Page 1 of You, Me, and Forever

Chapter OneMontana

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the birds were chirping almost harmonically. The surrounding mountains sat in the distance, looking more like a painting than the actual landscape in Blushing, the small Alaskan town I lived in. Normally, this would have been enough to put me in a good mood. I was that girl—the perpetually positive, glass-half-full-if-not-overflowing, write-in-your-gratitude-journal-every-day type of girl.

But life had thrown a few curveballs at me lately, and even this beautiful day couldn’t pull me out of my funk.

I stalked into the office, and both Violet and Blakely turned to look at me as they huddled around the front desk.

“I’m guessing the meeting didn’t go well?” Violet asked. My best friend and I owned the Blushing Bride, the only wedding planning business in Blushing.

Even though all I wanted to do was go pout in my office alone, I came to a stop and sighed.

“They want to get married in four months.” I shrugged.

“You’ve pulled off shorter timelines than that,” Blakely said, smiling. She was our office manager, and she kept everything running smoothlyfor Violet and me. She kept our schedules straight, booked meetings with prospective couples, and basically organized our professional lives.

“That’s not the issue,” Violet said as she tapped her lips with her pointer finger. “Let me guess, they want to get married at the Seaside Inn?”

“Yep. They have their heart set on it,” I groaned. “Apparently, Barbie has been dreaming of getting married there since she was eight years old. She had an absolute meltdown, even though she already knew that the Seaside Inn wasn’t an option because everyone in town knows it’s been purchased. But she made a point to tell me that this is the worst thing that’s ever happened in her life, and she couldn’t believe I wasn’t able to work some magic and pull off a miracle. She followed it up by calling me a ‘dream crusher.’”

“A ‘dream crusher’? Come on.” Violet shook her head with disgust. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. And what eight-year-old kid is planning her wedding? She didn’t even know if she’d live here as an adult back then. She needs to take a chill pill and calm her pretentious ass down. Maybe you should suggest she read a Ruth Bader Ginsburg book and channel her inner feminine power. There are bigger issues in life than choosing your wedding venue. Come on. The groom didn’t bail on her. Worse things have happened. And blaming you for something that’s out of your control is ludicrous. She’s got all the makings of a bridezilla, and we haven’t even signed her yet.”

“We did sign her. Apparently, the dream crusher is still the best option out there.” I sighed. “Being the only option makes our odds pretty high.”

Blakely and Violet both laughed, but I wasn’t in the mood to join in, so I turned to head to my office.

“Slow down, girl,” Blakely said before holding up a bag from the Brown Bear Diner. “We’ve got chicken salads. Come on, let’s eat.”

I was a sucker for their chicken salad.

I followed them into our office’s little kitchen area, where we often ate lunch. We’d renovated this cool old house downtown when Violet and I had decided to open the Blushing Bride together rightout of college, over five years ago. I’d dragged my bestie back to the small town where I’d grown up and sold her on the business plan.

This office was everything my Pinterest heart desired, and we’d spent the last few years renovating it to be everything we wanted. Wallpaper covered in pink and white peonies flanked the walls in the front office, and a large crystal chandelier hung over Blakely’s desk, where she greeted customers.

Violet and I had our own offices down the hall, both decorated in our own chic styles, and we had a conference room to meet with clients as well. The kitchen area was a bonus; that was where the three of us ate lunch and talked shop most days.

We did our brainstorming below a large whiteboard that hung on the wall.

“Thanks for grabbing lunch,” I said.

“I know it’s been a lot lately, with all the ups and downs, but I’m fairly certain I’ve diagnosed what’s going on with you,” Violet said as she grabbed us each a bottle of sparkling water from our pink vintage refrigerator.

My friend was a woman of all trades. She was a problem-solver. A self-proclaimed healer. And, most of the time, a bit of a know-it-all.

But she owned it, and I trusted her with my life.

“I can’t wait to hear this.” I poured my dressing over my salad before closing the lid and shaking the container several times.

“I’ve never heard of it, but Vi claims it’s a real thing.” Blakely forked her chicken and took a bite before giving Violet a look to let her know the floor was hers.

“You’re suffering from a horrible case of vajabbies. But not to worry, there’s a cure.”

“What is vajabbies?” I groaned, already knowing that I didn’t want to hear the answer.

“Well, let me review what we have going on. We’re busier than ever, thank you, Harry Simon!” she said. Harry Simon, the biggest pop star of our generation, had married his longtime supermodel girlfriend, Bailey Clark, without any paparazzi finding out about it before the nuptials tookplace. Because who would have ever suspected that the Hollywood “it” couple would run off to Blushing, Alaska, to tie the knot? So, ever since word had gotten out over a year ago, business had been nonstop. “And then our most popular venue gets sold to some billionaire asshole who doesn’t care about our town or our business.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” I grumped.

“I’m really not a fan of grumpy Montana.” Blakely reached for her water and took a sip. “I mean, you’re allowed to be grumpy now and then, but this has been a few weeks. That’s usually Vi’s job.”

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