Page 6 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

“No?”

She shook her head again. “I don’t play games, Travis.” She turned to go, and suddenly he was desperate to keep her there.

“We’re already playing, Steph.”

Theyhadbeen playing. For months. A game of cat-and-mouse, push and pull. They got closer and then someone pulled away. She might say she didn’t want to play games, but as far as Travis was concerned, it was too late for that.

She froze and shook her head before she turned around and looked him straight in the eye. “I already told you, Travis. When it comes to games, there’s always a loser. And that’s not going to be me. Not anymore.” She looked down for a moment and then added, “Thank you for the fence.”

ChapterTwo

“I wishyou would have stayed today, Steph.” Faith sat across from her at the table and pushed the plate of cookies toward her. “It was delicious and you need to eat.”

“Besides,” Hope joined in with a glance at her twin, “we missed you there.”

Steph managed a smile. She knew her sisters meant well and she felt the love; she really did. But she’d left for good reason. It was the same reason she felt like she needed to move off the Ever After Ranch again and into her own space. As comfortable as the living room couch was, it was well past time. “I know.” She adjusted her baby nephew in her arms. “But you have me now. And really, you’ve had me all up in your face for way too long anyway. I should probably think about—”

“Don’t even say it.” Hope cut her off. “You are not going back to Lynx Creek.” She shook her head, the matter settled as far as she was concerned.

“Not if you’re not ready,” Faith added with a roll of her eyes. “I know everything that happened up there was…well…”

“Terrifying?” Hope chimed in.

Faith groaned. “Okay, yes. It was terrifying. But it was also a totally random thing.” She focused on Stephanie. “That kind of thing doesn’t happen in Glacier Falls.”

“Except that it did,” Hope added pointedly, and her twin spun to face her.

“Are youtryingto scare her?”

“No.” Hope held up her hands. “I’m not.” She shrugged. “I’m just saying, as a mother…I can’t even imagine what Charlotte went through up there. And…well, I know I’m not helping. But Faith is right. That kind of thing doesn’tusuallyhappen in Glacier Falls.”

“And…” Faith prompted.

Stephanie had to do her best not to laugh at the two of them. Despite the seriousness of what she was feeling, they were making her laugh. Intentionally or not.

“And…” Hope turned her back to her sister and focused on Stephanie. “You are always one hundred percent welcome here. You know that.”

“I do.”

“But...I do agree with Faith. Even if she’s a little abrupt about it.” Hope shot Faith a look over her shoulder. “I really do think you’re perfectly safe up there.”

Logically, Stephanie agreed with them. It was perfectly safe there. The incident with Charlotte and her ex was a total one-off. That kind of thing didn’t happen in Glacier Falls.

Still.

At first, after everything that happened, she’d gone back to her house in the city to take care of some work, and then, the more time that went by, it felt harder to go back. Intellectually, she knew there was nothing to be scared of at Lynx Creek. Even Charlotte, who’d been the subject of the attack, had been back to finish up her design work on the cabins. If Char could face the place, there really was no reason why Steph couldn’t. Besides, she loved Lynx Creek. She was just being silly.

“You’re both right,” Stephanie said. “I know it’s perfectly safe. It’s just one of those things that got built up in my head. I probably should have gone right back up there after it happened. Get back on the horse and all that.”

Her sisters laughed. But what Steph hadn’t told them was that her sense of unease about the cabins wasn’t just about the attack. There was also the small matter of her neighbor. A ridiculously sexy man who annoyingly never seemed to wear a shirt. The fact that she also happened to be insanely attracted to him despite the fact that he was completely emotionally unavailable, and seemed to revel in the fact that he drove her crazy, was an additional factor. An additionalhugefactor. Especially because they’d almost…

They almost complicated things even more. But they didn’t. And Steph couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or not. Her mind and body were definitely at odds when it came to that particular point.

She didn’t bother to tell Hope and Faith any of that. Knowing her sisters, they would take even the slightest indication of interest and completely run with it. No doubt they’d have a wedding planned before the end of the day.

“And the whole thing did bring up a good point, though.” Steph looked up. “It didn’t even occur to me that I should have security of any kind but the reality is, things can go wrong, even in Glacier Falls. And—”

“With your celebrity,” Hope interrupted, “you should have some sort of security up there. You never know what kind of crazy stalker you could get.”

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