Page 52 of Keeping Happily Ever After

“It means so much that you’ll be here, Bella. And I can’t wait to see you. Maybe after, on Saturday, we can spend the day together and—”

“Wait.” Bella froze. The warmth that had been running through her shifted to a block of ice, and landed in a pit in her stomach. “Saturday? Not this Saturday?” She asked the question, afraid she already knew the answer. “So the ceremony is on Friday?”

“Yes.” His answer came slowly. “This weekend. It’s fast, but the chief put it all together and his wife kind of went crazy with it and…why?”

“The showcase is on Friday, Jeremy.”

“The showcase?”

“You know…with all the stars and—”

“That guy you’re out with?”

She shook her head in wonder. “What? You aren’t really—”

“No. I…I don’t know.”

“He’s the producer, Jeremy, and yes, it’s with everyone. It’s a really big deal.”

The silence once again hung between them.

“Thisis a big deal, Bella. A really big deal. It’s my career. It’s the biggest thing in my entire career.”

The warmth was gone. They were back to distance.

Bella looked to Steph and Bryan and the others who’d been working so hard on the showcase that was going to launch this massive movie that would absolutely change her life. To say it was a big deal was an understatement. But Jeremy’s was a big deal, too.

“I don’t know what to say, Jer. This is the biggest thing in my career. I…”

“Will you come?”

She sat back hard in her seat, shocked by his question. “Come? To Glacier Falls?”

“Yes,” he said simply. His voice was cold. “Will you come, Bella?”

She shook her head. No. There was no way she could come. The fact that he was even asking her… She looked at Steph, but her friend had joined Bryan on stage to sing. Badly.

No distractions.

Not attending the showcase that was featuringhercould definitely be considered a distraction. There was no way. And Jeremy knew that. And just like that, he was asking her to choose between him and her dreams. “I’m sorry,” she said finally. Her voice was strong. There was no waver, so sure she was in her choice. “If you’re making me choose, Jeremy, then I think you know there is no choice to be made.”

It wasn’t until she disconnected the call that she allowed herself to breathe in. And then before she could let it sink in, she powered off her phone and joined Steph on stage.

No distractions.

ChapterSeventeen

Almost an entire weekhad gone by since Jeremy had thrown away everything.

Well, not everything. But he’d thrown away any chance at having Bella.

And that might as well have been everything.

He’d been little more than a zombie for the last few days, going through the motions at the station, responding to minor calls, and putting around between call outs. Nothing mattered. Not without Bella.

Jeremy tried his best to keep his personal heartache away from the fire station and the preparations for the ceremony that would be happening in only a few hours. He didn’t want to dampen everyone’s joy with his own misery. Especially because the party was also for him.

But he didn’t want it.

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