Page 58 of Fake It for Christmas

The bartender nodded at us, then reached over to give each of us a high-five. “Congrats, guys,” he said. “That’s reason enough to have a drink on the house.”

“You’re going to be on the Fixer Brothers show?” a woman at a booth nearby asked, getting up and walking over to us. “That’s my favorite, too. How cool.”

“Hey, Em!” the bartender called over to a different guy working behind the bar. “You like the Fixer Brothers, right? This guy’s going to be on the show.”

“What the fuck? That’s awesome!” the other guy said, coming out and fist-bumping us. “Hey, when they’re in town to film, tell them to come for drinks here at Hard Spot. We’ll take good care of them.”

“I will,” I said.

“I knew they’d want you,” Rowen said. “It was a done deal, as far as I was concerned.”

“I never could have done it without you,” I told him, meaning every last word. “I mean,literally, because it’s a couple’s edition. But… I never would have had the confidence, even on my own.”

His eyes sparkled. “I knew you had it,” he said. “It’s called theit factorin the acting world. You’ve got it, Shane.”

“God, I haven’t even opened the full email.”

I looked down, tapping on it, opening it up. The last part of the email made me emotional all over again.

Not only did we love you and Rowen as a couple—we also loved the location of Bestens, Tennessee, and all of the small-town charm it has to offer. We also loved when you shared memories of your beloved grandmother, and we will be sure to honor her on your episode of the show, as well.

Rowen was reading it over my shoulder, and he squeezed me close as he read the last line.

“Your Gram would have been so proud of you, Shane,” he whispered. “I wish I could have known her, but I feel like I can, through you.”

I sucked in a breath. “Thank you so much,” I told him. “And she would havelovedyou, by the way.”

“You think so?”

I nodded. “She would have been your best friend. And congratulated me on being with someone so smart and funny andhandsome, too.”

“What do you think she would have said, seeing that you got on the TV show?”

I pulled in a breath. “She’d sayyou fucking did it, kiddo,” I said.

I swore my heart could burst. I didn’t know how something could feel so beautiful, even through the pain we’d both had in our lives.

But itwasbeautiful.

Nothing would ever be perfect, and I knew life would never be without pain. But with each other, it would be a good fucking ride.

I knew I was leading with love. Just like Gram always wanted me to. And even though it was way too early to say it, I knew I could see myself falling deeper and deeper in love with Rowen every day. I could see myself continuing that forever, as far as I was concerned. Nothing was guaranteed, but I knew that I had something real with him.

Something I wasn’t going to turn away from.

“You want to know something else Gram always used to say?” I asked Rowen.

“What?”

“When you know, youknow.”

He let his gaze linger on mine, and I was pretty sure we were thinking the exact same thing.

We both knew.

Knew that this was only the beginning of our love, and that itwasmagic.

“I’m falling in love with you,” I said simply, feeling his hand tighten a little on my waist.

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