Page 26 of Keeping Happily Ever After

And although it wasn’t exactly what she’d been hoping for, the evening with her mother did give Bella a chance to get her feedback.

“He’s very nice.” Lisa blew on her tea but didn’t look up.

“Nice?”

“He is.”

Bella sat up straight and put her own cup down on the table. “I agree, but I feel like there’s more you want to say.”

She waited, but her mom still didn’t elaborate. With a dramatic sigh, Bella hugged her knees. “Is that all you have to say, Mom? Really? He’s nice. That’s it?”

Her mom took a small, tentative sip of the tea before squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. When she opened them again, she looked right at her daughter. “I’m not sure what else you’d like me to say, Bella. Jeremy really is a nice man. He has a great life here in Glacier Falls and a career that, by the sounds of it, is about to get even better here shortly.”

Bella nodded. There was something her mother wasn’t saying, and she was pretty sure she knew what it was.

“And?”

“And…” Lisa drew out the word. “And I think that if the situation was different, he’d be absolutely perfect for you.”

Something deep in Bella’s gut twisted. “The situation?”

Her mother’s smile was kind but Bella knew her mother well. She wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything.

“Bella, your entire life is about to change. If none of that was happening, and you were content to settle down and live a quiet, simple life in Glacier Falls, then yes, I think he’s perfect for you. But that’s not what’s about to happen.” She took a deep breath. “You’re about to be a big star. And you’re going to have to spend long periods of time away from Glacier Falls. You can’t be a huge star and live in a tiny mountain town in the middle of nowhere. You know that.”

She nodded. Shedidknow that.

“And he doesn’t seem like the kind of man who’d drop his whole life here to follow a woman. Even one as amazing as you.”

“I wouldn’t want him to.”

“I know, sweetheart.” She put her tea down next to Bella’s and scooted closer to her on the couch. “I know you’d never want a man like that. There’s a reason you’ve fallen for Jeremy. He’s a strong man, with his own life. And that’s important.”

Bella nodded numbly. Itwasimportant. She’d finally found a good man who had values and morals and a full life of his own.And…why did that all of a sudden seem like a bad thing?

“But,” her mom continued, “I need you to really think about it, Bella. Does a relationship really have a chance with that much distance? With this kind of life you’re about to embark on?”

“We can make it work.” Even as she spoke the words, they fell flat to Bella’s own ears.Could they? Could they really beat the odds and make it work?

She inhaled deeply, letting the air fill her lungs. Did she believe her own declaration? She wanted to. More than anything, she wanted to believe that they could make it work. No matter what. But the truth was…she didn’t know.

She knew what she hoped, but Bella also wasn’t naive. Hope wasn’t enough.

The truth was, she’d never planned for any of this. Not for Jeremy. Not for a movie deal. None of it.

And if she had to choose…she shook her head.

She couldn’t. She wouldn’t choose. Because she was afraid to admit what that choice might actually be.

Besides, she reasoned with herself, no one was asking her to.

Not yet.

She forced a smile. “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Jeremy’s really excited for me.”

“There’s a difference between being excited about theideaof something and living the reality.”

Dammit, she hated it when her mom was right.

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