Choosing Happily Ever After - Elena Aitken Page 0,36

back to your hometown, that you were made for city life. And working for your sister? In weddings?” Faith couldn’t help but cringe when he said it out loud because she knew exactly why it didn’t make any sense to him. The same way it wouldn’t have made any sense to her. “You always tell me how ridiculous your sister’s business is. Hell, Faith. You make fun of it! You’ve told me yourself, you don’t believe in happily ever after. How the hell are you supposed to sell it?”

Everything Noah said was true. And if she wasn’t already so conflicted about it, she might agree with him. But she’d promised Hope, and she wasn’t about to go back on her word. Especially when her sister needed her.

She moved past Noah into her bathroom and gathered her toiletries together. “I’ll just have to figure out a way to get past all that.” Her words didn’t sound very convincing, even to her own ears. “I get that you don’t understand it, Noah, but I don’t need to explain it to you.” She turned to face him with a hairbrush in one hand and a bottle of lotion in the other. “I’m going back to Glacier Falls and I’m going to help my sister create happily ever afters for a handful of couples who have bought into the whole love thing and it’s going to be fine. More than fine.”

Maybe if she said it enough, she’d start to believe it herself. Because frankly, the whole idea of having to live on the ranch in a small town in the middle of nowhere and help happy couples experience their most perfect romantic day, all while caring for her sick sister who absolutely could not die on her, sounded like hell.

“It’ll be okay,” she said again. “And the firm will just have to deal without me.”

“I’m sure we’ll sort it out,” Noah said. “Your clients will…never mind. It’ll be fine.”

Faith knew it would. She wasn’t that integral to the day-to-day operations. No doubt, in less than a week, the rest of the associates would absorb her case load and it would be as if she’d never even been there. She knew the drill. She’d seen it happen before when women went on maternity leave. Taking an extended leave from the firm was essentially career suicide. Unless, of course, you didn’t mind starting over at the bottom when—or if—you ever came back. She knew that very well.

Faith looked carefully at the man in front of her. He was always dressed so sharply in an expensive, well-cut suit, his hair perfectly in place. She knew what was under that crisp linen shirt and it was a rock-hard chest, honed from hours in the gym. Noah took care of himself. He was sexy as hell and just looking at him sent chills through her. She shook her head slowly and forced herself to look away.

“Faith?”

She stopped and took a deep breath before turning around again.

“This isn’t about the firm,” he said slowly. “You know that, right?”

She didn’t answer. She was too busy trying to control her breathing. Why did he have to make this so fucking hard?

“And it’s not about you going to work in a business you don’t believe in,” he continued. “Although, I’m not going to pretend to understand it.” He laughed a little, but Faith was too busy trying to keep her body from shaking to join in.

His laughter trailed off. Noah shook his head and looked down at his feet for a moment before trying again. “You make this really difficult, you know?”

“Pardon?” Faith stood her ground. “What exactly am I making difficult? Because I’m just trying to—”

He cut her off with a kiss. Both hands pressed to her cheeks, holding her in place, she was completely taken off guard. For a split second, Faith almost let herself melt into it, but then her senses came back to her in a crash. Her brush and lotion still in her hands, she brought them to Noah’s chest and shoved him backward. “What are you doing?” She took a step back, needing distance between them. “Noah, I don’t—”

“Seriously?” Noah’s fingers went to his lips before he took a step toward her. “I’m trying to show you how I—”

“Well, don’t.” She charged past him to the duffel bag on the bed and shoved a few more things inside before zipping it up with a violent tug. “Don’t tell me or show me or…just don’t.”

He put his hand