11. Shane

11

SHANE

“We will be in touch,” Nathan said to me over the video call, smiling the same friendly way I’d seen him smile into the camera hundreds of times.

Nathan freaking Wood.

Because I was on a video call with Shawn and Nathan Wood. Not an assistant or manager or producer for the Fixer Brothers—but the actual, real, live Fixer Brothers themselves. I wasn’t sure how I was still able to breathe, but somehow I’d managed it.

“Amazing,” I said. “Incredible. Thank you both, so much.”

I reached over to Rowen beside me, gripping his hand for probably the twentieth time. He’d been by my side, playing the part of my boyfriend absolutely fucking perfectly the whole time. I’d been on autopilot for the entirety of the video call, hoping that I was putting together words in ways that made sense, but mentally I’d basically been on another planet the whole time.

But Rowen had been amazing. He was damn good in front of a camera, and this call had been no different.

“There’s just one more thing I want to ask,” Shawn said, leaning forward and looking out at us.

Nathan laughed beside him. “He’s been asking this with every couple we interview.”

“Hey,” Shawn protested, looking over at his brother. “It’s a couples edition Fixer Brothers show. Of course I want to ask coupley things.”

“I agree. Go for it.”

“It’s a simple question,” Shawn said. “What was the moment you fell in love?”

I felt like I’d just been caught red-handed.

We didn’t have an answer for that. We had nothing close. We’d practiced talking about how we’d met, what our families thought of each other, even potential future plans. But this question was a curveball.

I bit the inside of my cheek, my nervousness ratcheting up even more. Rowen had been schmoozy and quick to talk for the whole call, but for the first time, there was a pause in the flow of the conversation.

I glanced over at him, feeling panic settle in my veins.

This was it.

This was when we were going to lose our shot at being on my favorite show of all time.

But a slow smile spread over Rowen’s face, and he glanced over at me, squeezing my hand again.

“It was the first time he offered to make breakfast for me,” Rowen said, looking at the camera and talking to the Fixer Brothers.

I felt like he’d just pinned me against a wall. All at once, I was grateful for him and so confused.

“Breakfast made you fall in love, huh?” Nathan asked.

“It wasn’t just the promise of food, although that was nice, too,” Rowen said. “But it was the way he showed he cared about me. He was barely awake but he was already offering me coffee and food and being the way only Shane can be: thoughtful and sweet without even thinking about it. He’s not a kind person because he feels like he should be, he’s just naturally that way, every moment of his life. How could I not fall in love with that?”

I felt like my heart was lodged somewhere near my throat. My cheeks got hot as Rowen looked back over at me, leaning in and kissing me on my temple.

Holy hell.

“That’s the simplest answer we’ve ever gotten,” Nathan said, “but to be honest, I think it’s my favorite one.”

“And I can get a sense for that true kindness, even on this short video call,” Shawn said. “We have to hurry to a meeting now, but thank you so much for chatting with us. You’ll hear from us within the next week.”

I swallowed, my throat a little dry. “It’s been incredible,” I said. “Thank you both.”

“Have a great day, you two,” Shawn said, waving out at us.

When I hung up on the video call, my hands were still shaking.

I closed my laptop, looking over at Rowen. Were my hands shaking now because I was talking to celebrities, or because of what Rowen had told me? Hearing him talk about falling in love with me, even if it was fake, did something to me that I couldn’t process.

Something I shouldn’t have let my heart even feel , honestly.

“Wow,” I said. “I feel like I’m dreaming right now.”

Rowen gave me a little pinch on my arm. “Not dreaming. You did so well. I could tell they loved you.”

I ran my hands through my hair, standing up from my place on the couch. “You did way better than I did. Every time you have a camera on you, your acting skills show up like you’re a damn superhero.”

He gave me a casual shrug. “I’m here to make sure you get on your favorite TV show.”

But how much of what you said was real?

Was any of it real?

I barely had any chance to wonder about the Fixer Brothers, or time to see Rowen at all, for the rest of the week. The inn was hosting a huge group for a family reunion, and I was working overtime each day. I thought of Rowen more than I should have, though, his smile floating through my mind anytime I looked too long at any holiday decorations and every time I went home at the end of long days.

And by the end of the week, it was time for my own version of a family reunion. Family members started arriving in town prior to the Christmas party, and my cousin Frankie, his fiance, and his parents were all staying in my house.

Rowen arrived on the afternoon of the Christmas party, and I was wearing my brand-new apron as I swung open my front door.

“Holy fuck,” I murmured as I looked out at him.

He looked better than I’d ever seen. Better than I’d ever seen anyone look, to be honest.

“Do you like the green? I didn’t know if it was right,” he asked, looking down.

He was in a forest green colored suit with a cream-colored shirt underneath. His tie was covered in a pattern of holly branches with little red berries throughout.

“It’s fucking perfect,” I said. “You look like you belong in a catalog. Goddamn, you can rock a suit.”

He leaned in and gave me a hug.

“How are you feeling, Shane?”

I sucked in a deep breath. “For so long, it had seemed like the Christmas party was something in the far-off distance, but now it’s here. It snuck up on me.”

“Me too,” he said.

A clattering sound came from behind me, emanating from my kitchen.

“Frankie, that is not how you do it!” my aunt Jeanine’s voice called out.

Rowen grinned in the doorway.

“You ready to meet my extended, extended family tonight?”

“I was born ready, babe,” Rowen said. “Fake boyfriend extraordinaire.”

My heart panged in my chest. I’d been trying not to think about how much Rowen had affected me during the Fixer Brothers interview, but in the back of my mind it had been there ever since.

I knew it hadn’t been real when he’d talked about falling in love with me, but it had stuck with me.

“Is he here, Shane?” Frankie called out from the kitchen.

“Yes! Just a sec,” I called back, then turned to Rowen. “They’ve been excited about meeting you, if you can’t tell.”

“I’m a little nervous,” he said.

I lifted my eyebrows. “ You? Nervous?”

“What?”

“I’m the one who gets nervous, not you.”

He bit his lower lip. “Maybe I get nervous more than you realize, but I’m just good at hiding it.”

“Nervous to meet my family,” I said. “Maybe you should be. They’re totally crazy.”

“I like crazy,” he said. “I’m also nervous to see you, a little.”

“Now I know you’re fucking with me.”

“I’ve missed you, this past week,” Rowen said. “I thought about coming to the inn about a hundred times, but I didn’t want to bother you at work.”

Something shifted in my chest.

That felt real. What he was saying to me right now, nowhere near my family where he’d have to be faking it.

“I’ve missed you, too,” I said truthfully.

His eyes scanned over me, like he was considering saying something.

“Shane! How does this freakin’ coffee machine work?” my aunt’s voice came from the kitchen.

“We’ve got to head in,” I told Rowen, bringing him inside.

“How long until we all leave for the party?”

“We’ve got an hour,” I said. “An hour of last-minute baking and cooking and yelling before we all head to my parents’ place.”

“Oh my good golly,” Aunt Jeanine said as I walked into the kitchen with Rowen. “Look at him! ”

She went in and immediately wrapped her arms around Rowen in a big hug.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Rowen said.

“Shane told me that he was dating someone and I just about dropped dead,” my aunt said.

“Aunt Jeanine, don’t embarrass me,” I groaned.

“What? It’s been too long,” she protested. “I was so happy to hear it. How are you doing today, Rowen? I hope you’re ready to help peel some potatoes.”

Rowen laughed. “I should probably take this blazer off, but yes, I am very ready to peel potatoes.”

I watched as Rowen seamlessly blended in with my family. Frankie and his fiance came over and introduced themselves too, and before long all of them were peeling and chopping veggies together while Aunt Jeanine told us plenty of stories from past Christmas parties. We baked up a cranberry cake and finished up the mashed potatoes and roasted green beans, and in a flash, an hour had gone by.

“You ready to go, babe?” I said offhandedly to Rowen in the kitchen before I caught myself.

Everyone else was outside, and we were the only ones in here. I’d had no reason to say that, no reason to fake it when it was just us here.

But Rowen didn’t miss a beat.

“Got to grab my blazer, but I’m good to go,” he said. He leaned in, giving me a kiss on the side of my head.

Something bloomed in my chest.

He was doing it, too.

The moment stretched out a little between us, and when I looked in his eyes, all I felt was… connection. Real connection.

He leaned in, pressing a kiss to my lips as he reached down, squeezing my hip with one hand.

“You handle my family so well,” I murmured. “It’s going to be ten times the craziness at the party.”

“I love it,” he said. “Kiss me again.”

Fuck .

I kissed him immediately, not pausing to give a damn about the fact that we were doing this for no real reason. I sighed against his lips, calmer than I’d been all day.

My heart ached.

I didn’t want this to end after today. After tonight’s party there would be no real reason for us to hang out together. It was a long shot with the Fixer Brothers, and if I was being realistic, I knew we probably wouldn’t end up on the TV show.

In fact, tonight could be the last time I even hung out with Rowen for an extended period of time.

I didn’t want to face that reality.

So instead I just let myself kiss him.