Not Quite Sheer Happiness Read online

  I can see how proud of himself he is so I take advantage of the delicious breakfast he made for me. He leans back casually on the pillows, drinking his coffee.

  “How is it that you look so good this early?” I ask, chewing on a piece of a croissant. “Men have it so easy.”

  He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. “I’ve been up for hours,” he explains. “Did a six-mile run, went to the market, made breakfast . . . just an easy Sunday morning.”

  Typical.

  I shake my head. I don’t know how I ever got so lucky. I move the tray out of the way and slide over next to Ace. “Thank you for spoiling me, and now it’s my turn to spoil you.”

  He gives me a curious look. “Oh really, now you’ve piqued my interest.”

  Chapter 7

  I’m so excited to see Madison. After an amazing, lazy day spent with Ace, we’re on our way to her house. Our day wasn’t completely lazy because we did manage to settle on three possible wedding dates, so at least we’re finally making some progress. I told Ace that we couldn’t show up at Madison’s without a date in mind because I’m expecting that to be the first question out of everyone’s mouths. Ace rings the doorbell and I can already see Susan’s handy work with a fancy name plaque outside the door. We wait patiently, but no one answers the door.

  “Can’t we just walk in?” Ace asks. “You are practically family. Madison won’t care.”

  He’s absolutely right. I walk in to the grand entry hall and I don’t see anyone. What’s going on?

  “Madison?” I call

  Ace and I walk down the hall toward the huge living room, and I’m shocked by what I see.

  “Surprise!” everyone yells.

  I look around to see Madison, Craig, Abby, Matt, and the kids. There’s a huge banner that says Happy Engagement. I don’t believe it. It’s a surprise engagement party. I look at Ace who’s trying to look surprised but not doing a very good job of it.

  “Did you know about this?” I ask. He shakes his head innocently, but then admits it. “Abby called me a few days ago and asked if I would be in town. She let it slip, but I promised not to tell you.”

  “Wow, you guys are the best,” I exclaim.

  Madison and Abby rush over and give me a huge hug, and then Madie grabs my hand.

  “Wow! This ring is gorgeous. Good job, Ace,” she calls.

  I smile proudly.

  “I can’t believe this day has finally come,” Madie says. “Abby and I have been waiting for you guys to go for it. What’s the plan? I know you, show me the lists.”

  I knew everyone would be asking. I give them our three possible dates and the few ideas I have so far. They immediately ask about dresses, colors, and themes. They seem a little surprised when I tell them that I have no idea.

  I’m having such a great time, and we enjoy a delicious buffet dinner that Susan the Super Mother-In-Law prepared. Madison made the cutest cookies with messages on them that say, “Soon to be Mr. and Mrs.” and “Tying the Knot” and my favorite one that says, “Finally.”

  After dinner and a few glasses of champagne, Madie is eager to give tours of the renovations upstairs and Ace is busy playing on the floor with little Ace. Craig pours himself another glass of champagne (I lost count on how many glasses he’s had). He leans over the counter to where I’m checking emails.

  “Seriously, do you ever stop working?” he asks.

  I roll my eyes. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t done any work today. This is the first time I’ve checked emails.”

  “Good for you. It is Sunday,” he exclaims. “On another note, have you told Ace about our new client?” I give him an exasperated look.

  “Which new client is this?” Ace asks from behind me. I freeze. “Is this the law firm you were telling me about?”

  Craig looks back and forth between Ace and me. “Oh good. I told you it wasn’t a big deal if you told him, and I was right. There was no need to worry.”

  I close my eyes. I know he’s right; I just wanted to tell him on my own time.

  “What do you mean?” Ace asks curiously. “Why would you worry about telling me about a client?”

  I rub my forehead and take a deep breath. Here we go, now is just as good a time as any.

  “Babe, do you remember when I told you our new client seemed somewhat difficult?”

  He gives me a funny look. “Yes. I think so. Something about high maintenance?”

  “Yes, Lisa is very high maintenance, but I’m sure it won’t be an issue.”

  Craig’s eyes get big as he mouths “Sorry” when he realizes I hadn’t told Ace about Lisa yet.

  I shrug my shoulders.

  “The truth is I think you know our client. We were talking to her about our engagement the other day, and she mentioned an old friend named Ace. Her name is Lisa Simmson.”

  Ace doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Well, I knew a Lisa Simmson, but I’m sure it’s not the same person.”

  “Oh, it’s her. She said she met a guy named Ace in Europe,” Craig interrupts.

  Ace’s eyes get wider. “Well, that’s quite a coincidence.”

  He looks at me. “Oh, I understand now. You were worried to tell me because of what happened with Luke and me and Lisa, right?”

  I nod. “I know it’s silly, but you and Luke both made it seem like Lisa was the one who broke your hearts and broke up your friendship. She sounded like the girl who got away, and I suddenly became really insecure now that she’s actually here and in my life.”

  “I told her not to be,” Craig interrupts again.

  Ace and I look at him. “Um, Craig, can you give us a few minutes?” I ask. In other words, leave us alone, I think to myself.

  He looks like he’s about to protest, but he wanders off to find the others.

  Ace and I sit down in the living room where little Ace is still happily playing on the floor.

  He puts his arm around me. “I can understand why you felt that way. After everything that happened, Lisa was the reason that Luke and I stopped being friends. Of course, Luke took it harder than I did.”

  I stare at the floor and kick the corner of the area rug. “And you even said that she was the one who broke things off,” I remind him. “I’m assuming she’s the only person to ever do that to you.” He smirks, which tells me that I’m right.

  “I figured.” And this girl must have been crazy to break up with Ace, even though I’m glad she did.

  “Yes, she did break things off, but again, that was a very long time ago. And considering we lived in different parts of the world, it would have happened anyway,” he insists. “Regardless, I haven’t seen her in many years and I’m happily engaged to an amazing woman.”

  I feel like such a fool right now. I should have had more faith in Ace and in our relationship.

  “I’m sorry I made such a big deal out of it. I feel really stupid now.”

  He wraps me up in his arms and gives me a big hug. “Don’t feel that way. I completely understand.”

  “You two aren’t being inappropriate in front of my baby, are you?” Abby asks, interrupting our moment.

  Ace and I smile at each other. “Of course not. We were just hugging.”

  “Good,” she says as she sits down on the floor with little Ace. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes,” I exclaim. “Everything is perfect. I have the best friends I could ever ask for and the greatest man in my life.”

  *~*~*

  Abby and Matt leave the party a little while later. I decide to spend some more time with Madison, so I walk Ace to the car being that he has an early flight in the morning.

  “I will be home on Friday,” he says sadly. “I’m sorry. I know this is hard.” I wrap my arms around his waist.

  “Don’t apologize. Thankfully, it’s a very busy week for us,” I tell him. “I will just have to work very hard to keep from missing you so much.” We kiss and hug for a while until I manage to pull myself away from him.

  I
feel sad when I join Madison who’s sitting on the couch texting someone. She must see my disappointment.

  “What?” she asks.

  I dramatically fall onto the couch. “Ace is leaving again tomorrow. Only for the week, but it’s just hard.”

  I know Madison knows how this feels; Cole was gone all the time until she decided to start traveling with him. I don’t have the same luxury of having a job with a flexible schedule. What’s really bothering me, though, is that sometimes it’s almost easier for him to be gone because I’m able concentrate a lot more on my work even though I hate him being gone. I’m such a mess.

  “Just hang in there,” she says. “I’m sure things will calm down.”

  “Anyway, thank you so much for tonight. I loved being here with all my favorite people.”

  “You needed an engagement party and I needed to see my friends. It worked out perfect,” she says with a giggle.

  “And you wanted to show off the house, of course.”

  She shrugs innocently.

  “Okay, I guess a little,” she says. “Speaking of the house, are you ready for your tour?”

  I can see how excited she is so I let her take me on the grand tour, which wasn’t as grand as I was expecting. Other than a few painted rooms and some fancy décor, it looks pretty much the same to me. After my tour, we spend what feels like hours talking, reminiscing, and eating cookies. I start to feel a little nostalgic for our days of living together.

  “I still can’t believe that the girl that ruined Ace and Luke’s friendship is your client,” she says after taking a sip of her coffee.

  “Oh, I know,” I say. “I feel uneasy every time I think about it. And as I said, she’s gorgeous.”

  Madison quickly rushes to grab her phone from the counter. She runs back and jumps back on the couch. “Tell me her name again?”

  I tell her and she searches her. “Oh, wow.”

  “Yep,” I say as I reach for another cookie.

  Madison is preoccupied by her profile. “Have you looked through her pictures yet?”

  I shake my head. “I had to get off; it was way too overwhelming.”

  “Hmmm . . .” she says. “Look at this.”

  I reach for her phone and look at the picture. Sure enough, it’s a picture of her with Ace. They look much younger but still the same two gorgeous people. Her caption below the picture makes my heart sink. “Me and my Ace in 2006. Miss him so much.”

  “Look how young Ace looks,” I say, holding the phone out to show Madie.

  She shrugs. “Still looks hot to me.” I look again and she’s right.

  I need to chill out, so I hand her the phone. I change the subject, and thankfully, Madie follows my head.

  Before I know it, I forget all about Lisa and her picture. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard or it could be from eating so many cookies. There goes my no-sugar plan again, but it was so worth it. Madison drops me off at home around midnight, and I crawl into bed. I feel so much better after talking to Ace, and I know that everything is going to work out just fine.

  Chapter 8

  I’m so tired. I crawl into work after a restless night. Ever since business picked up for us, my days of going to the gym before work are a thing of the past. Of course, I still pay for my monthly membership because I think that’s the law. I’m sure somewhere it says that you have to have a gym membership even if you never go. Maybe I should Google that.

  I don’t know why I still feel so restless; it has to be all the stress. Every time I look at my calendar, my heart sinks. I don’t even know how I’m going to find the time to plan my own wedding.

  “Sienna?” Nicole asks. I look up from staring at my computer and she’s standing in the doorway to my office.

  “Hi, Nicole, come on in.” She comes in and sits down. She has a very serious look on her face, which kind of makes me nervous. I close my laptop to give her my undivided attention.

  “What’s up?” I ask.

  She clears her throat. “I’ve been thinking about something.” She pauses. “I would really like to take on a bigger role here at Sheer Happiness. What do you think?” She’s talking so fast that I can barely understand her. I think for a few seconds; this may be the answer I’ve been looking for. It would take some of the pressure off me, and we could really use the help.

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  Her eyes open really wide. “Really? That would be fantastic. I’m ready. I promise I will do an awesome job.”

  “You already do,” I tell her. “Just give me a few days and we will sit down and come up with a new game plan.”

  She practically dances out of my office. I’m not sure why I haven’t done this sooner. Nicole has been with me for a while and has shown her loyalty. She also worked with Craig and me at Carrie’s Classic Events and More but she left before us. I recruited her after I started my company. She handles most of the basic office details, but I think she would be really good to be more hands-on at our events. I suddenly feel lighter, almost like some pressure has been lifted off me. Maybe I should let Craig and her handle Lisa’s event. I would be more than happy to skip it.

  I hear Craig come in around eleven o’clock; I really need to get on him about his hours. At least Nicole shows up at eight every morning.

  “What’s up?” he says, barging in with a Krispy Kreme donut in his hand. Seriously? Considering I had about eighty cookies last night, sugar is the last thing I want to see.

  “We need to talk about your hours,” I say. “We’re getting too busy for you to waltz in when you feel like it. We need to be working a full day.”

  He looks at me as if I’ve said something insane.

  “Since when?” he snaps.

  I look up at him from the list I’m working on. “Since today. And later this week we are having an office meeting to discuss our roles. Nicole wants to be more involved with the events and I think it’s a great idea.”

  He looks confused. “And you’re okay with this?”

  I stare at him. “Of course. She’s got a great eye and we need more help. It may be time to just hire an admin assistant and Nicole can work all the events with us.”

  He lets out a big sigh.

  “Why do you have a problem with this?” I ask.

  He shrugs dramatically. “It’s just that we work events together and adding someone else may mess up our vibe.”

  I laugh. “I disagree. I think we need some fresh ideas, and Nicole has been with us long enough to know how we do things. This is a good thing.”

  Craig stomps off in a childish huff. He can be such a drama queen sometimes and I don’t have time to worry about him being territorial. I feel so stupid for not thinking about making this change sooner.

  My phone buzzes from my bag. I dig for it and see a text from Craig. Really? He’s texting me from the next room.

  Lisa wants us to meet her at the venue on Wednesday. Should Nicole go with you?

  I roll my eyes and send him my response.

  No, you and I will go.

  I really didn’t think he would make this big of a deal out of this.

  About an hour later, my phone rings. I’m distracted by some details of Faith, Fashion, and Hope so I don’t notice it’s an unknown caller.

  “Sienna Harris,” I answer.

  “Sienna, is that you?” asks a familiar voice.

  There have been few times in my life when I have had a sudden feeling of dread and this is one of them. Maybe I’m imagining this.

  “Yes, it is,” I reply. “Who’s calling?

  “Sienna, it’s Carrie Anderstone.”

  Nope, I’m not imagining this. Why the hell is Carrie calling me?

  “Um, hello, Carrie.” I’m honestly at such a loss for words I don’t even know what to say to this woman.

  “I know you must be wondering why I’m calling you. Please hear me out.”

  I don’t say anything.

  “My therapist has spent countless hours with me a
nd he insisted I call you. This is necessary for my healing process. I was wondering if you would meet up with me so we can discuss our issues.”

  She can’t be serious. Our issues?

  “I don’t really think that’s a good idea,” I say firmly. “We don’t have anything to say to each other.”

  I can hear her breathing deeply, slow and controlled as if she were in yoga class.

  “You have every right to feel that way, but, please, it will only take a few minutes. That’s all I’m asking,” she pleads. It sounds like she’s reading a script. I have no doubt her therapist wrote down what she should say.

  I suppose I should be the better person here but there is just too much history between us.

  “I can’t . . . good-bye, Carrie.” I end the call and sit frozen in my chair for a few seconds.

  This woman has a hell of a lot of nerve. First, she sleeps with my boyfriend, and if that wasn’t harsh enough, then she tries to sabotage my company and in doing so almost ruined Madison’s wedding. Why should I have to suffer through a meeting with her so she can make herself feel better or fix her emotional issues? I refuse to put myself through that kind of torture.

  I have to tell Craig. When I walk in his office, I see he is listening to headphones and dancing around in his chair. In other words, I doubt he’s doing any work. When he sees me, he takes off his headphones.

  “Whoa. Why do you suddenly look like the angel of death?”

  I sit down in the chair directly across from him. “Thanks. How would you look if you just received a call from Carrie, as in old boss Carrie?”

  His eyes grow huge and his mouth drops to the floor.

  “You’re joking. She really called you?” he asks, as if I’m making this up.

  “You think I would joke about this? Yes, she says her therapist made her call me, and she asked me to meet her so we could talk about our issues. She said she needed it for the healing process.”

  He starts laughing hysterically. “You totally need to go. I’m dying to hear what she has to say and to know how she looks. I haven’t seen her for a while. Can you imagine the new plastic surgery she has now? She may have a completely new face.”