There was an awkward silence while Piper rocked back and forth slightly in her chair. “We talk…but not like that.”
Melanie sighed deeply and put on her stern voice. “Well, honey, you have to tell him how you feel. You’re a mess.”
“I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because…it’s so not him. I mean, commitment is like the Antichrist to him—he doesn’t even have a picture of his mother, or his dead dog. His dad’s an asshat, so that’s excusable.”
“But you say you love this guy in spite of his aversion to family and animals.” She shrugged and took another tissue out of the box for Piper. “It’s not unusual for women to fall in love with men like that, the kind of guys who our moms would warn us against and who drive fathers into a protective rage. I see it a lot, and sometimes they even manage to get married.”
“They do?”
“Yeah. I won’t bore you with the divorce statistics, though.”
“You follow through on all that? After your bill’s been settled and they go on their honeymoon?”
“I have to, it’s my business. High-profile dream weddings that end in acrimonious divorce are embarrassing. I avoid commissions that have Temple of Doom written all over them.”
“And I thought your job was a dream number. Your gut instincts must be really good unless you plant bugs on them.”
“Believe me, it would be so tempting if I could get away with it.” She cracked open a luxurious box of Belgian chocolate-coated caramels and put it in front of Piper. “Trust me, you have got to tell him.”
Piper lowered her head to look at the knot of her fingers in her lap. Her voice cracked. “I can’t.”
“Tell me exactly why not.”
“Because he’ll probably start frothing at the mouth and throw himself out of the nearest window.”
“Of course he won’t. You have to do it.”
“I’m too scared.”
“You still have to do it or wonder for the rest of your life what would have happened if you had stepped up to the plate and opened your heart.”
Piper threw her head back and stared at the ceiling. “You’re way too good at this.”
“I have a lot of experience from what I’ve seen of other people’s lives–doesn’t mean I’m that good at dealing with my own.”
Her head dropped back down. “Holy crap, I’m sorry. I haven’t even asked about you and Nathan—”
“And you don’t need to because the next five minutes are all about you.”
“Five minutes?”
“Yes, that’s all you’re going to get from me before you go out there and spend the next seven days with your perfect man doing everything you can to make him stay. I’ve seen him, remember? I’ve seen you together as well, and so has Us Weekly, which means the entire world can see how right you are together.” She stood up and leaned her fingertips on the edge of the desk. “There’s every possibility he’s feeling exactly the same as you but, being a man, can’t articulate it. Open the dialogue for him, Piper. You have got to tell him how you feel.”
The next seven days flew by in a whirlwind of laughter, fine dining, sightseeing, and thrill seeking. Melanie’s advice was lodged in Piper’s mind. It was good advice, and advice she should follow…but not yet. She had stepped out of Decadent Events shaken and red-eyed, but full of purpose because a plan had formulated itself before she even pushed open the door and stepped onto the icy sidewalk outside.
Her plan was to enjoy their limited time together to the absolute max and to tell him how she felt on their last day, on the fifteenth. She couldn’t bring herself to do it before then in case it ruined everything immediately. At least if Matt was repulsed, she would still have some happy memories to cherish, and he would have an excuse to leave to avoid embarrassment.
She had taken Melanie’s words to heart and had spent the last six days doing everything to make him stay. It was probably futile, but if their time together was amazing then maybe, just maybe, he would begin to feel as strongly about her as she did about him. She could never hope that he would love her, but he might reconsider his plans and stay a little longer and then…well, at least she could hope.
Piper woke in the bed of his hotel suite on the morning of the fourteenth and felt an ache at the top of her rib cage, just about where her heart must be. This day was so important, their last chance to be alone together before she had to tell him how she felt.
Matt emerged from the bathroom with the customary towel wrapped around his hips, grinning as he slicked long fingers through the damp black strands of his hair. “I thought I’d let you sleep,” he said quietly. “And I got a few emails out of the way, so today is freed up.”
“Anything important?”
“Just CNN making arrangements for the camera crew and things for tomorrow. Quite a media coup getting them to feature PCB as part of their Passion Creek Arts Week coverage.”
“I’ll say.” She smiled indulgently. “And with all the excitement about our recession-busting cannabis industry they might never leave.”
The last few days had found them living comfortably together as a couple. She had made an effort to think before she spoke, having discovered that saying yes instead of no was kind of liberating for a change, and that being with someone didn’t have to be the same as being subjugated by Stan. She didn’t even mind that he was always working one way or another anymore. That was who he was, what he did, she had no right to try and change that, and what would be the point anyway?
“Your pink brew will get worldwide coverage. You must be thrilled.”
“I am,” he said lightly, standing in front of the mirror. His towel slipped to the floor as he slapped a dab of gel in his hair. “You bring me the best luck.”
She watched with renewed wonder at how his muscles flexed and his body swayed slightly as he did his hair in the morning. The tattoos almost seemed to come to life as he moved and she yearned for the touch of his fingertips on her bare skin once more.
“Tell me about your tattoos,” she murmured. “Why all the sealife?”
His head turned and he shot her a sexy grin. “I like the ocean.”
“Is that it? No deep meaning?” She rolled over to his side of the bed, twisting the bed sheets around her body like a cocoon. “I thought people had tattoos for a reason.”