Page 147 of Fall Fake-Out

I mean, Wade helped too.

Landrie catches my expression in the mirror. “Now look at you.”

I finish the last button and step back. “What do you mean?”

“You’re happy. You have friends here. A job you love. Students who adore you.” Her grin grows. “And Wade.” The smile fades from her face just enough to become serious. “You belong here, Ari.”

The words hit the center of my heart. “I think maybe I do.”

Landrie’s smile returns. “Good.” She turns, fully facing me. “Because I know Wade is perfect for you.”

I walk over to the bed and sit on the edge. “That’s what scares me.”

She follows. “What’s scary about that?”

My answer feels embarrassingly honest. “I like him more than I’ve admitted to anybody. And I think if he were to ask me to stay here forever, I would. And that’s what scares me the most.”

The confession leaves me feeling strangely exposed.

“Oh.” Landrie’s features soften. “You love him.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“You didn’t have to say it.”

I stare down at my hands. “But what if I’m wrong about him? What if everyone is right about how he feels, but I’m still wrong somehow?” My throat tightens. “What if this doesn’t end the way I hope it will?”

Because that’s the real fear.

“You know what I think?” Landrie sits beside me, her dress spilling across the bed. “I think you’re acting like the girl who got hurt by Andy instead of the woman sitting here today with everything going for her.”

A big part of me knows she’s right.

“I don’t know if Wade loves you yet,” she says honestly. “But I know he cares about you. I know he’s trying. And I know he’s never looked at anybody the way he looks at you.”

My eyes sting unexpectedly.

“And if this goes somewhere amazing?” She smiles. “Then great.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

I think about that for a second.

About Florida.

About heartbreak.

About starting over.

About moving home.

It’s a big risk to put my heart out there again.

Landrie squeezes my hand. “Don’t let your fear of something bad happening stop you from experiencing something amazing. And I think you and Wade have something amazing going.”

I sigh. “I think so too.”

Outside the bridal suite, someone knocks on the door.