Wedding Bet (Fixer Brothers Construction Co #8)

13. Jamie

13

JAMIE

I took a slow sip of some fancy, sweet lavender-infused cocktail, looking out at the snow-covered mountains beyond the windows with only one thought in my head.

Fuck it .

Fuck it. I’d always been a bit of a control freak, and it had started to bleed into every aspect of my life. But when I’d walked out of that wedding ceremony—the most beautiful and emotional one I’d ever seen—I couldn’t lie to myself any longer.

I wasn’t in control. Not of much. Not even close.

And I sure as shit couldn’t control what Landry did, or how he perceived me. I couldn’t control how anyone in the world ended up wealthier or hotter or luckier than anyone else. And the sooner I accepted that, the sooner I could actually try to have a friendship with him.

It might not last.

It might not even be a good idea.

But I was willing to try.

I decided to start by meeting Landry at the level where he was comfortable. I didn’t have to be anyone other than 100%, true blue me . I could be my true self around him. Deep down, I knew I should have been doing that all along.

“That ceremony changed my life,” I told Landry as we leaned against the circular bar.

His eyebrows raised. “That’s a big statement.”

“It’s true,” I said with a shrug. “I think it was one of the most inspiring things I’ve seen in years, maybe. I grew up with Chase when he was covered in acne and his only real concern in life was which video game controller was best, and now he’s committing his life to an amazing person.”

“When you put it that way, it definitely is impressive,” Landry said.

All week I’d felt as if Landry were so much freer and more open than I was. When we’d first arrived, I was uptight, out of place, and watching my every move.

But now there seemed to be some sort of wall between Landry and the rest of the world. Instead of looking right at me, he was giving me quick glances before turning back to his drink. He was quieter. And he certainly didn’t seem like he was on the prowl for hot, wedding-guest hookup material.

I turned my head to one side, giving him a sly look. “I thought you’d already be dick-deep in someone by this point in the day,” I said.

That earned me a sidelong glance and a furrowed brow. “What?”

“Finally, a sign of life,” I said. “I was about to start saying Earth to Landry, do you read me, or something. I’m just surprised you’re not, you know, prowling for tail.”

He snorted and let out a long breath. “Prowling for tail,” he repeated. “You clearly think so highly of me, Jamie.”

“What’s wrong with prowling for tail?”

“The phrase, first of all, is ridiculous.”

“And hilarious,” I added.

Finally, a hint of a smile appeared on one corner of his mouth. “Fine. Hilarious, too. But I do care about other things besides hooking up with hot guys, you know.”

I waved a hand through the air. “I know, I know. You’re virtuous. You eat your vegetables and help old ladies and also have hot hookups.”

“I helped an old lady today, actually,” he pointed out.

“I caught a glimpse of that, and it was very heartwarming,” I said. “But I’ve just noticed you’re a little down this afternoon.”

He was silent for a moment, his eyes downcast on his drink, before he finally gave me a nod. “You already know. Weddings just aren’t my thing.”

His voice was so soft it made my heart pang. It truly was an almost complete role reversal, and for once, I knew what I had to do.

I had to give him what he’d given me, on that first night that I arrived here at Snowcock Ski Resort with no goddamn idea what I was doing.

A surge of adrenaline hit me, and it was like I was on a mission. I scanned the room for the guy that I’d sat next to for the wedding ceremony, and when I locked eyes with him, I gave him a big wave, beckoning him over. Landry glanced over, surprised.

“Hey,” I said to Mark as he walked over. “Landry, I’d like you to meet Mark. Mark, this is Landry. Earlier today I learned that Mark and Adam work together.”

“Nice to meet you,” Landry said, holding out his hand for a handshake. Mark looked almost as good as Landry did, in an expensive-looking cream-colored suit with a classy bold tie underneath.

“Your socks are killer, I must say,” Mark told Landry, glancing down at the exposed portion of intricate burgundy and cream patterned fabric. “I actually noticed them when you crossed your leg over your lap at the ceremony.”

Landry’s full smile finally came out of hiding, as he gave Mark the full spotlight of his charm. “I am such a sock nerd, it’s not even funny. At some point about a decade ago, I just realized I wanted all of my socks to look cool, and now… well, now I’m apparently the guy at parties who talks about socks, but fuck it, you know?”

Mark laughed loud and bright, clearly enjoying Landry just as much as I did. A fizzle of excited jealousy ran through me as they kept talking.

Maybe more than a little jealousy.

But I couldn’t believe how easy it had been to sit back and play Cupid, trying to be a little hookup matchmaker for Landry.

If I was going to have any chance of being a real friend to Landry, I knew this would have to be part of it. He was a flirt, a bachelor, and always ready for action. I wanted to rip the Band-Aid off and get used to seeing him with other guys, and learn to beat back the envious monster in my head.

Mark and Landry hit it off better than I’d even imagined. I sauntered off toward a caterer carrying around the fanciest meatballs on a stick I’d ever seen. I popped one in my mouth, a tiny morsel of heaven, coated in some sort of sticky soy-ginger glaze. A cocktail lounge piano player was playing jazzy music at the edge of the room, and as my lavender cocktail hit my system, I started to realize that I truly felt like myself for the first time all week. There was only a little while left now before the wedding party would come out again, with first dances and speeches and more food that was probably better than anything I’d had in years.

Letting go was really what I’d needed all along. In fact, I’d probably needed to let go for a long, long time.

The Rocky Mountains, a beautiful wedding, and meeting Landry were the perfect combination of things to kick my ass out of the same tired patterns I’d been in for so long. If it was going to feel this good, screw it was going to be my motto for a long time to come.

I had a short conversation with a nice girl about how good the cocktails were. I complimented a guy on his hair. I even asked the piano player how long he’d been playing, and got to learn about how nice the particular piano was, when the player explained that it was imported from Vienna.

I was standing at a tall table, sipping my drink and listening to the music, when Landry appeared in front of me again, sidling up to the table.

“You’re slick, you know,” he said, giving me a grin with a lifted eyebrow.

“Pardon me?” I said.

“You think you can play matchmaker and I won’t notice?” Landry said, looking amused. “I’m the king of that. I practically invented that move.”

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Well, you look a whole lot happier than you did before, so I think I did something right.”

“Mark is a very nice guy,” Landry said with a nod, his hair shining under the pendant light above us.

“Isn’t he cute?”

“He’s attractive, obviously,” Landry said, “but nothing is going to happen with me and him.”

I furrowed my brow. “Why the hell not?”

Landry bit his lower lip, considering. “You could match me up with any of these random guys in this room right now and I wouldn’t be interested.”

“Oh, come on,” I said. “It’s time to celebrate. Let loose. Have fun. Only one more night, remember?”

A glimmer of the post-wedding sadness passed through his eyes again, but he hid it pretty quickly this time.

Just then the music stopped and the piano player announced the arrival of Adam and Chase. The pianist started playing classic songs as Adam and Chase made a good show of it, striking poses. The lights were lowered in the room, and they started to perform their first dance.

“Did Chase tell you about learning this dance?” I said to Landry, leaning over to whisper in his ear.

“He told me he had dance lessons from hell.”

“Exactly. Apparently the dance instructor was a tyrant of a guy. He called Chase a wimp when he failed the first back bend dip, and then called him a ‘little bitch.’ Of course, by the end of that night, Chase had befriended him and made it all better, because Chase is a charmer like that.”

“Holy shit,” Landry said. “I’d sock someone in the face if they said that to me.”

“Really?”

He pursed his lips. “Well, no. I’d be very polite, then quietly rage, and maybe leave an online review warning people off of them. But I’d want to sock them in the face.”

I laughed quietly. “That sounds about right.”

After the dance, the guests erupted in cheers, and the party migrated away from the bar and into the grand ballroom, with all of its lush flowers, tiny glowing lights, and sweeping early-evening views of the mountains.

Landry and I each found the little nametags that denoted where we should be sitting at the round, wooden tables. We were far apart from each other—on different ends of the room. I gave him a nod as he walked off toward his table.

How many more times would I get to see him like this?

How many more times would I get to spend hours and hours with him, aimlessly, all in one day?

Even if we ended up friendly back in California, I knew we were both very busy people, and nothing would ever be like this again.

The snowglobe was going to break tomorrow. And even though my heart needed to let go of focusing too much on Landry, I still felt bittersweet watching him walk away from me.

At my own table, so far, I was still sitting alone other than a bored teenager on the opposite end who must have been someone’s kid, staring down directly into her phone and not looking up from it once. I watched as people streamed into the room, fawning over all of the fresh flowers and complimenting the happy couple on their dance.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and turned to see Landry, with a name tag in his hand.

Feeling his touch, in any way, was like sinking back into a warm bath on a cold night.

“On a scale of one to ten, how much of a wedding crime is it to switch my name tag with one of the ones at this table?” Landry said, cocking his head to one side.

Little butterflies swirled inside me.

Yes. Yes, God, please, sit next to me .

“I think it’s a victimless crime,” I said, conspiratorial already. “Let’s find a nametag that looks like it’s not one half of a couple, and let’s do it.”

“Holy shit, you’re at the same table as Marianne,” Landry said, glancing at the nametags. “Now I’m definitely moving to this one.”

“Is that your new best friend who looks like she’s a rich old lady who just stepped off the Titanic?”

“You got it. Hey, this one looks safe to move.”

We made a break for it, swapping Landry’s tag with someone named Mickey Maddox, and came back over to the table. I intercepted one of Adam’s friends along the way and asked her if she knew who Mickey was.

“Mickey is a gem,” the woman said, glowing. “He’s a therapist Adam and I played tennis with a long time ago, around college. He can look inside of anyone’s soul and heal them.”

I nodded once. “Thank you.” I headed back over to my table and told Landry the good news.

“Perfect,” he said, smiling. “Sounds like Mickey will be comfortable anywhere he goes.”

“And if we get in trouble, I’ll just blame it all on you. Deal?”

Landry laughed for the first time that afternoon, and the rich sound reassured me that finally, he wasn’t having a terrible time. “Deal, Marshmallow.”

Damn it . Landry hadn’t called me that in a while, and I’d forgotten how much I’d actually come to enjoy the nickname.

“Not so much a marshmallow tonight,” I said, running my hands along my grey suit.

Landry’s eyes glimmered as he nodded. “More of a stone-cold fox, for sure.”

Over the next hour, everything felt like it had finally settled into place.

We ate ludicrously good food. We drank cocktails. The sun slowly set over the mountains, and the room became its own glowy haven as the party got started. After a few speeches that made me tear up and Landry smile politely, the live band started up, starting off the night with some jazzy swing dance classics.

“We have to do that,” I told Landry, pointing toward the photobooth at the corner of the room. I grabbed his hand, pulling him along with me. “Let’s go.”

“Come on. Those photobooth strips always just end up in a drawer somewhere—”

“Are you kidding?” I said. “Every photobooth strip I have is very proudly displayed on my kitchen fridge. I even have some dating back to when I was in elementary school. I love those things.”

With a reluctant smile he let me drag him over to the photobooth and we crowded in together. I grabbed one of the prop feather boas, draping it around my neck before we hit the button to take the photos.

“First one back to back,” I said, leaning back against Landry.

“You are too cheesy.”

“And you love it,” I told him, smiling for the camera. “Okay, silly faces for the next.”

Landry totally didn’t budge on that one, instead looking like his usual cool, calm and collected handsome self for the photo.

“Last one,” I said.

A split second before the photo was taken, Landry leaned over, wrapped his arm around me, and pressed a kiss to my cheek. Heat flooded through me instantly. It pained me not to lean into him and press my lips to his.

We hopped out of the booth and grabbed the two copies of photos that it spit out. My eyes gravitated toward the final photo immediately, seeing that my eyes were wide as could be in the picture, the surprise written all over my face.

My fingers instinctively went up to the area on my cheek where he’d kissed me. I rubbed the skin mindlessly, still reeling.

“Didn’t think you’d do that,” I finally said, glancing up at him as he pulled out his wallet, tucking his own strip of photos inside it.

Just then, the band started playing the opening notes of a big band version of “Twist and Shout.”

“Oh my God, yes ,” I said. “I fucking love this song. Chase and I used to dance our asses off to this as kids.”

Landry watched me with some mixture of relaxation and wonder. “Then let’s go dance.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Damn. I knew you were loosening up, but I didn’t know you’d be the one to drag me to the dance floor.”

His smile was still tinged with some far-off sadness, but it was so clear that he was making an effort.

He was trying . Landry would probably rather be anywhere else but a wedding right now, but he was willing to do this for me.

We headed out onto the dance floor and joined the growing crowd of people starting to dance to the song. For those short minutes, I forgot about everything. I didn’t think about the past or the future. I didn’t worry about what was going to happen tomorrow. I just let go of all control, letting the music flow through me. Landry turned out to be a great dance partner, getting silly with me and dancing better than half of the people out on the dance floor.

I was totally out of breath by the time the band started playing a rendition of the next song, “At Last” by Etta James. It was a slower, more romantic tune, and I looked over at Landry, shrugging at him.

“Shall we?” I asked. “As friends, of course.”

He thought for a moment. He glanced over to the other side of the dance floor before turning back to me and waving a hand through the air. “Fuck it. Okay.”

I rested my arms on his shoulders and he held me—close, but not too close—as we danced to the slow song. As we turned, I noticed what Landry must have noticed a moment ago. Parker and his new fiance were on the other side of the dance floor, Velcroed together, kissing each other every now and then as they swayed.

Landry was clearly trying to avoid sight of them now. He kept his eyes downward, looking at me.

We’d already taken the wedding bet way further than needed. There was nothing for me to win or lose, after last night.

But I still wanted to be here for him.

There was a part of me that wished I could tuck myself up against Landry’s broad chest. That he could hold me close, for real, and I could feel like I truly belonged with him.

But this was good too.

Being friends was good, too. And over time, I was sure the memories of kissing him, sleeping beside him, and imagining more with him would fade.

The next time I glanced up at Landry I noticed that he had a glassy sheen to his eyes.

“Getting tired?” I asked.

He blinked, and I watched as a tear fell down from each of his eyes. “Not exactly,” he said, his voice quiet and hoarse.

“Whoa,” I said, furrowing my brow. “Holy shit. Landry, are you okay?”

He cleared his throat. “It’s no big deal. Just keep dancing with me.”

I knew he was lying. And I knew he knew that, too.

He was crying. And by the end of the song a minute later, I’d watched a few more tears stream down his face, leaving shining rivulets on his cheeks.

My heart twisted. “Landry—”

“ Don’t ,” he said curtly, but as soon as the song ended he dropped his arms from me and walked off. He grabbed his drink from the table and went over to the side of the room, pushing open one of the big, glass doors to the balcony outside.