Page 7 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

Faith groaned and tipped her head back. “You’re doing it again. This is fearmongering.”

Steph shrugged. “It does happen,” she said simply before turning her attention to the baby boy in her arms, who was intensely interested in her long red hair, trying to grab fistfuls while she spoke. “But I don’t need to worry,” she said to the baby. “Because Travis built a fence around the perimeter that works with a really advanced security system that he found on the internet. So, I’ll be…” She drifted off as she looked up to see both of her sisters staring at her with grins on their identical faces. “What?”

“Travis did that?”

“All on his own?”

Shit.

These women had radar for this kind of thing. She was stupid to think she could slide anything by them. And judging by the identical grins on their pretty faces, they’d figured out exactly what Stephanie was trying to avoid telling them.

“He likes you,” Faith said in a singsong voice.

“He totally likes you,” Hope added.

“You two sound like you’re in junior high.”

Faith jumped up and pointed at Steph. “And you like him!”

She looked at Hope for help, but her other sister only shrugged.

“You do,” Faith insisted. “Don’t you?”

She could lie, but what was the point? Her sisters weren’t blind. Or stupid. Besides, it would be good to confide in someone. Steph released a long sigh. “It doesn’t matter if I do,” she said. “He’s not the right type for me.”

“The type who is so into you that he builds you a crazy security system?” Faith wiggled her eyebrows.

“Right?” Hope chimed in with a smile. “That seems like a pretty good type to me.”

Steph shrugged. “He’s the type of guy who doesn’t do relationships.” It made her sad just to say it out loud. “And I’m…well, I’m past all that casual, friends with benefits stuff. I want something serious. Something real. And Travis isn’t that guy.”

It felt good to confess her feelings to her sisters.

“But you like him,” Faith said again. It wasn’t a question.

“It doesn’t matter if I do,” Steph said. “He’s only going to break my heart if I let him.”

“So you’re not going to let him.” Hope pressed her lips together in a line and bobbed her head slowly.

“He’s not like your ex, Steph.”

Stephanie turned to Faith.

“I mean, I can’t even begin to understand what it’s like to try to date when you’re famous, but Travis isn’t the kind of guy to take advantage of your fame. He’s not like that.”

“I agree.” Truth be told, that was one of the things that Stephanie liked about Travis. He was completely unaffected by her celebrity status. If anything, he didn’t really understand just how famous she was. Unlike her ex-fiancé, whose main interest was using her fame to increase his own.

“Right?” Faith continued. “So you’ll never know if you don’t—”

“I’m not going there.” Steph shook her head. She’d made up her mind when it came to Travis. As tempting as it was, she knew what she wanted. A real relationship. “There’s more than one way to break my heart,” she added sadly. “And if he can’t give me what I need, I think it’s best if we stay friends.”

Even as she said it, the idea of it didn’t sit right with her. She wasn’t sure she could ever bejust friendswith Travis.

“But he might not break your heart, Steph.” Hope jumped in. “After all, he did build that fence and—”

“It’s his job.”

“Whose job?” Levi walked into the kitchen and put a kiss on his wife’s head before trying to grab his baby from Steph’s arms, a move she dodged by snuggling her nephew close. “What are we talking about?” He laughed and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge.

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