Page 32 of We Wish You a Happily Ever After

Steph smiled. “Exactly. And when you put it that way, your career is far more noble.”

“That’s ridiculous. It’s just different.” He shut her down. “The arts are crucial and we all know it. We’d go insane if we didn’t have entertainment. It’s not better or worse. It’s just different.”

“Thank you for that.”

“I mean it.” He handed her a glass bowl.

“Do you understand maybe why she left the way she did?”

Jeremy thought about it for a moment, but finally he shook his head.

“Would you be able to choose?” she asked him. “Between firefighting and her?”

He moved to shake his head, but something stopped him. “It’s different.”

Her smile was sad, like a woman who knew the answer and knew he was wrong only because she herself had seen more than her share of heartbreak because of a career she loved.

“I never asked her to.” His voice was laced with sadness, because he already knew what she was going to say.

“That’s the point, Jeremy. You didn’t have to.”

* * *

“That’s a wrap, everyone. Go home, get dressed, and see you there at five sharp.”

Bella sank into the sofa that had been pushed against the wall of Kyle’s studio apartment and dropped her head back, letting her eyes close for a moment. Between the drive through the mountains, the exhausting rehearsal the night before followed by a mostly sleepless night and another morning of rehearsals, she wasn’t sure how she was going to keep her eyes open long enough to actually get through the gig later that night.

“I know what you need.”

Bella snapped her eyes open at the touch of Kyle’s hand squeezing her thigh. Before she could react, he traced a finger up the inside of her leg. She scooted backward seconds before things got even more inappropriate.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.” His smile was slow and lazy. “This was always your favorite way to unwind after a long rehearsal.” He leaned over her and moved to kiss her neck, while his hand cupped her breast, all before she even realized what he was doing.

“Kyle! Stop it.” Bella shifted sideways, up and off the couch. “We’re not a couple anymore.”

He wasn’t deterred. “You know that doesn’t matter. It was only ever you who was into labels. All I’m saying is a little release always did help you after a rehearsal.” He leered at her. “It’ll get you ready for the performance tonight. It’s a big one. Pretty important, am I right?”

“It is.” She couldn’t disagree with that fact, but it had nothing to do with sleeping with him. And if he thought for a moment that it did, he was more delusional than she thought.

He stood and walked over to her. It was only then that Bella realized the other band members were already gone. He backed her up against the wall and ran his hand down her arm. “Which is why you need to—”

“Go home and change.” She was not about to let him talk her into doing anything that she didn’t want to do, or worse—put her into a situation she couldn’t get out of. “I was thinking the red, sparkly dress with—”

“That’s a good one.” He nodded. “But first—”

“No.” Bella pressed both palms against his chest and pushed so that Kyle took two stumbling steps backward. “I’m not interested, Kyle. Back off.”

“Back off?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his demeanor changing instantly with the rejection. “You’ve never told me that before.”

Bella moved across the room to gather her purse. With every second that passed, she was starting to regret her decision to come back to the city more and more. It had been hard enough to justify leaving the way she did, but now… “You know what? I’m starting to remember why I left the band in the first place.”

Kyle laughed. It was a cold, mean sound. When she turned around again, he was shaking his head, an ugly smile on his face. “How could you forget? You had a tantrum, got mad and threw my shit out the window.”

“That’s because you were—”

“Screwing Dominique,” he finished for her. “I thought maybe I could bring out in her what I brought out in you. But, you always were the best, Bella baby.”

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