Page 54 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

She didn’t miss the way he saidour cabin. She liked it.

“It’s entirely likely.” Stephanie nodded. “Which is why we should be answering our phones. I’m resigned to the reality of the press descending on us, but I’m not so sure I like the idea of having photographs of my naked breasts plastered all over the internet.”

“I like your naked breasts.”

She chuckled. “All over the internet?”

“That wouldn’t happen.”

Stephanie swallowed. It didn’t seem to matter how she tried to explain it to Travis; he wouldn’t understand just how invasive the paparazzi really were until…well, until he understood. Unfortunately, she was afraid of his reaction when that finally happened. And it was going to happen. Sooner than she liked. She was sure of it.

“Either way.” She climbed off the bed, and Travis. “We really should answer the phones and see what’s going on.”

He sighed, but he didn’t protest this time as she got dressed, reached for her cell phone, and tossed his to him, as well.

She had text messages and missed calls from her agent, Nick, and Faith.

Nick’s simply said,Call me.

Ignoring the rest of the messages, that’s exactly what she did. She’d just pushed the button for Nick and started to walk into the other room when she heard Travis behind her. “What the actual—” She closed the door with a shake of her head. He’d obviously started to realize just how big of a deal this was going to be.

The phone rang once in her ear before Nick picked up. “I don’t know how they found out, Steph. I swear I—”

“It was my parents.” She sighed and poured herself a glass of water from the jug in the fridge. “They wereworried.”

“Oh.”

Stephanie had bonded early with Nick on a lot of things, but one of the things she liked most about her good friend was the fact that he understood the craziness of the paparazzi and what a nightmare it could be to be in the spotlight. Right after Nick made his billions, he’d very much become a playboy party animal, and the press had loved it. Now that he’d settled down with Charlotte, he was far less exciting to them. But he still understood how disruptive it could be.

“Yup,” Stephanie said. “Oh.” She didn’t want to be upset with her parents; she knew their hearts were in the right place. Besides, it wouldn’t do any good anyway. The damage had clearly been done. “How bad is it?”

“Well…”

“Tell me.”

“Let’s just say that there are suddenly a lot more people in town. And they’re all the kind of people with really big camera lenses.”

“Lovely.”

“Don’t worry,” Nick said. “They’ve only been in town less than twenty-four hours and already the people of Glacier Falls have made it very apparent that they are not welcome here.” He chuckled. “It’s actually pretty funny.”

“What do you mean?” Steph shot a glance toward the bedroom, where she could hear Travis talking to someone, his voice raised. “What are they doing?”

“You underestimate how much you’re loved in town already, Steph. All the business owners have made it clear that if you have a camera in your hand, you are not welcome on their premises.” Nick laughed again. “So far I’ve seen them kicked out of Sweetie Pies, Birchwood, and the Knot. I’m pretty sure that the Gibsons are still letting them into the grocery store, but they’re watching closely and no cameras allowed.”

Stephanie couldn’t help but smile. It was sweet that her new hometown was rallying around her in such a way, and her love for Glacier Falls only grew because of it. “That doesn’t keep them off the streets,” she said. “But it’s a start.”

“I think the idea is to make it clear that they are not welcome in town. Hopefully they’ll get the message and leave. But I’m afraid they aren’t going anywhere until they see you cross that river. And unfortunately, we can’t keep them off the road. Although Remington is doing a pretty good job ticketing anyone who sets foot onto private property or so much as goes one mile over the speed limit.”

She chuckled a little. In LA, those guys had what felt like free range. Even though it wasn’t true. The businesses in the big city sure didn’t care about her the way they did in Glacier Falls.

“What about the bridge?” she asked. “I assume the work is being fast-tracked.”

“It is. They’re putting in a temporary one to get you across. Should be done in the morning.”

Stephanie sighed and looked out the window.It had been nice while it lasted.

“Why do you sound upset by that?”

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