Page 12 of Wedding Bet

Friendship was easier.

“All friends have to start somewhere,” I offered him, trying to shake off ugly memories from the past. “And sometimes, I just know I like someone from the moment I meet them. I feel that way with you.”

To my relief, Jamie nodded. “I agree. Okay.”

“To being friends,” I told him.

A smile started to play at the corner of Jamie’s lips. “To being friends. And I like you, too, even if I feel more out of place here than a lobster in a lion’s den,” he said, a sparkle of something playful behind his eyes.

He made me laugh, and all of the tension of thinking about my past melted away. “Lobster in a lion’s den? More like a hot surfer in a polar bear’s cave.”

He bit his lower lip as he smiled, agreeing with me.

God, I wanted to kiss that mouth.

Every fiber of my body wanted to lean in and press my lips to his.

To show him just how fun a one-night fling could be.

I gave him a quick squeeze on the shoulder, then started off back toward my room. “Meet me at eight. I’ll be at the front bar. And you won’t feel out of place, I promise.”

3

JAMIE

“You’re telling me you’ve never hooked up with someone on a ski lift?” I asked, cradling my gin and tonic in one hand.

“Are you nuts?” Landry said, leaning over the table in the cozy booth we were sitting in. “Didn’t you see how tiny the chairs are when we were out there this morning?”

A lock of his hair fell over his forehead, glinting in the dim light from the small pendant hanging above us. I reached out to brush it back into place without thinking, then blushed as I realized I’d touched him.

I’d always been a little too affectionate when I drank, and apparently that was even more apparent in this little pub.

Landry watched me closely as I took another sip of my drink.

“You could still hook up on a ski lift,” I finally said. “I thought maybe at least you’d fooled around up there in some capacity, if you’re this wild, free spirit who hooks up with people all the time.”

Landry leaned back in his seat, still watching me. Having his eyes on me was making me feel warmer than the alcohol already had.

“No,” he mused. “When I’m skiing, I’m skiing. If I wanted to hook up with someone, I’d do thatafterthe slopes.”

We were tucked in one of the corners of the small bar at the front of the hotel. I already liked it about a thousand times better now than I had last night, when I’d just been sitting at the bar alone. We’d snagged a booth with dark leather seats. From where we were sitting, we could even see the crackling fire in the fireplace across the bar.

It was the coziest thing I could imagine. And now that I was working on my third gin and tonic of the night, I was feeling looser and warmer and very comfortable here with Landry.

When I’d first met him, I never could have guessed that I’d soon feel comfortable enough around him to share old stories, but here we were.

“I definitely hooked up with a guy on the beach once,” I said.

“You? Really?”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Why are you so surprised?”

Landry shrugged one shoulder. “Didn’t take you for a public hookup kind of guy, that’s all.”

“It was hardly public. It was a slow night at a very small beach, surrounded by cliffs. It was nowhere near as exciting as it sounds. Turns out sex on the beach requires managing a lot of sand.”

He snickered. “That sounds horrible.”

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