A Chesapeake Shores Christmas Read Online Free PDF

preamble. “I’ll meet you at the coffee shop on the corner in ten minutes.”
    “I can’t. I have an appointment with a new client in an hour.”
    “This won’t take long,” Mick said grimly. “I’ll talk and you can listen.”
    Of course, that was an optimistic outlook. Connor had never once suffered a lecture in silence. Those strong opinions of his were bound to surface. Still, Mick wanted to clear the air and make a few things plain. His son might be a grown man, but Mick still ran the family. He was due a little respect of his own.
    Connor was already waiting at a table with two cups of coffee by the time Mick had found a parking place and walked the two blocks to the crowded little café. “Parking in this city is a nuisance,” he grumbled as he sat.
    “Is that why you wanted to see me,” Connor inquired, “to complain about the parking in downtown Baltimore?”
    Mick frowned at the sarcasm. “You know perfectly well it’s not. We need to discuss the wedding.”
    Connor looked as if he was ready to launch into another diatribe, so Mick cut him off before he could get started.
    “You will not interfere,” Mick told him flatly. “You don’t have to approve of it. You don’t have to like it. But you will stay out of it.” He leveled a hard look into his son’s eyes. “And you will show up for the ceremony with a smile on your face. Is that understood?”
    Connor gave him a knowing look. “Mom’s talking about postponing, isn’t she?”
    “That’s not an option,” Mick said forcefully.
    “But I got to her yesterday and now she’s having second thoughts,” Connor said with a triumphant note. “Good for her.”
    Mick regarded him with sorrow. “Do you care nothing for my feelings?”
    Connor looked shocked by the question. “Of course I do! Dad, can’t you see that I’m trying to protect you? You’ve gotten all caught up in sentiment. You’re not thinking clearly.”
    Mick was none too pleased by his son’s determination to interfere, to say nothing of his confidence that only he knew what was best for his parents. “Connor, I’m a grown man. I don’t need looking after, no matter how well-intentioned it might be. I love your mother. I always have. God’s seen fit to give me a second chance with her, and I won’t let you or anyone else take that away from us.”
    “She’ll break your heart again,” Connor predicted.
    “I don’t believe that, but if it happens, so be it.”
    “You can’t mean that. The last time she left, it almost destroyed you. It almost ruined our entire family.”
    “I thought Bree was the one in the family with a flair for drama,” Mick chided. “What happened was devastating for all of us, no question about it. But look at Abby, Bree and Kevin today. They’re all happily married. Jess has a thriving business she loves. And even you have found your life’s work. We’re more tight-knit as a family than we have been in years.”
    “All of that’s in spite of Mom, not because of her.”
    “Maybe so, but we can hardly claim that what she did ruined our lives. It shaped us, to be sure. It changed her, as well—for the better, I think. She’s stronger and more independent.”
    “You almost sound as if you approve of that,” Connor said.
    “Well, of course I do. I made your mother very unhappy. I wasn’t the partner she needed. I think we’re a better match today than we were back then.”
    “Just how long do you think it will take before this independent streak of hers gets on your nerves?” Connor asked.
    Mick chuckled. “It already has. More than once, in fact. That doesn’t mean it’s not for the best. None of this is your worry, son. All we need from you is your blessing, even if you disagree with the choice we’re making.”
    Looking genuinely distressed, Connor shook his head. “I can’t do it, Dad. Not when this marriage has disaster written all over it. I’ve already told Mom I’m going to draw up a prenuptial