Page 10 of Keeping Happily Ever After

“Whoa.” Jeremy had put his breakfast down and watched her intently. “What is going on in that head of yours? Did I say something wrong?”

Her brain spun and Bella forced herself to focus. She smiled sweetly. “You wouldn’t want too much of a good thing, though, would you?”

It was ridiculous to even let herself think about this at all.

She needed to take things slow. She needed to focus on her career, and enjoy whatever it was that was happening between her and Jeremy. And she would not overthink it.

Jeremy was the best man she’d met in a very long time—maybe ever—and she was determined not to screw it up by overthinking it or moving too quickly. No. She’d take things slowly this time and do it right. She was determined.

He opened his mouth to answer, but Bella beat him to it before he could say what she knew he would. “I got the part.”

“What?” He sat back in shock and she watched his reaction closely.

She hoped and prayed he was happy for her. Excited for what it meant for her. For her career. Bella watched for a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, or anything that would tell her that he wasn’t just as excited as she was.

There was nothing but happiness there.

It obviously took him a moment to process what she’d said, and when it registered, Jeremy’s mouth fell open. He reached across the table, almost knocking their coffees over, and took her hand. “You got the part?”

She nodded.

“Thepart?”

She nodded again.

“The part that…Bombshell?”

She nodded a third time. This time, tears came to her eyes and she blinked hard to keep them at bay.

“I did.” Her voice was soft, barely audible. But Jeremy heard it.

“Holy shit, Bella!” Jeremy squeezed her hands and then he was up and out of his chair. He pulled her into a hug, lifting her off the ground as he spun her around in the small coffee shop. “This is amazing. Congratulations, babe!”

When he set her down again, he spent a second apologizing to the people he’d almost hit when he’d spun her, but then proudly announced to the room, “She got the part! My girlfriend, Bella Burton, is going to betheBombshell.”

Girlfriend.The word sounded good and only made his proclamation all the sweeter. She let herself bask in the glow of his attention and for the first time allowed herself to be happy about everything that was happening.Reallyhappy.

Everything was going to be okay.

No.

It was going to be better than okay. Because she had the best boyfriend in the whole worldandall her career dreams were about to come true. Nothing could be better.

Despite his lack of sleep the night before, it had been a great day. Jeremy was used to not getting a full night’s sleep, and he would normally spend much of the next day in bed, recharging and resting. But spending his day with Bella was an even better way to rejuvenate. He felt as if he’d never have to sleep again if it meant spending more time with her.

He was completely lovestruck, and he loved every single minute of it.

After her announcement, Jeremy would have happily taken Bella straight home and directly into his bed to celebrate in their own, very special way. But he managed to muster enough self-control to wait and give her a special day to mark the occasion. After all, it wasn’t every day that your girlfriend—a label he was more than happy to finally start using—landed a starring role in a major film production.

After the bakery, they’d walked down the street to the Hub, where Katie had set them up with some fat tire bikes, perfect for riding the trails around town in the snow. Glacier Falls had an extensive trail system right in town that went down along the river and the waterfalls, which were mostly frozen this time of year. The water still flowed under the ice, and it was pretty awesome to hear the power of the water moving even if you couldn’t see it.

Katie had just brought in the fat tire bikes, and Jeremy hadn’t had a chance to try them yet. Mostly because they were almost always rented out. The activity had become super popular, and Jeremy had to call in a favor from his old friend to reserve the bikes especially for them. It was a favor that only a few months ago Katie never would have agreed to. Sure, they were old friends, but they also used to be a bit of an item—if you could call it that—and when Katie had up and married her best friend Damon Banks in what turned out to originally be a fake wedding, to say that Jeremy had been caught off guard would have been an understatement.

No one had been more surprised than he was to find out about the wedding, let alone the fact that it turned out Katie and Damon had always had feelings for each other. Jeremy, of course, hadn’t been thrilled about feeling like a fool, and he may have punched out Damon, who was also an old friend. But that was all before he’d really understood that the feelings the two of them had for each other were real. And unlike anything Jeremy and Katie had ever had for each other. Far from it.

It wasn’t really until he’d reconnected with Bella that Jeremy fully understood how different it was to be completely and totally in love with someone.

At any rate, Katie and Jeremy had made peace and finally, they were all back to normal and able to once again be friends. And, as luck would have it, it paid to have a friend who would reserve the hottest equipment in town for him.

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