Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,5

it. Consider this a temporary lapse of judgment on my part.”

“Listen—”

“And it won’t happen again,” I said, meaning it this time.

I strode away, slamming the closet door behind me and leaving him behind.

Twenty minutes later I pushed my way through the creaky front door of my house, angrily kicking off my borrowed silver heels. “Matt!” I hollered, shoving the bolt on the door and stomping across the living room.

“Matt!” My voice was screechy, so high-pitched only dogs could hear it. I was boiling over, too angry that I’d been blindsided by Landon and his stupid fucking charm.

“What?” my brother said, stepping out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a washcloth. “You don’t have to yell. Sheesh.”

“You knew!”

He leaned on the doorframe, acting casual in a way that didn’t quite feel genuine. “Knew what?”

“That Landon was in town.”

“So?” He tossed the washcloth at me, and I barely managed to grab it out of the air before it hit me in the face.

“So why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, whipping the cloth back at him.

“Why would I tell you? It’s not like you keep me apprised of Annie’s every move. He’s my friend, not yours.” He folded the washcloth, too casually, and retreated back into the kitchen.

I followed, like a hunter following her retreating prey. I needed answers. I needed… something. “But it’s not like that, with us.”

“How are we different?” he asked.

I swallowed. I’d meant Landon and me when I’d said us, not me and Matt. “You barely even know Annie. It’s different with me and Landon. You know that.”

“Apparently I don’t,” he said, sounding like he was talking to a child. “So enlighten me.”

“Cut the crap, Matt. You know he and I were friends too. We hung out all the time--”

He scoffed. “Yeah, because you had no job and no car. No life, really. You followed me everywhere.”

I bit my lip. I never wanted to follow my brother. It was Landon was drawn to. Landon I couldn’t get enough of. “God you’re an ass.”

He smiled, crinkling up the edges of his eyes. “You wound me, you really do.”

“You’re impossible.” I crossed the room, flopping down on a kitchen chair. “And quit playing coy. You knew I’d care.”

He leaned back against the kitchen counter, studying me. “But why do you care, that’s the question?”

“I just thought…” I let my voice trail off.

Matt didn’t know that Landon and I became something more, and the way he was eyeballing me right then, he was going to put the pieces together.

“I just feel like you’re being weird these days,” I said, deciding to deflect rather than tell the truth. “And even though I don’t really care that Landon’s in town, I know you do, and I think it’s weird that you didn’t talk about it. Aren’t you excited that your best friend is back?”

He turned to the fridge, taking out two diet cokes and sliding one over to me. “It’s cool. It’ll be good to go golfing with him again. Maybe we won’t even wreck the golf carts this time.”

I laughed. “I hope he’s a better driver by now.”

“We wrecked on purpose,” he said, popping the top of his soda with a hiss.

“You did not!”

“Yes we did,” he said, sipping the soda. “We were playing chicken. Turns out neither of us are chicken.”

I laughed harder. “You guys were such morons.”

“Can’t be that stupid. He’s pretty successful now.”

“I figured that one out. Did you know he’s behind the new sports medicine facility?”

He nodded. “It’s his third, you know. And he’s got two more under construction.”

“Oh.”

Matt continued rattling off facts. “The one in town’s a multi-million dollar facility. It’s already been endorsed by Michael Brant, you know from the Seattle Seahawks? Plus two Seattle Sounders professional soccer players.” He sounded proud.

Meanwhile, I was stunned. I could have Googled the information about Landon but I’d decided a couple years ago to put him out of my mind and try my best to pretend he didn’t exist. Apparently, he did exist, however, and he was having quite the life.

How the hell had he gone from the kid down the street to owner of three world class medical facilities?

“Anyway, I’m going to go take a nap,” Matt said. “I’m beat.”

“Tough day at work?”

“Didn’t sleep well. I’ll catch up with you later,” he said, leaving me alone in the kitchen to ponder just who Landon had become since he left town.

I put my feet up on the rickety chair across from me. It was leaning, one leg splayed