Scars Like Ours | Red View Romance #2

🍂 Six

As she followed Kenzie upstairs, all Annie could do was hope her face wasn't too red--and that if it was, her friend wouldn't notice.

It took every ounce of self control not to look back, not to get another glance at the man who'd appeared before her in the doorway. Cliff McAden, a man who was nothing like she imagined he might be.

Knowing his brothers, she'd expected someone similar, imagined some older mix of the two. He was a pianist, and for some reason she'd thought that meant he'd have as prim of an appearance as Jack, and a suave, undeniable confidence like Dawson.

Instead, the man who stood there and stammered over hello looked rugged and unkempt with unruly hair and a tattered flannel shirt. And his face...

The scars had been the most unexpected thing of all--none of the McAden's had mentioned anything about it. She knew she'd been staring, but even now as the embarrassment dawned on her, she couldn't blame herself. He was beautiful, and she found herself wanting to touch, to feel the thick, raised lines that ran jagged across the left side of his face.

The most prominent went down from the bridge of his nose to his jaw, seconded and intersected by another that marked all the way from his chin to his temple, cutting through his lips. Among them were several smaller, darker scars, which roughly contrasted the smooth, empty plane beside his chin--the largest scar of them all, and yet the easiest to miss.

Constellations was the word that came to her mind, as strange as she knew it was. His skin reminded her of the sky she'd spent hours studying as a teenager in her grandparents backyard. She thought both sights would be impossible to ever grow tired of.

The healed wounds were juxtaposed by the quiet, yet complete maleness of his hooded eyes and roman nose. She wasn't prepared for him, or the way her heart fluttered when they locked gazes. How badly had she fumbled over her words? Had he noticed the flush on her face?

As nonchalantly as she could, she eyed the family photos that lined the wall of the staircase and searched for Cliff. The scars were absent in every picture, even the ones where he was an adult--probably older than she was now, she realized.

He'd looked more like Kenzie than either of the twins, youthful and with the same hazel eyes. A face that had once been gentle and quietly handsome had been turned into something tough and intimidating--and yet she found herself more drawn to the man she'd met than the one in the pictures. She supposed it was the mystery, the intrigue. Or maybe it was just the fact that she wanted to keep looking at him.

Whatever the reason, it was a pointless feeling to have. He was handsome, accomplished, and completely out of her reach. He'd likely never be interested in a woman so plain, so awkward and inexperienced.

This was a man who was worldly, talented, and incredible to look at. He probably had the sophisticated women of Amsterdam hanging on every note he ever played. She pictured him impressing them with a pang of jealousy and fought to clear her mind of the image as she followed Kenzie into the master bedroom.

"Layla's already tried hers on, and she loves it, but Mom is still working on Gabby's," Kenzie explained as she shut the door behind them. "I was nervous at first about the different silhouettes, but I think once I see the three of you together, I'll know it was the right choice."

Wanting her bridesmaids to feel their best, Kenzie had opted to let them pick out their own dress styles, all in the same pale lilac color. Annie wasn't so sure it mattered for her--in fact, her decision had been made only with the help and opinions of her new friends. She didn't have the first idea about what sort of dress looked best on her, and was prone to think that none looked good to begin with.