Free Ever After (The Christmas Cottage - Book 2) by Samantha Chase Page A

more…realistic expectations.”  There, that sounded good, didn’t it?
    “Brian, that night that you came to my hotel room, do you remember what you said to me?”
    “Of course I do.”
    “You told me that I was a passionate person and that Mason was stifling that.  Well, what I learned is that you’re right; I am passionate, especially about the things that I want.  I don’t think that my expectations are too much.  I want a job that has potential and a home that I love.  What’s wrong with that?”
    “Nothing’s wrong with it, per se, it’s just that you keep tacking on the word ‘perfect’ and there is no such thing; not really.”
    “Well that’s just sad, Brian,” she said wearily.
    “Why?”
    “Because it means that you are the one who is settling.  You’re the one who’ll never be truly happy because you’ll just take what’s in front of you and never dream of more.”
    He stood because his temper was rising.  How dare she lecture him on his dreams!  She had no idea how hard he’d worked to get where he was or how long he’d dreamed of having the woman that he loved just simply sitting beside him on the couch!  It may not seem grand or extravagant, but that was his vision of perfect.  He was just about to say as much to her when Ava came to stand beside him, her hand on his arm.
    “I don’t want to argue with you, Brian.  I really don’t.  I just don’t want to see you settle when there’s so much out there in the world to see and do!”
    “Has it ever occurred to you that I sincerely like my life the way it is?  I have a great job, great friends and I have a very supportive family.  I built my dream home and while it’s my dream home, it may not be perfect to somebody else.  That doesn’t make me love it any less!”
    “ Your house is perfect!” she cried.  “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise, it’s just that…”
    “And on top of all that,” he interrupted, “I have the woman that I love finally standing beside me and she,” he stopped and placed s gentle kiss on her lips, “is damn near perfect.”
    Ava couldn’t help but smile.  “I’m glad that you think so but I’m far from it.”  She shrieked as Brian scooped her up in to his arms and headed toward her bedroom where he showed her all through the night just how perfect she was.
    ****
    It didn’t take long for some of Brian’s words to start making Ava think.  Was she being realistic?  Was she searching for something that didn’t exist?  Was that why she wasn’t married yet?  Was there really no such thing as fairytales and happily ever afters?  For that she wasn’t sure but she did know that she wouldn’t know what she was going to do or where she was going to go if she stopped searching.  Her job at the book store was a dead end and while she had sent her resume to over a dozen companies, nothing thrilled her as of yet.
    Well, at least not in the job department.  Her time with Brian?  Now that was thrilling.  One of the things that made Brian stand out above any man that she had ever dated was that he challenged her.  Mason had yes ’d her to death to merely appease her but Brian wasn’t afraid to say no to things that he didn’t want to do or to let her know when he thought she was making a mistake.
    That one took a little getting used to.
    After a lifetime of no one really telling her no or disagreeing with her, having someone point out her mistakes and imperfections, but not in a mean or bad way, was a brand new experience.  The first lesson learned came after their very first night together; Ava never made the mistake of getting out of bed to freshen up in hopes of fooling Brian again!  He still teased her about it, but lightly and looking back she realized how silly it was.  Brian wasn’t with her because she woke up with lip gloss on and her hair perfect, he was with her because he loved the person that she was inside.
    That took a little getting used to, as well.