Page 41 of Keeping Happily Ever After

Katie and Damon drifted off into a different conversation, but it didn’t matter; Jeremy wasn’t paying any attention to them. He only had eyes for Bella.

Bella was only half listening to what Steph was talking about. She glanced down at the calendar on her friend’s phone. Steph was pointing at some colored squares and spaces, but for the life of her, Bella had no idea what she was saying or what she was talking about. She looked up at her friend’s face and focused.

“Rehearsal…recording…showcase…”

Okay.Bella’s brain caught up. Steph was going over the schedule for the next few weeks.Yes.She worked hard to focus on what she was saying. Steph had pulled her away from the crowd moments after Jeremy’s…what? His revelation? His announcement?

His…whatever it was.

And Bella was grateful for Steph knowing exactly what she needed. Which at that particular moment was space. And distraction. Even though the distraction technique wasn’t working at all.

Bella’s eyes kept moving up to watch Jeremy, who was deep in conversation with Damon and Katie. They were laughing and smiling, and Bella had no doubt they were talking about the whole marriage thing.

Marriage thing.

What the hell? Where had that all come from?

The night before, Bella had kind of thought he was joking. Well, maybe not joking, but at least that it would be a conversation between them at some point. Not something that needed to be blurted out to the whole group. Hell, she hadn’t said anything to the ladies. Because… well, because there was nothing to tell. Certainly not that they were actually getting married!

“Hello? Are you even listening to me?”

Bella blinked hard and tore her gaze away from Jeremy. She refocused on Steph, who looked at her with a mixture of concern and humor.

“Sorry. I was just…”

“Oh yeah. I get it.” Steph tucked her phone away. “Which is exactly why I’m trying, and failing, to distract you with this. Do not let yourself get distracted with any of that right now,” Steph commanded.

Bella’s shoulders fell. “How can I not? Did you hear him? Did you—”

“Oh, I did.” Steph crossed her arms. “And I totally get why you can’t focus right now.” She looked in Jeremy’s direction, shook her head sharply, and looked back to Bella. “What I don’t know is what exactly Jeremy was thinking.”

Bella wanted to scream with relief. Finally, someone who recognized this whole thing and the timing of it all was completely insane.

But before she could say anything, Steph continued, “Married? Now? Do you think his timing could be worse? I mean, he’s not really serious, is he?” She shook her head. “No, don’t answer that. The two of you need to talk. But I don’t think now is a good time. You really should be focusing on what’s about to happen. You shouldn’t have any distractions at all.”

Her friend was right. Bella did need to be concentrating on her career, and everything that was about to go down. Tomorrow. First thing in the morning, they would be leaving to go back to the city, where Lewis had rehearsals and voice lessons and recording sessions all lined up for Bella to begin immediately. She really didn’t have time to think about anything else. Not if she wanted to focus and do the very best job she could with the movie. Which she did.

Shit was about to get real. Very real.

She did not have the mental capacity to be thinking about a marriage proposal, if that’s even what it was. ”You’re exactly right.” Bella nodded, freshly focused. “Let me see that schedule. I need to—”

“Bella, can we talk for a minute?”

She turned at the sound of Jeremy’s voice. The man had nothing if not perfect timing. He looked to Steph apologetically, but then his gaze homed right back in on Bella.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re busy talking about...” He shrugged because he obviously had no idea at all what they were talking about. “Please, can we talk for a quick minute?”

Bella looked to Steph.

“No distractions,” her friend repeated. “This is important.” Steph turned and walked away, leaving them alone before either of them could respond.

As soon as they were alone, Jeremy took her hand and gave it a squeeze. And just as it always did, her body responded instantly to him. She felt herself leaning in closer to him.

Her heart fluttered at his touch. No matter what crazy stuff he was talking about right now, the man did know how to get a reaction out of her. And it really didn’t take much.

He led her to an empty table. The moment they sat down, Bella looked at him and said, “What the hell, Jeremy? You told everybody we were getting married? We haven’t even really—”

“I know.” He interrupted her. “And I know that it doesn’t sound like it, but I promise I didnottell them we were getting married. I didn’t,” he added when she cocked an eyebrow. “I was just, I don’t know. The guys were all talking, and I was so excited about the night we had last night. And how special it was and how close to you I felt. And…I just blurted it out. And maybe it sounded like…okay, it probably did sound like we were actually—”

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