Wedding Bet (Fixer Brothers Construction Co #8)

22. Landry

22

LANDRY

“I think I did okay,” I told Jamie later that night, as my Mercedes hummed below us on the freeway. “Other than the moment where I said I didn’t like blueberries. I think she wanted to kill me for that one.”

“Oh, she’s going to try to convince you for a long time,” Jamie said, reaching over to rest a hand on my thigh as I drove. “You’re going to have to try bites of blueberry muffins, pies, and cakes, but eventually she’ll accept that they’re just not for you.”

“I can accept that. Your mom seems like a wonderful person,” I told him, sincerity in my voice.

“I love her so much.”

The low lights on the freeway soared past the car windows. We were on our way back up to LA for the night, and I got to have Jamie all to myself for the whole day tomorrow on his day off.

“When we get back I’m going to show you my secret spot,” I told Jamie.

“Secret spot, huh?” he said, and when I glanced over at him he was lifting an eyebrow. “Do I even want to know what you mean by that?”

I bit back a smile. “It’s nowhere near as exciting as you’re making it sound. But I think you’ll like it. It’s even better at night.”

“Oh, God, now you’re making me think you’re Batman, or something,” Jamie said. “You’re going to take me to the rooftop and show me where you put your bat signal on.”

“I wish I was that cool,” I told him.

The rest of the drive home was smooth and easy, and the traffic wasn’t bad at all this time of night. When we pulled up to my house in the hills of LA, I put my window down and punched in the code, and the gate slid open. I pulled into the long driveway and put the car into the garage, leading Jamie in through the house.

“Okay,” I told him. “I’ve showed you the hot tub and the pool, but I haven’t showed you my favorite part of my backyard yet.” I grabbed a big, old blanket from the linen closet, draping it over my arm.

As we headed outside, Jamie hummed. “This is still my favorite thing about Southern California,” he said. “It’s still winter, and we can go on a nighttime stroll. Try doing this in Colorado.”

“If we wore ski gear, we could do it in Colorado.”

Jamie snorted. “I kind of miss my marshmallow days. I really fell in love with Colorado.”

“I love it there, too.”

I took his hand in mine, taking him past the glowing blue light of my pool. We rounded the deck and went onto the small stone path that led behind a cluster of trees, tucking downward toward the edge of the yard.

“Wow,” Jamie said softly. “I didn’t even know this part of the yard went on further.”

“Just a little bit,” I said. “It’s tucked away back here, like my own little oasis in the middle of the city.”

The path zigzagged just a little, past palm trees, acacias, and coral trees. Little lights dotted the edges of the path until we found the small, oval-shaped clearing of grass, surrounded by trees, shrubs, and flowers. One edge of the grassy area was clear of foliage on the back end, and a little view of the lights of the city below shone through.

“Holy shit,” Jamie murmured as he saw the view, taking in the sights of the city below. “I can’t believe you didn’t show me this when I first visited.”

“I was too busy doing other things with you,” I said, squeezing his hand. “Doing things to you, and with you, and all over you…”

He hummed, turning to press a slow kiss to my lips. I turned and spread the blanket onto the grass, smoothing it out so we could sit.

“Okay, so you’re not Batman, but you’re still very cool,” Jamie said, looking down at the view of the city lights again. “You have your own little private view of Los Angeles.”

“And I don’t come up here nearly enough,” I said as we both sat down on the blanket.

“Why the hell not?”

My heart clenched for a moment, an unexpected mix of emotions rolling through me. “Because of that tree, mostly,” I said, pointing toward one that was on the edge of the grass. “It’s one of the oldest trees on this property. Some kind of oak. I used to think a treehouse would go great in that tree.”

“A treehouse would be amazing in that tree,” Jamie agreed.

“I used to think about adopting kids, and having a custom treehouse built right there. The kind of thing that used to captivate me as a kid.”

“Why’d you stop thinking about it?”

I glanced downward. “Obvious reasons.”

“Parker,” Jamie said, his voice bitter. “Fucking Parker.”

I pulled in a deep breath, the scent of fresh grass in the air. “It just seemed like it was completely off the table, after all of the shit that went down. I knew I didn’t want to raise kids alone, even if I had the means to do it. I just always pictured doing it with someone. In a true partnership, you know?”

The air between us felt charged now, and I knew it was my fault. Without even meaning to, I’d brought up a capital-B Big Subject , and I couldn’t take the words back now.

But Jamie just scooted over on the blanket, leaning against me and resting his head on my shoulder.

“I understand,” he said softly. “It really would be a great treehouse tree, though. Maybe one day there really will be little kiddos around here, taking in the view and climbing up the coolest treehouse ever. Lucky as hell kids, by the way.”

My heart settled quickly. Of course Jamie understood. And he hadn’t made anything awkward, even though he and I were a long, long ways away from starting to talk about serious things like kids.

“Thank you,” I told him, reaching over to put an arm around him and running my fingers through his impossibly soft hair.

“You know you can talk to me about anything,” he offered. “Even stuff that might seem off-limits. I trust you, Landry.”

“I trust you, too,” I told him. “I do want to talk about anything and everything with you, but for the first time in my life, I don’t feel rushed. I don’t feel like I have to speed to some finish line and check off a bunch of life goal boxes with you.”

“I was thinking that same thing earlier tonight,” Jamie mused. “When you said you were my boyfriend I could have melted into a puddle right there. But in my heart, I already knew.”

My heart did a little backflip. “Exactly.”

A breeze moved through the air, rustling the leaves in the trees. Jamie and I rested back onto the blanket, looking up at the stars—or what we could see of the stars, here in LA.

“I actually have one really serious topic to discuss with you,” Jamie said as he cuddled close to me.

“Anything. Talk to me.”

“You are a grade-A blanket hogger at night.”

I turned to him, my jaw dropped in mock horror. “I am not.”

“You are,” he said with a grimace. “I hate to break it to you.”

“Wild accusations,” I said, a smile spreading over my face.

“I didn’t notice it when we slept together in the hotel, because that comforter was gigantic. But here, I noticed it, last week. When we first got in bed, we had equal portions. But when I woke up for a second at three in the morning, you had most of it.”

“God,” I said. “I didn’t know I was such a monster in my sleep.”

“Of course, there was only one solution, and that was to cuddle up to you as close as I could and be the big spoon.”

I hummed, leaning over to kiss his head. “Good solution.”

“But once the weather gets hotter, that ain’t going to cut it.”

“When the weather gets hotter, we’re both going to sleep naked with one thin sheet, and you know it.”

“Sounds tempting,” Jamie murmured.

“Good.”

As we lapsed into a comfortable silence, a slight rustle came from the bushes nearby.

“What was that?” Jamie asked, furrowing his brow.

“Um,” I said, and I had no clue how to finish. My eyes scanned the perimeter of the grass, looking for more movement.

We both propped ourselves up on our elbows to look, and a moment later, a flash of paws and fur came bolting out of a shrub.

“ Sprinkle ,” I said. “Thank God. I was sure it was going to be a skunk and we were about to have our romantic moment severely ruined.”

“Sprinkly-boy,” Jamie said, reaching out to give him pets. “You scared the living hell out of us, but you’re cute, so it’s okay.”

“I think he’s wondering where his food is,” I said. “We should head back and put some out.”

“Definitely. But I want to come back to this spot next time I’m here, okay?” Jamie asked. “It’s so beautiful. And I don’t want you to have a bunch of weird, old emotions attached to it. We can make new memories here, you know?”

I nodded. “New memories. I like the sound of that.”

Jamie and I folded up the blanket and Sprinkle followed us every step of the way back down the path. We put out a bowl of food and water for him and he lapped it up, clearly thankful for the treat.

When we were back in the kitchen, Jamie yawned.

“Ready for a night of Blanket Stealers: Extreme Edition?” I asked him.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, looking up into my eyes. “Absolutely. But tonight, I’m fighting back.”

“You’re on.”

We hopped into bed, and the simplicity of the evening was stunning. My big, modern home had felt like nothing but a lonely prison for the past year, and now it suddenly felt alive . Jamie’s light radiated into every corner of my life, really, and I was starting to forget what it had even felt like without him in it.

I didn’t want to imagine life without him in it.

I couldn’t keep my hands off of him once we were in bed. And by the time we were drifting off to sleep, Jamie’s words from earlier rang out again in my mind.

We can make new memories , he’d told me.

I realized that that was what I’d been missing, more than anything. Someone to make memories with. Someone who wanted to think about a future with me, whatever that future might bring.

Someone who’d been patient when I’d been fearful, so that I could return the favor when he had been fearful.

A true partnership , I thought.

Whatever form it would end up taking, I knew that’s what I had with Jamie. And I desperately wanted to see how many memories we’d make.