Power Play (D.C. Stars #2)

42. Piper

FORTY-TWO

PIPER

“Alana replaced you as my favorite Sullivan sibling.” I lean against the railing of the balcony attached to our room and stare out at the ocean. A hint of salt lingers in the air, and I smile at the scent. “You’re in second place now.”

“I take it you had a good time together?” Liam rests his back against the ledge and glances at me. “You were gone all morning.”

“Did you miss me?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“I’m going to pretend like you’re lying. We had a great time. She reminds me of Lexi a little bit, with her vivacious energy and not giving a hoot what people might think of her.”

“I can see that. I’d be afraid if the two of them were in the same room together.”

“You and me both.” I smile as a faint breeze picks up pieces of my hair and blows them across my face. “It’s a bummer we have to leave the day after tomorrow. I’m having so much fun. Can you tell Coach you’ve become a citizen and we’re staying? Technically, since we’re married, I have to go where you go.”

“Tempting, but think of Pico. He’d miss you too much if we stayed.”

“We could find a way to bring him over. You did rent a private plane to fly us here.” I wink at him, and he scoffs. “Who’s watching him while we’re gone?”

“Hudson. For as much as Pico hates people, he loves dogs. He fits in great at Hud’s place.”

“It’s probably utter chaos, isn’t it?”

“I got a voice memo this morning that said everyone was alive, but Hudson needed two stitches above his eyebrow because of a claw incident. I reminded him this was his idea, and I got back a nice picture of his middle finger.”

“Sounds like the photo I got of your middle finger.” I spin so our sides press together and tip my chin up at him. “By the way, I, um, took off my ring for the rehearsal dinner tonight. I thought it would be noticeable with my dress, and I wanted to avoid questions.”

I’ve touched my collarbone no less than ten times in the last hour while getting ready, and a part of me feels naked without the cool band resting on my skin.

It’s funny to care about something so small and insignificant—especially when it doesn’t represent something real—but I’m incomplete without it.

“Is that your subtle way of telling me you want a divorce, Piper? You get your medicine and go?” Liam smirks. “I knew you had ulterior motives.”

“Trying to avoid a conversation with your mother about why I’m wearing a wedding band so close to my heart.” I lift an eyebrow at him. “Was I supposed to want to stay in this marriage for other reasons?”

“What? My sparkling personality doesn’t do it for you?” he asks, and I laugh. “Who needs a wedding band when there’s a hickey on your neck that tells the whole story?”

I rub my thumb over the little purple mark I covered with makeup earlier. The blemish took forever to hide, and I don’t know if he’s trying to be funny or telling the truth.

“And what’s the whole story?” I ask.

“That my wife took my cock so well last night, I had to bite her throat to keep from yelling her name,” Liam says, his voice dropping low.

He takes a step away from me, eyes raking down my body and soaking in my outfit.

The pink dress shows off my shoulders. The thin straps are an unwise choice for the cooler night temperatures but far too cute to ruin with a coat. The silk is cool against my skin, hugging my curves and hitting at the top of my thighs.

Months ago I would’ve felt self-conscious with his slow and tempting assessment. I would’ve tried to cover myself up or deflect the attention away, nervous about what he might think.

Not tonight.

Tonight I feel powerful.

Beautiful.

Like a new woman.

“You are…” He trails off and shakes his head, like he’s trying to get rid of every thought he’s ever had. He glances up at the stars before looking back down at me, his jaw tense and his voice hoarse. “Unbelievable.”

“Am I?”

Liam steps back toward me and cups my cheeks with warm hands. “The first day I met you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman in the room. Any room,” he tells me, and the world stops moving. “I’ve seen you bust your ass on the ice. I’ve seen you naked. I’ve seen you in blazers that hurt my eyes and sweatpants and team-issued polos. I’ve seen you in a hundred different outfits, and you’ve looked good in every single one of them. But this. This .” He blows out a shaky breath. “This is a dangerous look of yours, Piper. It makes me want things I don’t think I’m allowed to have.”

There’s a lump in my throat I can’t swallow around. I’m painstakingly aware of the scent of his cologne. How delicately he holds me, like he’s afraid I’m going to break if he lets go, and how still and quiet it is around us.

“What kind of things?” I whisper, and the question gets snatched up by the night air.

He dips his head so our foreheads press together and lets out a sigh. A war rages inside him. I can sense it—a battle of self-control and the desire to share all the secrets of the universe with me, and I wonder which side is going to win.

“You know what kind of things,” he murmurs.

It hits me then, with an intensity so strong, so overpowering, I almost fall over because of it.

Here, underneath the stars, in his hold with a touch so grounding, so safe , nothing about this feels fake.

It feels real and deep and terrifyingly promising.

There’s a future, a life where we grow old together and I never, not for a single second, doubt my worth.

From the way Liam is looking at me, unblinking and soft and like I’m the most important thing in the world, I know he realizes it too.

I want to know all the things he’s hiding.

I want to know why he’s smiling and what it would take to get him to do that every minute of every day.

I want to be the one to make him happy.

God , I like him so much.

It’s a full-circle moment, going from wondering if I’d ever have feelings for someone again after Steven broke me to falling headfirst for a man who couldn’t be more his opposite.

He took away my trust while Liam restores it.

He made me feel small while Liam makes me feel like an equal.

He made me feel like I was taking up too much space while Liam keeps making room for me.

My hands shake when I rest them on Liam’s chest. I clutch his shirt, fearful to let him go but needing a minute alone to process all of this. To process the possibilities and the what ifs.

“Would it be okay if I took a second out here by myself?” I ask. My voice trembles with the question, and I sniff. “Before we head downstairs?”

“Of course.” Liam touches my cheek, his attention heavy and searching. “Can I help with anything?”

“No. And I’m okay. I just need a minute.”

“You take all the time you need.” His lips are warm when they press a kiss to my forehead. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“I look like a raccoon with my mascara running?”

“Nope. Not that.”

“What is it?”

“There might be a hundred people at dinner tonight, but I’m going to be the luckiest one in the room.” He pauses and retreats to the curtains billowing in the February wind, his eyes never leaving mine. “Because I’m there with you.”

My heart thumps painfully behind my ribs as he slips back into our room. Everything about the moment is electrified, and I wish I could pause time.

Could it always be like this with him?

Is it just the moment we’re in?

Is it real?

Am I overthinking everything and seeing what I want to see because I’m treated with a shred of decency?

In four weeks will I feel the same way about Liam as I do right now?

I stare out at the ocean, but the crashing waves don’t give me any sort of clarity.

I lean back in my chair and set my napkin on my empty plate.

My stomach is full. My cheeks are warm from Spanish wine and laughing so much, and I can’t stop smiling at the Sullivan family around me.

“Who picked the menu?” I ask. “It was delicious.”

“Me,” Alana says proudly. “There was a short time where I wanted to be a chef, but it never quite panned out.”

“In your next life, you should go to culinary school. The tapas were such an interesting blend of cuisines.”

She grins. “Maybe I will, but for now I’m content with making him a grilled cheese every Wednesday night.”

“How did you two meet?” I rest my elbow on the tablecloth and move my empty wineglass out of the way. “Please tell me you have a good meet cute.”

“Sort of.” Alana looks at Harry and pats his thigh. “You tell it, babe.”

“You know about the dating app she created?” Harry asks, and I nod. “I was working at a rival app years ago and was using her app to scope out the competition and see what features Steady had that ours didn’t.”

“And what did you find?” Alana challenges, and Harry grins.

“Less genitalia.”

“Kind of takes the fun out of life, doesn’t it?” Liam asks. “Who doesn’t love seeing a random dude’s penis when you’re in the middle of Starbucks? If you need a coffee with cream, all you need is a few tugs from him.”

“ Liam ,” Linda scolds, and I burst out laughing. “This is a five-star resort.”

“It’s an epidemic, Mom. I would know. I’m on a team with guys who send them.”

I cover my ears and groan. “Please stop. I do not need to know which of the boys is out there sending pictures of his junk to the poor women of DC.” I wait a beat and look at him. “It’s Ethan, isn’t it?”

“Obviously it’s Ethan. You know what your next update should be, Lani? You should be able to leave star ratings after a certain number of conversations,” Liam continues. “It would make sure everyone behaved.”

“He’s a hotshot goalie and a brainiac.” Alana blows a kiss to her brother then turns her attention to her husband-to-be. “Anyway. Harry and I matched right before I was heading out on a two-week trip to Japan. I figured he wouldn’t be interested anymore when I got home, but when he picked me up from the airport with a bouquet of roses, I knew it was game over.”

“Okay, so you two are soulmates. Got it,” I laugh.

Alana tips her chin up. When they kiss, the table applauds their display of affection. “I know some people search for love for years. Some have it and lose it. Some never find it. I’m so lucky to know I won’t have to look for it ever again. I have it.”

I stiffen.

The moment is supposed to be joyous. A cause for celebration, but there’s a whisper of resentment lingering in the shadows.

Disdain for my past and my future creeps up, that fear of being alone, of never finding love again, rearing its ugly head.

Did I use up all the love I had the minute I inked my name on the divorce papers?

Or will the universe grant me another chance?

“You okay?” Liam asks quietly.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? I can tell something is bothering you.”

“I’m mourning my love life,” I say under my breath as the conversation picks up around us. Someone clinks their glass with a fork, and the couple exchange another kiss. “What I had. What I might not ever have again. I’m fine. Really.”

“It’s okay if you’re not fine, given the situation and the memories it might hold.”

“I see how deeply Harry loves your sister, and it makes me worry I’ll never find someone who can handle me. Who can understand my past and why I’m hesitant about diving into a new relationship. They won’t understand how much my career means to me or why I have this soul-crushing desire to work until my body is close to giving out: because I feel like I have to constantly prove myself. I remember sitting at a dinner so similar to this and thinking I found my forever before it all went up in smoke. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?”

Liam doesn’t answer me, and that only reiterates my fear.

It makes me uneasy, like everything that happened on the balcony was make-believe. Something I dreamed up that could never come to light.

It might be a good thing if it didn’t happen, though.

We both know how Liam feels about relationships and distractions.

Admitting the feelings I have for him because I’ve been caught up in a few days of celebration is a major distraction.

He’s quiet, lifting his glass of champagne to toast the bride and groom, and the silence is defeating. I plaster on a smile, cheering as the happy couple makes a show of overindulgent displays of affection.

I’m surrounded by love, but I’ve never felt so unlovable and alone.