Page 29 of Needing Happily Ever After

Chapter Eight

The next morning,after yet another night of barely getting any sleep, Katie poured herself another cup of coffee and stared out the glass window. She had no idea how she was going to get through the…however many more days it would be…running on next to no sleep. But the one thing she did know was that she could not sleep when Damon was lying next to her. There was no way.

Her body was way too aware of his proximity. Especially after that kiss.

Or…all the kisses. Each one got a little more intense than the last. And even though her brain knew it was Damon kissing her, her body certainly did not. She needed to find something to distract her if she ever planned to get some sleep again.

Either that, or she would need more coffee.

Katie raised her mug to her lips and took another long drink as her cell phone rang.

Welcoming the distraction, she pressed the button to answer Faith’s call. “Good morning. Please don’t tell me you’re cancelling mountain biking,” she said as way of a greeting. “I really need the distraction.”

“Good morning to you too. And no, I’m not,” Faith answered. “Why do you need a distraction? Wedding stresses?”

Katie nodded even though she hadn’t even thought of the actual wedding that morning. “Yup. Wedding stress,” she lied. “But going for a ride will help. You ready?”

“Very ready,” Faith said. “And that’s why I’m calling. How many bikes do you have?”

Katie did a quick mental count of the old bikes they had in her barn. “A few for sure. Why?”

“Well, I mentioned it to Sarah. Do you remember Sarah?”

“Sarah Lewis. Of course. Don’t forget, I never left this town.”

“Right,” Faith said. “Well, we’ve been hanging out a bit more lately and it turns out that there’s something going on with her and Brody.”

“Brody Morris? Everyone knows that.” Katie laughed. Brody and Sarah were almost always together. And no matter what Sarah said about being just friends, it didn’t take a genius to see that both of them wanted it to be more, if it wasn’t already.

“Well, I didn’t know.” Faith sounded a little affronted, but then she laughed. “But I guess it makes sense.”

“Exactly.” Katie took another big gulp of coffee. “Hopefully they sort themselves out soon because I think it’s a great thing.” It was better than a great thing. Sarah had a run of terrible luck when her husband died tragically in a drowning accident. They’d been childhood sweethearts, and it had been incredibly hard on her. She’d spent the next few years completely dedicating herself to her daughter. She was a great mom with a heart of gold and she deserved so much out of life. Katie was genuinely happy for whatever it was that was going on with her and Brody, who was also a great person.

“So what does this have to do with mountain biking?”

“That’s the best part,” Faith said. “I heard through the grapevine that you were hoping to start up a rental shop and offer tours and things. And…when Sarah mentioned that she’d never tried it…well, it seemed like the perfect fit. And then after I spoke to Damon last night, I had this great idea that it might be more fun with more people and—”

“Right,” she interrupted, despite the fact that she’d mostly stopped listening after hearing Damon’s name. It was ridiculous the way her body reacted at the mere mention of him. Again, she had to remind herself that Damon was just her friend. That was all. She was acting like a ridiculous teenager. “Sounds fun to me. And like I said, I could totally use the distraction.”

“Perfect! We’re all going to have so much fun.”

“Who is we all?”

Faith laughed again. “Sarah, Brody, myself, and Damon of course.” Of course. “Oh, and Logan,” she added as an afterthought.

Katie ran her hand through her hair.

“So, this afternoon then?”

Getting out on the trails never failed to clear her head. But with Damon? And her big brother? This was a plan that had trouble written all over it. With a sigh, she shook her head and turned to look back at the bedroom door that Damon hadn’t emerged from yet. The trails did seem like a good alternative to driving herself crazy with Damon’s proximity. Besides, it was actually market research for the business she wanted to start now that she was done with her exams.

“This afternoon is great. We’ll load up the bikes and meet you at the trail head. I’ll text you directions.”

Damon felt more than a little proud of himself for having such a great idea the day before. Sure, they probably should have been thinking about getting ready for their nuptials, but going mountain biking would be way more fun. And if he were lucky, it might take his mind off how badly he actually wanted to take his bride-to-be, push her up against the wall, and do things to her that would definitely make her blush.

Maybe if they spent a little time together doing something active and surrounded by other people, the weirdness that had been shrouding them ever since they moved into the cottage would disappear. Or at least, diminish a little bit. It was making him crazy.

Ever since they’d kissed—and then kissed again—and again—something had changed. And Damon knew Katie felt it too. How could she not? There was definitely something between them. And it was a whole lot more than friendship. It was sexual tension so thick that it threatened to consume them both if they didn’t keep it in check.

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