It'd still be dead if Sophie hadn't come into my life. She makes me see my life in a different way. The way it was meant to be all along. The only thing missing is a partner to share it with, which I'm hoping will be her.
If she says yes.
26
Six Months Later
Sophie
It's the first day of spring, and the day we break ground on the new addition. It's going to be a simple space that's just one big room with lots of windows. The open space will allow me to transform it all different ways, depending on the event. The contractor assured us it'd be done by June, but just to be safe I've decided not to schedule anything in there until early September.
The first event is going to be a wedding reception. Since it's in the fall, the room will be decorated with deep oranges and reds, with pops of yellow.
The wedding itself will be outdoors. Aiden and I finalized the plans for the outdoor event area last month. The work is scheduled to begin in April and be completed by June. The wedding will take place in the new gazebo, which will be decorated with fall flowers and little twinkling lights. The guests will be seated in white foldout chairs lined up on the tiled patio, which can also be used as a dance floor for outdoor receptions or other events.
The rest of the outdoor space will be devoted to flower gardens, benches, and winding paths, giving guests a place to relax and take in the views of the mountains and trees.
"What are you doing out here?" Aiden comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around me.
"Imagining it." I'm standing where the new addition will be, realizing the importance of this room and what it'll mean to us. It signifies the start of our new life, and our new business. A place we created. The place we'll celebrate our marriage.
The September wedding I'm planning? It's ours. Aiden and I will be getting married on the one year anniversary of the day we met. The day we both got ticketed for littering. I was so angry at Aiden that day. But I got over it, then realized how much I liked him.
Three months later, he asked me to marry him. Without even the slightest hesitation, I told him yes. All my friends thought I was crazy. They said it was too soon to get engaged. But I knew in my heart that Aiden was the one. I knew it long before he asked.
"It's going to be beautiful," he says, kissing my head. "And so are you. I can't wait to see you walking down the aisle. I wish it wasn't so far away."
I turn to face him. "It'll go fast. I can't believe it's almost April. It seems like just a few weeks ago we moved here."
"Best decision I ever made." He pauses. "Well, other than asking you to marry me."
"When did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That you were going to ask?"
"The day I asked you to stay here and help me run the inn."
"You knew that soon? We'd just started dating."
"We were friends before we were anything more. And during that time, I got to know you. It wasn't long before I fell in love with you. I would've asked you to marry me that week you moved here but I assumed you'd tell me it was too soon."
I think back to that week. It started out being the worst week of my life. Losing my job, and then my apartment. Monday morning I packed up all my things and moved into the inn. I'd planned to stay a few weeks, finish up my community service, and move back to Kansas. But then everything changed. Aiden told me about his plans, and by the time he arrived that night, I'd quit my job in Kansas and decided to run the inn with him.
My parents couldn't believe it. They thought I was having some kind of breakdown or early midlife crisis. They even flew out here to make sure I was okay. But as soon as they saw the small town, country inn and the beauty of Vermont, they understood why I wanted to stay. They understood even more after meeting Aiden. They both liked him right away. How could they not? He's smart, funny, charming, and treats their daughter better than any other guy ever could. My mom's been out here twice to help me pick out things for the wedding. She's almost as excited as I am.
"I might've told you yes," I say, smiling up at Aiden.
"I doubt it. You were a wreck that week. So much had happened, and I know you still didn't trust me."
"That's not true. I trusted you." I think back to all the lies Celine told me, and how I believed them. "Okay, maybe I needed more time."
"It's better I waited. There was too much other stuff going on."
He means the deal to buy the inn. Roger was furious when he found out. He threatened to sue Aiden for stealing his client, even though Aiden's the one who found Tom. Fighting a lawsuit would've cost a fortune. Aiden's money would've gone to pay for lawyers instead of buying the inn. Aiden pleaded with Roger to just let it go but he wouldn't, so Aiden went to the only person he knew could change Roger's mind. Celine.
Aiden talked to me before he went to see her. I told him it was a waste of time but he insisted. He drove to New York, took her to lunch, and by the time he got back to Vermont, Roger had dropped the lawsuit. Aiden was shocked. We both were. He said he left New York feeling like the lunch didn't go well. He said Celine listened to him talk but didn't say much, which is totally unlike her. Maybe she finally decided to let Aiden go, or maybe she decided we deserved a
