Page 67 of The Perfect Deal
Shrugging, she said, “Maybe not to everyone, but it sure does to me. Did something happen with Joshua again?”
I let out a loud sigh and nodded. “I’d just as soon wait until Hannah gets here to go over it all, though.”
“Okay.” I could tell she was concerned and didn’t want to wait for me to tell her, but Poppy had always been a very patient person, so she was content to wait. The two of us went into the living room, talking about what had been going on in Poppy’s life, until Hannah arrived.
She didn’t notice how upset I was as she came into the living room, telling us that she’d seen Luke doing some yard work. “That man is fine,” she said, dropping down onto the couch.
That made me laugh, but then, I was also a little jealous. They wouldn’t have any interference from older siblings if they tried to be together. I still wasn’t sure if it was Landon who had come between Joshua and me, since being with Karrie would just be less complex than dating me.
“What’s up with you?” Hannah asked. “I haven’t seen my brother yet. Did you guys have a good time?”
I opened my mouth to reply, not knowing what was going to pour out, but before I could speak, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Poppy said, leaping up off the couch to go get the food.
“What’s the matter?” Hannah asked. “You look like I just asked about your dog five minutes after it got hit by a car.”
I swallowed hard. “Let’s wait for Poppy,” I told her.
Hannah nodded, but the look in her eyes didn’t fade. A moment later, Poppy was back. She set the containers out on the coffee table while I poured the wine. We took our time fixing our plates, each of us taking a little bit of everything, and we ate in relative silence watching the television show I’d put on, me avoiding the question, the two of them concerned but unwilling to ask again until I was ready to talk about it.
Finally, when we were done eating, the mess was cleaned up, and I’d refilled the wine glasses, I said, “Hannah, dear, your brother is an asshole.”
Her eyebrows lifted, and I could see she was alarmed. Poppy was, too.
“What happened?” Hannah wasn’t aware of much of what had transpired between her brother and me since my first session of camp, so with a deep breath, I jumped in at that first kiss we’d shared in the woods on the night of the big campfire.
Since Joshua was her brother, I glossed over the sex, but I did mention it. I included the fact that he’d blown me off the next day after we’d slept together for the first time, but then, I told her how he’d made it up to me.
I admitted to her that we’d snuck upstairs and had sex during the wedding party trip to Florida. I told her how we’d been close since then and how we’d both been super happy about the fact that Landon had said we could try dating. “We weren’t overly clingy at the second session of camp,” I admitted. “But we did make out a little once, and we spent a lot of time together, just talking, having conversations that I thought were making us a better couple.”
“So what the hell happened?” Hannah asked, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
I let out a sigh and gulped my wine. After three glasses, I was beginning to feel it. “I found out about the other woman.”
“What?” That came from Poppy. “No way. Joshua doesn’t have another woman.”
“Oh, yes he does,” I argued, pointing at her with my wine glass. “She told me all about it. How they were going out as soon as they got back from camp. She’s had a crush on him for a long time, and it’s finally paying off, that’s what she said.” I sounded ridiculous, like some belligerent person trying to convince a police officer that they weren’t drunk, but the more wine I had in me, the more certain I was that what Karrie had told me was the truth.
“I am not aware of any other girl,” Hannah said, shaking her head. “Joshua talks about you all the time. He never even mentions anyone else. Liberty, are you sure this woman wasn’t just fucking with you?"
In the back of my mind, I knew that was a possibility, but I didn’t want to admit it. “Nope. She doesn’t know that I like Joshua, so why would she do that? I think he just got scared about Landon and decided if he had another woman, he wouldn’t have to worry about me anymore.”
“That’s fucked up,” Hannah said.
“I know.” I took another drink of my wine.
Hannah shook her head. “No, not what you’re accusing my brother of—what you just said. Liberty, he’s been in love with you for, well, forever. There’s no way in hell he’s going out with another woman. The only other girl he’s ever even mentioned in the last couple of months is that psycho Karrie.”
“That’s it! That’s her,” I told her, nodding as a rush of vindication washed through me. “See? His secret woman.”
“No,” Hannah said, setting her wine glass down. “Not like that. He’s going out with Karrie for dinner because she wants to talk to him about her future working for him. He agreed to it because he thinks it’s time to let her go. He’s dreading it. Joshua can’t stand Karrie.”
I stared at her, my mouth hanging open, not sure what to say. Now, I was beginning to doubt Hannah.
“Why would she think that was a date?” Poppy asked while I continued to gape.
“I have no fucking idea,” Hannah said. “Maybe she suspects you like him and just wanted to fuck with you. I’m telling you, Liberty, there’s absolutely nothing going on between my brother and Karrie. He would’ve never hired her in the first place if my dad hadn’t forced him. It was a favor for a family friend. Her dad and our dad go way back.” She rolled her eyes. “If you’re upset that Joshua is going to dinner with Karrie, you have nothing to worry about.”