Her sister looked stricken. “But you were using our parents as evidence. I thought—”
“You thought you knew better than I did, even though this is actually my relationship, my feelings.” She stepped closer to her sister. “And do you know what? If I’d had doubts, those would have been my responsibility and handling them would have been my responsibility, too. This is my life, and I’m allowed to feel the way I want to feel. And if I make a mistake and mess up, then that’s on me, too. And what qualifies you to think you know better than I do? When did you last fall in love?” She felt a flash of guilt as she saw the agony in her sister’s eyes.
“You’re right.” Katie’s words were barely audible. “I don’t know anything about love, but I know you.”
“You know one side of me, the side you think is vulnerable and needs protecting. You’ve asked a ton of questions, trying to find a reason why this is the biggest mistake ever, but you haven’t once asked me why I love him. I’m an adult, Katie, and yes, I have a tendency to change my mind about things, but that’s part of who I am. And by the way, I change my mind a lot less since I’ve been with Dan because he doesn’t make me doubt myself the whole time. Being with him is the best thing that has happened to me. I love him, and I won’t be changing my mind about that, but even if I do that has nothing to do with you. I don’t need you to make my decisions for me. And I don’t need you to question the ones I make.”
“You’re right. And I’m sorry. But our parents—”
“It doesn’t matter to me what’s happening with our parents. Their relationship is their business. I’ll love them and respect them whatever they decide. And my relationship is my business, and I expect you all to love me and respect me whatever I decide. You want to know why I let Catherine arrange the wedding? Because arranging the wedding is making her happy, and I like seeing her happy. Turns out that all the little details don’t matter to me. All that really matters to me is marrying Dan. I don’t care how or where. You’re worried that Dan and Catherine have been bulldozing me, but you’re the biggest bulldozer of them all. And before you say you’re mothering me, remember that there’s a single letter separating mother from smother. From now on if you want to interfere with a relationship, get one of your own.” She turned sharply and walked away, her legs shaking so badly from the encounter that it was challenging to put one foot in front of the other.
She was close to tears. She’d never confronted Katie before. This was her sister, her sister, whom she loved with her whole heart. And she’d hurt her, but she was hurting, too. Usually she avoided confrontation, but being with Dan had given her the confidence to believe in her opinions and stand up for herself. And although part of her wanted to run back to Katie and beg her forgiveness, she wasn’t going to do that. Katie had to respect her decisions, and right now her priority was Dan. Her relationship with Dan. She was willing to fight to protect that, even if doing so felt horrible.
She started to cry, but crying made it harder to walk fast and breathe, so she forced herself to calm down. There was no way she was going to have an asthma attack now, in this crucial moment of her life.
She had to talk to Dan, or even the fight with Katie would have been for nothing.
She arrived back at the lodge, only to find that he’d taken a snowmobile out on one of the trails.
She’d been hoping for a private conversation in a cozy, private place like the kitchen at Snowfall Lodge, but it seemed there was no chance of that.
Could he have made it more obvious that it was over between them?
Tears stung her eyes. How could he not want to talk to her?
They were supposed to be getting married in forty-eight hours. Surely he at least owed her a conversation?
She ignored the little voice in her head reminding her that her inability to talk to him was the reason they were in this mess.
She had to talk to him. She had to explain, and it couldn’t