Needing Happily Ever After - Elena Aitken Page 0,57

it happened, the moment he registered in his own mind how she felt. Or at least, how he assumed she felt.

Damon’s eyes darkened, his face hardened, and he dropped his hand from her arm. “Okay.” His voice was clipped and controlled, stripped of emotion. “I get it. Message received loud and clear.”

“Damon, I didn’t say anything. I—”

“You didn’t have to. I got it, Katie. This is business. An arrangement.”

No. It wasn’t. It wasn’t like that at all. At least not for her.

“Damon, don’t do this.”

He held up a hand to stop her protests. “I’ll tell you what, Katie. The papers are almost signed. Give me a few days. Two tops.” He held up his fingers. “You can get your money, start your little shop, and go back to your lover. Judging by what I saw earlier, you’re counting the days yourself before you can—”

“Fuck you, Damon.” She slapped him then before he could say anything more. Her palm stung from the contact but she curled her fingers inward both to hold in the heat and stop herself from doing it again. He didn’t deserve that kind of attention.

Instead, she turned on her heel and, with her heart breaking with every step, walked out without another word.

Chapter Fifteen

It was early on Thursday as Faith made her way down Main Street and into the Birchwood restaurant for her meeting with Brody. The overcast morning had the rain clouds looking as if they could spill at any moment. Faith breathed in the fresh air but she wasn’t worried about rain. At least not the way she would be if there were a wedding at Ever After Ranch that weekend. It was still hilarious to her that she was so in tune with the weather forecast now.

But it didn’t matter whether it snowed on Saturday, because she had the weekend off and she planned to enjoy every minute of not thinking about flowers, or wedding cakes, or first dances, or any of it. But she couldn’t start relaxing yet. The weekend was a few days away and she still had a to-do list a mile long, including some details for a promotional campaign she’d been working on, and one last meeting with Brody for an upcoming event.

At least she didn’t have to worry about what was going on at the barn. She’d left Logan in charge of that.

Logan.

She surprised herself by blushing just at the thought of Logan.

Blushing.

Faith didn’t blush.

Except for maybe the night before at the Knot when he slid his hand across the booth to her leg. No one else had seen it, and it hadn’t gone further than a quick squeeze of her thigh. Just enough to get her attention. And maybe that had been the point. After Damon and Katie had rushed out in a flurry of what could be described as drama, Damon’s friend Nick had introduced himself and joined them at the table.

He was attractive, a fact that hadn’t been lost on Faith. But despite how good-looking the newcomer was, her attention was still on Logan. A fact that she’d found more than a little troubling. And despite trying not to think about it, it was all she could focus on.

“So, this is what I have.” Brody dropped a file on the table in front of her, startling her in the present, and away from thoughts of Logan.

Probably a good thing.

No. Definitely a good thing. She didn’t need to be thinking of Logan in any way.

“All I need from you is a final head count next week, and let me know if we have any allergies I should be aware of.”

Faith flipped open her binder to the file for the Glick and Hunter wedding for the following week.

It hadn’t been long that she’d been in charge of Ever After, but much to her surprise, and just a little dismay, she was getting pretty good at the wedding planning business. Never in a million years did she think that would happen. Never mind the idea she had for a little social media marketing. Hope would be so impressed.

For the next few minutes, they discussed final numbers and ironed out the last few details for catering. Brody’s files matched her numbers, just as she knew they would.

“So, do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?” Faith shut her binder, the meeting over. “With no wedding to organize, I myself plan on doing a lot of sleeping.”

Brody laughed. “If by exciting you mean coaching a soccer game before eating burnt