Page 77 of The Perfect Deal

“You’re totally right,” Poppy said. She pulled back, sliding her hands down my arms to grasp my fingers. “Everything you’ve said is true, Liberty. Everyone agrees with you—even Landon.”

Puzzled, I stared at her the best I could through my tear-filled eyes. “What do you mean?”

Poppy let go of me to find a tissue. Plucking one from the box, she handed it to me and then sat down on the bed, gesturing for me to do the same.

Blowing my nose like a bugle, I didn’t care that I was being very unladylike in front of Poppy. I grabbed a couple more tissues and blew it again, then threw them away and paused to wash my hands in the bathroom. Then I came back to sit next to her on my messy bed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, realizing for the first time that the world really hadn’t stopped the moment I locked myself in here.

“Well, firstly, you should know that Landon feels terrible. He’s been wanting to come talk to you since about ten minutes after his argument with Joshua ended, but I wouldn’t let him. I told him he had to let me talk to you first.” I could see in her eyes that she was telling me the truth, and I suddenly felt bad for my brother. I pushed those thoughts aside. Landon deserved any bad feelings he might be experiencing now. “Everyone grilled Landon the moment the argument was over. The entire neighborhood stood up for you and Joshua.”

My eyes widened, despite their puffiness. “Really? What were they saying?”

“A lot of the guys said they didn’t blame Joshua for getting together with you.” She laughed at that, and so did I. “They said even if it meant sneaking around behind his back, you were worth it. That didn’t make Landon too happy, but then Luke and Kai stepped in and told him it wasn’t any different than him dating me. Landon disagreed, but they held firm that it wasn’t okay to say it’s different because you and I are girls. He said he wasn’t thinking of it that way, but they set him straight. Hannah told him it was messed up that he thought he could control his sister’s life, which pissed Landon off again until Sophia reminded him that he’d been doing just that. Really, it was an eye-opener for Landon, and he feels really bad about the whole thing now.”

I took a deep breath, glad that so many people had stepped forward to try to help Joshua and me, but I did feel bad for Landon that everyone had jumped down his throat. “Landon’s not mad that I turned everyone against him?”

“They haven’t turned against him,” Poppy assured me. “Everyone was really supportive, despite the fact that they thought he was wrong. Tons of people told him that they thought it was admirable that he cared so much about you, but that they still thought he needed to back off and just let the two of you live your lives.”

I took a deep breath and let that all sink in. It sounded like everything was going to be okay between my brother and me, though I still wanted to yell at him a little bit. I had to wonder about Joshua, though I was afraid to ask just yet.

“Thank you, Poppy.” I looked into her eyes and saw nothing but love there. “You truly are the best friend a girl could have. You’ve been caught in the middle of this for so long, and with your wedding around the corner—”

She cut me off. “I love you, Liberty. I always have loved you like a sister, so of course, I’d do whatever it took to help you get the man of your dreams back into your life. Don’t worry about me. I’m just fine.”

“You’re amazing.” I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed tight.

“I’ve been waiting for this implosion for a while now, girl. I’ve been prepared. I’ve also done a lot of work on the back end.”

We both laughed, knowing that was true.

“Now, I believe there is a certain someone who loves you like crazy who has been dying to see you,” she said with a sparkle in her eye.

“I look like a trainwreck,” I reminded her, very much aware of my disheveled state.

Poppy shook her head. “He won’t care.”

47

JOSHUA

My suitcase sat open on the bed, gawking at me as I paced the room, listening to the ocean tide roll in from my window. I’d started taking my clothes out of the drawer, dumping them on the bed next to the suitcase, but I hadn’t actually folded anything and put it in yet.

I didn’t think I was making a mistake, leaving early. I just wasn’t sure how Liberty would perceive it. For two days, I’d hardly left my room. I’d mostly just sat on the balcony, staring out at the water, wondering what to do about this mess. Landon was a prick. He’d proven that to be true time and again, and as much as I wanted to believe I had better judgment than to be best friends with someone so selfish and incapable of reason, I supposed I must have a character flaw or two of my own. Because I’d allowed him to weasel his way into my life all those years ago and had never been able to let him go.

Sighing, I dragged a hand through my hair and went back to my packing. I hadn’t even scheduled a flight home yet, so I contemplated doing that first. It would be fucking stupid to leave this amazing resort to go sit in an airport when it wasn’t like Landon had been bothering me. Since I’d disappeared into my room, he’d knocked on the door zero times, sent me the same number of texts, and my phone had only rung when my sister or Luke was trying to get a hold of me.

I hadn’t talked to either of them much, just assured Hannah I was alive and let Luke know this wasn’t his fault. I’d apologized to him a hundred times for causing a scene during his getaway, but he’d told me not to worry about that. He really was a stand-up guy, and if my sister liked him and he returned the sentiment, I would absolutely give them my blessing—not that they’d need it because I was her brother, not her damn father.

Taking my shirts off the hangers at last, I folded them and laid them neatly in my suitcase, my thoughts on Liberty. I knew her soul was crushed, and I wished there was something I could do about it. Eventually, I hoped we’d have a chance to talk about this, after she had some time to breathe, but I knew what she was going to tell me. Landon had made his opinion on the matter clear, and as much as she loved me and wanted to be with me, she couldn’t go against her brother’s wishes. He was family, after all. And I was—well, whatever I was, I wasn’t that.

A soft knock on my door had my heart racing. Maybe it was Liberty, and she was here to tell me she loved me and chose me over everyone else.

Without thinking, I flew to the door and ripped it open. When I realized it was Landon standing there and not his sister, I seriously wished I’d had the forethought to use the peephole. “Fuck,” I muttered, slamming the door closed.

Only it didn’t close. Instead, it hit him right in his size-twelve mammoth foot. “Shit,” he groaned, gritting his teeth against the pain. “Okay, I deserved that.”

“You think?” I asked. “Get the fuck out of here, Landon. I don’t want to talk to you right now. I might not ever want to talk to you again.”