I pulled it slowly over my head, taking in the soft scent of him on the sweater, and wrapped my arms around myself, comforted by the loose fabric. I wanted to thank him, but Connor just stared straight ahead as we left the apartment, and he didn’t look over at me again until we were inside the car.
Nora drove us quickly to our destination and we sat in silence, slowly waking up. A few cars were sitting on the street already, and I smiled at the soft Christmas lights of Harlow’s Coffee, glittering warmly in the early morning’s gloomy glow. A soft rain had begun to fall all around us, spreading like a fog over the city and quickly dampening my hair.
Connor opened a crisp black umbrella and held it over me thoughtfully as we made our way across the street to the cafe, jogging through the misting rain. He looked over at me when we reached the door, his eyebrows raised in question. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t quite sure what it was just yet. He opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it once again. “Anything I should know about all of this before we go in? I want to be ready, you know?”
“Uh, well,” I hesitated, thinking it over just in case. “I haven’t had a boyfriend in a long time so my sister-in-law and my brother might be a little bit—"
“Suspicious about it? About me?” Connor asked, wavering, his long hand on the cold doorknob. His tawny eyebrows were pulled together in confusion, and I knew he was wondering how he should convince my family of his involvement with me.
I snorted out a laugh at that, shaking my head in amusement. “No, they might be excited.”
The crackling warmth from the little side fireplace cast the front room in a golden glow of soft light and fluttering shadows. Various customers lounged in the well-worn velvet chairs and the reading room’s couches, worn books dangling from one hand and a coffee mug in the other. The polished front counter ahead was clear, and I watched Oliver as he placed delicate, beautifully made, raspberry tarts on wax paper inside the clear glass display case. His apron was lightly dusted with flour and sticky dough, and his hair was covered in a coating of flurry white as well. Connor shook off his umbrella and set it aside, pulling my coat off my shoulders and hanging it by the door for me. The soft patter of rain outside brought murky fog over the windows, and the flickering fireplace brought a soft contented feeling to my mind. I thought again of Elias’s attempt to take this place and I knew I would do anything to stop it from happening, whatever it took.
“Oh Sadie, we’ve decided on a baby name—" Rose rushed over from where she had been re-shelving books, and she paused when she saw Connor. He looked down at her belly and then back up at her, reaching out a hand for her to shake in a friendly way.
“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Connor Lennox, Sadie’s new boyfriend,” Connor said, keeping his voice level in a way that impressed me. My heart jumped a little at the word boyfriend, though I tried to ignore my body’s ridiculous reaction. Connor’s flaxen hair glimmered with raindrops and his eyes were bright. I could see Rose as she looked him over, giving me an approving wink when she finished scanning him like a bag of potatoes at the market.
“Rose Harlow,” she said proudly, one hand on her rounded belly. She shook his hand once, squeezing his fingers, and then let it go. “Your soon-to-be sister-in-law.”
Connor let out a nervous laugh and I choked, thinking suddenly that when it was all over, I would feel bad to have brought someone around my family just to tear him away for the sake of reality TV. I hoped that it wouldn’t hurt them as much as I thought. They didn’t really know him anyway. Neither did I, for that matter. I quickly pushed those thoughts away and hid my discomfort with a burst of laughter. It was crazy to think about what we were trying to pull off.
“Rosie, let’s not jinx it,” Oliver called brightly from behind the counter where he was gathering up sweets. He shut the glass display case and jogged over to us, clapping Connor on the back like they were old friends meeting up for the first time in years.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Connor. Rose honey—you should sit down. You’ve been on your feet all morning walking around. It can’t be good for the baby, all that movement.”
Rose rolled her eyes fondly at her husband, tucking her dark braid over her shoulder and patting it down. “I’m fine, Oli. I told you, okay? Chill out, will you? Let’s just go sit and talk, we need to get to know Sadie’s new main squeeze, don’t we?” Rose snatched at Connor’s long fingers without warning and tugged us both quickly into a leather booth that was farther away from the fireplace, but still warm enough.