Needing Happily Ever After - Elena Aitken Page 0,30

it might be more. The kisses they’d shared had been intense in a way she would never have expected and had awoken feelings in her that no man had ever done before. It was…unsettling but also, it gave her a feeling of peace, too.

The feelings were so conflicting that if it had been anyone else, she would have laughed at the absurdity of it all. But Katie was definitely not laughing. Especially with her mom and Faith’s comments about how they’d always thought she’d end up with Damon repeating through her head. Maybe she should just talk to him about it and get it out in the open. No doubt he’d laugh, and then she’d laugh, and they could go back to being friends and she wouldn’t have to worry about all of these potential feelings clouding her thoughts.

The thoughts consumed her, and had the added benefit of making the drive go quickly. Before she knew it, she was punching the code into the ElkView gate and driving up to the cottage. She put the car in park next to Damon’s truck and shut off the engine to sit in silence for a moment.

Katie let her mind travel back through the day she’d just had. Her last final exam. Barring any major malfunctions, she was done and she’d have her degree. Finally. But that wasn’t even the most monumental part of the day. She glanced behind her at the garment bag filling her backseat. That had been the most monumental part of the day.

Her wedding dress.

Fake wedding or not, the dress was gorgeous and it was everything she ever could have imagined, if she’d been that kind of girl—which, admittedly, she hadn’t been…until now. But it wasn’t just that the dress was beautiful; it was the realization that in just a few days she was going to be marrying Damon Banks in that dress. And that thought didn’t scare the hell out of her the way it probably should have. No, the way it really should have. She was getting married to her best friend as a big, giant lie and they were deceiving everyone. She should definitely not be excited.

No. Katie shook her head. She should be pretty much anything but excited.

She gave herself one more moment of quiet in the car to pull her thoughts together before gathering up her things, including the oversized garment bag, and heading inside. The guesthouse was dark. Damon must have gotten tired of waiting up for her. Not that she’d expected him to, but it would have been nice.

No. She was quick to chastise herself. She turned her key in the lock and with her arms loaded, walked straight to the couch in the dark to dump her things when the light flipped on, startling her into dropping everything in a crash on the floor.

“What the hell?” Katie spun around to see Damon standing in the small kitchen, a glass of wine in one hand, a rose in the other.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Damon’s face changed, concern replacing the grin as he took in the sight of her with her purse scattered on the floor, the giant garment bag at her feet. “I’m sorry, Katie.” He put the wine down and rushed over to her. “I really didn’t mean to scare you. I was just going to surprise you and…shit.” He looked down at her things and back up at her and for a brief moment, she thought she might cry. But then the shock wore off and she started laughing.

“You should know by now that I don’t love to be surprised. Especially not after the longest day ever.”

In an instant, the concern on his face vanished and he once again smiled devilishly. “And that’s exactly why I wanted to surprise you with this.” He held the rose out to her as if it were the prize she’d been fighting for. “Congratulations on your last exam and being finished.”

She took the flower and held it to her nose. “Thank you.” The shock and surprise had totally vanished, as well as the idea that she was meant to remember that this thing with Damon wasn’t a real relationship. Because, in that moment, it sure as hell felt real. “That’s actually really sweet of you, Damon.”

“I know.” He winked and bent to pick up her things. When he straightened again, he had the huge garment bag in his hand. “Is this a—”

“Wedding dress.” She snatched it away from him. “And you can’t