Page 21 of Keeping Happily Ever After

Whyhadn’tshe thought of that before? They deserved to have a party. And it would be such a great way to ease Bella into the spotlight. Instantly, her mind started making lists.

“I don’t know.” Bella interrupted her train of thought. “The timing doesn’t feel right.” The smile fell from Bella’s face, but only momentarily.

Steph registered it as odd, but didn’t say anything. Her friend had been under a lot of stress in the last little while with her grandfather. She was probably just overwhelmed.

“Well, maybe later. Maybe a huge release party?” She offered Bella a little smile before clearing her throat.

“Maybe.”

“In the meantime…a cheers to you, Bella Burton. Remember this moment because it will be one of the last ones that you will go unrecognized. Soon, you will be a household name and one of the biggest stars in the entire world.”

Bella shook her head and giggled. “You’re ridiculous.” Her smile was genuine. “But thank you.” They clinked glasses and both of them drank.

Steph let the bubbles pop and dance in her mouth, enjoying the champagne the way she always did. It didn’t matter how many fancy functions she’d been to, or bottles that had been poured for her—she never grew tired of the simple decadence of bubbly.

“And thank you for all of your help,” Bella said a moment later. “I mean it. None of this would be happening without you, Steph. I really appreciate the way you’ve taken me under your wing and introduced me to Lewis and everything.”

Steph couldn’t help but laugh. “Sweetheart. None of this is happening because of me. Make no mistake about it. This is all you.”

When Bella shook her head, Steph insisted, “Really. I may have introduced you to Lewis, but it doesn’t matter who you know if you don’t have the talent to back it up. And you, my friend, have all the talent, plus some. You are ridiculously talented. I could introduce you to every single person in the industry, but if you weren’t…well…you…this wouldn’t be happening. So do not sell yourself short.” Steph put her glass down, clasped her hands together, and leaned across the table. “Seriously, though. You need to own this. All of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that this industry is tough. It will eat you alive if you don’t have a strong sense of self, Bella. You need to believe that you deserve every single thing that will be happening to you. You earned it and you will continue to earn it. You can’t doubt that, okay?”

Bella nodded. She ran her finger around the rim of her glass for a moment before looking up. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Always.”

Her friend’s smile was soft and shy. She bit her bottom lip, and even before she opened her mouth, Steph had a feeling she knew what she was going to ask. “How do you manage a relationship with all of this?” Bella waved her hand around the room and then laughed. “I don’t meanthis.But…”

“I know exactly what you mean.” She took a moment, trying to determine exactly how honest she should be. It was no secret that Bella and Jeremy were in a new relationship. It also wasn’t any secret that they both seemed to be absolutely crazy about the other. Steph wished she could tell her friend that it wasn’t a problem. That her fame would allow her the flexibility to balance her social life with her professional life easily. But that would be a lie. It wasn’t easy.

And it wasn’t just the relationship itself that could be hard to manage. Arguably the hardest part was the attention of the press and tabloids. Or more specifically, the rumors and lies and half-truths that they liked to publish. It affected even the strongest relationship. How could it not?

Add in the crazy schedules, the unpredictable hours, long days on set, months and months apart—it was a lot.

Having a healthy, normal relationship with her career was next to impossible.

There was one time Steph thought she’d beaten the odds herself. She’d been so sure movie star Dax Combs was meant to be her destiny. And in a way, he had been. When they’d first met, she’d been completely smitten with his attentions and the fact that he didn’t seem to care that she was more famous than he was. It had been a problem with men before. They were insecure or intimidated by Stephanie’s level of fame. In the past, she’d dated men who’d tried to unconsciously sabotage her career, encourage her not to take roles, or try to get her to skip parties and events that they couldn’t attend. But not Dax. He’d loved her fame, and he’d never seemed threatened by any of it.

Or so she’d thought.

In hindsight, Steph could see all the warning signs that things weren’t exactly how they seemed. But at the time, she hadn’t wanted to see any of it. Their engagement had made international news and they’d quickly become Hollywood’sitcouple. Everyone wanted to interview them, photograph them, and hire them.Bothof them. Steph’s star had risen even higher, and noticeably, so had Dax’s.

The wedding was set to be a massively anticipated affair, despite the fact that Steph didn’t want any of the pomp and circumstance. She would have been happy to keep it really small and intimate in a setting that took her breath away. Which was how she’d come to visit Glacier Falls and Ever After Ranch.

And even though the engagement hadn’t worked out—it turned out Dax was more interested in fame than he was with her specifically—it wasn’t a complete loss. Not at all. After all, if she’d never come to town, she never would have met her half-sisters or the rest of her new friends.

Things had a funny way of working out.

Too bad it wasn’t that easy for romantic relationships.

But she could see that Bella didn’t want to hear any of that. Instead, she smiled and told her as much of the truth as she thought she was prepared for. She shrugged and sat back in her chair. “It’s hard, Bella.”

“That’s it?” Bella opened her eyes wide and waited. “It’shard?”

“It is.”

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