Not Quite Sheer Happiness (Event to Remember Series Book 3) Read online

  We decide to invite all our friends over this weekend to announce our marriage. We plan to have a big catered lunch to celebrate. Now, if only I can make it another two days without letting the cat out of the bag. Should be easy enough, or so I think.

  “What’s really going on?” Madison asks curiously. Am I really that transparent? I do one thing that’s out of character and I feel like I’m on trial. I try to explain that with our busy lives we thought it would be fun to get everyone together. This is nothing unusual, but my calling in to work seems to put everything into a tailspin.

  “Okay,” she says, sounding skeptical. “You know we will be there. Should I bring anything? Maybe some cookies . . . or are you still off sugar so you can fit into your wedding dress?”

  The mention of my wedding dress makes my palms sweat. I tell her to bring some for everyone else to enjoy. She happily agrees.

  I smile to myself when we get off the phone. She’s going to kill me for not telling her, but I will wait to face the music this weekend.

  “I knew you guys could handle everything while I was gone,” I say when Craig and Nicole arrive at the office.

  I glance down at my left hand to make sure I remembered to take off the gorgeous wedding band that Ace gave me while we were away. Luckily, all that’s on my hand is my engagement ring. I know if I wore that band Craig would be the first to notice. He has some kind of super spy radar for stuff like that and I would never be able to talk my way out of it.

  “Hello. Of course, we could handle it,” Craig says. “That’s not the point, though. The point is it’s not like you to just run off and leave town without any warning. Unless, I’m finally rubbing off on you?” he asks with a wink.

  I shift uncomfortably in my chair. “Yeah . . . definitely not.” I wince. “Ace had a few free days and we just wanted to spend some time together. I know it was kind of spontaneous, but there’s nothing wrong with doing things on the spur of the moment once in a while.”

  They exchange a few glances but they must buy my story, and finally we start to talk about something else. I only have to make it a few more days.

  *~*~*

  I hate moving more than anything. Not to mention I’m paying a fortune to break my lease. Or rather, Ace is paying a fortune to break it. I told him that I should just keep the apartment until the lease is up, but he wants to start our life together and I don’t disagree. He told me he would pay any amount of money to have me with him. My heart did a flip when he said that. He also called movers to come and pack my whole apartment next week. I still don’t feel like this is reality—everything is moving so fast and I guess this new version of me is okay with it. In reality, this move is going to be easier than I thought. I realize that I never really settled in after moving out of the apartment I shared with Madison. It was around that time that I threw myself into Sheer Happiness. The truth is I’m not sad to leave this apartment, and now more than ever I’m ready to start my life with Ace.

  Since we arrived home from Vegas, I’ve been slowly moving my stuff over to Ace’s . . . or rather our condo. I’ve already moved my whole closet and all my important things. The movers come next week to pick up my bedroom set, which is going in one our empty guest rooms. I’m getting rid of the rest of my furniture. Our condo is a spacious four-bedroom and Ace has only furnished two of them. He told me to redecorate any way I want. So far, I love married life . . . why did we wait so long?

  *~*~*

  When the weekend finally arrives, I’m a nervous wreck. It’s crazy that I’m more nervous about telling my friends that I’m already married than I was telling my parents. Abby keeps calling me, asking if she should bring anything, but I know she’s really fishing for information. It’s not like Abby to come out and ask. She’s much more subtle than Madison.

  After everyone arrives, Ace pulls me aside. “Whenever you’re ready,” he says with a wink. He pulls our wedding bands out of his pocket and slides the ring on my finger.

  “Almost.”

  I look around at our closest friends. Madison is dancing around, holding baby Charlotte while Cole is watching her intently. I have no doubt that baby fever may start creeping in at any time for her. Little Ace is playing trains on the floor with Abby and Matt watching him proudly. Craig and Nicole are whispering and pointing at Ace’s expensive artwork.

  “You start,” I whisper. He laughs.

  He clears his throat. “We wanted to thank everyone for joining us today,” he says loudly as my heart starts to race.

  Everyone stops talking and looks over at us. I notice Abby poking Matt and smiling.

  “Sienna and I wanted give you some very exciting news,” he says as he squeezes my hand.

  “You’re pregnant!” Craig exclaims loudly. Everyone looks at him and then back at me.

  I roll my eyes. “No, I’m not pregnant.” He thought the same thing when Madison made a big announcement before her wedding.

  “You aren’t breaking up, are you?” Madison asks worriedly.

  Ace and I look at each other and smile. And I start to talk. “No, we’re definitely not breaking up. In fact, we’re married,” I announce as we hold up our left hands.”

  Dead silence. I watch as everyone stares as if I’m speaking Chinese.

  “Aren’t you guys going to congratulate us?” I ask with a smile.

  Madison is the first to speak up. “What do you mean you’re married?”

  I look at Ace and he tells the story of our late-night spontaneous trip to Las Vegas.

  “No freaking way,” Craig says loudly. “Sienna Harris doesn’t do crazy things, especially not some Las Vegas quickie wedding. Are you sure you’re not pregnant? You’re not going to try to pass it off as a honeymoon baby, are you?”

  “Craig, I swear I’m not pregnant,” I reiterate. “The truth is planning our wedding was stressing me out more than anything. I realized I was ready to start our life together and not worry about all the details. Now we can plan an amazing party without all the deadlines and details.”

  I can see that this news is finally sinking in with our friends. “That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. I’m so happy for you two,” Abby says as tears roll down her face. “You know how long I wanted this to happen.” She hugs Ace and me.

  Craig and Nicole still look in shock.

  “Imagine the story,” Craig exclaims. “Big shot wedding planner skips her own wedding to run off to elope in front of Elvis. Wow.”

  Everyone starts to laugh . . . except Madison.

  I pull her aside. I can tell she’s hurt that I didn’t share my news sooner. “Please don’t be mad,” I plead. “It all happened so fast. I wanted to tell you but I was afraid I would freak out and change my mind. I had to close myself off so I wouldn’t lose my courage.”

  She nods. “I understand. And even though I wish you’d told me . . . I have to tell you how impressed I am. You really jumped out of your comfort zone.” She pauses. “And I’m so happy for you.”

  She gives me a long hug, which makes me start to cry. When we pull apart, she gives me a skeptical look. “Wow, look at you—eloping, crying, keeping secrets from your best friends. Who are you and where have you put Sienna?”

  I start to laugh. “I’m still the same Sienna. Except now I think I can let go a little. Maybe not worry so much about what might happen and just enjoy my life and the people in it.”

  Madison nods. “I think that sounds perfect.”

  *~*~*

  A few hours later, I’m lying next to Ace in our bed. He has his laptop open and he’s busily typing.

  “What are you working on?” I ask curiously.

  He gets a wicked smile. “I’ll tell you in a second,” he says as he finishes typing and then closes his computer.

  “I was working out some new schedules. I’ve decided I need to focus more on our offices in the States. To be honest, I hate being away from you so much. That being said, starting next month, I’m limiting my international travel. My o
ffices overseas are doing quite well and I have good people there to oversee things for a while.”

  I practically jump into his lap. As if this day couldn’t get any more perfect.

  “That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” I say excitedly.

  He leans his forehead onto mine. “All right then, Mrs. Eckelund, what’s next on your list?”

  I purse my lips together. “What makes you think I have a list?”

  “Don’t you?” he asks.

  I smile. “Maybe.”

  We both start to laugh.

  Finally, for the first time in as long as I can remember, my life feels like it’s all coming together piece by piece and, as usual, it didn’t go as planned. I don’t know what’s going to happen next and I’m okay with that. All I know is, at this very moment, I feel like I’m one step closer to sheer happiness.

  Epilogue

  As an event planner, I tend to lose touch with many of the couples I work with after they get married. This needs to change because if they are anything like Ace and me, then they are probably some of the happiest people around. I know the honeymoon phase fades over time, but for right now I plan to enjoy every second of it.

  I moved out of my apartment and I’m officially the lady of the house, as Ace likes to call me. That must be some kind of European term but whatever . . . I love it. Thankfully, Ace’s travel has slowed down a bit so we’ve been able to enjoy being a newlywed couple more than I thought we would.

  Our plans for our big party/reception are coming along and I’ve been so much more relaxed in my plans. Craig and Nicole are having a lot of fun putting ideas together, once they got over the shock that I handed over the reins to them.

  Speaking of Nicole and Craig, they’ve turned into quite the power team and are planning some fantastic events. Every so often I remind Craig about the temper tantrum he had over Nicole’s promotion. He hates when I do that, but I think it’s fun. Sheer Happiness Events is flourishing despite the release of Lisa’s damaging story. I guess Carrie was right when she said that even negative publicity could be good. Who would have thought she’d give me some good advice? Speaking of Carrie, she seemed to drop off the face of the earth following her last visit to my office. I thought we were finally free until I received another message from her a few days ago.

  Rumor has it that Lisa was finally fired from her job and she still blames me. Ace keeps telling me not to worry about it but I do. No matter what outrageous decisions I’ve made lately, I haven’t changed entirely. I know that as I become more successful I should expect plenty more negativity. It didn’t take but a few days for the news of our Vegas wedding to get out and shock the world. Okay, maybe not the entire world, but it did shock plenty of people.

  Now that I’m married, I can start to relate to Abby and Madison’s “wife” conversations. I can’t believe how fast people expect you to take the next big step. Of course, the big question on everyone’s mind has been when Madison plans on having a baby. And according to her, “not for a very long time.”

  Speaking of babies, Abby shared her own big news that she’s expecting again. I can’t tell if she’s totally excited or totally devastated or maybe a little of both.

  For now, my plan is to enjoy being a newlywed and continue to build my company. Ace and I have also started to make some of our own plans as a couple and I can’t wait to see where it goes. Who knows what the future will bring? But no matter what, I’ll be ready for it . . . plan or no plan.

  The End

  Dear Reader:

  I hope you enjoyed Not Quite Sheer Happiness. Please take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon and don’t forget to visit my website to sign up for my newsletter.

  Stay tuned for my next book coming soon!

  Authormelissabaldwin.com

  Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

  About the Author

  Melissa graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's Degree in Communications. She has always had a love for writing. An avid journal keeper, she took her creativity to the next level by fulfilling her dream with her debut novel, An Event to Remember . . . Or Forget. Since then, she has written and published three more novels, Wedding Haters, See You Soon Broadway, and Friends ForNever.

  Melissa resides in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and young daughter. When she isn't writing, this multitasking master organizer is busy being a mother, wife, chauffeur, PTA president, and fitness trainer. When she has free time, she enjoys traveling, running, fitness, fashion, and taking a Disney Cruise every now and then.

  About the book:

  Sienna Harris is back and appears to be on top of the world! Her company, Sheer Happiness Events, is booming, but personally she’s a mess. She never imagined that with amazing success would come tremendous pressure. Although her professional life seems in disarray at times, her relationship with the dashing Ace Eckelund is finally progressing.

  Friendships are tested and so is her relationship when—once again—the past collides with the present. Sienna begins to question everything in her life and wonders if she should throw out her desire for constant certainty and live life on the edge for once. But, will she be able to change the person she has always been for who she wants to become?

  Find out in this captivating third installment of The Event to Remember series.

  Table of Contents

  Other Books by Melissa Baldwin

  Acknowledgements

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader:

  About the Author

  About the book: