Caroline Ruth loved romance and happily-ever-after stories and all sorts of things that her academic-minded mother considered nonsense. That was how she knew with absolute conviction that this career as an assistant wedding planner in Rust Creek Falls, Montana, was tailor-made for her. And so did her boss, who was currently on her honeymoon and had left their newest client in Caroline’s more-than-capable hands.

Josselyn Weaver sat across the desk from her, poring over bridal gown catalogs as they both waited for the groom to arrive to the couple’s initial consultation. Picking a gown always seemed to hold the most excitement for the brides, but Caroline knew that booking a venue was the foundation of building a successful event. After all, the guest list and decorations and theme usually depended on the location.

Caroline’s stomach growled and she wished she had stopped for a breakfast croissant at Daisy’s Donuts on her way to work this morning. But she’d been so eager to get to the office and prepare for this meeting that she’d barely allowed herself time for a couple of bites of a disgusting protein bar she’d found smashed in the bottom of her giant tote bag.

“So when we met a couple of months ago, you were pretty adamant that you wouldn’t be getting married anytime soon,” she finally said when Josselyn looked up from a glossy magazine spread. Not that she wanted to rush the bride, but Caroline had too much energy for long periods of silence, no matter how comfortable they were. Besides, the more she could learn about the couple she was working with the better. “I’m glad to see you changed your mind.”

“I know. I remember you telling me that you’d be planning my wedding soon and I thought it was the craziest thing I’d ever heard.” Josselyn’s eyes were bright with humor, and Caroline smiled since she was well accustomed to people not really taking her instincts seriously. The bride continued, “I’d just moved to Rust Creek Falls to take the school librarian job and wasn’t even looking for a date, let alone a relationship. I know people say that love finds you when you’re not looking for it, but if someone had told me that I’d be engaged by Christmas, I never would have believed it.”

Caroline gulped as a shiver made its way down her back.

Engaged by Christmas.

The words brought back the memory of Winona Cobbs’s prediction that Caroline would be engaged before she turned twenty-four. That was a bit more than a month away, which meant that if the old psychic was correct, the right man would need to come along soon.

Shaking off the tingling vibration along her skin, Caroline glanced down at the wastebasket by her feet and wondered if she’d been a little too quick to throw out the half-eaten protein bar. She was suddenly feeling a bit light-headed and needed to keep this meeting moving along.

“So tell me about your fiancé,” she suggested. She was almost as new to the small town as Josselyn was, and despite the fact that she’d already assisted with a few weddings out at Sunshine Farm, Caroline hadn’t met the groom yet.

“Drew is an obstetrician at the Rust Creek Falls Clinic. His first wife died in a car accident several years ago, and since this is his second wedding, I want to make sure that I’m being respectful to her memory.”

“Of course.” Caroline nodded sympathetically. “And if I remember correctly, he also has an adorable son that introduced you two, right? I’m guessing you’d like him to be involved in the wedding somehow.”

“That would be wonderful,” Josselyn replied as her cell phone vibrated. She looked at her screen. “Drew just texted. Apparently, he ran into his brother at Daisy’s, but the good news is that he’s bringing donuts to apologize for running late.”

“No problem.” Caroline waved a hand in dismissal as her stomach clenched in anticipation of a sugary treat. Josselyn picked up another bridal gown magazine, and Caroline decided to steer her toward the more important decisions. “Have you guys talked about the size of the wedding or whether you want it to be indoors or outdoors?”

“Well, he’s originally from Thunder Canyon, so we were kind of thinking something in Kalispell might be a bit more accommodating for everyone traveling. I’m not really sure how many people we’re inviting, but his family is huge. And I was hoping we could set the date within the next couple of months, so we would probably need an indoor venue since Montana winters can be pretty unpredictable.”

“I know the perfect place!” Caroline jumped up so quickly she hit her knee on the corner of the desk drawer. “Hold on, I have more information on it in one of these binders.”

Their current office building used to be an old train depot at Sawmill Station, and when her boss, Vivienne, converted it for her wedding planning business, her husband had built her a wall of bookshelves. Cole had promised to install a rolling ladder when they returned from their honeymoon, but until then, Caroline had to drag a piece of furniture over and climb up on it every time she needed to reach something on the top shelf.

To take her mind off the fact that she was balancing on an antique wooden chair in a pair of high heels, Caroline kept talking, hoping her enthusiasm disguised her nervous energy. “There’s a historical brick building in Kalispell that is currently an art museum, but the back opens up into this huge open space. And get this. It used to be a Carnegie library before the city relocated the library to their current location. But the historical society rents it out for events and, well, if I wasn’t so short I could reach the brochure and just show you.”

“Can I help?” Josselyn asked, coming to stand nearby.

“Nope, I almost have it.” It wasn’t very ladylike—especially in an above-the-knee ruffled skirt—but Caroline put one foot onto a shelf to shimmy up just a little higher and stretched her arm as far as it would go until her fingers could grasp the bottom of the binder. As luck would have it, that was the exact moment when the front door opened.

“Drew...!” Josselyn said, her voice trailing off as she obviously walked away from the bookshelves

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