Page 18 of The Boyfriend Gamble

But didn’t she deserve more? Didn’t she deserve passion? A great love affair?

More than just a small-town teacher who volunteered at the local animal shelter on weekends.

Mission City was a stone’s throw from Vancouver. She should be living in the metropolitan city with bigwig clients and grand projects. Not piddling around this mid-century cabin that was in desperate need of help.

She’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.

Except…shouldn’t I talk to her about it? Before I propose?

I didn’t have an appropriate answer for that.

Josette grabbed my hands. “Oh, Felix, this is going to be stunning.”

As much as I wanted to believe her, I couldn’t replicate her enthusiasm. Oh well, perhaps I’d get in the spirit during the party.

Chapter Two

Jacob

Mysisterknewhowto throw a party.

And somehow, in the process, wrangle twenty-two of our closest friends and family to help.

Our parents, Linda and Wayne, our aunt Bertha and Uncle Keller, and their three kids. Fortunately, cousin Bradford stayed away.

Asshole.

Wally and Felix, of course, and their mom, Christie.

August and Julian from the arborist company.

Isaac, the harbormaster, and Ben, an elementary school teacher who worked with Felix. Actually, Felix had probably asked them. Or Josie had. I was never sure about these things.

My sister’d also seen fit to invite my on-again, off-again girlfriend Izzie. Would’ve been nice if Josette had asked, seeing as Izzie and I were currently off. Still, Izzie had come with her friend Vanna who was always down for a good time. Demolition while wearing inch-long fingernails and three-inch heels probably wasn’t happening.

My crew had also shown up voluntarily.

Darah, my electrician, oversaw the demo of the walls.

Agatha, my plumber, supervised the removal of old fixtures.

Niall, my general construction guy, monitored the removal of flooring.

And Curtis, my drywall guy, made certain everything removed wound up in the right bin.

Truthfully, almost nothing could be recycled, and that broke my heart. I hated adding to the landfill. That being said, my job as a contractor meant overseeing plenty of trips to that place.

I eyed Felix’s neighbor, Seth, heading up the driveway wearing a tool belt.

Neighborwas a relative term—the RCMP officer’s property was a good half-mile down the road. Still, he’d spotted us and offered to help since today was a day off for him.

I figured having a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in our mix would keep the afterparty tame.

The cop was gorgeous—six feet, blond hair, hazel eyes, and muscular frame.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed, as Izzie attached herself to him immediately.

Poor guy. Should I warn him? Nah, he seems like an adult.

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