Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“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.
5
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 this coupley enough 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.