Chapter 8

Eight

JUSTIN

T his is definitely not my scene. January told me that I could hide upstairs and she’d take care of everything, but I felt the need to be there. It does have my name attached to it: Grant’s Ice Inn Grand Reopening.

My cheeks ache from how many fake smiles I have supplied today. It’s been a great relief to have Carson Cash here, only because he brought some helpers to serve and wait on people. Only downfall of his attendance is that he keeps following me around and asking annoying questions.

“So, how much, then?” Shoving a double of oak barrel whiskey in my hand, he smiles with a shine in his eye.

“Told you. Not for sale. It will remain with the Grants from now until forever.” Like a moth to a flame, my eyes are drawn to the beautiful creature across the room from me. I take in her red dress and lipstick, but mainly her belly… wondering if it’s already filled with my child. She gives me a wink and continues to mingle with guests, showcasing the rooms and features of each.

“You can see, I’ll provide all the services you need. You can keep the name and all of that?—”

“Carson? You can’t control me. You aren’t quarterback anymore.”

His mouth snaps shut. But it crawls into a sly grin as he places his hand on my shoulder. “Fine, fine. But if you change your mind…”

“If I change my mind, you’ll be one of the last people I call.” Yeah, I was his center when we played together at Crystal Frond High School just down the road. Took state our sophomore year. He got a bad shoulder injury and never went on after that.

Fortunately, his wife pulls him away, and I turn to grab some shrimp cocktail from the buffet. Heat lights up my skin as someone throws daggers at my back. When I turn around, a guy about my age, looking irate, stands in front of me with a woman hovering near his side.

“So, you’re the man that’s kept my daughter away from home.”

“Uh… Are you January’s father?”

His arms cross, and his fists curl up like he wants to hit me, but he’s so small, he stands a good foot beneath me. “Yes. Yes, I am. We didn’t know she was staying here for a month . The plan was for her to visit for a wedding and return home. She told us the roads were blocked. Is that even true?”

“Yes, Dad, they were! I told you.” Her tiny arm snakes around my back, and I freeze, not exactly sure what I should do. “Dad, this is Justin Grant, the owner of this place… and my boyfriend.”

My eyes widen at her forwardness, especially when her parents’ jaws drop as they take a second look at me. Her dad’s cheeks flame red, and her mother’s knuckles turn white as they grasp his bicep tighter. “January, I knew this would be an issue. Get in the car, now . This-this man is too old to be your boyfriend. What are you, forty-five? My age?”

Swallowing, I use my free hand to stroke my beard. January’s big blue eyes glance up at me, waiting for me to respond. But I can’t speak.

“Justin?” she asks in a tiny voice, as if she wants me to talk with her father. Maybe ask his permission? But he’s right. This is awkward and weird. Now that I see them here, the reality of our age difference hits me in the face.

“I’m forty-two. She, January, she was a good employee this month. I really appreciated her hard work and dedication to the job. That was, uh, the most helpful thing for me.”

January’s little hand slips back and she gapes at me. “I was more than that?—”

“Huh, well, she should be a hard worker. It’s how we taught her. She’ll be leaving now. January, get your things.”

She glances up at me with some wetness in her eyes. Everything in me says to grasp her and tell her father that she’s mine now. That I’ll make her an honorable woman… But I feel so small for the first time in my life. Incapable. Ineffectual.

Maybe Kimberley was right to leave me, just like January’s doing now.

As the three wander away, I stop her father for a moment. “I-I need to pay her still.”

He turns to face me a moment with a sneer. “Disgusting. She’s worth more than that. The work you’re paying her for… We’re taking her home and back to school where she belongs.”

My hands thread through my hair and tug on the ends in frustration. Dare I let her go? I don’t know that I can anymore. If she goes, what’s the point of living? This place? Here by myself with guests coming and going? What if she’s pregnant with our child now?

This isn’t at all what I wanted.

Snagging a fork off the table, I hurry to the fireplace hearth and stand on it, making my height probably over seven feet tall. Despite the butterflies in my stomach and the sweat pouring down my back, I raise the glass and clink on it with the utensil. Slowly, the conversations around the room die down. Even January and her parents pause on their way to her room to look up at me.

“Hello, everyone. I said I wouldn’t make any announcements because it’s not my thing. But you all have known me my whole life, so here goes. I thank you for coming, but this party isn’t just about the reopening of Grant’s Ice Inn… it’s about melting my heart. Making it bloom with the ability to love again. Only one creature could do that, and she’s in this room. It’s sudden and very soon, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the woman standing over there is the one I’m going to marry. No matter how many hurdles we have to climb. I want to do it together. January? Will you marry this old man?”

A beam of sunshine covers her face as she sprints through the murmuring crowd toward me. “Yes! Yes!” She’s panting by the time she reaches me and takes a giant leap until I catch her in my arms. Her legs wrap around my waist and we kiss.

The crowd sighs happily, then cheers us on.

Pulling back from her lips, I say so only she can hear, “I’m sorry to throw that on you on the spur of the moment, but I wanted your dad to hear it from me that way. I couldn’t let you go.”

Her parents stand near the base of the hearth when I set my woman down and take a step closer to them. “Sir, I’m in love with your daughter. Yes, I’m older than her, but I’ll take good care of her.”

“And I’ll take care of you,” she says, not letting go of my hand. “Dad, I’m an adult now. I get to decide what I want, and I want to stay here running Grant’s Inn with my fiancé.”

Her mother moves forward and pats my hand where it holds her daughter’s. “Welcome to the family, Justin. We are glad to meet you. Maybe we’ll stay an extra week to get to know each other better. Right, dear ?” she asks pointedly at January’s father.

He grumbles a reply, but finally looks at me without vehemence and nods. “Yes, that would be good, I think.”

Maybe I won’t win him over immediately, but I’ll try for my girl’s sake. She smiles up at me as if I just gave her the best present she’s ever had. But her winning over my heart with her sunshine was the best anyone’s ever given me.

“I love you, Mr. Grant.”

Pressing my lips to her forehead, I smile. “I love you, snowflake.”