Page 72 of The Perfect Deal
I narrowed my gaze at her but bit my tongue. I couldn’t inwardly be thanking her for being such an awesome sister and then curse her aloud.
“Where’ve you been?” Liberty asked in a teasing tone.
I waded over toward her, the cool, refreshing water feeling good against my skin. “I fell asleep,” I admitted. I felt like I needed to make an announcement to everyone so I didn’t have to keep repeating myself.
“You didn’t sleep on the plane?” Her tone was a mix of shock and accusation, but she was still smiling at me.
Shrugging, I said, “Only a little bit. I was preoccupied.” Seeing her cheeks turn rosy made my stomach tighten and my dick start to pulse. God, she was fucking gorgeous. I wanted to pick her up and carry her out of here, back to my room, and have my way with her right this moment. Landon had given us the okay, but I didn’t quite think that he’d be okay with that.
“Well, Poppy, this is it,” Sophia was saying, bringing my thoughts back to the present conversation. “Your last event before the wedding. Are you excited?”
“I’m thrilled,” Poppy said, swinging her feet leisurely through the water. “I absolutely cannot wait until Landon and I say I do.”
Liberty reached over and squeezed her friend’s arm. “Then we’ll be sisters—legally.”
“God,” I murmured. “I can’t believe Landon is actually getting married. It seems like just yesterday the two of us were trying to learn to ride our bikes on the sidewalk outside of your house. We must’ve fallen over a hundred times, skinned our knees and elbows. Now, he’s gonna be a married man. Before you know it, he’ll be trading that bike in for a minivan.”
“Nah, not Landon,” Poppy said, giggling. “He doesn’t even want me to keep my van, let alone purchase one for the family.”
“Family.” I repeated the word, in awe of it. That was what Landon was doing, though. He was making a family with Poppy. My gaze shifted to Liberty’s beautiful face again. I longed for the opportunity to do the same with her, to get married, have kids, buy a minivan, if that’s what she wanted. Would we ever get our chance?
“Luke says the restaurant we’re going to for dinner is amazing.” Hannah’s face lit up when she mentioned Luke. Was my kid sister crushing on the quiet guy from the block? “He said the food is amazing, and the view of the mountains is to die for.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” Liberty said as everyone else nodded in agreement. “What time are we supposed to be ready to go?”
“Luke said he’d like for us to be on the buses by six. It’s not a long drive, but the restaurant is expecting us at six thirty. His parents own the place, and they rented out the entire space just for us.” It seemed Hannah was in awe of everything Luke and his parents did. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. I liked Luke a lot and knew he was a good guy, but she was my little sister.
Realization dawned on me, and I vowed to never be like Landon and put my own level of comfort before my sister’s happiness. If she wanted to be with Luke, I definitely wasn’t standing in the way.
For the next few hours, we played in the pool, lounged in the comfortable seats at the water’s edge, and ate delicious food from the bar. Rather than a formal lunch, we ate appetizers and sandwiches. The staff was friendly and quick to bring us anything we asked for.
Around five, most of us headed upstairs to get ready, though Liberty and some of the other women had left a bit sooner. I’d wanted to kiss her goodbye but had refrained. Arlo and I rode the elevator up with another group and then walked down the hall together. He was quite a bit younger than me but had tagged around with Landon and me a lot when we were kids. His brother August was good friends with my brother William.
“Do you think that I can grow up to own a place like this one day?” he asked me. “If I get my master’s in business.”
“Of course, man,” I told him. “You can be whatever you want to be.” He thanked me, and I left him at his door, right next to mine.
An hour later, dressed in a nice button-down and slacks, I met Liberty in the hallway and escorted her to the bus. She looked amazing in a flowing red dress with bright yellow flowers on it, like a tropical dream. I hoped her brother would stay occupied with Poppy for a while tonight because I was planning on entertaining this woman through dinner—and hopefully afterward.
The restaurant was just as spectacular as Hannah had described it, maybe even more so. The emerald mountains sprang up right outside of the window, their majestic crowns towering above us as the blue of the sea and sky melted together around them. I could’ve sat there and gazed at them for hours if the woman next to me wasn’t far more lovely than even this natural wonder.
Being with this group was like being at a family reunion. We all knew each other so well and had been friends forever. We drank too much, ate amazing lobster and other seafood, and told stories for hours. All the while, beneath the table, Liberty’s leg pressed against mine, doing things to me I couldn’t have articulated if my life depended upon it. Everything about dinner was amazing, but best of all, I got to share it with her.
Landon gave me a look about halfway through dinner, as if he were trying to decide whether or not he could handle how close the two of us were sitting to one another. He smirked, shook his head, and then returned his attention to Poppy. I assumed that meant he wasn’t going to go back on his word. Looking at Liberty, I smiled and brushed her hair over her shoulder. We could finally be together—so long as Landon didn’t know about the sex.
After dinner, we headed back to the resort on the party bus. It was louder this time, with the music cranked up and some people attempting to dance in the aisle. Still exhausted, I decided to forego the party happening in the lounge and headed upstairs with a group of about ten other people who wanted to save their celebrating for the next day. Liberty was with me as we made our way up the stairs with the others.
“Goodnight, Joshua,” Hannah said, ducking into her room. One by one, everyone peeled off, telling the others goodnight until Arlo went into his room, leaving Liberty and me alone for a second.
“Goodnight, Joshy,” she said with a twinkle in her eye and popped into her room.
When her door was shut, the hallway was quiet. I sighed and went into my room, thinking maybe I’d gotten excited over nothing. About five minutes later, I heard a small tapping sound on my bedroom door. A devilish grin pulled up the corners of my mouth as I went to answer it.
44
LIBERTY
Iwaited until everyone else had gone into their rooms and closed their doors—and then I waited some more. Once the entire building seemed to quiet down, I made my move, sneaking out of my room and across the hall to Joshua’s.