Page 39 of Wanting Happily Ever After

He absolutely had to agree. It was amuchbetter idea than looking for an investor, and it might just be the little bit of extra income he needed to keep things going in the right direction. Over the next few minutes while they bashed out some more details, Brody was even happier that he’d stopped in to the Hub. There was definitely some good juju rubbing off. Now, if he could just keep that going, he might actually have some luck getting through to Sarah.

ChapterTwelve

“Hey, kiddo.”Sarah’s dad greeted her with a hug when she arrived to pick up Rory. “Did you have an okay day?”

She tried to nod, but couldn’t even muster up the energy to lie to her dad. Instead, she offered him a lame shrug. “It was…well…let’s just say that I’m looking forward to today being over.”

Ed nodded knowingly and pressed his lips together. “I thought it might be a hard day for you today.”

Sarah stopped short as she walked into the kitchen, where Rory was coloring at the table.Why would her dad think today would be hard? There was no way he could know about Brody and…

She swallowed hard and gave Rory a kiss on the top of her head. For the next few minutes, she let her daughter tell her all about her day and what she’d been up to with her grandfather. But even while she listened to Rory recount their adventures in staining the deck and picking blackberries down by the river, Sarah couldn’t shake off her dad’s comment.

Finally, when Rory excused herself to go out to the yard to kick her soccer ball, Sarah looked across the table to her dad. “Why did you think today would be hard?”

The look he gave her was full of fatherly concern. “It’s July 12,” he said softly. When she didn’t immediately react, he added, “Sarah, today is your—”

“Wedding anniversary.” She dropped her chin to her chest as everything made sense. The heaviness she’d been feeling all day. It had been more than the stress of everything that had happened with Brody. Of course it had been more.

Oh God.

How could she have forgotten?

She shook her head gently and looked up. “I totally forgot. Well,” she added quickly at the look on her dad’s face, “I didn’t forgetforget.But it explains a lot about why I’m feeling so off today, I think.”

Ed nodded gently. “Kiddo, I still feel it on your mother’s and mine anniversary. It’s been a long, long time, but I can still remember that day like it was yesterday. Standing next to the love of my life and promising forever was the best day of my life. I’ll cherish it always.”

Sarah watched her dad carefully. “Why didn’t you ever date after she died, Dad?”

The question was unexpected for both of them. She hadn’t any intention of ever asking him about his love life. They weren’t close like that. But it suddenly seemed important.

Across the table, Ed took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. “Honestly?”

“Of course.”

“I was satisfied.”

It wasn’t the answer she’d expected. Sarah tilted her head in question. “Satisfied?”

His face softened while he spoke. “With your mother, I’d experienced my greatest love. I knew I had been loved so deeply and so completely by her that I’d never be able to find anything that came close. Anything else would be second best, and I didn’t want anything that wasn’t everything. Does that make sense?”

It did. But not for the reasons her dad would have expected. “I think so…”

“I expected as much.” He grinned. “It was the same for you and Josh.”

The comment took her off guard. Instinctively, she shook her head.

“I understand,” he continued. “That’s why you’ve never wanted to—”

“No.” She stopped him.

“No?”

Guilt and confusion flooded through her. She was a strong woman. A woman who didn’t allow herself to give in to emotions. But when it came to this issue, she was a complete and total mess, and it was starting to piss her off. “Josh and I didn’t have the same thing that you and Mom did, Dad.” She shook her head as he started to speak again. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved Josh very much. But it wasn’t the complete and totally consuming type of love that you and Mom shared. We never had that.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again as Sarah came to a decision of her own.

“You know what, Dad? Would you mind Rory hanging out here a bit longer? I think there’s something I need to do.”

---