Wedding Bet (Fixer Brothers Construction Co #8)

4. Landry

4

LANDRY

Hot water pounded against my shoulders as I stepped into the shower in my hotel room. It was early in the morning and the temperature was nearly scalding, but it was exactly what I’d been looking for. Instantly I started to relax.

I’d gotten up at dawn today. After last night, when Jamie and I had kissed under the stars, I wanted to drag him back to my room more than anything.

But I’d been a gentleman.

I’d kept my cock in my pants.

And then I’d come back to my room and slept deeply and dreamlessly.

It was when I got up that the problems had started. When I padded over to the bathroom and caught my reflection in the mirror. Sunlight was streaming into the bathroom after the sun had just come up over the mountains, and I saw that there was a telltale mark on the bottom of my neck. I ran my fingers across it, feeling a little bit of heat.

Jamie had kissed me in that spot a little too long, and now I had a hickey.

A freaking hickey. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had one, but I was sure it wasn’t since I was a stupid teenager who got all of my action in the back sections of movie theaters.

I hopped into the shower to try to clear my head, but instead, the memories of last night kept coursing through my thoughts. Regret started coiling through my insides like a snake.

In reality, I knew Jamie and I shouldn’t have kissed, no matter how badly I’d wanted it. It had felt incredible, and what I’d really wanted was to go much, much further with him. But he’d made it abundantly clear that he was looking for… a deeper connection.

And a deeper connection just wasn’t something I could offer anymore.

Parker and his boyfriend—no, his fiance— had just waltzed in and put a big, stinking damper on my night, and I hadn’t been able to get that stain off of me. When Jamie had kissed me, it was like the perfect antidote to the mountain of shit that was my ex-boyfriend.

I got out of the shower and my phone buzzed, jerking me out of my thoughts. For a split second I found myself wishing it would be Jamie calling, even though I knew he had no reason to do that.

But it was Emmett’s name on the screen.

“Morning,” I answered. “I should have known you’d be the only one up at dawn like me.”

“We’ve been friends for years now. You should know this about me. You up and ready to rock?”

“Depends what you mean by ready to rock ,” I told him.

“Early bird gets the powder,” Emmett said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “Meet me at the top of the slope in twenty minutes?”

“Can’t a guy get some breakfast first?” I let out a breath, stretching my neck.

“Come on,” Emmett protested. “We’ll be having lavish breakfasts and brunches all week. Grab an energy bar in the cafe and come hit the snow with me.”

“All right, all right, you win. But only because nothing sounds better than skiing right now.”

“Meet you there.”

As was often the case, Emmett had been totally right. When we hit the slopes, I was finally able to clear my head, get my muscles working, and feel like myself again. The sun was dappling beautifully through the pine trees, and Emmett and I got to spend a good couple of hours out there. Finally I wasn’t thinking about my failed proposal or the fact that Parker had turned around and gotten engaged within a year .

Or that even my best friend didn’t know about it.

I rinsed off again after skiing and then headed to the lounge and made some phone calls to other investors in California.

It was nice to have the lounge act as my office for the day, with its towering, floor-to-ceiling glass windows that looked out over the snowy, tree-spotted mountains. I pulled out my laptop, ready for an hour or two of quick work. I’d been shrewd and gotten lucky a few years back with some of my investments, and ever since, I’d had enough money to retire, even though I wasn’t even close to ready yet.

I loved working with Emmett. I loved the game of marketing, even though it was wily and a lot of work. In our new firm, I got to devote most of my time now to finding small startup companies and helping their brands grow with proper guidance and connections. Right now, I was working with the CEO of a startup aiming to make solar energy more accessible to everyone in California.

My task was to somehow make solar power seem sexy . And I liked the challenge.

Now that we had enough money to work with, Emmett and I got to choose projects we truly cared about, and it meant the world to us.

A few hours of work suddenly became many hours, though. I was editing a brand deal proposal in one of the fireside leather chairs in the lounge when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Chase,” I said when I saw him behind me. I looked outside and noticed that the sunlight had gotten dimmer. “Oh, God. What time is it?”

“Time to head to the winter festival.”

“Festival? Shit, I really should check my personal email more.”

“Everyone who’s here for the wedding is coming,” Chase told me. “Go put on some warm clothes and meet us down at the front of the hotel.”

I headed over to the elevator bay and the gold-colored doors of one of them whooshed open. I got in, and as the doors were sliding closed, a hand jutted out and stopped them from the outside.

“Hold the elevator!”

In walked a very cute, very appealing human marshmallow.

Jamie stepped into the elevator in his puffy white coat, holding some sort of big folder in his hands.

“Oh! Sorry,” he said, looking up. His expression changed as he realized it was me, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“Sorry? For what?” I asked as he positioned himself in the opposite corner of the elevator and the doors finally slid shut.

One glance at his plush, ruddy lips and the memory of last night came barreling back to me like a full-speed train. With him came the scent of whatever laundry soap he used, bringing me back to what it felt like holding him in my arms.

His presence was so comforting. I still barely knew him, but the moment he was around, everything inside me relaxed a little.

“I guess I have nothing to be sorry for,” Jamie said, his blue eyes glancing up at me from under thick lashes. “So… I’m sorry for saying I’m sorry, I guess.”

I held back a laugh, gesturing at the folder he was holding. “What is that?”

“ Scherenschnitte .”

I stared blankly at him “Shmear of shit?”

Jamie’s lips quirked into a smile. “ Scherenschnitte , I learned today, is a type of Swiss and German paper cutting,” he said, opening the folder to reveal multiple delicate, beautiful pieces of paper with intricate patterned cuts in it. “They do it in the Swiss Alps, and in a proper ski lodge tradition, the Snowcock owners fell in love with it and brought it here to Colorado. They had a free beginner’s class on it today, so I tried my hand at it with my mom.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “You made these?” I asked, leaning in to see the precise pattern. The papers were thin, some of them red, some blue, and some black and white.

“Yeah,” he said. “It was finicky at first, but then I kind of got into it. It was nice spending some time with Mom, too. It was actually kind of relaxing.”

“Has your mom been enjoying her vacation?”

He nodded. “Surprisingly, yes. Moving around isn’t always easy for her, but this resort is laid out well. We grabbed some food, saw Chase for a bit, and now she’s back in her room resting.”

“You sound like a good son.”

“I do my best,” he said. “And it’s easy. My mom’s good to hang out with. And good to take random papercutting classes with, too.”

“These are beautiful, Jamie,” I said, looking through them again. “You could frame them.”

“It was a good way to get my mind off of things.”

I nodded. I certainly had needed to get my mind off of things too, today. I looked from the papers up to him again, momentarily lost in his eyes.

“Is… is this elevator even moving?” Jamie asked, a little shy.

“Oh,” I said, snapping out of my trance and turning back toward the panel of glossy buttons. “No. It isn’t. Because we didn’t actually press any buttons. I apologize. I’ve been a bit spacey today.”

Jamie still looked amused as he reached out and pressed the number for his floor. I pressed the button for the top floor, where my suite was, and the elevator finally lurched into motion.

“Are you headed to the festival?” I asked him.

“After I put my Scherenschnitte back in my hotel room,” he said, nodding up at me. “I have no idea what the festival is , really, but I’m going.”

“Me either. I just hope it involves funnel cake.”

“It’ll probably have things that are a lot better than funnel cake,” Jamie said. “I’m hoping there’s some hot chocolate.”

“There is always good hot chocolate in the mountains. You probably won’t be disappointed.”

The elevator dinged and Jamie stepped out. “See you there.”

“See you there, Jamie,” I called out, watching as he seemed to float away.

Part of me had been worried that the next time I ran into Jamie, he’d have some sort of expectations that I wouldn’t be able to meet. After we kissed, was he going to think we’d do it again? Expect more from me?

But Jamie had been cool as a cucumber. And, I was surprised to find that as the elevator shut and whisked me up to my top-floor suite, maybe there had been another part of me that actually wished Jamie had tackled me in the elevator, pressed his lips to mine again, and taken me right then and there.

No use thinking about it, though. Tonight was going to be innocent fun at the winter festival, and then a quiet night in my suite alone.

That was easier. Better. Safer, for both of our sakes.

I was only a few beers into the evening, meandering around the fair aimlessly, when I realized two crucial things.

The first was that I’d barely eaten anything since my quick protein bar earlier, and I was already getting tipsy.

The second was that I hadn’t spotted Jamie once yet tonight. I’d been walking around long enough that I was starting to think I’d missed him.

Maybe I was a little more than tipsy, in reality.

I was surrounded by picturesque, snow-covered mountains in almost every direction, tons of booths and stalls selling pretzels, pastries, hot cider and cocoa, and various alcoholic drinks. The festival was packed with people, both local and tourists, all decked out in coats, scarves, and hats, buzzing around each glowing stall.

“Butter buns! Fresh and hot!” a smiling old man called out from a stall nearby, and I saw racks of glistening, knotted bread, golden brown and beckoning to me.

I ordered one and took a bite of one of the most delicious, soft breads I’d ever had, letting out a long breath.

“Fancy seeing you again,” I heard from behind me and turned to see Chase and Adam.

“The future husbands,” I said. “I’ve seen you three times now tonight, and I still haven’t seen Jamie. I know that marshmallow coat has to be around here somewhere.”

“We just saw him by the hypokras bar,” Chase said.

“What’s hypokras? ”

“Some form of spiced wine, I’m fairly sure,” Chase said, watching me. “They love their European things around here. You should go try some. Jamie’s over there with my friend Elias. He just got in from Berlin.”

“Berlin, huh?” I asked. “Even more European things. I could use another drink. Maybe I’ll wander over there.”

Chase was grinning. “Someone’s ready to party tonight. And I like it.”

“Work hard, play hard,” I told him, shrugging. “Nothing wrong with some beer, spiced wine, and delicious bread on a winter night.”

“And that’s why you’re awesome,” Chase said, giving me a pat on the back. “Go find my brother. I’m sure he’d be glad to see you.”

The old man selling butter bread caught Chase in a conversation a moment later, and I headed over to the end of the walkway where I saw the hypokras wine tent. I got in the short line of people and looked all around, not seeing Jamie.

After I had a warm mug of the spiced wine in my hand, I stepped out toward the little Ferris wheel that was at the edge of the fairgrounds and finally spotted the telltale big, white puffy coat.

There he was. I took a long sip of my wine, which turned out to be delicious, as I walked over.

The other guy, Elias, was leaning on the side of a fence near the Ferris wheel, smiling at Jamie, the two of them lost in some animated conversation. My boots crunched on a little patch of snow on the path as I approached them.

“It was the best ,” Elias was saying, his expression bright. “You have to come next time. I’m in California fairly often to visit friends.”

“Maybe,” Jamie responded, his eyes fixed on Elias’s smile.

I decided to loop back around, instead turning toward a craft stall where a young woman was selling tiny homemade decorative pillows. I was an expert at being able to tell when people were flirting, and I would have bet my life savings that Elias was trying to put the charm on Jamie. In fact, it already seemed like they were hitting it off.

Something possessive reared up inside my chest.

I wanted Jamie to be happy, and I knew that he wanted more than I could give.

So why did it feel weird to see him chatting up a hot, German bachelor?

“Look at these ugly little things. They’d be perfect for my sister,” I heard a voice say from behind me, and already my skin prickled. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Parker and his fiancé walking up to the handcrafted pillows. “Oh, hey, Landry.”

Great.

Just what I needed. My ex and his new boo, arm-in-arm.

I gave him a nod. “I don’t think they’re ugly, by the way,” I said, holding up one of the little black and gold ones. “And I think your sister would love one.”

Parker looked like he was sucking on a lemon, his lips pursing up into a tight pout. “I saw your boyfriend a couple of minutes ago.”

Thank God Jamie had been willing to be my fake boyfriend. He really was saving my ass.

“He’s browsing,” I said. “He loves all the little crafts. Both of us wanted to mingle around tonight.”

Parker just stared at me. I watched as his fiancé scooped up not one but five of the little pillows, heading over to purchase them at the little register.

“You’re doing great, Landry,” Parker said with a mock sympathetic look on his face. “I think within a couple of years, you might finally get what you want.”

The muscles in my arm were practically twitching, wishing I could give him a good sock in the face right where it would hurt. But I held back. I tried to be the bigger man, because there sure as hell wasn’t much else I could do.

I downed the rest of my spiced wine in one big glug, nodding at Parker. The next time I looked over toward the Ferris wheel, I saw that Jamie was finally alone.

“Going to go back and check on him,” I told Parker, and with a nod, I walked away.

With each step I took away from Parker I felt as if a straitjacket around me was loosening, bit by bit. If someone wanted to invent a new form of torture, being trapped in a ski resort with an asshole, cheater ex-boyfriend would be a great place to start.

Jamie was taking a long sip of his own hypokras spiced wine when he turned and saw me, the little lights of the Ferris wheel twinkling behind him like some sort of halo.

“God, if you aren’t a sight for sore eyes,” I admitted. I was more than a little tipsy now, heartsick, and unable to keep the truth from slipping out of me.

“Having a rough night?” Jamie asked.

A swirl of emotion ran through me. At the moment, I was wishing that everything in my life that led to me ever meeting Parker had gone differently.

“I need my fake boyfriend,” I told him simply, even though inside it felt like I was confessing a deep, dark secret.

It wasn’t what I was planning on saying to him. Really, I’d had no plan at all.

One corner of his mouth instantly quirked up into a dimpled half-smile, a twinkle in his eye. “Well, I’m right here.”

I waved a hand through the air. “I’m kidding. Mostly. I don’t want to make you keep faking it for me.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Why not?”

“You can’t possibly be enjoying it. Having to pretend, just for my asshole ex?”

“Want to bet?” Jamie asked.

A grin pulled at the corner of my lips. “I’ve always said I’m a betting man.”

“Well, I bet you that I can be the best fake boyfriend for this wedding,” he told me. “And that Parker will be jealous as hell by the end of the week.”

Something stirred inside me. “I think I like this bet.”

He held out his hand. “Let’s shake on it.”

“Wait, wait. What are the terms?” I asked. “There’s no betting without terms.”

“I win if Parker tries to get you back by the end of the week,” Jamie said.

I puffed out a laugh. “Then get ready to lose,” I said, “because Parker wants nothing to do with me anymore, and I don’t want him, either.”

“Of course you don’t want him. He sucks,” Jamie said.

“So I win if Parker doesn’t try to get me back,” I said. “What will my winnings be?”

Jamie’s eyes flared. “I’ll hook up with you, just once,” he said. “If I lose the bet, we have one night together, no strings attached.”

Heat flared deep in my chest.

My cock perked up, and I didn’t bother to try to hide it.

“You sure you want to take that bet?” I asked.

“I think I do,” he said.