Page 12 of Needing Happily Ever After

Chapter Four

“Are you ready for this?”Damon snuck a look at Katie in the passenger seat of his new truck the next afternoon.

It was at least the tenth time he’d snuck a look at her, mostly to reassure himself that she was in fact sitting next to him and had actually agreed to all of this. Especially after the day before. He’d really stuck his foot in his mouth when it came to the way he’d treated her with Jeremy. In fact, he probably owed Jeremy an apology too. Maybe that one could wait until after this was all finished with. Either way, Jeremy wasn’t likely to be okay with it.

But Jeremy wasn’t nearly as important as Katie forgiving him. He’d been an asshole and even Damon couldn’t believe the things that had come out of his mouth. He never spoke like that. Especially not to a woman. And extra especially not to a woman he cared about.

But he had been telling the truth when he said he was jealous. In fact, jealous was an understatement for what had gone through him when he’d learned that Katie had a relationship with Jeremy. His entire body had burned with the need to grab her and kiss her. To claim her. Never in his whole life had he felt anything remotely like what had surged through him at that moment. He wasn’t proud of it, far from it, but he also couldn’t help but question what was really going on in his head and heart that he’d feel that way about her in the first place.

“I’ve met your dad before, Damon.” She laughed and her smile was so perfect that Damon smiled too. “It’s going to be fine.”

It would be a lot of things, but having drinks with his father after years apart and with his new fiancée who he was using to try to trick him into selling him his childhood home was not likely to be fine at all.

“You’re right.” He might as well fake some optimism. “Thanks again for doing this. Really. I mean it.”

“I know you do.” Her smile was so sweet that it once again made Damon feel badly for the way he’d behaved the day before.

“And Katie?” He flicked his glance between her and the mountain road.

“It’s okay, Damon,” she said, reading his mind. “You don’t need to apologize again. Really.”

Damon inhaled deeply as they pulled up to the gate of ElkView. He turned to look at her. “I mean it, I’m sorry. Please believe me when I tell you how sorry I am.”

“I know.” She chuckled a little. “And I do. Now, please believe me when I tell you it’s okay. I’m not mad anymore. We’re good.” He opened his mouth to object again, but she cut him off before he could. “I mean it, Damon. But we won’t be good if you keep trying to apologize.”

He couldn’t help but smile at her faux sternness.

“Okay, okay,” he conceded. “But I really do appreciate all of this.”

“It’s all good.”

There was something so genuine about her that there was no other choice but to believe her. Katie was really okay with all of this. He hated asking her to lie for him, but it would be easy. A quick meeting; his dad would agree to the deal and everything could go back to normal. No big deal.

“Okay.” Spontaneously, he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “Let’s do this.”

He punched in the code and waited as the heavy timber gates swung slowly inward to give them passage.

They drove slowly up the windy drive, through the pine trees until finally the thick tree coverage opened up to ElkView. Just as it always did, the view over the valley took Damon’s breath away. There was a brief time when he was a kid when he hadn’t appreciated the view, but it had only lasted a few years. Even as a teenager, he’d never failed to stop and take it all in.

“It’s so gorgeous,” Katie whispered next to him. “I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of it.”

Damon couldn’t agree more with her. He parked the truck along the side of the house next to the garage and moved quickly around the side to open Katie’s door, but she’d beaten him to it. She gave him a strange look. “Don’t go acting all weird on me now that we’re engaged, Banks.”

“Who, me? Weird?” He winked and extended his hand, helping her down from the cab. “Have I told you how pretty you look today?” He knew he had because she did. She was dressed in a simple summer dress, white with pink flowers on it. She had on strappy sandals that made her taller, but still so much shorter than he was. And her dark hair fell in soft waves over her bare shoulders.

“You have,” she said. “And thank you. You look very pretty, too.”

They were both laughing, her hand still in his when Damon heard his father’s voice. “Welcome home, son.”

Home. Son.

It was crazy that two simple words could evoke so much emotion in him. Katie squeezed his hand in support and it was just what he needed to be reminded as to why they were there. Damon swallowed hard and nodded. “Dad. It’s good to see you.”

Together, they walked across the yard and stopped short in front of Anthony Banks. There was an awkward moment where Damon wasn’t sure whether he should shake his hand or hug him. When was the last time he hugged his dad? Still, it felt strange to do either.

Katie saved the moment by smiling brightly and holding her arms out. “Mr. Banks, it’s so good to see you. You’re looking well.” He matched her smile and they shared a quick hug. “When was the last time I saw you?” Katie was still chatting. “It must have been at the bakery.” She pretended to think and finally nodded and grinned. “Yes, it was definitely at Sweetie Pies. A few months ago now, wasn’t it? You were trying to decide between the rye bread and that new sunflower flax that they’ve been making.”

Anthony chuckled. “I went with the rye, of course. Seeds have no place in bread.”

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