Page 47 of Wanting Happily Ever After

Sarah raised her glass to her lips but lowered it before taking another sip. “Can I tell you something?” She didn’t look at Faith, but straight out to the trees at the edge of the property. She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “I’m in love with him.”

Faith’s face transformed as a smile took over her face. Sheknewit.

“In fact,” Sarah continued, “I have never felt like this about anyone before. No one.” She shook her head and looked at Faith. “Not even Josh.”

The comment should have surprised her, but somehow it didn’t. “That’s okay, Sarah. Really, it is.”

“I know.” She looked sad, and not at all like a woman who’d just realized she was in love.

Faith waited for a few minutes but Sarah didn’t look as though she was going to add to her comment. “Forgive me,” she said cautiously. “But if you love him more than anyone else…and he clearly loves you, then…well, I guess I’m not sure what the problem is.”

She watched as her friend inhaled a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“Absolutely not.”

Sarah managed a small smile. “I’ve spent a lot of time being mad,” she said after a moment. “At Josh, for the way things ended.”

Faith thought it an odd choice of words, but she didn’t interrupt. It was clear that Sarah needed to talk.

“And at myself for…well…for so much. I’ve been really scared, and just when I let myself think that Brody could be the one…well, he scared me, Faith. That moment at the lake, it just seemed too real that I could love and then lose again. And I got so scared. I just don’t know if I can do it a second time.”

Faith absorbed what she was saying and finally she reached across the table and took Sarah’s hand. “Do you want to know what I think?” She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “I think that it’s okay to be scared. But you already know that. And yes, something terrible could happen again. I mean, no one knows the future. But from where I’m sitting, the most terrible thing that could happen is not ever taking that chance.”

Sarah looked up into her eyes and Faith could see the spark of recognition there.

“But you already know that, too.” Faith smiled. “Maybe hanging on to some sort of misguided anger with Brody is your way of thinking that you’re protecting your heart. But from what I can see, your heart will be pretty safe with him.”

Faith didn’t even recognize herself or the words coming out of her mouth, but as crazy as it seemed, she believed every word. And she could see it was resonating with Sarah, too.

Even so, Sarah pulled her hand away and lifted her glass to her lips. “It’s not that I don’t think you have a point.” She stared at the glass for a moment. “I just…well, I guess I just don’t know.”

“You will.” Faith smiled because she believed it to be true. Still, as they sat and finished their wine, Faith started to question all of her changing beliefs. Sure, being back in town and at Ever After had definitely given her different ideas about love, but maybe she’d been too hasty.

Because if Sarah was any kind of indication of what it felt like to be in love and have feelings she’d never had before, she should definitely rethink the whole thing.

ChapterFifteen

“Go, Rory, Go! Run!”Sarah never would have thought she’d end up being one of those parents who screamed from the stands at their child on the field. But here she was. And she was loving every single minute of it. Besides, if a final championship game wasn’t a reason to get up and scream and cheer, she didn’t know what was.

Rory kicked the ball and just missed the net. The referee blew the whistle and everyone regrouped.

Sarah sat down and looked to Byron, who was sitting next to her. “This is great, isn’t it?”

“Better than any professional game I’ve ever been to.” He laughed. “Not that I’ve been to a lot of professional soccer games.”

Sarah laughed. She was having more fun at the soccer game in Cedar Springs than she’d had in weeks. The kids were playing well and, more importantly, they were laughing and cheering and having a great time.

Even the fact that she’d handed off the wind-up party to Audrey wasn’t getting Sarah down. In fact, she’d found that with everything else going on in her life, not having to pretend to give a crap about impressing a woman who would never be impressed by her had lifted a weight off her shoulders. Besides, at the end of the day, a wind-up party was a wind-up party. The kids were going to have a great time, and that was all that mattered. Sarah had picked up two dozen cupcakes from Sweetie Pies that morning, each with individual soccer balls on them, for the picnic party they were having after the game. The kids would love them.

“Such a beautiful day, too,” Byron was saying.

She’d been worried that after theirdate,things might be awkward between them, but she needn’t have worried. They were still good friends. Maybe more so now that they’d tried and failed at any attempt of dating.

“Having the picnic up at the lake was a great idea. Thanks for organizing.”

“I didn’t organize,” she corrected him, taking a moment to process what he’d just said. “I got a little overwhelmed with…work. I let Audrey take over.” She shook her head a little. “What did you say about the lake? The wind-up party is at the lake?”

Despite the heat of the day, her entire body had grown cold instantly and she couldn’t feel her toes. She’d only heard that the party would be a picnic. Come to think of it, the location hadn’t really been discussed. She’d assumed it would be right there on the field after the game. But she’d never asked, and Audrey definitely hadn’t offered the information.

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