Chapter Twenty-One
Tag was waiting in the front lobby when Piper and Lorna returned.
He hugged Lorna, thanking her for coming to New York.
He didn’t miss the way Piper was fidgeting.
He knew that something was up; he just hoped that it was finally going to be some good news.
He was ready to put everything from the past behind them and go home.
But that would be up to Piper. He wasn’t going to force her into anything she wasn’t ready for.
“I’ll take you back to your hotel, Ms. Sanders,” Piper’s bodyguard offered. Tag noticed the way Piper’s driver looked at Lorna like he wanted to eat her up.
“Please, call me Lorna.” She nodded at him, turning to pull Piper into a big hug.
“Tell him, Pipe. He won’t disappoint you,” Lorna whispered into her ear, pulling her in for a quick hug.
Tag pretended not to hear the exchange. Lorna waved with all four fingers at Tag, making him chuckle.
She looked lighter, younger even. He hoped that was a good sign until he looked back at Piper and saw the worry etched on her face.
“Honey.” He pulled her into his arms. She felt so rigid. He wished that he could kiss away her worry, but he also knew Piper well enough to know better. “Tell me what’s eating at you, Pipe. Don’t hide from me.”
“I’m sorry that I just left you this morning. I needed to do that on my own, or at least I thought that I did. Thank you for sending Lorna to find me. Having her there meant everything.” Piper loosened up a little, wrapping her arms around Tag’s middle.
“Do you want to talk about it, Honey?” Tag asked.
Piper nodded her head. “Not here, can we go for a walk?” Tag reached down, took her hand in his, and headed for the door.
“Do you think your bodyguard will be okay with me taking you for a walk?” Piper laughed at his question.
“You sound a little jealous, Tag. I’m pretty sure that you can handle my safety.
” She looked him up and down. “No one will mess with me as long as I’m with you.
” He nodded, knowing that she was right.
He wouldn’t let anyone else touch her. She was also right about the jealousy thing, too.
Until Tag just saw the way Sawyer looked at Lorna, he was worried that Piper’s bodyguard might be a problem.
“Why do you need a bodyguard anyway?” Piper froze, and Tag worried that he was right with his first hunch.
Piper would never cheat on him, but they were broken up, and she still didn’t tell him that she was in love with him, even though he could see it in her eyes every time she looked at him.
“It’s all right, Pipe. You don’t have to explain your relationship with Sawyer to me.
” Tag tried to keep from sounding like a sulking child, but he failed miserably.
“Tag,” Piper laughed. “It’s not like that.” She looked up at him and just about took his breath away. She was gorgeous in the morning sun. Piper wasn’t wearing any makeup, and she looked like the woman that he fell in love with over that long weekend at their cabin.
“Agnes, my grandmother, left me her estate. I’m worth a great deal of money now.
The press got wind of the story and my past here in the city, and my parents’ murders.
The news had a field day with the story, and my lawyer convinced me to hire Sawyer for my safety.
At first, he presented it as Sawyer being my driver.
Over time, though, I came to realize that he was sent to protect me.
He kept the press from following too closely. ”
“Remind me to thank him when we see him later. I wish I could have been here to take care of you, Pipe. But, I’m here now.” Piper stopped on the sidewalk in front of Tag.
“Didn’t you hear the part about me inheriting millions of dollars?” She crossed her arms over her chest, and the sight made Tag’s mouth water. It had been only hours since he made love to her in the middle of the night, but he wanted her again.
“I don’t care about any of that, Honey. You’re still you.
I don’t care how much you have in your bank account.
” Piper blinked up at him, almost as if not believing his words.
He took her mouth in a hot, passionate kiss, eliciting a few whistles from the people who were passing them on the sidewalk. Piper pulled away breathless.
“And you’re not worried about the reporters or our privacy being invaded by people who don’t even know us?” Tag shrugged.
“Honey, I don’t care about any of it. If you want to stay here, then we will have to deal with all the craziness that surrounds you being well-off.
If you want to go back to Colorado, I’m sure some of that will follow us.
We will just have to learn to deal with it.
” This time, Piper was the one to go up on her tiptoes and take Tag’s mouth in a hard, passionate kiss.
People passing by even stopped to clap this time, causing them both to laugh.
He wasn’t used to strangers caring about him kissing his woman.
New York was a lot to get used to, but for Piper, he would live anywhere and get used to anything.
“I want to go back to Colorado, Tag. I’ve already hired Sawyer to bring out my SUV, and he’s going to stick around for a while to make sure that the dust settles. Besides, did you see the electricity between him and Lorna? I can’t wait to see that happen,” Piper said.
“You little minx. You hired a bodyguard to date your aunt?” Tag wrapped his arms around Piper and pulled her into him.
“I’ve also decided to start a program for troubled kids who have lost one or both parents.
I want to fund an adventure program that they will be able to go to and find their strength.
I want to give them back their voices.” Tag wasn’t one to be overly emotional, but he honestly felt a little choked up by Piper’s plans.
“Wow, Honey. You have been busy thinking this all through. You decided all of this today?” Piper nodded her head.
“I’ve let them go, Tag. I said goodbye to my parents’ ghosts. I might never forgive the monster that took them from me, but it’s a step in the right direction. I feel whole—like a weight has been lifted from my chest.” She rubbed at the imaginary spot.
“I’m so happy for you, Piper.” Tag reached for her hands, his own big hands swallowing hers up.
“That’s not all. I love you, Tag. I wanted to tell you before.
I knew it when we spent our first weekend together at the cabin, but I was too much of a chicken to tell you.
I was afraid to love you because I was convinced that if I did, it would ruin your life.
Lorna showed me that I was wrong. I was so wrong, Tag.
I hope that you can forgive me. I’ve been so foolish.
” Tag wanted to move, to say something, but all he could focus on were those three words.
He felt like he had waited his whole life for Piper to say those words to him.
“You love me?” Tag’s voice sounded hoarse, even to his ears.
Piper nodded, fresh tears running down her cheeks. “I do. I love you so much, Tag.”
He lifted her into his arms, spinning them both around. This time, he didn’t even notice the other people who stopped to watch them. All he saw was Piper.
“Marry me, Honey. Make me the happiest man on earth.” He stopped spinning and pulled out a small box from his pocket.
He brought his mother’s engagement ring with him, hoping that Piper would give him another chance.
She gave him that and so much more. He and Torren had a long conversation about their mom’s ring before he flew to New York.
Torren convinced him that he wouldn’t be using the ring and that he wanted Tag to give it to Piper.
He opened the box, and Piper’s eyes widened.
“Oh, Tag. It’s beautiful.” She covered her mouth with her trembling hands.
“It was my mom’s, and now I want you to have it. Marry me.” Tag took the ring out, not waiting for Piper’s answer. He slipped it onto her finger, and it seemed to fit perfectly.
“Are you sure? You want me, forever?” Piper admired the ring.
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life, Honey. You are my forever, Piper.” She nodded, covering her face in her hands, sobbing. Tag laughed, trying to pull her hands away from her face. “Is that a yes, Honey?” he asked.
“Yes,” she shouted. Everyone who’d stopped to watch the proposal on the street cheered and clapped. They acquired quite an audience.
“Let’s go home, Pipe. We have a wedding to plan,” Piper said.
“No, Tag, we have a whole life to plan.” Tag couldn’t help his smile; he knew that his soon-to-be wife was right. He couldn’t imagine anything better than planning a life with the woman he loved by his side. That would be the greatest adventure of all.