not with the cold way Hans has been treating me.

“It’s not Chloe, is it?” Dad mentions my best friend who said she’d be here for the wedding, but her flights got delayed. She’s been in France for the last year, and I miss her like crazy.

I frown at the mention of Chloe. I’ve hardly heard from her in the past few months. She’s been vague when I message her and won’t pick up a video chat. But I’ve been so caught up in the wedding that I haven’t had time to figure out what’s wrong.

“No, not Chloe.”

“Okay.” Dad sounds mildly disappointed, which is weird. I guess he’d rather I have a friend right now.

“I’m okay, Dad. I’m going to hang out here until the dust settles, and then I’ll come back to the cabin.”

“I’ll call this number if I need to get ahold of you. I love you, Allie Cat. Remember that.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

I finish the call feeling much better. Whatever happens, I’ve got Dad on my side. It’s just Mom I have to worry about. But not yet. I’ll hide here for a few hours, play board games, drink coffee, and go back once she’s had a chance to calm down.

It’s just Hans I have to face here. He’s angry with me for some reason. It was stupid of me to think it would be any other way. I’m just an annoying tourist who messed up his day. Whatever connection we had two years ago is completely severed.