With that, Landon wrenched open the door, leaving me standing there in shock. I stared at his retreating form until he disappeared completely.
How had that all gone so completely fucking wrong?
Chapter 23
Emery
After checking on my sister, I hurried over to Flips to meet Heidi. Peter was working the bar when I entered. He waved distractedly as he poured out beers for a few guys.
“Heidi here?” I asked.
“Pool table.”
“Of course. Should have known.”
I grabbed two tequila shots from Peter and then brought them to the back. Heidi was running the table, but it was a slow night, so she wasn’t hustling anyone…yet.
“Shot?” I asked.
“God, yes,” Heidi said.
We tossed back the alcohol, letting it course through our veins and make our minds all fuzzy. I needed a good fuzzy mind after the day I’d had.
“Good to have you back, baby,” she said, winking at me. “Now, tell me all about your Wright brother. Is he the right brother?” Heidi cackled, as if her joke were hilarious.
“How many drinks did you have before this?”
Heidi innocently fluttered her eyelashes at me. “More than one.”
“Whore.”
“I didn’t know you were back yet! And Julia is in Ohio or wherever she’s from. Somewhere cold and snowy.”
“It’s cold and snowy here.”
“Yeah, sometimes. But not today!”
“No, not today. But snow is on the forecast for forty-eight of the fifty states next week. Everywhere is cold, except for Florida and Hawaii.”
Heidi sighed. “If only. Now, tell me about your sexy weekend. There were sexy times, right?”
“Yes,” I conceded. “We ran into my ex-boyfriend, and Jensen bought a million-dollar company from a man who his ex-wife cheated on him with. Then, when we came home, Landon was waiting for us at Jensen’s house.”
Heidi blinked twice and then burst into laughter. She dropped the pool cue onto the table and then doubled over. “Oh my God,” she cried. “Oh, phew! Wow!”
“What the hell are you laughing about?”
“Did you not hear how ridiculous you sounded?” Heidi asked. She swiped at her eyes.
“I just told you what happened!”
“Yeah. Yeah, you did. Wow!”
Heidi chuckled some more, and I couldn’t help it; I joined in.
“God, you’re such a bitch.”
“You love me anyway.”
“True,” I admitted.
“So…Landon is back in town?” Heidi asked. Her eyes met mine, and then she glanced away immediately.
I narrowed my eyes in confusion at her strange body language. “Yeah. He just got into town with his wife. Not so great timing.”
“Did you see Miranda? Was she there?”
“Nah. Lucky for us. Sort of, I guess.”
“Yeah. She’s a nutjob.”
I nodded. “That’s true. But Landon got upset when he saw Jensen and I together.”
“Landon is a big boy. He’s a grown-up and married and living halfway across the country. He shouldn’t be upset.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But you didn’t see his face when he saw us together. I know I haven’t talked to him in forever, but I feel bad for Jensen that we didn’t tell him. After all, he’s his brother and, we probably should have said something when we realized things were getting serious.”
“Serious?”
“I guess we’re official now,” I told her with a grin.
The idea that Jensen was my boyfriend was too exciting to contain.
Heidi screamed and jumped up and down. “Okay. Well, we definitely need to toast to that.”
We hurried over to the bar, and Peter poured us some fancy shots that promised to knock us both on our asses. I tipped back mine and could already feel the ramifications of that drink coming on strong. I excused myself to use the restroom, and when I returned, I told Heidi the full details of my weekend with Jensen. I still felt rotten about leaving Landon and Jensen together like that, but it was good to be with my girlfriend. To not have to worry about it at all.
I was on my third round, and I was unsure of where that put Heidi. If we kept this up, both of us were going to have to cab it back home. I was just debating whether or not to nurse this one for the rest of the night when Heidi perked up in her seat.
“What?” I asked. I was more attuned to my friend’s behavior than anyone else I’d ever known.
“Don’t hate me.”
“Oh God, I already do.” I glanced over my shoulder and saw none other than Landon Wright walking into the bar.
He looked the same as I’d left him back with Jensen. Dressed down in a polo and jeans, he shrugged out of his jacket to reveal his perpetually sun-kissed skin from hours of golfing outdoors in Florida.
“Did you invite him here?” I accused.
“Well, he texted me to find out where you were…and ta-da.”
“You’re right. I do hate you.”
Landon’s gaze caught mine from across the room, and his mouth ticked up into a smile. He strode toward us with a purpose that I recognized from my recent, vivid acquaintance with his brother. It was a swagger that I was very familiar with. Strange, considering I didn’t really compare Jensen to Landon when we were together. But it felt impossible not to compare Landon to Jensen.