Page 63 of Finding Happily Ever After

“Exactly the opposite.” Aiden shook his head. “She won’t bother me again. She won’t botherus.”When Natalie didn’t look as though she believed him, he grabbed her hand and squeezed. “She won’t,” he said. “She won’t subject herself to that kind of rejection.”

After a moment, Natalie nodded. “And what about what I don’t know yet?”

He smiled, despite the suspicious way she was looking at him. “Do you trust me?”

She didn’t hesitate. “You know I do.”

He could have left it there, but again, Aiden knew it wasn’t worth it to have any questions between them. Everything needed to be out in the open. “I told her that I was going to ask you to marry me.” He watched her closely while he said the words, so he didn’t miss one second of the brilliant smile that lit up her face.

“You did?”

He nodded. “Of course I did.”

Natalie laughed and it was such a sweet sound. Aiden needed to clear up one more thing.

“But just for the record,” he said. “This isn’t me asking.”

Her smile dipped a little and she narrowed her eyes in question.

“Do you really think this is how I’d ask you the most important question in the world?”

There was no way. Not in a million years. Natalie deserved the best and that included a proposal worthy of how much he loved her.

“So you’re not asking me…”

“Not yet.” He leaned over and kissed her nose. “But I will. That’s a promise.”

His kiss moved lower, to her lips. He never tired of kissing her and would have happily have stayed there all day doing just that, but they had places to be.

Reluctantly, Aiden pulled back. “One more thing,” he said. “I need to know you believe me about Brenna.” He needed to close that chapter of his life once and for all.

Natalie nodded seriously. “I do.”

He believed her. That was behind them. Now there was nothing in front of them but their future, and Aiden couldn’t be more excited about what it was going to look like.

Aiden stood and offered Natalie his hand. “We should get going or we’ll be late. After all, we have a baby to welcome into the world.”

ChapterNineteen

“Looking good,guardian…or godmother…or…what do I call you?” Nick shrugged and held up his hands that were for once free of baby Amelia.

“Just call me Auntie.” Steph laughed and hugged her friend. “It’s good to see you.”

It had only been three weeks since Steph had last been in Glacier Falls, but at times it felt as though a lifetime had passed since she’d been home. With the change of the seasons while she’d been in Los Angeles, it definitely felt like one of those times.

Spring had completely arrived in Glacier Falls. The heads of tulips and daffodils were pushing through the soil, pussy willows lined the river edge, and the green grass started to peek through. Stephanie knew enough to know that spring in the mountains could be fickle and it could still snow at any time, but it was sure hard to think of snow on such a sunny, warm day. The perfect day for baby Cole’s official welcoming into the world.

Levi and Hope had decided that because neither of them had been raised with any type of formal religion but instead an overall sense of spirituality, that instead of a christening or baptism, they would hold a naming ceremony to officially welcome Cole to the world and appoint his legal guardians, as if they needed to be appointed. Faith, Logan, and Stephanie were already completely devoted to the little boy. Even from a distance, Steph tried to talk to Hope—and baby Cole—a few times a week. She hated being so far away in his early days, but she’d already vowed that his Auntie Steph would always take very good care of him.

And his mother.

Which was why she’d worked with Faith, Levi, and Logan over the last few weeks to get Hope in to see a doctor. And a good therapist. Steph hated to see her sister struggle, but with her therapist’s help, as well as everyone around her who loved her, she was starting to see the light through the clouds. It didn’t surprise anyone that she was struggling with post-partum depression, not really. Not with everything health-wise that she needed to deal with. It had been hard. But now she was starting to feel well enough that she was ready to have Cole’s official party.

When Steph had checked in on her earlier, and Hope had given her a huge hug, the difference in her filled her heart with happiness. No doubt Hope still had a ways to go when it came to fighting those inner battles, particularly with her surgery coming up to finally help her be cancer free so she could live a long, healthy life, but Steph had no doubt she’d come through it all stronger than ever.

“I meant it,” Nick said. “You look amazing. Even a few freckles peeking through.” He touched Steph’s nose, and she pulled away with a swat of her hand.

“You don’t have to wait for spring in LA to get a little sun.” She laughed. “And yes, with this red hair and fair skin, I definitely break out in freckles.”

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