Choosing Happily Ever After - Elena Aitken Page 0,50

The idea that in less than a year from now she could be holding her very own baby in her arms made her heart ache with an intense want.

And considering there was nothing she could do at that moment to speed up the process of actually getting pregnant, the next best thing was to create the perfect space for her future baby. Which was easier said than done, considering the spare room had been used as a storage space for the last few years because Hope had been too busy to take things up to the attic properly, or get rid of them altogether.

She lost herself in the task of sorting through the old things, making piles of things to donate, throw away, or take up to the attic for storage. Hope didn’t know how long she’d been working before she heard the sound of the front door slam, followed by Faith’s voice calling out for her.

“I’m up here,” she yelled from behind a pile of her dad’s old books. “In the spare room.”

A moment later, Faith popped her head inside. “What are you doing in here?”

“Cleaning.” Hope waved her arms around and laughed a little. Whatever she was doing, it certainly didn’t look as if she’d actually cleaned anything. “Well, organizing anyway. I thought I’d turn this room into the baby’s room.”

Faith’s smile dipped a little bit at the mention of the baby. Hope knew her sister wasn’t happy with her decision, and she couldn’t blame her, not really. Faith was only looking out for her best interests, but what she didn’t understand was that a baby was in her best interest. She felt it deep down; she was going to be fine. The cancer was in the early stages and the doctor said so as well. She had time. But this would be the only time. Hope knew her sister would change her mind about all of it as soon as she saw her new niece or nephew. She’d fall in love with the baby, too. There was no doubt.

“What are you up to?” Hope changed the subject as she stacked another book. “I’m sorry that I’ve been kind of absent from the barn for the last few days. I just…well…”

“It’s okay.” Faith shrugged. “I’ve been taking inventory like you suggested.” A sly smile crept over her sister’s face. “And reorganizing a little.”

“What?” Hope shook her head and sighed. She and Faith had very different ideas on how to organize and no doubt her type-A sister had created a sterile and structured system that wouldn’t make any sense to Hope. She’d just have to fix it later. “Whatever,” she said, deciding not to pick a fight.

“But I’m actually here for you,” Faith said. “I decided we needed a little fun around here and something to smile about.”

Hope couldn’t argue with that. She sat back and listened.

“So, I was thinking that we could do something that we used to.”

“What’s that?”

“Guess.”

Hope shook her head with a laugh. “You’re being ridiculous. I literally have no idea what you’re talking about. What did we used to do? Like when we were kids?”

Faith nodded. “Little kids.” She fed her another clue. “It was your favorite thing and you always begged me to do it, even after I thought it was stupid. In fact, I think this is the first time I’ve been here when you haven’t asked—”

“Wedding sisters!” Hope jumped to her feet with excitement. She’d always loved playing wedding sisters with Faith, and she’d been so sad when Faith declared the whole idea of weddings and love stupid and refused to play with her anymore. It hadn’t stopped her from secretly playing without her sister, but it was never the same. After all, you could hardly pretend to get married to someone if you were the only one playing. “Seriously? You want to play?”

Faith laughed. “No. Not at all. But you do, don’t you?”

Hope nodded without hesitation. The timing was terrible, to be sure, but if Faith was really offering to “play” with her, there was no way she was going to say no. “I do,” she said quickly. “I really do. Is that silly? I mean, we’re grownups.”

Faith laughed. “It is silly. Beyond silly. I mean, I thought it was completely ridiculous when we were kids, but…” She shrugged. “You are my sister, and I love you and I know things haven’t been awesome lately and…well, I just want to see you smile. So if playing dress-up is going to make