Page 48 of Needing Happily Ever After

“Katie, please.” Jeremy’s voice dropped. “You need to explain this to me because I just don’t understand how this happened.”

He sounded so sad and confused that Katie’s heart broke a little bit. She hadn’t led him on. Not really. And definitely not intentionally. But they hadn’t been dating. They’d been… “Jeremy.” She reached out to touch his arm. “I’m sorry if this is confusing for you or if it’s unexpected—”

“Unexpected?” He pulled back and gave her such a harsh look that it hurt her heart a little bit. “I’d say it’s unexpected, Katie. You’ve known Damon for how long?”

She shrugged. It wasn’t a question she needed to answer.

“And for all that time, were you ever interested in him? Like even a little bit?”

She couldn’t answer that. Not honestly. Because the truth was that there had been a few times in the past where she’d considered the idea of Damon as more than a friend. Truthfully, they’d been short-lived and definitely nothing that stuck around as a real thought, but still…there had been times. But if she told Jeremy that, it would hurt him even more and that was the last thing she wanted.

“This is…” He ran his hands through his hair and turned in a slow circle before stopping in front of her. “Is it because of the money?”

Her back stiffened. “Pardon me?”

“It is, isn’t it?” He nodded, as if he’d figured everything out. “I mean, I get it. He’s richer than…well, he’s richer than anyone I know. I get how that would be appealing. I get how—”

“Screw you, Jeremy.” She pulled her arm back, ready to slap him into silence. How dare he insult her in that way.

But before she could make contact with his cheek, Jeremy’s hand clasped down on her wrist and he pulled her close so she was pressed up against his body. His arms wrapped around her tightly and a second later, his lips were on hers.

The kiss was messy and hard and not at all welcomed. Katie squirmed in his grip and was just about to bite down on his tongue when it was over.

“I’m sorry.” Jeremy sobbed and dropped his head onto her shoulder.

It took Katie a second to realize that he was crying. Actually crying. Her bare shoulder was wet with his tears as he released his emotions. Confused and not really sure how to react to his outburst of completely confusing emotions, she brought her hands up to his back and patted it in a way she hoped was comforting. “Jeremy, I don’t really know what to tell you…”

“It’s okay, Katie.” He shook his head but didn’t lift it. “I mean, no, it’s not okay. None of this is okay. I thought we had something. I thought that maybe you just needed a little bit of time and then we’d be able to take it to the next level. I didn’t think that…well, shit, I didn’t think that you’d marry Damon. It’s just such a…”

Finally, he lifted his head and looked at her. Tears streamed down his cheek and the sight of him, his heart breaking right in front of her, caused tears to well up in her own eyes.

Were things more serious with Jeremy than she’d thought?Seeing the pain in his eyes caused Katie to question everything. Had she broken his heart? Had she misread everything?

No. She knew in her heart that she hadn’t misread anything. She wasn’t wrong. They were casual. They’d always been. They’d even discussed it and together they’d agreed that they were never going to be anything more to each other than a casual thing.

Katie cleared her throat and tried again. “Jeremy, honestly, I didn’t think we were like that. We discussed it, right? I mean…well, anyway, I’m sorry if I misread it, but I don’t have feelings like that for you. I’m married to Damon. I need you to understand that.”

He nodded, but she could see that he didn’t understand. Not really. And he still hadn’t released her from his grip.

Katie moved to slip away but he held her fast. And before she could move away, he kissed her again.

This time there was more urgency behind his kiss, as if he could change the past with the sheer power of his lips. There was nowhere for Katie to go—Jeremy had her pinned.

Vaguely, she heard the kitchen door swing open, the noise of the crowd out in the bar filling the kitchen for a moment and then, “What the actual fuck?”

Damon!

Shit.

With one last effort, Katie managed to get her hands between them and she shoved Jeremy away from her right as Damon grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around.

Jeremy took a stumbling step backward; his hand touched his lips as if he couldn’t even believe he’d just kissed her. And then Jeremy’s face shifted as he looked at Damon. Jeremy held up his hands and took a step backward. “It’s not what you think—”

“Really? Because it looks like you were kissing my wife.”

“I…we…Damon…”

“Damon!” Katie stepped forward to grab his arm, but the look on her husband’s face stopped her.

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