Page 18 of Seeking Happily Ever After

Amelia was asleep in her stroller now, a thumb in her mouth. So innocent. So peaceful. With no idea that her whole world could potentially be turned upside down.

Not if I can help it.

The thought filled her with unexpected passion. Char still wasn’t even one hundred percent sure what her role would be, or what exactly she was going to be able to do about anything, but whatever shecoulddo, she would. Of that much she was sure.

The conversation around her was wrapping up, and Char forced herself to refocus.

“It was really nice meeting you,” Steph said to Susan with a practiced smile. “But I really do need to steal Charlotte here for a quick meeting. Maybe we’ll see you again?”

“Oh! I…well…I mean…maybe…” Susan’s face blazed red, but it was easy to see that she would love nothing more than to see Stephanie Starz again. In an effort to regain her professionalism, she turned to Charlotte. “I will definitely be seeing you again.”

“Yes.” Char nodded. “I look forward to it.”

“Enjoy your meeting,” Nick said. “I’ll see you at home.”

Home.

Char nodded as Nick pressed a kiss to her temple. Such a small, simple action. One that couples everywhere did without even thinking. But theyweren’ta couple, and the kiss fired through her entire body in a sizzle.

Somehow, she managed to keep it together long enough to follow Steph across the small bakery to a table in the back corner where they could have a little bit of privacy. Up until an hour ago, it wasthismeeting she’d been all worked up for, and now…she could barely process the feelings and emotions slamming into her at a shockingly intense rate.

“You good?” Steph smiled and sat across from her. “Do you need a coffee?”

“Maybe something stronger?”

Stephanie laughed and the sound dissolved some of the lingering tension.

“It might be a little early for that,” Steph said. “But I wouldn’t blame you for needing a stiff drink. I assume that you…well, I know Nick’s situation, and if you just volunteered for what I think you did…damn. I’m impressed.”

Char shook her head, still not entirely sure what, in fact, she had just volunteered for. “I don’t know if you should be impressed,” she said honestly. “I really hope I didn’t screw things up for him and…well…you know…maybe we should talk about your cabins.”

The shift in topic was exactly the distraction Charlotte needed. She pulled out her portfolio with the stack of ideas she’d been working on for Steph to check through. For the next hour, the two women pored over Char’s idea books, sketched out some new thoughts about the direction Steph was hoping to go with, and completely immersed themselves in all things design to the point that Char was able to forget, even if only for a few minutes, about the mess she’d just gotten herself tangled up in.

ChapterSix

After finally seeingSusan Johnson into her car outside of Sweetie Pies, Nick stood and waited until he saw her car turn left to head out of town and back to the city. Still, he waited another few minutes to make absolutely sure she was gone before he let out the breath he felt like he’d been holding for the last hour or so.

What. Had. Just. Happened?

He glanced behind him through the window of the bakery to see Charlotte deep in conversation with Steph. He couldn’t interrupt her. Besides, he needed a minute.

Or ten.

Or more to digest everything that had just gone down. Not only had Charlotte totally saved his ass, she’d…what?Made it clear that, pretend or not, there was something between them.

If only things were different.

Amelia was fast asleep in her stroller, so instead of risking waking her by transferring her into the car, Nick decided to walk toward his new house and check on the progress. It was only a few blocks away, and the sun was warm on his face as he walked and tried—but failed—to clear his head. It was going to take a lot more to make sense of anything that had just happened in the last few hours. Still, the walk helped him calm down a little, and when he arrived at the house that was going to be his home, he couldn’t help but grin.

It was going to be perfect. Close enough to Main Street that they’d be able to walk everywhere they needed. The ranch-style house backed on the river, with a huge yard and lots of trees on both sides. It would be private, and with the fence Nick was having installed, the yard would be safe for Amelia to play, even with the close proximity to the river. It was one of the bigger houses in Glacier Falls, but it was far from the grandeur of ElkView Ridge. Still, it was a million times nicer than the house Nick grew up in.

And unlike the dilapidated aluminum trailer Nick spent his childhood, this house would be ahome.A place where Amelia could celebrate milestones, take her first steps, have birthday parties in the backyard, and most importantly, feel safe and loved. More than anything, that’s all Nick wanted. He hoped like hell she would never know what it was like to feel abandoned and unloved the way he had. She’d had a rough and unfair start in life already; he’d do everything in his power to make sure that it would never happen again.

As he stood looking at the house, a truck pulled into the driveway. Travis Bishop, the contractor he’d hired, stepped out. “Hey, Nick,” he said. “I didn’t get an appointment wrong, did I? I didn’t think we were—”

“No.” Nick shook his head. “We didn’t have anything lined up. I was just down the street and I thought I’d come check things out.” He glanced at what he was noticing, for the first time, was a very quiet construction zone. “Are you working today? Or…”

Travis shook his head and removed the cowboy hat he wore most of the time as he approached. “Sorry, Nick. I’ve been up at Lynx Creek for the last few days. I told you when I took the job that I was going to have to balance things a little at least until the cabins were done, and this week…well…”

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