Page 3 of The Perfect Deal
I shook my head. “There’s not too much to tell. We just talked about the barbecue for a few minutes, that’s all. And then I had to leave before Landon caught a clue that there might be something going on between his little sister and his best friend.” I sighed, wishing I could go back in time and never date Landon’s friend Grady Beck. He ended up being a total asshole, and after he broke my heart, Landon warned me and all of his friends that I was completely off limits. It wasn’t fair. I hated it because I’d had feelings for Joshua long before I even knew Grady existed, but it didn’t matter. Landon had put us all on notice.
Poppy gave me a sympathetic look. She knew the struggles Joshua and I sometimes went through to have a conversation in front of my brother. I knew she’d tried a time or two to mention to Landon that it might not be such a horrible thing if Joshua and I got together, but he always grumbled or shrugged it off, refusing to see what was right before his face. “Well, at least you got to see him. You’ll see more of him at the barbecue tonight, right?”
Warmth spread through my chest just thinking about the prospect. “I sure hope so.”
“I’ll be there to help distract Landon,” she promised me, patting my hand. “How did that photography technique you were telling me about the other day work out? Did you get to try it?”
“Oh, it’s great.” Feeling excitement bubble up inside of me, I grabbed a spade off the ground and began to work on the plants as we talked. Otherwise, I’d be of no use to Poppy whatsoever. I loved talking about photography. “I set up that filter the way I’d read about it online and took some stills. I loved the way it changed the light. Sure, I can do that in editing, but I think it gives a different look to everything when you can set the shot up that way to begin with, you know?”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Poppy said, moving over a bit to work on another shrub. I had no idea what it was, but it smelled divine. Large purple flowers poked out all over the shaggy green branches. “I’d love to see the pictures sometime.”
“Sure. Maybe you can come over later this week and look at them. I thought about putting some of them on my phone, but it kind of ruins the effect. I mean, it defeats the purpose to take sophisticated pictures with an expensive camera and then put them on a phone to look at them.” I finished pulling out the weed I’d found and picked up my spade again, though I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to be doing with it.
“That’s true. Although I’d probably get a pretty good idea of what it looked like from your phone. I’d love to come and look at them, though. I’m sure I’ll be over at some point.” She smiled at me and cut back a large portion of the bush she was working on.
“I’m going to try something else as soon as I get a chance. I found a photo with an interesting angle that I want to work with.” My mind began to run wild as I thought about all the different pictures I wanted to take and techniques I wanted to try.
Poppy sighed, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Don’t you wish you could just do that? All the time?”
I looked at her, wide-eyed, for a moment before I nodded. “Yeah, of course. I mean, you remember that was the whole point in us moving to California to begin with. You were going to give your art a real try, and I was going to be a photographer. Things just didn’t work out that way for us.” I cleared my throat, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me, but it was difficult. We’d both had such high hopes when we left Tennessee and drove halfway across the country. I’d left before her, giving up on photography for a while so that I could help my brother transition to taking over the family drop-shipping business, and while I still got to take photographs for marketing purposes sometimes, it was nothing like what I really wanted to do.
Poppy was working as an artist now, thanks to my brother’s connections. She’d worked in the office for a while, but now her art was shipped out all over the world through his partnerships. She was doing really well, establishing a name for herself. It was inspiring.
And sometimes it made me a little jealous. I really wanted to be in a situation where I was excited to go to work every day because I was doing something I loved. My family was wealthy, so I could potentially quit working at the company for a while and focus on my photography, but I didn’t want to stress Landon out before the wedding. He was very particular about how he did things, and it took him a while to train and trust people. If I walked away from the business now, he’d have a panic attack.
“Did you finally get the wedding photographer situation straightened out?” I asked, happy to change the subject.
“We did,” Poppy said. “We still have a lot to plan, but we’re getting there. I can’t believe how fast time is flying by. The wedding is going to be here before we know it. I can’t wait to take that trip with all of you and relax for a while.”
I smiled and nodded, but in the back of my head, I thought she was a little crazy for taking a trip right before the wedding, even if it was an all-inclusive trip from our mutual friends, the Robertsons. Poppy had never been a traditionalist. Not that they weren’t planning a honeymoon, too. It was probably driving my brother crazy that he was going to be away from work for so long.
“Well, I guess you’re lucky you have such a wonderful maid of honor to help you,” I said with a wink.
Poppy laughed. “That’s true. And Landon has a pretty awesome best man, too. Between the two of you, I think we’ll be just fine. Of course, the fact that you are my maid of honor and Joshua is the best man means that the two of you will have plenty of opportunities to spend more time together.” She winked at me.
I felt a flutter deep in my stomach. “True. As long as you don’t mind keeping my brother busy so he doesn’t notice.” I rolled my eyes, thinking of how ridiculous Landon could be.
“Of course! What are friends for?” Poppy said, and we both giggled manically. “You know, now that I’m marrying your brother, we’re even more than friends. We’re about to be sisters—finally.” She wrapped her arm around me, and I hugged her back.
“Legally, that’s true. But if you ask me, we’ve always been sisters, Poppy.” I grinned up at her, and she held me even tighter.
“That’s so true, Liberty. I’ve always known that you were meant to be my sister. I just can’t wait until we are family in every sense of the word.” Poppy blinked back tears, and I found myself choking up, too.
“All right,” I said, wiggling away from her and dabbing at my eyes. “Enough is enough, girl. Let’s get back to work, or we’ll be late to the barbecue!”
“Never!” she said, and we both laughed again as we turned back to the hedges with a vengeance.
3
JOSHUA
Music played over the speakers on the back porch of the Robertsons’ house. They were hosting the annual barbecue this year. We took turns hosting it these days, though it had been at my house for many years. I would’ve loved to be the one hosting it again this year, but Luke Robertson was the one who was taking us all to Bali in a few weeks, and he wanted an opportunity to get us all together at his place so we could all catch up and ask any questions we might have before we fully planned the trip.
In a sea of smiling faces, I recognized every single one. I waved and chatted with people as I walked between them, slowly making my way to the cooler that held the drinks. I greeted Luke’s dad, said hi to a couple of members of the Smith family, and chatted with the youngest Nguyen brother. I couldn’t help but scan the crowd looking for Liberty. I didn’t see her anywhere, which made my heart sink slightly, but then, I didn’t see Landon yet either. I did tend to get to places early, whereas it usually took Liberty at least a little longer to get around. I never minded that about her. She always looked so cute.
“Joshua?”
Luke’s voice had me blinking a few times as I realized I’d slipped deep into my thoughts of Liberty. I’d completely lost track of reality for a few moments as I imagined her walking across the yard toward me, looking as gorgeous as ever. I wondered if she’d still be wearing those shorts from this morning.