CHAPTER 1
Happily ever after, here I come.
Paige put her car in park then used the rear-view mirror to check her hair and makeup. She fluffed her limp hair. She'd gone to extra lengths this morning to look nice for tonight's date, but keeping up with thirty second graders had taken its toll.
Her cell phone rang as she reached for the lip gloss in her purse. She pulled her phone out instead and grinned at the sight of her cousin's name on the screen.
"Hi, Riley. Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Guess what Daniel gave me for Valentine's Day?" Riley’s voice was positively giddy.
"Chocolate? Roses? A slinky nighty?” Paige couldn’t resist throwing in that last one.
"Well yes, but that's not what I'm so excited about." Riley's voice rose in pitch. "He gave me a new saddle!"
"Don't you already have a saddle?"
"Yes, but it’s twelve years old. My new one is so pretty. He even had my initials engraved into the leather."
"You're giddy because your new saddle has a pretty little H forHamilton instead of a W for Winters?" Paige laughed as she rolled her eyes.
"Yes. Isn't it the sweetest gift?"
"It's perfect. For you." Paige wondered if she'd get to change her last initial from Y to E soon.
Paige Ellis.
She liked the sound of that.
Paige wanted the kind of lovesick happiness Riley and Daniel had. She was already lovesick over the perfect man. She was just waiting on the promise of forever that she hoped was coming very soon.
"Please tell me Phillip made special plans for tonight," Riley’s voice pulled Paige from her daydreaming.
"As a matter of fact, I'm meeting him at Tulio's." Paige looked at the upscale Italian restaurant on the corner. It was one of the most popular restaurants in Seattle. "We're having an early dinner because he has a work meeting later tonight."
"On Valentine's Day? Seriously? His bosses should be fired."
"Such is the life of an international business consultant. He often has to cater to clients in other countries." Paige applied a coat of tinted gloss to her lips. "But he did say he has something important to discuss with me tonight."
Riley let out a little squeal. "Do you think he's going to propose?"
"I hope so." Paige bit back a squeal of her own as a rush of giddiness swept through her.
She melted every time she recalled the smoldering look in his hazel eyes and the husky timbre of his voice when he told her last month he couldn’t imagine his future without her in it.
“I can’t wait to hear all the juicy details,” Riley said. “Call me when you get home.”
"Deal."
Paige checked the time on her phone before dropping it into her purse and getting out of the car. She was a few minutes early, but Phillip had told her to ask to be seated in case he ran late, which he often did. His schedule was unpredictable.
A nippy breeze blew her hair across her face as she walked thetwenty yards to the stop light at the corner. She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill.
The friendly maître d seated Paige in the already crowded restaurant without question. She sent Phillip a text saying she'd arrived and couldn't wait to see him. His prompt response said he was ten minutes out.
She slipped her phone back into her purse, intent on enjoying the soft music and tantalizing aromas that added to the ambiance of the classy restaurant.
"Are you…Paige Young?" A beautiful redhead with a death grip on the strap of her oversized handbag, sat across the table from her. Her red-rimmed eyes looked like she’d been crying.
