Page 59 of Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

The Falls Festival was something of a tradition in Caluga Falls. It was held on the lake, opposite the Parkland and the Falls themselves, but the views were still excellent. I’d loved going there as a kid—getting my face painted, the shooting range, the carousel. It was everything that was good about small-town life; sweet, innocent, and fun.

I’d feared the worst when Laura had told me that most of the old attractions weren’t there. Apparently, now it wasn’t much more than a glorified renaissance fair. So I pulled a few strings before the event, and by the time I got there, the crowds were in full-force, and an enormous Ferris wheel rose up above the fairground as Ronnie dropped me off. I’d dressed casually, in shirtsleeves and a pair of jeans.

As we walked around, I was filled with happy memories of past times I’d been here. When we were little, David and I had run amok with the other kids at the festival, high on sugar from the rides and screeching with excitement. But as I’d gotten older, I’d kept going. The Falls Festival was also a famous place to go on a date in town. And Laura and I had shared our first kiss here one night, after they lit a bunch of sky lanterns. It had been a wonderful, magical moment, the two of us down by the lake.

We’d never dated in high school, but Laura and I had always known that our paths would cross again someday. And when she returned home from college and spent a summer working for Erwin at the local paper, I was still in town working for my dad. We’d kept in touch, writing letters to each other and keeping contact. But it hadn’t been until she came home that we decided to start seeing each other properly. And our first date had been here. A month later, we were engaged to be married.

So I was steeped in nostalgia as I walked among the booths, watching boys throw hoops and older boys (old enough to know better) testing their strength with the sledgehammer.

“There you are!” said a sweet voice behind me.

“Here I am,” I said, as I turned. I stepped towards Laura and kissed her on the cheek, suppressing a hungry howl from my heart as I did so.

Laura looked gorgeous, in a yellow dress and a pair of sneakers. Her hair was down around her shoulders, dark and glossy, and I resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, scanning the crowd.

“How’s the casualty?” I said.

Laura giggled. “Kyle’s slinked off on his crutches—he’s seen a couple of his new school buddies.”

“I’ll bet he’s relishing the attention.”

“Exactly. And David’s with two of his work buddies.”

“So, it’s just us.”

“Why, yes,” said Laura flirtatiously. “But you’d still better be on good behavior, mister.”

“I will be,” I replied, raising my hands.

“It looks great, doesn’t it? Since when did they get a Ferris wheel at the Falls Festival?”

“When indeed,” I drawled.

Laura gave me a look of surprise. “You didn’t,” she said.

“Well, I called this morning and asked if I could put in for a few stalls. Most of it is from the Freetown Carnival.”

“Lucien,” said Laura, staring at me. “You found out we were going on a date? So you bought a Ferris wheel?”

“Rented,” I corrected her. “But the boat’s mine.”

“The boat?” said Laura.

“Should be coming into dock about now,” I said, turning around.

My yacht was a fairly modest thing, no more than fifty feet from end to end. It wasn’t one of those stupid things you see sailing around the Caribbean, but a smooth, elegant schooner with a slim prow and a fresh lick of blue paint.

“Oh my God,” said Laura. “Lucien, I had no idea you had a boat.”

“It’s normally moored in Portland,” I explained. “But I had them bring it up for the day. She’s a nice vessel, huh?”

“Can you sail her?”

“I’m learning,” I said. “But honestly, I leave it to the crew most of the time.”

“Did you go on boats a lot in the Navy?” said Laura, as we walked among the stalls. Here and there, a few people pointed to us. I was gaining a name in the town now that the papers had reported on Kyle’s rescue, and the library was open for business again.

“Sure,” I said, hesitant to talk about the Navy too much. I was a little nervous about coming to the festival. Was there a chance that she’d connect our date here together with all the ones she’d been on with Conor?