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And man, it was like Landon flipped a switch overnight. He’d gone from polite and a perfect friend to the most amazing boyfriend in the world so fast. He was always affirming me, complimenting me, serving me, hugging me. He wanted to make sure that I never wondered if he still liked me and told me every time he had the chance that he–
“I love you, Belle.” That. He loved me. And he told me constantly.
“I love you, Landon,” I said back, unable to prevent myself from looking like a lovesick lunatic. Which I was. And I never wanted that to change.
We’d decided to wait to tell our friends for a few more days, just so we could spend time enjoying each other without anyone asking questions yet. But still, I couldn’t wait to tell everyone.
I wanted to shout from the mountains that Landon and I had finally realized we were perfect for each other and wouldn’t be spending another day without being together.
We sat in the back of the coffee shop, spending the morning before work chatting about things going on at work, with our families, and everything else. It was our normal, but so much different.
The bell to the coffee shop rang multiple times while we were there, but I never turned to see who was walking in, and Landon never looked either. But I noticed the second Landon’s body went stiff when his eyes caught someone who walked in.
“Belle,” He whispered to me a second before standing up. I turned, seeing a furious-looking Tiffany marching over to us. Of course, she would come here, because she knew we were always here.
“Landon,” Tiffany growled at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “I knew it! I knew you had feelings for her!” Her voice was inappropriately loud, and people were starting to look at us. I stood as well, not wanting to let Tiffany continue doing this. But Landon stepped in front of me defensively.
“Yes, Tiffany. You helped me realize that I did have feelings for her, but I promise I didn’t know. Not really. Not before the party on Saturday,” Landon explained gently, and I could hear the guilt in his voice. The way he hated that this hurt her. He was such a good guy that he still cared about how she felt in all of this, and it only made me love him more. I didn’t feel any jealousy or anger towards Tiffany because I could understand her hurt. And I was sure that I would be the same way. But she didn’t understand the situation fully. And that wasn’t her fault.
“Did you even wait for us to break up before you started seeing her? I bet you didn’t! You were probably sneaking into her bedroom every night a long time ago! Cheating on me! I should have known better!” Tiffany was crying, and I wanted to comfort her, which was something that shocked me. Her words were meant to hurt me and Landon, but all they did was make me feel bad.
“Tiff, I never cheated on you. Not once. I was fully dedicated to you the entire time that we were together. In fact, I saw Belle less than I have since we became friends while I was dating you. But you were right when you said that I needed to think about my feelings for Belle. And you broke up with me. Let’s remember that, okay? I didn’t cheat on you, and I would never have done that. But you ended things, and now we’re both free to do whatever with our lives, okay?” Landon’s voice was nothing other than comforting and calm, and I visibly saw Tiffany relax.
Huffing, she turned and flipped her hair over her shoulder, leaving the coffee shop without another word.
30
Isabella
“Doyouwanttotell them today?” I asked, walking up to the rental house that Liam and Emma had been living in for a few months. Today was their wedding shower, but it was more like a wedding celebration. Or pre-celebration, I guessed. Emma didn’t want anyone bringing gifts or anything because they already had everything that they needed.
I’d come over last night to help her decorate since I was technically the one throwing the party. I had sent out invites to all of Emma’s friends and family, and Liam’s. There were RSVPs for over two hundred people, and I was glad they decided that the party should be at their house–which was quite large–rather than at the bakery or coffee shop.
“I don’t think I could hide it from them if I wanted to. But I don’t even want to. I can’t wait for them to know. They’re the ones who always said we’d be perfect together anyway,” he explained, leaning over to press a kiss to my cheek. I grinned, unable to hold in my excitement. I would also be telling my sister today, who’d made the same comments about Landon and me.
When we walked in, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold back from telling Emma immediately.
I followed the sound of conversation, hearing voices that I wasn’t expecting. I was supposed to be here earlier than any guest, but the sound of the extra voice had me dropping Landon’s hand and walking faster.
When I turned the corner into the kitchen of the house, I stopped, tears filling my eyes immediately.
“Scarlette!” I screamed, running towards my baby sister and flinging my arms around her. She hugged me back tightly, giggling as we swayed back and forth in our hug. I pulled Emma, who had been standing right next to Scar, into the hug, and we all three squealed in delight. I pulled away from her, seeing how beautiful she looked. Wearing a simple blue dress, her brunette hair was pulled up into a slicked-back ponytail, making her look like a model. Except I wasn’t sure if they let girls her height walk the runway. She was the shortest one out of all of us, and she loved it. “I didn’t know you were coming! I thought your jerk boss wasn’t going to let you off work!”
“Jerk?” A deep voice came from behind the kitchen island. Scarlette froze, and I turned to look at who was speaking. A tall, muscular man wearing clothes that looked as expensive as my last paycheck was standing next to Liam, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at Scarlette questioningly. “Is that what you told her I am?”
Quickly, I put the pieces together that this man must be Scar’s boss, and though I had no earthly idea of how or why he was here, I hurried to fix my words.
“No, that’s not what she said about you. Just what I said.” I kept my voice firm, ready to stand up to this guy if he thought he would intimidate my little sister.
“Ah,” he mused, shaking his head at Scarlette even though it seemed to have something buried beneath the jerk facial expression he was definitely wearing.
In reality, Scarlette never outright said that he was a jerk. Just that he was an overbearing, controlling, and grumpy man that she was forced to work for every day since starting her new job. What she failed to mention was that he was a handsome man who any woman would find attractive.
“Belle, this is Nikolas Taylor. Obviously, he’s my boss.” Scarlette told me his full name, and I racked my brain to remember the guest list and who this guy was. Then I realized that he was one of Landon’s long-time business friends. And that Nikolas was a multi-millionaire and CEO of Taylor Industries, a parent company to many successful businesses.
“Nice to meet you,” I said softly, hoping to pull my foot out of my mouth at some point.
“Anyway, we can let the men stay in here and talk. You two come with me,” Emma said, pulling us by our hands to follow her into a small sitting room decorated with a pink couch and cute decor. It was tasteful and elegant, and still Emma’s favorite color.
