Page 37 of The Perfect Deal
I tried to burrow my way into the couch, but it wasn’t working.
“No, it’s not.” Poppy slugged him playfully in the arm. “You know how much those two love one another. And the brother comes around in the end.”
“Because he’s a pussy.” Landon was messing with her. I could tell by the crooked grin on his face, but he also meant it to a degree.
Poppy shook her head. “Well, I love this movie. I think it’s so cute how everyone else can see how those two are madly in love, and the brother just keeps missing it.”
My eyes widened as I tried to get her attention around my brother, but my best friend refused to look at me.
“I don’t know,” Landon said. “But Jane Larson is hot, so maybe I’ll watch it.” This time, when Poppy hit him, it was hard enough for him to yelp. Still, he laughed. “You know I’m just teasing, baby.” He turned to her, and they kissed.
Why was it that he was allowed to marry my best friend, but I couldn’t date his?
When Poppy pulled away, she said, “I think it’s a good movie. Everyone deserves to be with the one they love.”
Finally, her eyes flickered to me, and I managed to mouth, “Stop it!”
Poppy giggled under her breath and turned back to the television. Thankfully, she let it go. I knew she was just trying to help me out, planting those little seeds in Landon’s head that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Joshua and I were together, but it didn’t make any difference now.
Joshua had made it pretty clear at camp that he didn’t want to have anything to do with me now. Whether it was because he truly had only been out to see if he could get me in bed, or he’d changed his mind, I couldn’t say, but it was a nonissue. Landon couldn’t find out that Joshua and I had feelings for one another when we didn’t. He couldn’t find out that his best friend and his little sister were sneaking around behind his back if they weren’t.
Feeling my emotions bubble back up again, I returned my attention to the television, reminding myself it was just a romantic comedy—not reality.
After all, this movie had a happily ever after, and I wasn’t holding my breath for that.
23
JOSHUA
My house seemed unbelievably empty when I returned from camp. The first night, it was hard to get used to the silence. Even though I had my own cabin at camp, I could still hear the kids through the windows. The sounds of the forest were much different than the noise of an occasional car passing through the neighborhood or a dog barking in the distance. I was home, but it felt off.
Nevertheless, I was exhausted in more ways than one and knew I needed the time off to catch my breath and get ready for all of the other events that were happening this summer. Not only did I have another session of camp to attend, but we had two trips and a wedding to look forward to. Most of the time, trips with our rowdy bunch meant little sleep, lots of drinking, potential hangovers, and a lot of fun.
Wandering around my house, I tried to determine how to spend my second night at home. I’d spent most of the day dusting and doing routine chores that still needed to be done even though I hadn’t been home for two weeks. The house had a musty smell to it that could only be chased out with the fresh scent of lemon from my mother’s favorite cleaners. When that was all done, I needed something else to keep my mind occupied.
If I allowed myself even the smallest pause to contemplate what had happened at camp, I would slip into a pit, feeling sorry for myself and agonizing over the fact that I’d screwed everything up with Liberty. No, it was best to keep my mind on other topics.
So, I did what I usually did when I was bored. I pulled out my cell phone and called Landon. It took him a moment to answer, but when he did, he sounded chipper, which told me Liberty still hadn’t revealed to her brother what had happened at camp. “What’s up, bro?” Landon asked, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “You finally home?”
“I am,” I told him. “Got in yesterday. Not much going on here. Kind of bored,” I admitted.
“Oh, so you only call me when you’re bored,” he teased. “Well, we could go down to Tucker’s and shoot some pool, toss back a few beers.”
That was exactly what I’d been hoping for. “Yeah, that sounds good. We haven’t done that for a while.” It had been at least a month since we went down to the local bar to have some guy time. Hanging out with Landon and some of the other guys was exactly what I needed in order to get through this week off before the adventures began again, starting with his spur-of-the-moment bachelor/bachelorette trip next weekend. I still couldn’t believe they’d decided this was a good idea, getting everyone together for two days this close to the wedding, and right before Luke’s family took us on a vacation to Bali. But there was no sense trying to talk Landon and Poppy out of it, and I had to go. I was the best man, after all, for now. That might change if he found out what I did with his sister.
“What do you think about inviting Luke?” I suggested, thoughts of the upcoming trip making me wonder what the other guy had been up to. “He was fun when we were golfing.”
“Sure, that sounds good,” Landon agreed. “I’ll give him a call. Meet you there at eight?”
“I’ll see you then.” Hanging up, I headed upstairs to take a shower and change clothes. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress anyone, but at the same time, we lived in a small town, and one never knew when they might run into someone interesting.
Standing under the warm water, I didn’t dare hope that I’d see Liberty tonight. As much as I wanted to volunteer to pick Landon up in the hopes that she might be there, I knew that was silly. She was probably off with Poppy doing something fun anyway. If she was back at work at the drop-shipping business, she could be so exhausted that she didn’t even want to leave her bed. It was so much easier to do a job one loved, and Liberty hated her work at the family business, which was why it had meant so much to her and to me that I could get her the photography job she’d been wanting for years.
And now, I’d stolen that away from her.
With a sigh, I finished rinsing off and got out of the shower, grabbing a towel, trying not to let my mind go back to how it had felt to have her hands on my body. I’d screwed everything up, and I had no idea how I was going to fix it.
She was more than welcome to come back to camp for session two, though. I hoped she knew that. It would be another opportunity for her to work as a photographer. She’d have more pictures for her portfolio, and she could add another line to her resume stating she’d worked two sessions. I’d be happy to give her a glowing recommendation to any potential employers, and I’d recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer or anyone who asked who took the pictures on my website. In fact, I’d even add a line on the front of the site to let people know who had taken the photos with a link to her website—if she had one. I should probably find out if she did or not.