Page 77 of The Other Plan

He gasped. “Oh, my God. Did I just do it? Did I just convince you to stop being a dumbass and go get your boy?”

“Maybe.” I smiled a little more.

“Yay! Jenter lives again!” He raised a triumphant fist in the air. “Eek! If you get married, you have to make me your best man. Because if this works out—” He leaned in, “—which it will, then this is all gonna be because of me. Oh, my God! You’ll have to name your firstborn after me! And Cameron is a great gender-neutral name, so you can use it no matter what! Eek!”

Laughing, I shook my head. “Slow down there, Speed Racer. I’m still not even sure how this is going to work out. He still lives in New York.”

Cameron rolled his eyes. “You said yourself that we don’t have many or any events in the winter here. So, you spend your winters in New York with him.”

“I hate New York,” I grumbled.

“But you won’t hate New York with him. What else do you do all winter? It’s freezing here, so we’re just trapped inside for months and months. You binge Netflix, eat way too much junk food, and then you and I have to haul ass to drop the pounds so we can fit into our summer clothes.”

“Valid,” I agreed. I started to let the idea of winters in New York percolate in my mind. Walking through Central Park together, stopping to get hot dogs on the street, fancy dinners at restaurants, eating food with portions I’d complain were way too small. Little visions of a life with Carter started forming into more realistic thoughts by the second.

“So, you’re not missing anything if you spend six months with him there. That leaves six months left. Let’s say he comes up for a month every summer, and then the other five months, you just take turns flying back and forth every other week for a few days. Sure, it’s not as much time if you lived in the same town year-round, but it sounds doable, right?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. I guess it does.”

“And eventually, you’ll have me trained enough that I can handle more weddings without you, so you can spend more time with him in The Big Apple but still live here.”

“You would want to do that?” I asked, suddenly feeling a little lighter now that we had what sounded like a feasible plan. I always felt better when I had a plan.

“Uh, yeah! Hello! I’m super ready to pull on my wedding planner shoes and kick off my assistant shoes. I can handle this. Then, you’ll be freed up to do some traveling and a little bow-chica-bow-wow with your stud muffin. But you’ll still get lots of time back here to replenish your soul after the city sucks it dry.”

“You know. This really could work, Cameron! I mean, we still have Camilla to deal with, but I have to just trust that he won’t give in to her.”

“He won’t,” Cameron said with certainty. “That bitch is toast. There’s no way she’s going to wear him down.”

Hope fluttered inside my chest as I glanced over at Carter. Fear still bounced around in there as well, but he was worth the risk. We were worth the risk.

“Just promise me you won’t move away to New York permanently. Capeesh?”

“Capeesh.” I stuck out my hand, and he shook it. “I’ll never leave you permanently, but you’re right. It would be so stupid not to at least try to make this work with Carter. I do love him, Cameron. So much. We deserve a real shot.”

“Well, then get your cute butt over there and tell him! Put the poor boy out of his misery already!”

Nerves crackled inside me. “What do I even say? I just told him last night it was over. I don’t think I’m ready to walk over there yet. There’s still a lot standing in our way between now and happily ever after, and I just need a minute to prepare myself.”

“Well, you better prepare fast because he’s coming over here.” Cameron kissed my cheek, then bowed and backed away. “Hey, Carter,” he said just before spinning off and rushing after the waitress with the tempura shrimp.

I inhaled a stilling breath, then turned around to face him. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo that he nearly took my breath away. It fit his broad shoulders perfectly, following his tapered waist and showing off that chest and those abs I knew hid beneath the dark fabric.

“Hey, Jenna. You look really beautiful in that dress.”

“Thanks.” I glanced down at the gold fabric wrapped around me, then nodded toward his tux. “You look really good tonight too.”

“Do you think I could, uh—” He shuffled his feet, and it was strange to see Carter looking anything but confident. “Would you like to dance with me?”

When he extended his hand, I glanced at it. The repercussions of such a simple movement seemed far more serious than just a dance. But one look up into his eyes, and I knew I had to push my fears aside.

I liked to plan. I liked to know with certainty what the end result would be, but I realized that no one could ever have a plan when it came to love. Not really, anyway. Sure, we still had some obstacles in our way, but what couple didn’t? Even a couple who lived in the same town and had all the same goals could still face uncertainties along the way. Life happened. Change happened. But all that really mattered at the end of the day was that they loved each other and made a commitment to face those challenges together.

Something I knew Carter and I could do. Would do.

He smiled, and I felt the last of my uncertainties drifting away on the notes of the song.

“Yes,” I said, and the simple answer induced the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face.