Page 31 of We Wish You a Happily Ever After

Chapter Ten

The next morning,Jeremy needed almost an entire pot of coffee to pull himself together enough to face the day. He’d been up way too late tossing and turning after his run, which had only worked to clear his mind until he stopped moving. The truth was he couldn’t turn off his brain and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking of Bella or what went wrong between them for her to leave without a word.

Sure, Roy said she had a gig with her band. A good one. A career-changing gig. And he would never in a million years begrudge her that opportunity. But she hadn’t said good-bye.

And that was the one thing he’d focused on all night until finally, the sun streamed through his window. With the dawning of a new day, he was out of time. He had turkeys to get into the oven at the fire station for dinner later that night, and there was no way he was going to even try to explain why he couldn’t get it done this year.

No. There was simply no time for a broken heart on Christmas Eve. Not for Jeremy.

As it turned out, working in the kitchen at the firehall was a great way to put thoughts of Bella out of his mind, and he’d done a great job of hiding any hurt or heartache that he was feeling.

Or so he’d thought.

It wasn’t until they got the last bird in the oven, that Stephanie Starz, who’d jumped in with both hands to help out now that she was Glacier Falls’ newest resident, turned and snapped a dishtowel at him.

“What’s up?” she asked when he gave her a what the hell look.

“What do you mean?” He grabbed the empty bowls that had held the bread crumbs they’d used to stuff inside the birds and tossed them in the sink before picking up a rag.

“With you,” she said. “What’s going on? You seem…”

“Festive?” He made his best effort to grin. “Busy? Overwhelmed with a huge to-do—”

“Sad.”

She said it so matter-of-factly, Jeremy decided not to even bother trying to deny it.

“I am.” He shrugged and turned his back to fill the sink with hot soapy water. “She left.”

“Bella.”

It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t reply.

“It’s hard to be involved with someone with a career like hers.”

Jeremy turned around, suds on his hands, and looked at his new friend. Not long ago, she’d been engaged to be married in what was supposed to be the wedding of the century according to the tabloids, but at the last minute, had called it off.

“I know a few things about that,” she said simply.

He offered her a sad smile. “I guess you do.”

Without asking, Steph joined him at the sink. He turned his attention to the dishes, handing each one to her for drying.

“I heard she was offered a pretty big opportunity.”

He nodded without asking how she knew. In a small town like Glacier Falls, it wasn’t unusual for word to get around quickly.

“That’s what it sounds like.”

“Hard to say no to.”

He shrugged. “I guess.” He handed her a large platter.

“I don’t pretend to know what it’s like for everyone,” she said after a moment. “But I do know that with people like us it’s almost impossible to separate your worlds.” Jeremy turned to stare at her but she was focused on the plate in her hands. “It’s acting for me,” she continued. “It’s like a drug. Like a pull. I can’t not do it. When I’m on set, I feel alive, like I’m doing what I was born to do. Does that make sense?”

He nodded as she finally looked at him.

“I guess it might be like when I’m fighting a fire. It’s as if I were meant to be there in that moment, saving that building and saving lives.”

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