Page 81 of The Perfect Deal
Liberty’s hair fell across my shoulder as she gazed up at me, our naked bodies intertwined in my bed. The sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore was enough to lull me to sleep, but my heart was still racing from making love to this beautiful woman—my beautiful woman.
Several days had passed since we’d said we wanted to be together, no matter what. Since then, we’d spent nearly every moment together. Luke and his family had planned some terrific activities for all of us, including great dinners, sightseeing explorations, and downtime at the beach. One night, Liberty and I had snuck out alone so she could wear that tiny pink bikini. It’d been all I could do to keep from making love to her in the ocean, but fear that someone from our group might see had led us back to her room, where I’d taken her behind closed doors.
“What are you thinking about?” Her voice was heavy with sleep, moonlight giving her an ethereal glow, making her look like an angel in my arms.
“Just about how much fun this trip has been, how lucky I am to have gotten to share it with you, and how I can’t wait until our next adventure together.”
Liberty pressed her lips together and let out a sexy sigh of contentment. “I can’t imagine doing life with anyone else.”
Her words made my heart miss a beat. I loved it when she talked about us like that, like we were going to be together forever. I prayed we would be.
“When we get back, it’ll be full wedding mode,” she reminded me, bursting my bubble just a little. I’d loved our lazy days at the beach together, but what she was talking about now sounded like work, like talking on the phone and paying vendors visits, and a bunch of shit I didn’t want to do. But I was the best man, so that made it my job.
“I guess we’ll figure that out when we get back,” I said with a sigh.
Liberty giggled. “You don’t want to go check the flowers with me or swing by the bakery and make sure the flavors on the cake are right?”
“Well, as long as you’re there, I guess it’ll be okay.” I smiled at her, and she leaned up to kiss me. The idea that I might have another round in me came to mind, but when she pulled her lips away, it was clear she was nearly asleep. It would have to wait for another day. I kept her snuggled against my chest as we both drifted off.
The next day, we both showered and got packed. Saying goodbye to the amazing view was difficult, but as soon as we got downstairs, I heard Poppy excitedly talking to her sisters about the wedding, and I knew that what we were returning to was another adventure, even if it would be something totally different than this trip. My best friend and his girl needed me to step up and make sure they had the best wedding ever, and that was exactly what I intended to do.
Liberty and I sat next to each other on the plane again, but this time, we both stayed awake the whole time. We watched movies, shared snacks we’d bought together at a shop in the resort, and chatted away the hours. It was a long flight, but I enjoyed every moment of it because we were together.
Back at the airport, I kissed her goodbye as she got into her brother’s truck. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” It was late, and everyone in our party needed to get some sleep.
“I’ll see you every tomorrow,” Liberty replied, and once again, my heart was singing with love for this amazing woman.
The next day, we all slept in, but around noon, I got a text from Landon. “Can you come over? We are in full wedding emergency mode over here.”
“Sure thing,” I sent back, hoping to calm him down. “Whatever it is, I’m sure I can help.”
“I hope so,” he replied. “We think the caterer has messed up the appetizers.”
Since it was just a text, I could snicker. How bad could it be? But it was obviously important to Poppy and Landon that everything was perfect on their big day. “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll be right there.”
Exactly ten minutes later, I walked through Landon’s back door. Poppy’s voice had hit my ears before I even opened the door. “I’m not sure why this is so complicated. How could she mess this up?” She didn’t sound angry, just disappointed. Poppy was no bridezilla, but she did have certain items she wanted a particular way. Obviously, the food was a big one.
“Joshua and I will go down there and talk to the caterer,” Liberty was saying as I walked through the door into the living room. “We’ll make sure that there are vegan options, Poppy. It’ll be okay.”
I thought I got the gist of what was happening without hearing the whole explanation. “Hi, Poppy,” I said, giving her a sympathetic smile. “We’ll get it straightened out.”
“Thank you, Joshua.” The bride-to-be gave me a hug, and I could tell she was frazzled. “Can you guys also swing by the florist and check out the flowers? I want to make sure they’re the right colors.”
“Of course,” Liberty told her. “We’re on it.”
“We’ve only got three days until the wedding,” Landon reminded us. He was sitting on the couch, his elbows buried in his knees. “We’ve got to make sure everything is on track.”
“Anything else we can help with?” I asked.
“Not at the moment,” Poppy told me. “Thanks again.”
“It’s no problem.” I patted her reassuringly on the shoulder and turned to Liberty. “You wanna drive or shall I?”
“Let’s take my car.” She had fire in her eyes that made me think this was the next adventure we’d been discussing. It seemed like a simple errand, but Liberty would find a way to make it fun.
In the car, Liberty turned the radio up, singing along to whatever song was playing, seemingly carefree like she already knew this issue her brother and best friend were having wouldn’t be difficult to fix. I admired her confidence, but then, I had missed the first part of the conversation, so I wasn’t sure what had Poppy so upset to begin with. I was really just here for moral support as Liberty pulled to a stop in front of the caterer’s location in the quaint downtown area of Franklin. She turned the engine off and looked at me, a big grin on her face.
“What?” I asked, smiling back at her and reaching for her hand.