Page 47 of Needing Happily Ever After

“It has.” Damon agreed, but he didn’t see it the same way Nick did. Not really. Sure, he’d enjoyed the party lifestyle for a while. Who wouldn’t? They were young and had money to burn. It was every young man’s dream come true.

At least for a little while.

After a few months of waking up next to a different woman every Sunday morning, Damon had started to get tired. Tired of pretending he was something he wasn’t. Tired of the women he was picking up, taking out on the town, and sleeping with. Tired of pretending that they were something that they weren’t. It’s not that they weren’t nice women. Maybe they were. But they weren’t the right woman.

His eyes traveled across the room to land on Katie, who’d reappeared from the washroom.

They weren’t Katie.

Was she the right woman?

It was a ridiculous question, and if he hadn’t been standing with Nick, he might have laughed out loud at himself. Katie was Katie.

She was a fabulous woman. And she was his wife.

He shook his head clear of the thoughts and the questions that he shouldn’t even be asking himself. “But that time is over now,” he said to Nick. “I’m all settled down now.”

Damon tipped his glass back and drank the rest of the amber liquid in one swallow. The alcohol was starting to dull the edges a little and relax him.

He reached backward to tap on the bar. He needed another drink.

“Well, I can’t say I’m super excited for you, man.” Nick shook his head. “But if that’s your new wife, she’s pretty damn hot.”

Jealousy, anger, and something else he couldn’t pinpoint flared up inside him at Nick’s words. But as soon as the feeling rose, he squashed it. Nick was his friend. Possibly his best friend with the exception of Katie. She’d been part of his life for so long that he couldn’t imagine her not being there. And maybe that was what was bothering him. If this whole marriage of convenience thing blew up… No. His eyes settled on her, dressed in a gauzy white sundress, looking absolutely gorgeous, and he knew in an instant—he’d be destroyed if she ever turned her back on him. He didn’t know how he’d live through one day on earth if Katie wasn’t there. Maybe he never should have crossed that line with her and put their entire relationship in jeopardy. But he had. They had. So the one thing he did know was, no matter what, it was all going to work out. It had to. There was no back-up plan.

“That is Katie, right?” Damon was jarred back into the moment with Nick’s question. “Because if she’s your wife, she sure looks pretty close with that guy.” He followed his friend’s gaze and it didn’t take long to see what Nick was referring to.

Damon’s blood ran hot. Blood pounded in his ears and for a moment he had trouble seeing straight.

That was Katie.

And Nick was right. She did look pretty close to that guy. To Jeremy. With his arms on either side of her, blocking her in as if he were having an intense conversation. He couldn’t see Katie’s face, but he could see the way Jeremy leaned in toward her. He could see the proximity that the other man stood to her. He could see him with her. And she wasn’t trying to get away.

“Fuck.” He muttered under his breath, but Nick heard and chuckled with a shake of his head.

“Looks like you have your work cut out for you. A firecracker, is she?”

Damon’s vision clouded and any hope in hell that he had for keeping his jealousy in check went straight out the window as Jeremy leaned in to kiss his wife.

“What are you doing?” Katie squirmed out of Jeremy’s arms, just a little because he was standing too close to get away completely. But enough to stop his lips from touching hers, which seemed to be the most pressing matter. His arms caged her in against the wall. “Jeremy,” she hissed. “I’m married.”

“No.”

He pulled away enough to look in her eyes. They were full of hurt, and Katie felt a rush of sympathy for him. But also a rush of anger. What exactly did he think he was doing?

“This is crazy, Katie. This…whatever it is.”

“It’s a wedding, Jeremy. My wedding. Well, not today but…” Katie tripped over her words, flustered by his presence or his words, or both. She didn’t know. “A few days ago, Jeremy. You can’t do this. I’m married to Damon.” She tried to look over his shoulder to see whether Damon was nearby. She both wanted him to see what was happening so he could put a stop to it, and at the same time, she desperately hoped he hadn’t seen anything because the last thing she wanted was to make a scene or have Damon misconstrue anything.

“You need to talk to me about this, Katie.” Before she could object to what he was saying, Jeremy grabbed her hand and pulled her through a door into the kitchen. “You need to help me understand.”

As soon as they were alone, or at least out of sight from their friends, Katie spun to face him. “Understand what?” He’d clearly had a few drinks, but Jeremy had never been the type of guy to drink much. In all the years they’d been friends and dated, Katie had never seen him drunk. “You can’t do this, Jeremy. I’m with Damon.”

He laughed. Jeremy took a step back from her, dropped his head back and laughed. It was so unexpected that, at first, Katie didn’t know how to react. She stood and watched as humorless laughter overtook him. When Jeremy showed no signs of stopping, Katie turned to leave and rejoin the party. The very last thing she needed was to deal with this. Not now.

“Stop.” The laughter cut off abruptly. “Don’t go.”

Katie froze in place but didn’t turn around.

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