Page 70 of The Other Plan

“You’re a super talented wedding planner, and with Aunt Tilly and Valentina’s connections, you’ll have a full client roster in a matter of months. You’ll make a killing! Probably triple what you make here, or more. It could be an incredible opportunity to really expand your business and show the whole world what you can do.”

As his face lit up with excitement, my chest tightened with the thought of living in a cold city. I’d been there once for a wedding planning convention. While some people thrived in a busy metropolis, my soul had started to die in the few days I’d visited. The noise, the congestion, the smell, the never-ending vibrations of anxiety radiating off everyone rushing around in a constant state of worry. In Door County, we moved at our own pace. We slowed down to appreciate a nice view, got stuck at four-way stops waving at the other cars to go before us, and I reveled in the open space and the fresh air. And the people. Kind and thoughtful, everyone you met became like family. None of those things I loved about my life would be waiting for me in New York City. The only thing I would love about New York would be Carter.

Claustrophobia not unlike being stuck in the MRI tube set in. “I don’t think I can move to New York.”

“But you could make so much money there. If you’re worried about where you’ll live and you don’t want to move in with me right away, I totally get that. But Eric says they have an apartment in the city you can stay in as long as you need to. I mean, you’re welcome to live with me, of course, but I don’t want to freak you out with how fast things are moving. I know it’s already a big ask to have you pick up your life and move to New York, but you would be so successful there. I can just see you out there, crushing the competition and stealing all the big clients. And then we can be together every single day.”

The joy radiating off him tied my stomach into knots. I didn’t feel the same way. Not at all.

“You don’t understand how much I hate the city. Not in just an ‘I prefer country living’ kind of way. In a ‘truly horrified anyone can exist in such a dark, crowded, anxiety-ridden space’ kind of way.”

His face slowly fell. “Oh. I... I didn’t realize you hated the city so much.”

“Well, I do. A lot.”

He scrubbed a hand across his chin. “Wow. I guess I feel kinda stupid here. I really thought you’d be jumping for joy at the opportunity to launch a big career in New York. It didn’t even occur to me that this wouldn’t be good news to you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

My heart clenched at the sadness now filling his eyes. “I’m sorry, Carter, but a big fancy career in New York sounds like hell to me. I don’t care about making a ton of money over quality of life. Yeah, I like nice things, obviously,” I waved a hand around my house. “But I’d choose to eat ramen noodles and live in a box before I’d sell myself out to some job just for the money. Kinda like the guy I once thought you were.” The pained look on his face at my words made me close my eyes for a beat. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I just meant that the Carter I knew would have died in the city too.”

His tone sharpened. “Not all of us can be as lucky as you and make a great living doing exactly what we love where we want to live.”

I furrowed my brow. “I get that, but it’s not luck that got me here. It’s hard work. Sacrifice. Good planning. I could just as easily be working for some asshole still in their company, but I’m not because I took a risk and went out on my own. A planned risk because I researched and figured out there was room for another planner up here. But I didn’t start out with a full client roster. Far from it. In fact, I practically did live off ramen noodles for a year while I started building my business. But I knew I wanted to be here, and I knew I loved wedding planning, so I made the sacrifices and put in the work to achieve my goals. So no, it wasn’t luck that got me a life in a place I love, working with people I love, and doing what I love.”

He exhaled a long breath. “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you didn’t work for what you have. Of course, you did. And you’ve built an incredible life. I just meant that for me, doing what I love isn’t going to ever pan out to a career as profitable as the one I have now. I guess in my head, I thought that you’d be thrilled to come to New York and expand your career because you can do your job there, and I can’t do mine here.”

The reality of those words felt like a punch to the gut. He was right. I could plan events in the city and keep my career thriving. And he was also right that I’d probably be fantastic at it and grow a huge business. Carter would have to leave his career completely and start from scratch to move here. Leave absolutely everything behind, and there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for selling commodity futures in my little world. My stomach turned as guilt wove through me, calling me selfish for not considering his idea more. What kind of woman made a man give up his dreams and then doesn’t even consider adapting hers for his happiness? But then something dawned on me, and it lessened my guilt.

“But you don’t even like your job. You said so yourself. I happen to love mine.”

“I may not love my career, but it pays a hell of a lot more than renting surfboards like I’d dreamed of doing.”

“And is that worth it to you? Money in exchange for your happiness? Your dreams?”

His face dropped as he considered my question. “I guess it’s just been drilled in my head for so long that I needed to grow up and make money that I’ve forgotten any other way to live.”

“I know you’ve worked hard, and I’m not saying that you don’t have a great life and a great business, but I just can’t see myself leaving everything I’ve built behind me to move to a huge city. If you told me that it was your dream, the thing that set your soul on fire, to do what you’re doing in New York, then maybe I’d be more open to considering a move there. But that’s not it. You want to be there to make money, and that’s not ever something I’ll choose over my happiness. I know that I want you. You’re now part of the happiness I need in my life, but giving up all of this to join you in New York while you grind away in an office all day is... It’s just... It’s a lot to process right now. This is a huge decision for both of us.”

“Yeah. I get it. It was different when we were broke college kids with nothing but open roads ahead of us. Now we both have lives and businesses tying us down. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll figure it out. Okay?”

“Yeah.” I smiled, though deep inside, I started to lose the hope I’d been feeling. “We’ll figure it out. I mean, we just started dating again. We’ve got a lot of time before we need to consider making drastic moves. Long-distance dating will be just fine for the time being, so let’s just take this one day at a time. Nothing needs to be decided right now.”

Carter chewed on his lip, and worry lines creased into his suntanned skin.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He peered up at me and exhaled a breath. “I’ve got something to tell you.”

My heart sank at the tone of his voice. I tried not to let my past fears and insecurities get a foothold inside me, but they managed to start clawing their way back to the surface anyway. “Okay. What is it?”

“Um. Camilla showed up last night.”

My eyes bulged. “Camilla as in your fiancée?”

“Ex,” he said quickly. “Ex-fiancée. But yeah.”

“Oh.” I blew out a breath. “Okay. Well, that was unexpected.”

“Yeah. Shocked the hell out of me to see her standing behind me at the bar. But I get why she came. After she cheated on me, Valentina was so furious with her that they had a blowout fight, and Camilla got kicked out of the wedding. But those two were so close before, she decided to come here on a whim and try one more time to win back Valentina’s friendship. And it worked. It looks like they’re gonna patch things up.”