Page 10 of Needing Happily Ever After

Jeremy tipped his head smugly.

“Last year?”

“More like last month, Damon.”

His words sliced through him, which was complete bullshit because Damon didn’t have any right to be pissed or hurt or pretty much anything when it came to Katie’s love life. No right at all.

Still.

“Last month?”

“Last month,” he repeated. “Katie and I have a thing.”

A thing. What the actual fuck did that mean?

Damon took a deep breath and forced himself not to react. He would not lose the sense of calm that he’d regained after his run. Jeremy was hurt. No doubt he was a little embarrassed, too. After all, if they had a thing—whatever the hell that meant—he would not have been expecting to hear about her engagement. Worse, Damon hadn’t even asked whether she was seeing someone. How selfish could he be? Dammit. But she’d said yes. Hell, she hadn’t even hesitated before agreeing to be his fiancée. Clearly, whatever was going on with Jeremy wasn’t that serious or she would have mentioned it.

“Well, I don’t know about your thing.” He emphasized the word. “But—”

“Sex,” Jeremy interrupted him. “We have sex, Damon. And now, just like that, you’re—”

“Not one more word.” It was Damon’s turn to clench his fists. Blood rushed to his face, and he wouldn’t hesitate to be the one throwing the punches if it came to it. And it would come to it if he said one more thing about Katie.

“Or what, Damon?” Jeremy stepped to him and every fiber in Damon’s muscles bristled. “Or you’ll hit me?”

“So help me, Jeremy. I’ll—”

“Jeremy! Damon!” The voice cut the tension and they both turned at the same time to see Katie running down the sidewalk toward them. She wore shorts and a T-shirt. Simple, but gorgeous. The ring on her finger flashed in the sunlight. The ring he’d given her. Damon couldn’t help but feel a little vindictive in hoping that Jeremy noticed it. “Hey.” Katie came to a stop beside them. For a moment, she looked uncertain about where to stand, or more specifically, who to stand with. Damon took a possessive step toward her but it was Jeremy she spoke to. “I was looking for you, Jeremy. You weren’t at the station, and the guys told me you—”

“Went for a walk.” Jeremy looked pointedly at Damon. “There was something I had to deal with.”

“Station?” Despite the obvious anger pouring off his old friend, Damon couldn’t help but be curious. Had Jeremy become the firefighter he’d always dreamed of becoming? Nobody answered him, but a quick look at the logo on the other man’s T-shirt told him what he needed to know. Glacier Falls Fire Department. Damon felt a flicker of happiness for his old friend, but that flicker was doused quickly when Jeremy spoke again.

“I suppose you were looking for me to tell me about this?” He jabbed a finger in Damon’s direction. “Pretty sudden, don’t you think?” He narrowed his eyes. “After all, it wasn’t that long ago that you were underneath—”

“Careful, Jeremy.” Katie held up a hand. “Careful.”

Jeremy looked as if he might try to say something else, but thankfully he closed his mouth and pressed his lips together. He was mad, sure. And he probably had a right to be. After all, it really wasn’t all that long ago that she had been underneath him. And he under her. Their hookups always were a good time. But that’s all it was—a hookup. A good time. Nothing serious, and they both knew that. Hell, they’d discussed it like grownups a few years ago. They enjoyed each other’s company, definitely. But they were also mature enough to know that it was never going to go anywhere. They weren’t in love.

They never had been.

So they had an understanding.

But looking at Jeremy now, Katie couldn’t help but think that maybe things had changed on his end. Either that or he was just trying to mark his territory. Either way, she did feel bad that he had to find out the way he did.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself,” Katie said honestly. “Everything has just happened so fast and—”

“Why?” Jeremy looked between her and Damon. “Why him? After all this time?”

Because he’s my best friend. Because he knows me better than anyone. Because he asked me. Because he needed a favor.

There were so many things she could say in response to the question. Instead, she shrugged. “It’s hard to explain.”

Jeremy shook his head and scoffed. “I guess I should have guessed,” he said after a moment. “You two were always…” He looked to Damon and then back at Katie. “Close.”

Before she could say anything more, Jeremy turned and walked away from them. She wanted to call him back and explain things differently. Or at all. But she couldn’t. What would she say? Instead, she dropped her head and shook it slowly from side to side before Damon wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“Well, you certainly didn’t tell me about that.”

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