Page 46 of Choosing Happily Ever After

“I heard you,” her sister responded. “I’m just choosing to ignore you. Now hurry up.”

Hope shook her head and looked again in the mirror. The wedding dress fit her perfectly. She’d tied her hair back in a simple knot, and put on a little makeup. She looked like a bride.

And maybe that was the whole problem. She looked like a bride, but she definitely wasn’t one.

Which was the point of the game, she supposed. But now that she was all dressed up, the game no longer seemed as fun as it had when they were kids. Now, knowing she’d likely neverreallybe a bride, the game suddenly felt sad and depressing.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this.” Hope spoke into the mirror, no longer sure who exactly she was talking to. “Let’s just get—”

“No.” The bathroom door pushed open and Faith stood in the doorway, dressed in what could only be described as a rather sexy pantsuit with a very low-cut blouse beneath her jacket.

“What are you wearing?” Hope, momentarily distracted from her own reflection, took in her sister’s take ongroom.

“Just because I’m going to pretend to be the groom doesn’t mean I can’t look hot, too.” She put her hand on her hip and winked, making Hope laugh. “But damn, girl.Youlook amazing.” Faith slowly shook her head in awe as she took in her sister, making Hope feel self-conscious all over again. “It doesn’t matter how smokin’ the groom looks, does it? The bride will always steal the show.” Faith laughed. “Seriously, you look stunning. Are you ready?” Before Hope could protest again, because she really was starting to think that trying to reenact a silly game from when they were kids was ludicrous, Faith grabbed her hand and pulled her from the bathroom.

“What else do we need?”

“Are we really doing this?”

Faith nodded. “I said we would, and we will. All of it. Music, flowers, dancing, the whole bit.” Her sister crossed her arms and tried to look serious. “I’m a wedding planner now, you know? I have skills you haven’t even seen yet.”

Hope burst out laughing. “Oh, I believe it. I always knew you secretly loved the idea of all this.”

The smile on her sister’s face flickered and she looked away. “Here,” she said without looking at Hope. “Put your shoes on and I’ll get your veil sorted.”

Hope did as directed. She knew she’d hit a nerve with Faith. It was the same nerve she’d hit since they were kids, but Faith would never tell her why she’d all of a sudden stopped playing the wedding game with her, and why she’d gone from a little girl just as obsessed with all things love and marriage as she’d been, to a hard, disillusioned teenager who had grown up into a woman with a chip on her shoulder who kept everyone at arm’s length, seemingly overnight.

“Talk to me, Faith.” It was time for answers. “What happened? Why do you hate all of this so much?”

“I don’t hate it.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.”

Faith offered her a small smile over her shoulder and shrugged before turning around again.

“Tell me, what happened?” Hope pushed. “Why do you work so hard to convince everyone that you don’t care? Because I know you do. You must.”

Faith’s spine stiffened and she shook her head slightly.

“Faith?” Hope continued. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? We told each other everything. What happened, Faith?” She knew she was pushing and she was very aware that there was a very real risk of pushing too far, of Faith blowing up and walking away just the way she always did. Hell, Faith had moved to the city the first chance she got, so she didn’t have to face whatever it was that haunted her. But even with Faith’s history of running, Hope needed to try again to know what was going on. The way she should have years ago.

Finally, her sister turned around. “Does it matter?” she asked softly. “It was so long ago.”

Hope nodded. “Of course it does.” She reached for Faith’s hands. “You’re my sister, and I love you.”

A smile crossed Faith’s face. “And I love you. Which is why I’m not going to ruin our wedding day with this kind of talk.” She squeezed her hands in her own and laughed. “I promise there will be time to talk about all this later.”

“You do?”

Faith looked straight in her eyes. “I do.”

It was Hope’s turn to laugh. “Youhavebeen practicing. I’m impressed.”

“Don’t get used to it. This is a one-shot deal.” Faith affixed the veil to Hope’s head and lifted it gently down over her face. “Now, let’s go get this over with.”

Levi

As far as plans went, Levi’s was full of problems. Big ones.

---