Page 4 of The Perfect Deal
“Oh, hey, Luke,” I managed, extending my hand. He shook it. “How’s it going? This is a great party.”
“Thanks, man,” he said, releasing my hand and smiling humbly. “So far, everyone seems to be having a good time. We’ve got plenty of meat on the grill. Should be ready soon. I think Mom has some games she wanted everyone to play. Music sound good to you?” He looked up at one of the speakers hanging nearby.
“Yeah, it’s great. This playlist is right up my alley.” We were listening to alternative rock from the mid-90s at the moment, which was great. It reminded me of traveling to sporting events with my dad when I was younger. He always had Nirvana or Stone Temple Pilots playing on the radio. Said it reminded him of when he was a kid.
Luke’s face lit up at the compliment. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “You excited about the trip to Bali?”
“Absolutely,” I told him with enthusiasm. “I can’t believe you’re flying us all down there. It’s very generous of you.”
His face flushed slightly. “Oh, well, my family owns the resort, so that’s not that big of a deal. We just wanted everyone on Swanson Ridge Street to know how much we appreciate them, you know?”
“That’s awesome,” I said with a nod. “Makes me want to take everyone to a baseball game or something.” It had never even occurred to me to invite everyone on the street to something like that, but now that the Robertsons had started the tradition, maybe I should carry it on.
“That would be so much fun,” Luke said, shoving his hands down into his pockets. He was usually a pretty quiet guy. In fact, this might be the most we had said to each other in years. Not because I didn’t like him. He just usually kept to himself. “What else do you have planned for this summer?”
“Oh, well, I’m attending a few camps for the young athletes I work with,” I explained to him. “I’m so lucky I have such an amazing job. I absolutely love what I do.” Just talking about it got me so excited for the upcoming camps.
“I think it’s great, all the stuff you do for kids,” Luke said with a nod. “And the sports complex is exceptional. I was just there last week.”
“Thank you so much.” I always found myself starting to get embarrassed when talking about how successful my businesses had become. I was proud of it, but like Luke, I did get a little modest from time to time.
“Anything else happening this summer?” Luke asked me.
I thought about it for a moment before I shrugged. “Of course, I’ve got some best man duties I’ve got to take care of for Landon’s upcoming wedding.”
“Right,” Luke said with a soft chuckle. “The timing on our Bali trip isn’t ideal for them, but it worked out for so many other people, we decided to go with it.”
“I’m sure they’ll make it work,” I said, hoping to sound reassuring. I had my questions about that as well. While it would be Luke’s friends from the neighborhood going on the trip, he helped operate the resort company with his grandfather and father, so he had other people who had to approve his booking.
We chatted for a few more minutes before Luke’s dad shouted at him to come say hello to someone. I patted him on the back and continued on my way to grab that beer. As I pulled it out of the cooler, I looked up to see Landon and Poppy coming in, hand in hand. Lots of people rushed over to greet them and congratulate them on their upcoming wedding. I smiled and found a seat on a nearby couch, but I couldn’t help but look for Liberty. A nervous tension tightened in my stomach just thinking about her. Where was she?
She didn’t like to be around me when Landon was hanging out. I understood why. Still, I was hoping we’d get a chance to talk to one another at some point this evening. Even if I just had to stare at her from across the yard, that would be better than nothing.
Landon wandered over and sat down next to me. “How’s it going?” he asked, opening his beer.
“Fine. Nice party so far.” I wanted to ask him if his sister was there yet, but that wouldn’t be a good idea.
“Definitely. Saw you talking to Luke. He did a nice job of putting this together.” Landon nodded in the direction of our host.
“For sure. He seems to be coming out of his shell a little bit,” I noted.
“Good. He’s had a rough time since Max passed away.” Landon shook his head and took another drink of his beer.
I couldn’t agree more. Luke had been best friends with another guy that grew up on our street, but when Max died in an accident when we were younger, he sort of started keeping to himself. The rest of us tried to encourage him and make him feel part of the group, but he never seemed to fully recover. Maybe now he was finally starting to tear down the walls he’d built up around himself.
“Landon, come tell Mrs. Robertson about your tux,” Poppy called, waving her fiancé over.
With a sigh he did his best to hide, Landon pushed himself up off the couch and told me, “See you later,” before heading over to Poppy’s side.
I chuckled under my breath, watching him go, but secretly, I was a little jealous. He’d been in love with Poppy for all those years, and now the two of them were finally getting married. I only wished that I had something like that.
I had the girl, just not the relationship.
With everyone busy talking, I decided to get up and have a look around. It was possible that Liberty had come in through the gate and I just didn’t see her. The Robertsons had a large yard with lots of different areas, so there was a chance that she was here somewhere.
The scent of her strawberry perfume wafted through the air, hitting me in the nose before I rounded the corner and she came into view. I paused, admiring her beauty. Behind her, the sun was starting to go down, sending out rays of pink and gold that caught the highlights in her hair and made me stand there, catching my breath, trying to regain control of my emotions before I approached her.
Her back was to me, and she was rocking back and forth, slowly, the old swing we used to play on as kids creaking as it moved. With my heart in my throat, I walked over and sank down next to her in another swing.