The boys jumped, putting space between them.
Landon looked to Colby for direction, like this wasn’t his conversation to have.
Colby cleared his throat then said, “I shouldn’t be here.”
“Oh. Luis was just being a jerk.” I slid into my chair. “I know he didn’t invite you and I’m really sorry about it. It’s Grandma’s party and she, of course, wants you here.”
He and Landon exchanged a look.
“Luis just wants to control everything. He doesn’t even want me here.” I thought back to the tense moment in the walkway and my conversation with Luis. “But if you don’t mind me asking, what is going on between you two? Did something happen before I got here?”
Colby slunk back in his chair and shook his head.
He was hiding something. No denying that. But what?
“It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“Colby.” I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my tone.
He expression softened. “It’s a party. Your grandma’s big day. Let’s enjoy it.”
“But—”
“I promise, it’s nothing we need to talk about now.”
I looked to Landon, hoping he’d offer some insight, but he looked away. Like he didn’t want to lie if I questioned him. Reluctantly, I let it go. Whatever was going on was important enough to both these guys to keep quiet on, and I had to respect that. Though I felt like there should be no secrets between Colby and me, I had to accept the fact there would be.
Food was served and Grandma gave a very sweet thank-you speech. An amazing cake courtesy of Lucy’s was wheeled out and the night went on without any more hiccups. I stayed clear of Luis and he did the same for me. Granted he might have just been avoiding my company, since Luis found Colby a lot more intimidating than me. But either way, whatever kept him far away from me was welcomed.
As the night wrapped up, Grandma, who always had been quite the social butterfly, finally made her way to our table.
Colby had just excused himself to the bathroom, so it was only Landon and me.
“Happy birthday, Ms. Diaz. Is this a new dress?”
Grandma smiled as she smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from her floral dress.
“Yes. Isla picked it out.” She smiled at me.
“She has good taste. You look beautiful.”
She placed her hand on his cheek and tilted her head to the side. “Tan cortés. I wish I had two granddaughters. One for each of you.”
“Grandma.” My face warmed.
She just smiled her innocent little smile while I died on the inside.
“What a night.” She sighed. “I’m going to say goodbye to a few more friends and then we can go, mijita.”
“What’s cortés mean?” Landon asked.
“Polite, she said you’re so polite. Grandma loves you guys.”
“Clearly, she’s ready to marry her grandchildren off to us.”
I rolled my eyes. “She’s from a different generation. You know how it is. She probably thinks I’m going to die alone because I’m not married with kids yet.”
He laughed. “I doubt that. For one, she’s way too proud of your education. I think she values that above anything as silly as marriage,” he teased. At least, I thought his marriage comment was a joke. “But, on top of that, she knows you’re beautiful. Any guy would be lucky to have you and she knows full and well that once you’re ready, you’ll have too many to choose from.”
I glanced at him as he pulled out his car keys. Did he know about Colby? Or was that an offhand comment? Nothing about his expression implied there was more to what he’d said.
It was becoming more and more apparent that Landon really just seemed to be in his own little happy place. He went with the flow, lived in the moment, but didn’t pay attention to details. An entire soap opera was playing out before him and he somehow had no clue. I envied that. How easy life must be if you never let anything get you down and only chose to see the parts that made you happy. He chose happiness, and it was kind of contagious.
Wait? Had that been what Colby was getting at that night in the texts? Choose happiness. Did he want me to choose his brother because he was guaranteed to make me happy…unlike brooding Colby? I loved the guy, but really he’d been quite the downer lately with all his back-and-forth. And considering he knew his brother better than everyone else, it only made sense that he’d know how oblivious Landon could be. Yet Landon still knew tiny details about things I loved.
Maybe I really hadn’t given Landon a fair chance. I stared at him as he watched the people moving around the room. He smiled and waved at one of his senior fan club members, and I couldn’t help but grin. Landon was…easy.