…
Matt was disappointed that he hadn’t been able to find a flicker of emotion on Piper’s face when he’d announced he was leaving Passion Creek. They’d made love like they were possessed for most of the night after the Jacuzzi, but surely it couldn’t still be just sex for her? Then Matt felt angry with himself for even thinking about what he wanted Piper to be feeling. He should be hoping with all his heart that it really was just the physical act that was keeping her close to him for the next seven days because anything else would be plain cruel. And he wasn’t a cruel man. Was he?
Her head stirred beneath his arm where she’d fallen asleep a few hours ago, and he found himself staring at the deep lustrous red of her hair as he wound a tress around his finger. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, but it wasn’t just her gorgeous coloring, bright green eyes, and cool creamy skin. It was the fire that glowed deep within her, the thing that made her who she was. Maybe that was her soul.
Her eyes flickered open and it was clear for a moment that she didn’t have a clue where she was. “What did you dream about?” His voice sounded soft even to his own ears. He must be going soft himself, except a certain part of him was becoming decidedly un-soft as her rosebud mouth unfurled in a yawn.
“I had my favorite dream.” She snuggled into the soft skin of his armpit. “The one where I have a wooden house by the ocean. It has pale blue shutters that are kind of battered, but cute all the same, and out back there’s a workshop.”
“A workshop? Isn’t that a kind of a middle-aged man’s dream?”
Her tiny laugh feathered his shoulder. “Only if the old dude is into silvering whelk shells and making mosaics out of abalone.”
“Oh, I see.” He brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Warmer than your workshop downtown, I guess.”
“I don’t have a workshop. It all happens on my kitchen table. Or at least it did until my sister and Aspen moved in. The chemicals worry me, too dangerous.”
“I had no idea,” he said and felt like a heel. He had no idea because he’d never made the effort to find out. And he had never made the effort because he never got involved with women and didn’t know how. And she wasn’t really his girlfriend, she was someone else’s ex-girlfriend…and his head was getting seriously messed up. “You should find a place to work safely.”
“I will when there’s more money in the bank,” she said lazily and stretched. “Oh, but this time the dream had a little doggie in it, a cute black and white Jack Russell terrier. He went like the wind around that shack chasing gulls.”
Matt suddenly felt sick. Timmy had been a black and white terrier.
Too fucking weird.
“Want some breakfast sent up?” He tried to shatter the intimacy of their conversation. “You must be hungry.”
“Which means you’re hungry,” she said and jabbed him in the ribs. “I’d be more than happy with another one of those fancy cigarettes and…you.”
Lust kicked involuntarily in his groin as he looked down into her mischievous face and watched her pink tongue slowly lick her bottom lip. He felt a strange emotion constrict his belly and that feeling of a hand closing over his throat. “You’re irresistible,” he said and covered that soft inviting mouth with his.
Chapter Fifteen
Piper fiddled nervously with her phone, checking every few seconds to see if there was a text from Matt. There was nothing, and she should be glad he wasn’t demanding her attention every few hours. She’d made it clear she didn’t need him checking if she was okay all the time. But today she wasn’t glad. Now she realized that him calling her meant he might have cared.
She was in the lush waiting room of Melanie’s wedding planner business, Decadent Events, a pre-planned appointment to discuss future commissions that would tie in with her friend’s bookings. Most bridezillas planned meticulously and months ahead, which made life easier and more lucrative if their requirements were made to order. However, Piper was more eager to get a weight off her mind today, rather than pretend she was the businesswoman she felt she ought to be.
Melanie popped her head around the office door and beamed her usual gorgeous smile. The sight of it was enough to make Piper well up. Life had been so dull and uncomplicated up until recently. Even the Stanley house of horrors at Christmas hadn’t reduced her to the thin soup of a woman she felt like right now. But walking into Mel’s office and sinking into a luxurious, silk-covered armchair felt as good as a hug. And she needed a hug.
“Soooo,” Melanie crooned. Putting people at ease was what she did best. “Latte? Juice? Champagne? It’s all a business expense so go wild.”
“Tissues. Are they tax deductible?”
“Oh.” Melanie slid a pretty looking box over the desk. “They sure are. I see a lot of tears in here.”
“Tears of joy?” Piper grabbed a couple just in case one might not be enough.
“It’s a fifty-fifty thing to be honest.” Melanie smiled and sank down into her counseling chair. “Are we going to talk accessories and favors this morning?”
“If you want.”
“So that’s a no.” Melanie folded her hands in her lap and waited silently for the dam to break.
The words flooded out in a torrent. “I’ve fallen in love with Matt DeLeo and I don’t know what to do about it.” A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away with the tissue.
Melanie’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “Are you sure?”
“Look at me. What do you think?”
“Realizing you’re in love is a serious call and it’s happened very quickly—”
“Have I ever done something like this to you before? Come in on my knees because I’m so scared and confused?”
Melanie frowned. “No, sweetheart, you haven’t.”
“I’m deadly serious, you understand? This is not just an infatuation or being on the rebound from Stanley. Something inside me has changed and it’s tearing me into pieces.”
“Would it be forward of me to ask if you’re looking to book my services?”
“Jesus, no! I love him, but he’s crazy, and he’s leaving Passion Creek on the sixteenth forever.”
Melanie winced. “Forever? That’s kind of dramatic. Shoot, you really do pick them, Piper. You’ll forgive me for wondering if you two actually talk to each other because there appears to be a serious communication problem going on here.”