Page 33 of Finding Happily Ever After
“Maybe reach out to them. They could be a really good resource and a good way to get the community involved.”
She still didn’t know how she’d gotten herself roped into running a group for high school students, but there didn’t seem to be an easy way out. At least not one that wouldn’t draw unwanted attention to her. So, Natalie nodded. “I’ll do that.”
“One more thing,” Jeremy said before he left. “This weekend. Are you coming?”
She smiled wide. “To your ceremony? Of course. You’re the new boss, after all.”
“Right.” He laughed easily. “It’ll be fun and there’s going to be a bit of a get together afterward at Ever After.”
“The ranch?”
“That’s the one. With everything that happened the first time we tried to do this, we thought why not make it a bit more of anevent.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Okay, it was Bella and Stephanie who thought that, but…”
“I can’t say that I disagree with them.” Natalie smiled. “It’s a huge deal. And especially after the fire and missing the ceremony the first time. You deserve it.”
“I guess I do.” He shrugged, ever humble. “But anyway, you should come. You’re not working that night, right?”
“I’m not.”
“Great. And bring Aiden, too.”
He walked away, but Jeremy’s words echoed in her head.
Bring Aiden.
Were they a couple? Just like that? Did she just invite him to things like this so naturally? There were so many questions and it all seemed so hard to navigate. At the same time, Natalie couldn’t help but smile to herself, because she already knew the answer.
Yes.
ChapterTen
Havinga party for Jeremy’s swearing-in ceremony was a great idea, and even though Stephanie couldn’t take full credit for it, she would happily take credit for getting Faith and Logan on board to host it at Ever After Ranch. And, of course, for contributing financially to the event. After all, Jeremy was Bella’s fiancée, and Bella had very quickly become one of her very best friends.
And even though it had all worked out okay, Steph couldn’t help but feel a little bit responsible for the fact that Bella and Jeremy had almost broken up because shemayhave projected her own relationship experience onto Bella. Thank goodness, the two of them were stubborn enough to figure out for themselves that just because Stephanie Starz couldn’t make a relationship in the spotlight work, it didn’t mean that they couldn’t.
So, for even the small part that she played in almost keeping them apart, Steph would do whatever she could to celebrate him. And of course, Jeremy deserved the celebration on his own merits easily.
And, Steph couldn’t lie…having a party in Glacier Falls gave her another really good excuse to go home to get as many baby cuddles from little Cole that she could manageandcheck on the progress at Lynx Creek, and of course Travis. Not that she was checking up on Travis. Well, not like that.
Steph and Bella had hoped to fly in early before the ceremony, but shooting was delayed by a day due to rain, and it had set everything back a few days. The trip to Glacier Falls was a non-negotiable for Bella, who was doing a really good job in asserting herself with the producers and directors when she needed a bit of time off from the demanding shooting and recording schedule. She’d made her relationship a priority, just as much as her career, and Stephanie was often in awe of how she was balancing it all. But the delay in shooting had meant that instead of coming in on Thursday, they’d arrived Saturday morning, only a few hours before Jeremy’s ceremony.
Bella had immediately gone to be with her love, and Steph had done the same.
“I can’t stop looking at him.” She spoke to Hope, but her eyes never left her nephew’s perfectly chubby face. “He’s so perfect, Hope.”
“I don’t think he’s gaining enough weight.”
Steph tore her gaze away from the baby long enough to give her sister a look. “What are you talking about? He’s perfect. What did the doctor say?”
Hope waved away the question. “I don’t think he’s getting enough milk.” She shook her head. “What if I’m not producing enough for him? What if it doesn’t have the proper amounts of nutrients and—”
“Are you breastfeeding?” Steph tried to keep her voice neutral. Hope was obviously stressed, a fact Faith had communicated to her more than once as well. She was worried about their sister, and it was easy to see why.
It didn’t look like Hope had slept much at all. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her face was drawn. She’d lost a lot of weight since the baby was born. More than she had to lose, as far as Steph was concerned. Hope hadn’t gained much weight in her pregnancy, and in only a month since the baby’s birth, she was far thinner than she had been before getting pregnant. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, but Steph suspected she hadn’t washed it lately. And breastfeeding? Steph didn’t know all the details, but she was pretty sure that the cancer medications she was supposed to start taking after the baby was born wouldn’t go well with breastfeeding.
“I thought you were…” Steph tried to tread carefully. “Well, how are your treatments going?”
Hope shook her head. “It’s fine.”
