Page 33 of Choosing Happily Ever After

“It’ll be okay,” she said again. “And the firm will just have to deal without me.”

“I’m sure we’ll sort it out,” Noah said. “Your clients will…never mind. It’ll be fine.”

Faith knew it would. She wasn’t that integral to the day-to-day operations. No doubt, in less than a week, the rest of the associates would absorb her case load and it would be as if she’d never even been there. She knew the drill. She’d seen it happen before when women went on maternity leave. Taking an extended leave from the firm was essentially career suicide. Unless, of course, you didn’t mind starting over at the bottom when—or if—you ever came back. She knew that very well.

Faith looked carefully at the man in front of her. He was always dressed so sharply in an expensive, well-cut suit, his hair perfectly in place. She knew what was under that crisp linen shirt and it was a rock-hard chest, honed from hours in the gym. Noah took care of himself. He was sexy as hell and just looking at him sent chills through her. She shook her head slowly and forced herself to look away.

“Faith?”

She stopped and took a deep breath before turning around again.

“This isn’t about the firm,” he said slowly. “You know that, right?”

She didn’t answer. She was too busy trying to control her breathing.Why did he have to make this so fucking hard?

“And it’s not about you going to work in a business you don’t believe in,” he continued. “Although, I’m not going to pretend to understand it.” He laughed a little, but Faith was too busy trying to keep her body from shaking to join in.

His laughter trailed off. Noah shook his head and looked down at his feet for a moment before trying again. “You make this really difficult, you know?”

“Pardon?” Faith stood her ground. “What exactly am I making difficult? Because I’m just trying to—”

He cut her off with a kiss. Both hands pressed to her cheeks, holding her in place, she was completely taken off guard. For a split second, Faith almost let herself melt into it, but then her senses came back to her in a crash. Her brush and lotion still in her hands, she brought them to Noah’s chest and shoved him backward. “What are you doing?” She took a step back, needing distance between them. “Noah, I don’t—”

“Seriously?” Noah’s fingers went to his lips before he took a step toward her. “I’m trying to show you how I—”

“Well, don’t.” She charged past him to the duffel bag on the bed and shoved a few more things inside before zipping it up with a violent tug. “Don’t tell me or show me or…just don’t.”

He put his hand on her arm. “Faith, you—”

“No.” She shrugged it off. But she couldn’t look at him because if she did, she knew she’d be lost. The truth was, she’d been trying and failing to break it off with him for so long because she really didn’t want to. ShelikedNoah.Reallyliked him. He was successful, handsome, caring, and an amazing lover. He was everything. And more than that, he seemed to really like her, too.

Andthatwas the problem. She might have to go home and play make-believe wedding planner in a fairy-tale world for a little while, but that didn’t change anything.

She still didn’t believe in love. Or marriage. Or forever. And letting herself pretend, even for a moment, that it might be possible would only end in heartbreak.

Faith straightened her shoulders and turned around. “Noah, I can’t see you anymore.”

ChapterTen

Levi

It wasanother successful wedding for Ever After Ranch, as if Levi had any doubts. He’d only been there a few weeks, and it hadn’t even taken that long to see that Hope ran a well-oiled machine. Every event was unique and different, but every single one had gone off without a hitch. Except, of course, for the usual minor mishaps and issues, but none of those little details turned out to be a big deal, due largely to Hope and her brilliant organization. It really was an impressive thing to watch her in action.

And it was because of her planning and the way she’d set things up that allowed Levi to help out the way he did. He wasn’t foolish enough to actually take any of the credit himself. It was all Hope. Every bit of it. She was amazing.

He leaned against the wooden beam and watched her in action. She floated around the room, just on the fringes, not interfering with the festivities in any way. Orchestrating everything seamlessly. She was gorgeous in her tailored navy dress, her blonde hair secured in a clip at the back of her head. She’d perfected the art of blending in while absolutely standing out. At least to him, because he only had eyes for her.

Levi had tried more than once to get her alone since their memorable night together, but she’d been so busy, and then there was another last-minute trip to the city, which meant that not only had a lot of the last-minute prep work fallen to him again, but that when Hope did return to the ranch, she was far too busy to be able to spend any time with him.

If it were any other circumstance, Levi might be a little bit jealous, but he knew how hard she worked and how much pride she took in what she did. It was one of the reasons he loved her.

Maybe it should have felt strange to even think that way so easily after all this time, but it didn’t. It felt so very right.

And why shouldn’t it?

After all, it wasn’t the first time that he’d felt this way about Hope Turner.

Correction—it absolutely was the first time he’d felt this way. He’d loved her before, that was certain. But this was different.Verydifferent. More intense, morereal.

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