Page 6 of Planning on Happily Ever After

Despite her quickly sinking mood, Holly smiled at the phrase she had said to her mother over and over again as she went through her cancer treatment. Anytime her mom was having a bad day, Holly would come into the room, lay on the bed next to her, and help her mom find the silver lining in whatever issue she was having at the time. Can’t work? Now you have time to binge watch some shows you’ve been dying to try out. Fatigue? Let’s light an aromatherapy candle and you can get a nap. Muscle aches? Let’s get dad to rub your feet and legs. Hair loss? I bought you a couple of wigs. You always wanted to try being a redhead. Holly was never sure if it actually worked to help lighten her mother’s mood or if the woman was just humoring her, but it had become their thing and she was happy to participate once again.

Holly shook out her arms to try and relax into a more positive mindset. “Okay. Silver lining in having to deal with romance all day when I have none of it myself. Go.”

Her mom looked up at the ceiling, her eyes crinkling as she pondered the situation before her blue eyes finally met Holly’s. “Easy. You get to bear witness to so many different love stories that it can only strengthen your belief in love and all its wonders.” She smiled as though she’d just imparted the greatest wisdom in the universe. “You also get to witness all the mistakes other people make, not just in planning their wedding, but with their fiancés, so you can avoid doing the same thing when your own time comes.”

Holly grinned as she remembered missteps from clients past. “Yes, I absolutely know now that telling your fiancé that he should start a new skin care routine so t he doesn’t look ruddy in the wedding pictures is a big no-no.” That particular client meeting from months prior had been one of the more memorable ones. When the poor man had stomped out of the bakery, his fiancée was dumbfounded as to what she had said wrong.

“There you go.” Her mom reached over and patted Holly’s hand. “Now, you’ll get your happily-ever-after, it might just take a little longer than you would like. Be patient, and remember to be open to all possibilities.”

The knowing expression pointing her way had Holly squirming in her seat. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She was open to all possibilities, always had been.

“It means that sometimes you can have such a clear idea of what you want your happily-ever-after to look like that you might miss the chance for one because it doesn’t match up to your expectations. Just try to remember that sometimes people can surprise you.” Her mom stood and went into the back of the bakery, leaving Holly alone with her thoughts.

Had she really been that closed off to certain possibilities? Holly reviewed her dating history and winced. Her relationships had never lasted long, mostly because the guy hadn’t checked all of her boxes. She had always imagined herself with someone whose personality was similar to her own—eternally optimistic and romantic. Perhaps she had discounted some of her dating partners too soon.

Not everyone could see the bright side of a situation. Even she had a difficult time of it lately, and not everyone had the same idea of romance. It didn’t all have to be candlelight dinners and walks on the beach. Her own dad showed how much he loved her mom in small ways. Taking out the garbage because he knew how much she hated doing it, cleaning out the car once a month because he knew how she liked things tidy, and giving her a foot rub even though it was him that had been on his feet all day were all small but significant ways of showing how he cared.

Her mom was right, she had been a little too closed-minded. Determined to change her own luck, Holly vowed that the next time even the remotest possibility for love presented itself to her, she wouldn’t dismiss it based off a mental checklist. She wouldn’t completely lower her standards, but she was absolutely not going to judge a book by its cover, or even the first few chapters. Some books didn’t really grab you right away, and Holly was determined the next guy she was interested in would get a real chance at becoming a bestseller and not find himself on her did not finish list.

CHAPTER FOUR

Ben

The commute home fromHartford was longer than usual, or maybe it just seemed that way because Ben spent most of the hour drive on the phone with his mom as she listed off all of the items on her wedding to-do list, the first of which was touring a venue. She invited him along and he’d tried to wiggle out of it, insisting he needed to catch up on work, but she didn’t buy his excuse, even though it happened to be true. Ben had been a little preoccupied the last week or so, and his work had suffered because of it.

One minute he would be sitting in his home office fixing lines of broken code when his mind would wander to that strange woman who bumped into him on the sidewalk. It had been more than a week since the occurrence, but every now and then her angelic face and warm smile would pop into his head, pulling him out of his world of letters and numbers and into one where he was a different person—one who actually knew what to do when presented with someone who made him feel things he’d never felt before. Ben grumbled incoherently to himself as he once again tried to forget about what might have been as he pulled to a stop at the red light on the north side of his small town. Ten more minutes and he would be home. Ben sighed in relief at the thought of finally being able to relax and change into some comfy sweatpants after today’s mandatory meeting.

Thinking about his typical uniform of sweats and a t-shirt made Ben even grouchier as he adjusted in his seat, annoyed at his current outfit. He was no slouch when it came to dressing for the occasion, and right now he was wearing a nice button-down shirt underneath his gray sweater. His black coat and dress slacks completed the ensemble, and while Ben knew he looked good, he felt decidedly unlike himself. He pulled at the collar of his shirt before scratching his wrist, the wool from his coat irritating the skin. As annoying as the items were, the worst part of dressing for work had to be the footwear. The black, oxford shoes were just the wrong side of snug, pinching his feet so horribly he could already tell he’d be dealing with blisters for the rest of the week.

Ben supposed he could dress more like some of his colleagues in their gamer shirts and converse sneakers, but as uncomfortable as his clothes were, they provided that little extra layer of protection from others being able to really see him for who he truly was. As much as he hated dressing up, Ben preferred his suit of armor when he went out in public, not wanting to give anyone the opportunity to get too close to the real him, the one he’d shown few others, only for them to leave. That’s what people did after all, right? Whether it was by choice or by force, at the end of the day, everyone in his life had left or would leave once they tired of his true personality.

Mercifully, the light turned green and provided a break from his self-deprecation. Ben waited patiently for the person in front of him to move and glared at the tiny green sedan when it didn’t budge, not at all surprised to see that the person in the driver’s seat was distracted, bouncing in their seat and waving their arms about wildly. He blew out a quick breath and tapped his horn. Finally, that seemed to startle the person into action, but instead of watching the car move forward, Ben’s eyes grew wide as the reverse lights came on. He tapped his horn again, but it was too late. His body shifted backward upon impact and a curse fell from his lips at yet another inconvenience in his day.

Luckily, the side street was deserted and no other drivers would be inconvenienced, a small mercy on this tremendously shitty day. As the other driver pulled forward slightly and put on their hazard lights, Ben stepped out of his car and rounded the hood, relieved to see there wasn’t even so much as a scratch on his bumper.Excellent. As long as the other driver didn’t make an issue of this, he was as good as home in less than fifteen minutes.

“I’m so, so sorry. I guess I put the car in reverse on accident.” A melodic voice called from behind him, the sweet sound easing the knots in Ben’s shoulders ever so slightly.Odd.“Whitney Houston came on the radio, and I got so into the music. I mean, what kind of monster could not bop along to ‘I Want to Dance with Somebody?’”

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