Page 21 of Wedding Bet

JAMIE

The side of my body pressed up against Landry’s as we crammed in on one of the narrow Ferris wheel seats, squished up against each other like sardines.

“There,” I said, looking over at him. “Is thiscoupleyenough for you?”

He had a wistful, dreamy smile on his face. “It’s perfect. This is definitely something that a real couple would do.”

I’d seen Landry earlier tonight in the elevator, but he’d freshened up before coming to the festival. His hair was in a perfect swoop and smelled like some impossible slice of heaven, a warm scent that made me want to lean in even closer to him.

It had been fun to set up the wedding bet and agree to be his pretend boyfriend for the rest of the week, but now I was starting to realize just how much I enjoyed having a little mission for the week. I’d seen Parker and his new man around the fairgrounds, each looking very snide as they inspected each booth, and I’d wanted to dosomethingto make Landry feel better about his shitty situation.

Parker had done him fuckingdirty.

And I wanted to help him out.

Especially if it meant sitting with him on a Ferris wheel and making me feel lesspitifully single and alonetonight.

“A couple would definitely do this,” I told Landry. “Every couple has to take at least one ride on a Ferris wheel every single day. Every relationship counselor agrees.”

He snorted, looking out over the fairgrounds as the wheel clicked into motion and we were lifted from the ground. Little by little, tall pine trees gave way to more views of the tall snowy mountain peaks. The night sky twinkled above as the laughter and chatter of the festival filtered through the air.

“A Ferris wheel ride a day keeps the bad relationships away, huh?” Landry said. “No wonder my proposal failed.”

I squeezed his arm. “I’m just trying to joke around. Hope I didn’t go too far.”

“Of course not,” he said. “I need to laugh about it. Otherwise I’ll end up going back over to Parker and punching him, and I’m really not a violent kind of guy.”

The Ferris wheel was halfway through its turn now, and we could see the whole fairgrounds below us, people milling around between stalls.

“I see Chase and Adam,” I said, pointing down. “You can always tell where they are because they’re surrounded by adoring friends.”

“Everyone loves them,” he agreed. “Everyone loves all of the Fixer Brothers, and I see why.”

“You’ve liked working with them?” I asked. “My brother has raved about them since the moment he started filming their TV show.”

“They’re the real deal,” Landry said. “Shawn and Nathan built a company that peopleactuallywant to work for. Their personalities on the TV show are just as genuine and friendly as they are in real life. They have two pro football players in their crew now, too. It’s like a little family.”

I looked down, seeing the group of people surrounding Chase.

My brother really had found a little family for himself in the Fixer Brothers friend group. Shawn and Nathan were the founders of the construction company and ever since my brother had started working for them, I’d watched every episode of their renovation TV show.

It seemed like everyone in the little Fixer Brothers community was a good person. And I was comfortable here with Landry, knowing that he was their friend, too.

I relaxed into the cozy little seat, and even though I could see the cloud formed by my breath in the air, the cold night wasn’t bothering me anymore. “The craziest thing about this is that I’m actually appreciating the cold, right now.”

Landry turned and dropped his jaw, giving me a look of mock horror. “The California boy finally admits the cold can be nice, huh?”

I held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ll never say anything bad about my warm, sandy, beachy home,” I said. “But today fuckingrocked. I got to sleep in, which I haven’t done in years. I got to learn a new craft.”

“Shore-and-shitta?” Landry said, cracking a grin.

“Scherenschnitteis a very beautiful thing,” I said, giving him a little shove. “I love paper crafts.”

“They were beautiful,” he said. “So beautiful I wanted one, actually.”

“I’ll give you one when we get back to the hotel,” I said. “I also got to have amazing food for lunch, for even cheaper than most diners back in California. And now I’m here with you, with delicious spiced wine, in the best fairgrounds I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s amazing,” Landry said.

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