Page 61 of Wanting Happily Ever After

Ed jumped in. “I was commending your young man for his heroic actions at the lake and saving my favorite girl.” He grinned. “Well, one of my favorite girls.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Sarah shook her head but there was a grin on her face.

“I also wanted to properly congratulate the two of you on your engagement.” Her father straightened his spine and cleared his voice, clearly uncomfortable with the show of emotion. “I know I wasn’t sure about…well…I may not have been totally supportive of…”

“It’s okay, Dad.”

“No.” Ed shook his head. “It’s not. I don’t think it was fair of me to compare myself with you. And seeing the two of you together and the love you clearly have for each other, well…” He swallowed hard. “It’s clear to anyone who looks at you that the two of you share something special. And I’m eternally thankful that you found each other.”

“I appreciate you saying that, Mr. Walker.”

He waved away Brody’s formality. “Ed. Call me Ed.” He wiped his hands together. “Now what do you say we go celebrate the couple of the hour?”

Before he could make his leave, Sarah threw her arms around her dad and squeezed. “Thank you, Dad,” she whispered into his ear. “I love you.”

“I love you too, kiddo.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

She watched as he walked away before turning to Brody and kissing him squarely on the lips.

“Not that I’m complaining,” he said with a laugh when she pulled away. “But what was that for?”

She looked him straight in the eye, and with more love and peace in her heart than she could have possibly imagined, she said, “For being my happy ever after.”

ChapterTwenty-One

It had turnedout to be a beautiful and simple wedding, and despite the lack of pomp and circumstance, it may have ended up being Faith’s favorite to date. After the ceremony, the small group of guests made their way back to the barn for appetizers and a few drinks. No cake to cut. No speeches except for a toast given by the fathers of each bride. And no dance, except for one shared by the happy couple while everyone held hands in a circle around them.

It really was all absolutely perfect for them.

Only a few guests still lingered, but Faith had retreated to a quiet corner of the barn to check her voicemail. There was only one message. And it was quite clear. There was no disputing the request. Still, she hit the button that would replay the message for the third time and listened to it again, still unable to believe her ears.

Ms. Turner.

This is Stephanie Starz. I wanted to reach out personally because I read the article on Weddings Weekly and I was so impressed. As you might have heard, I’m engaged to be married.

Everyone had heard! Stephanie Starz was one of the hottest and most in-demand movie stars in Hollywood. She hailed from a small Canadian town no one had heard of, which only made her a bigger star in Canada, and she had recently had a very public engagement to Dax Combs, an equally big, albeit maybe notquiteas big, movie star. Everyone knew about it.

I’ve been absolutely obsessed with planning the perfect wedding but I couldn’t find the right place. Until now! Ever After Ranch looks absolutely perfect for what we want and it’s even better because it’s obviously a lucky location.

Lucky? What the…

If both you and your sister can find your Prince Charming and fall in love when the odds are against you, that’s exactly the type of place I want to get married at and the people I want planning it. Talk about lucky twins.

Seriously?

Please reach out to my assistant so we can set up a time to come and visit. And I can’t wait to meet you and your man. I think we’ll all get along famously.

Nope. The message was still the same the third time she played it. What the actual fuck? Hollywood’s biggest couple wanted to get married at Ever After? With thelucky twinsorganizing? And Hope was going to lose her mind. It was crazy. Also…it wasn’t going to happen.

“Was that Stephanie Starz? On the phone?”

Faith whipped her head up to see Logan leaning against a wooden beam, watching her with a sly grin. Her stomach did a flip and her heart raced. He looked good.Reallygood. And try as she might, she couldn’t seem to stop looking at him without thinking about that kiss or the way it had made her feel. Like she wanted to rip his clothes off and push him into the shrubs. It didn’t help that the picture of that very kiss seemed to be everywhere these days.

She tried to push the image from her head. “It was.” She nodded as casually as she could, as if it were perfectly normal for Hollywood’s biggest celebrity to call her out of the blue and want to meet her.

“She wants to have her wedding here?” Logan walked closer.

Damn.She wished he wouldn’t do that.

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