Needing Happily Ever After

by Elena Aitken

  Even so, it had killed him when his buddy Jeremy Davis asked her out, and she’d said yes. Katie was his and everyone knew it. Still, he had no claim on her, so he hadn’t said a word and had instead gone and found his own girlfriend—or six. He never did have the best track record of keeping a girlfriend for very long, a fact that hadn’t changed even when he got older, moved away, and went to school. It was a situation that only got worse once he sold his microchip designs, because it suddenly became that much harder to know whether a woman was interested in him because of him, or his money.

  Maybe he was destined to be alone.

  Damon opened his eyes to stare at the hotel room ceiling.

  It was a depressing thought. But not a new one.

  Not that there was any point in dwelling on it. Especially now, when he was back in Glacier Falls and supposed to be happily engaged. He checked the clock on the nightstand. There were still a few hours until he was supposed to meet up with Katie. With a sigh, he heaved himself off the bed. His laptop sat on the desk, but the last thing he wanted to do was look at his email. It wasn’t that he worked so much these days—he had more money than he’d ever need—but he liked to keep himself busy with a few little projects here and there. Maybe one day he’d find something he enjoyed as much as he’d enjoyed working on the microchip when he was in school.

  Damon knew he’d gotten lucky with his design—that he still couldn’t talk about—and when all the top tech companies took notice and got into a bidding war over his design, it had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. At least that’s what he’d thought at the time. As it turned out, money didn’t fix everything and as much as he enjoyed traveling and having fun, more and more lately, he’d been thinking of trying something new. Maybe settling down and having a family one day…

  Damon laughed at himself. First things first.

  He needed to get ElkView.

  But first, he needed to get out into the fresh air before he drove himself crazy. There was one thing that never failed to clear his head: a good, hard run.

  “Mom! Seriously, I’m supposed to be studying.” Katie groaned and slapped her pen down in front of her. For the last fifteen minutes, her mother had been loudly slamming around the kitchen. Opening more drawers than necessary, slamming them with way more force than was required, and openly sighing and staring at her daughter. To say it was distracting would be a gross understatement. “Do I need to go to the library to get some peace? Because I will.”

  Debbie Langdon placed a freshly baked muffin directly in front of Katie and right on top of her textbook and took a step back to lean against the counter.

  “Really? You’re bribing me with a baked good?”

  Her mom shrugged in an effort to pull off innocence. “Whatever works, Katie. I’m not trying to distract you.”

  Katie shot her mom a look as she reached for the muffin. Blueberry, her favorite. Her mom was no fool.

  “Okay, maybe I am trying to distract you, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have questions, Katie. And it’s definitely not unreasonable for me to want to discuss those with you.”

  Katie sighed and tried not to let guilt wash over her. It probably wasn’t unreasonable at all for her mom to want to talk about the whole engagement thing, which was how she’d started to think about it. But it wasn’t really a good time. She needed to do well on her statistics exam the next day. She was in the homestretch at getting her degree. So close, she could almost taste it, but she just needed to get through one last exam.

  Taking a degree program via correspondence hadn’t been easy, but it would be totally worth it. Soon.

  If she could study.

  Still, her mother was clearly not going to let this go anytime soon. She leaned back in her chair and peeled the paper off the muffin. “Okay, what do you want to know?”

  Katie took a slow bite and focused on the delicious taste filling her mouth as she waited for her mom to grill her. It wasn’t until she’d chewed, swallowed, and moved for another bite that she realized her mother hadn’t said anything yet. She put the muffin down slowly and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and turned to see her mom, her head dropped to her chest, silently crying.

  Shit.

  Katie abandoned her muffin, pushed back the old wooden chair with a scrape along the linoleum, and went to stand in front of her mother. Her hands danced around, unsure whether she should hug her or not. Finally she settled for putting her hand on her mother’s arm. “Mom? What is it?”

  “You’re getting married.” She still wouldn’t look up, so she fortunately missed the wince that Katie was sure she hadn’t been able to hide. “And I didn’t know.”

  “Yes you did,” Katie said quickly. “You did know, Mom. I told you.”

  Debbie shook her head and finally looked up, her eyes full of tears. “But I didn’t know you were in love. I mean…I guess I always kind of knew. You and Damon were just…”

  What. The. Hell.

  Katie shook her head. “We were what?”

  A small smile crossed her mother’s pretty face. “You two were always inseparable and there was just something about you when you were together.”

  “We were best friends,” Katie insisted. “We were only ever best friends. Really. I had…” She trailed off, unsure as to why she was defending their relationship when her mother was basically saying exactly what she wanted her to.

  Still, it felt weird.

  Very weird.

  Her mom shrugged. “I know you said that, but it always kind of seemed like more.”

  The idea was boggling to her, but Katie made the decision not to push her mom on the issue. Instead, she played along. “Well, maybe it always was.”

  That made her mom smile again, but only for a moment before she burst into tears again.

  Katie had known that her family wouldn’t just blissfully accept her engagement announcement without any pushback, but she hadn’t been expecting so much emotion from her mother. Not really. Debbie Langdon had never been much of a crier. Katie could only remember a handful of times when she’d actually even seen her mother cry, and it was almost always when someone died. Not when someone got married.

  She wasn’t sure how to feel about the fact that her engagement brought out the same type of emotions in her mother that death did. Fake or not.

  Katie waited a beat and contemplated going back to the table to finish her muffin, but in the end, she took a deep breath and asked, “So why are you crying? This is supposed to be a good thing.” Whether it was or not, she didn’t need to go there. Not yet. She already felt terrible about lying to her family; the truth was not going to be easy to tell when it was time. She could only hope that they understood that she would do anything for her best friend, including agreeing to a fake engagement.

  “It is a good thing,” Debbie said after a moment. She looked up and smiled as she wiped her cheeks. “My baby is getting married. Married! And that is a very good thing. There’s so much to do and plan and prepare.”

  And just like that, the tears were dried up and Katie’s mother was in full-on planning mode. She moved quickly through the kitchen to fetch her ever-present notepad that hung with a magnet on the fridge and a pen. She pulled out her chair, sat, and immediately started scribbling things down while Katie looked on in awe.

  “You’ll need a dress, and we’ll talk to Faith about the food. Maybe we can get Brody Morris at Birchwood to cater. His food is so good.” She looked up for a moment before once more bending her head to her task. “How many people are you thinking? Maybe keep it small, like fifty or sixty people? I’m not sure what Damon’s list will look like but that’s probably a reasonable number.” She thought about it for a moment before nodding to herself. “Yes, very reasonable.”

  Nothing about what she was saying sounded reasonable at all but Katie did her best to try not to look too panicked. “I hadn’t really thought much about it yet, Mom. I mean, it’s weeks away, right? And I still need
to write this exam.”

  “Weeks? Weeks! Exactly. It’s only weeks away, Katie. Do you know how fast that will pass?” She snapped her fingers. “Like that. We really need to nail down some details.”

  Katie moved quietly to her stack of books. What she really needed to do was nail down the concepts surrounding standard deviation for her exam. “Maybe you could go through some of this with Faith, Mom? I’m really not too fussed with the details. And I really don’t want anyone to go to any trouble. Can we please just keep this small?”

  Debbie smiled. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I just got excited.”

  “It’s okay. But really, I do want to keep things simple, if it’s all the same to you?”

  “Whatever you want, Katie. It’s your day. But I will be talking to Faith about a bridal shower.”

  Katie shook her head. “No way. I put my foot down with a bridal shower.” When her mom’s face dropped, she added quickly, “Mom, I mean it. Please. Really simple.” It would be way easier to break the news that none of it had been real if people didn’t make a big deal of it. Katie pushed away another flicker of guilt and picked up the rest of the muffin, cramming it in her mouth.

  “You know,” Debbie said. “I really do think you and Damon are a great match. He’s just always kind of gotten you, ya know?”

  Katie nodded with her mouth full. It was true. No one understood Katie like Damon did.

  “Not like Jeremy,” she continued. “I know you’ve liked spending time with him over the years, but I never was really convinced that the two of you were a match. You know what I mean?”

  Katie did know what she meant. Very much. But she couldn’t have answered if she’d wanted to because she was far too busy choking on the muffin that had suddenly become very dry in her throat.

  Jeremy. Shit.

  She’d forgotten all about him. And sure, it’s not as though they were serious or anything. At least, not serious serious. After dating through most of high school, they’d decided to keep things casual.

  As casual as you could be in a small town.

  It wasn’t anything serious. They both knew that.

  But still.

  Shit.

  It felt good to breathe in the fresh mountain air as his feet hit the pavement beneath him. Damon moved quickly, pushing himself faster and farther as he picked up momentum. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone for a good run in Glacier Falls. Maybe never.

  He hadn’t really picked up running as a hobby until college and then it was only out of necessity, to get him away from his computer screen for a few hours a day. A situation that had only gotten worse when he’d dropped out to develop his microchip designs.

  But those days were behind him, and it had never felt better to stretch his legs and push his body further.

  He cruised easily down the side streets before hopping onto the gravel path that wound its way through town and into the forest on the other side of the river for the best view of the falls before working its way back into town and onto Main Street. It was a beginner trail and often full of young families, but it was the best he could do with the time he had. Now that it looked like he’d be staying in Glacier Falls, he’d make a point to find some more challenging routes for some real trail running.

  Just as it always did, Damon’s mind cleared and the weight that had settled on his shoulders vanished completely as he made his way back down to Main Street. He was just slowing his pace to a walk when he heard his name called out.

  “Damon! Damon Banks!”

  It was a familiar voice, but not a happy one. Damon came to a stop and turned around, just in time to see Jeremy Davis, his best buddy from school—next to Katie, of course—striding toward him. He grinned and lifted his hand to wave, but Jeremy didn’t look happy.

  “Hey.” Damon extended his hand as Jeremy grew closer. “It’s great to see you, man. I’ve—”

  “What the fuck, Damon?”

  So much for pleasantries.

  “Good to see you, too, Jeremy.” He didn’t even have to force the smile on his face, because it was good to see Jeremy. Despite the fact that his old friend looked as though he wanted to punch him in the face. A thought that had the potential to become a reality if he wasn’t careful. “It’s been how long now? Years, right?”

  “You’re marrying her? Really?”

  Ahh. Katie. Of course.

  Not that he should be surprised, really. After all, they did date. But that had been years ago. Maybe Damon should be surprised. There was no way Jeremy could be holding a torch after all this time.

  “I am,” he answered cautiously. “And I don’t suppose you’re here to offer me congratulations.”

  “Fuck you, Damon.” Jeremy clenched his fists at his side, but Damon had already had enough.

  “Seriously, Jeremy.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re pissed? You dated in high school. What the hell is your problem?”

  “We’ve dated since high school, hot shot.”

  “It’s been—since high school?” It took a moment for Jeremy’s words to make sense. But as soon as they registered, they hit him in the gut. “Like a few years ago?” He tried to keep his voice light. This was not going to affect him.

  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.

&nb
sp; “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.”