Keeping Secrets in Seattle - By Brooke Moss Page 0,57
came out entirely too loud, and a couple at a neighboring table frowned at me. I dropped my voice. “Geez, no, we never slept together.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” He picked up his fork and speared a piece of chicken. “I can see how Alicia would have been sort of uncomfortable with that. So, why did you two break up?”
Now we were treading into dangerous territory. This was a subject I was not prepared to discuss over beers and Indian food. I took a long pull of my ice water before I could speak.
“It got weird.” My voice came out flat.
Landon looked up from his chicken curiously. “Well, you’re over it now, though.”
I nodded, praying I was acting convincingly enough for him.
No such luck.
“You are over him, right?” His deep-brown eyes pleaded with me, and he reached over to lace his fingers through mine.
“Of course I am.” My throat tightened. “Gabe’s my friend. Nothing more.”
“I wish you would have told me about this earlier.” Landon slid across the booth so that he was closer to me. “I feel like you kept this from me for some reason. That makes it seem wrong.”
I nodded stiffly. “I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable around Gabe.”
“Why would I be uncomfortable?” Landon’s all-too-familiar grin returned to his face, and he slid his plate in front of him. “It’s not like you guys were making out while you were at his apartment the other day. I think Gabe’s fiancée should just chill out.”
Oh, good Lord, I was going to Hell.
“Right.” I faked a laugh, which came out slightly squeaky and maniacal sounding, causing the woman at the next table to jump.
“I think we just need to do a double date sometime soon.” He stopped his munching for just a second to place a warm kiss on the top of my head. “Maybe we can get you and Alicia to be friends after all.”
I grimaced. “Well…okay. I mean, I’ve got good reason not to like her, but I’ll try anything at least once.”
“What’s your reason?” Landon motioned to the waitress for our check.
“Well, for starters, she’s a liar.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, one of her bridesmaids told me some questionable things about Alicia at the dress fitting. When I did some snooping, I found out—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Landon took his hand off mine. “You did what?”
“Kim, Betsy, and I went on an undercover mission.” I looked at him sheepishly. “We went to Portland to dig up some dirt on Alicia.”
He threw his napkin down. “You’re telling me that you drove clear to Portland to stalk this poor girl?”
“Alicia is no poor girl, she’s a monster. And I didn’t stalk her. She lives in Seattle.”
“But you went to Portland to find out information about her?”
“I went to Portland for a job interview. But yeah. That’s where she grew up.”
“A job interview?”
I bit my lip. “Yeah.”
The corners of Landon’s mouth pulled down. “You didn’t tell me that you were interviewing. I just thought you were thinking about it.”
I tried to smile brightly. “I am just thinking about it. Besides, I mostly went to dig up some dirt on Alicia. Listen to what we found out—”
“Tell me you’re joking.”
“Of course I’m not joking. She’s a liar. And a gold digger. Listen—”
“That’s crazy. Who does stuff like that?”
My face went hot. “It’s not crazy. I was doing Gabe a favor.”
“Did he ask you to do that?”
“No, but—”
Landon slid out of the booth and stood up. “You want me to believe that you’re not still hung up on this guy, and yet you’re drudging up garbage about his fiancée? What did you plan to do with this information once you got it?”
I looked up at him pitifully. “Tell Gabe what I know.”
Landon’s face was void of any amusement. “Why?”
Irritation boiled up in my chest. Why was Landon treating me like I’d done something wrong? I was only watching out for my best friend.
“Are you kidding? My best friend is marrying a woman who has openly admitted that she wants to marry a rich guy, and when he isn’t cutting it anymore, she’s going to upgrade. Did you hear me? She’s planning on upgrading. This isn’t a computer she’s talking about. It’s my best friend. And she uses a fake name. What kind of a person uses a fake name? I can’t let Gabe marry someone like this.”
His mouth turned down. “What are you going to do if you tell him all of this, and he still marries