Choosing Happily Ever After - Elena Aitken

Chapter One

She was gorgeous. All dressed in white, of course. The veil covered her face, but there was no doubt that beneath the gauzy film was the hint of a smile while she tried to bite back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks despite the bride’s insistence earlier that she “absolutely will not cry. I’m just not a crier.”

Hope Turner had seen it a million times before. And they almost always cried.

At least a little.

“Are you ready?” she asked the bride, who clutched her father’s arm tightly. “Just like we practiced.”

“Only this time it’s for real.”

Hope nodded. “It is.”

She’d also seen this a million times. A bride and groom who laughed and joked their way through the rehearsal the night before and then completely came undone at the actual ceremony the moment they realized that it was, in fact, real.

“And you are ready,” she added. “It’s going to be great.” The bride nodded and looked straight ahead. That was Hope’s cue.

She whipped out her phone, which also served as a control station for basically everything, and tapped a button. A moment later, the traditional wedding march—the bride’s choice, not hers—filled the outdoor ceremony space Hope had dubbed Riverbend, due to the fact that it was, in fact, in the bend of the river. She had her pick of perfect ceremony sites on Ever After Ranch, but this was her favorite.

Hope stepped back and let the bride’s father lead her down the grassy aisle toward her groom, whom, she was absolutely certain, would also be dabbing his eyes through the entire ceremony.

The bride made it safely to the end of the aisle, hugged her father, and took her groom’s hand as the ceremony began. There was a time when there was nothing Hope enjoyed more than listening to the couple recite their vows. After all, it didn’t get any more romantic. But lately, there hadn’t been time to enjoy the details of the beautiful weddings she put on. There was just too much to do.

Which was why, as soon as the officiant began speaking, Hope scurried away in the golf cart that she’d recently started using to get from place to place around the ranch, back up to the Barn, where the reception was to be held to double-check with the catering staff that everything was set up. Just as she’d instructed, champagne was poured and ready to go on trays by the entrance. The servers stood by with canapés to keep guests entertained while the newlywed couple went for a few photographs around the property.

Hope did a quick spin of the reception space, a refurbished barn that was her pride and joy and also the reason that her business was booming in the last few years. It was rustic elegance that spoke to the dreams of many engaged couples. It didn’t hurt that it had the capacity for large gatherings, and a wedding coordinator who could handle anything that was thrown at her. She’d come a long way from the little girl who, along with her twin sister, used to beg her parents to help with the few weddings that they’d host on the lawns of their sprawling mountain property. Back then, it hadn’t been a business. Not really. Just a little bit of fun money, her mom used to call it. Something to do when things were slow with the ranching business, or more usual, when there was a special request to hold an event on their property. The Turner ranch had always been gorgeous.

And Hope had seen the potential. Of course, not even her grandest dreams could have prepared her for how successful Ever After Ranch would be and just how busy she’d find herself in such a short time.

Satisfied that the reception was ready, Hope gave a few final instructions to the catering staff, who she already knew didn’t need them, and raced back down to the ceremony space just as the officiant was declaring the happy couple husband and wife.

Perfect timing.

She quickly pressed another button on her phone and new music played over the speakers. The crowd cheered and the bride and groom danced down the aisle with their arms in the air, and ever so slightly red eyes, just as Hope predicted.

It wasn’t until hours later, after the photographs, the speeches, and dinner, with the guests all happily dancing the night away on the hardwood floors of the barn, that Hope had a minute to hop in her cart and head back to