47. Piper
FORTY-SEVEN
PIPER
“Well, don’t you look properly loved up,” Nelly muttered out of the side of her mouth as I stepped into the kitchen.
“Nelly,” I admonished, just as low.
She shrugged. “All I’m saying is I told you that man would know how to take care of my girl, and he clearly delivered. Woowee…you look like you just ran a marathon. That special kind of marathon.”
She winked.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Okay, there was no question my hair was mussed, my skin permanently flushed, my lips so swollen and red there was no denying what we’d been up to.
Theo was written on me in broad stripes and bright colors.
She chuckled low as she waddled to the refrigerator. “ Right . And I’m turning fifty-two next week. We can all live in a fantasyland, though I bet I can guess the type of fantasies you’ve been living.”
She raised her brows as she turned from the refrigerator with a stick of butter and a bottle of cream.
From over the counter, she peered at Theo.
He still had Finn in his arms, though they’d moved over to the Christmas tree. Theo bounced and swayed my son as they inspected the ornaments, Finn babbling about each one, pointing his little finger at his favorites.
The twinkling lights glinted and glowed and cast them in the softest warmth.
My spirit throbbed at the sight.
My body did, too.
“Looks like she’s gearing up for another marathon,” Nelly mumbled.
“Nelly.”
She chuckled, though her expression was tender. “It’s okay for you to be happy, Piper. There is no need to reject it when you’ve already been given it.”
Emotion crested, and I looked at my grandmother. The truth dribbled out on a hushed admission. “I never expected to ever feel this way, Nelly. It’s like I’m going to burst every time I look at him.”
“That’s love, my sweet. It feels like you’re both shattering and becoming whole at the same time.”
Love.
I knew that’s what it was.
What burned and thrummed and chained us in the middle of the questions.
I dropped my voice lower. “I…the sense I was getting? The worry that Justin might have found us?”
Unease whipped through her being as she gave a tight nod.
“I was wrong. There was something else going on. A danger for another one of the residents.” I could trust Nelly, but I wouldn’t give her the full details until I received the clear from Theo that he was okay with me sharing it.
So, I kept it simple. “Theo took care of it, and I think…I think he will take care of us in the same way. We don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
A rush of air wheezed out of her. “You told him?”
Tentativeness wound with the resolution. “Some, but not everything. But I’m going to. I just need to figure out how to bring him into it.”
It was a lot to ask him to shoulder.
But he would.
The hope that had sprung promised that he would.
She peeked over at Theo then back at me. “He’ll hold it, Piper. I knew it the first time I saw him. From the second the light hit his face when he opened the door of your car. He’s your avenger and your savior.”
Hope brought moisture to the backs of my eyes. “I know.”
With Finn still in his arms, Theo suddenly spun around, and he ambled across the short distance with a curious grin playing all over his brutally handsome face.
Desire twisted my stomach.
Apparently, being ravaged by him twice in one day wasn’t enough.
“What are you two over here whispering about?” he asked.
“About how you had your wicked way with my granddaughter,” Nelly tossed out. Fully nonchalant.
“Nelly,” I admonished.
Did she have no filter?
Theo chuckled, and that dark, moonlit gaze jumped between us. “That so?”
“Mmhmm,” she hummed as she tossed the potatoes she’d cubed into a pot.
“Well, I hope you don’t mind too much because I plan on doing it over and over again.” Theo sent me a cocky smirk.
I nearly melted to the floor.
I wasn’t sure if it was out of embarrassment or the rush of need.
Laughter howled from Nelly, and she picked up the pot and carried it to the stove. “Knew you were the one,” she said as she turned the knob to bring the ring to life.
Theo looked directly at me, and the amusement drained away and bled into severity. “Yeah, I hope I’m the one.”
Christmas music played from the speakers, the lights cut low, easiness riding through the air.
I sat angled in the corner of the couch, one leg drawn up under me and my elbow rested on the back cushion as I watched Theo play with Finn on the floor.
Nelly had retired to the lounger to the side of them, her feet propped up, a slow smile on her face as she admired their antics.
“I got you!” Finn shouted as he jumped onto Theo’s back, wrapping his little arms around his neck and holding on tight.
“Ahhh,” Theo cried, carefully whipping around like he couldn’t break out of Finn’s hold. “What? That was a sneak attack! You came from out of nowhere. I didn’t even see you.”
Joyous laughter resounded from Finn. “I reawy fast wike Nowan .”
“You like that Nolan?” Theo asked. He cast me a soft smile as he reached around and pulled Finn onto his lap.
Finn stood between his legs, bopping his head the way he always did. “And Maci! I got to pway with kids.”
“It’s nice having friends, isn’t it, little man?”
“I go pway right now?”
Theo let go of a light chuckle. “Think it’s probably too late tonight since Maci and Nolan have school in the morning, but what do you say we go play with them this weekend?”
“I say yes.”
Warmth spread through me, those roots sinking way down deep.
Home.
Home.
Home.
The hope of it echoed through me like a dream.
“That is if I’m ever able to get up off this floor after Nelly stuffed me full of the most delicious dinner I’ve ever eaten,” Theo said, patting his stomach and glancing at Nelly with a grin.
She waved him off. “It was nothin’.”
“My taste buds say otherwise,” he told her. “I’m going to have to return the favor soon since you’re constantly making meals that knock my socks off.”
“We know who’s knocking socks off.” She wagged her brows.
I rolled my eyes, deciding there was no use in reprimanding her. She was having far too much fun at my expense.
And I wasn’t mad.
I was…happy.
So happy I could hardly discern the emotion.
“Seriously, though, thank you,” Theo added.
“It’s been my pleasure,” Nelly said with emotion creeping into her voice.
“Having a place to stay and helping to give it a semblance of home is exactly what I needed. I missed it. Shuffling around the kitchen cooking. And in my humble opinion, there aren’t a lot of things better than seeing our little Finn here bouncing around like it’s his favorite place in the world while our Piper gets to explore some of those dreams that have remained out of reach for far too long. ”
Gratitude swelled.
For Nelly.
For this place.
For Theo.
“Think it’s time for everyone to nab a few dreams.” Sincerity wound into Theo’s voice.
“I not go night-night,” Finn peeped.
Theo chuckled. So low and warm and rumbly.
“What should we do then?”
Finn pointed his index finger at me. “Get Mommy!”
“You think we should get Mommy?”
Finn nodded emphatically.
Theo climbed to his feet with Finn in his arms, the man zooming him around, flying him through the living area before diving in my direction. He dipped him down and Finn grabbed my face in his precious hands. “We get you, Mommy!”
Theo’s gorgeous face beamed from behind him.
Love poured out.
So intense and real.
A wholeness that throbbed in the vacancy.
Theo stretched out his free hand and pulled me to my feet. He looped that arm around my waist and tugged me against him.
Eyes intense as he murmured, “Yeah, we got you.”
“He’s out,” Theo whispered where he leaned over Finn’s crib.
I paused in the doorway of the bathroom where I’d been getting ready for bed, pierced by the sight of Theo hovering over my son.
“He was pooped after all the wrestling you two did.” The quiet words skimmed through the dense air.
“And that sugar crash.” Theo quirked a soft brow as he straightened and took a step toward me. “I think Nelly is really taking the nesting thing to the extreme. The amount of Christmas goodies she baked today is wild.”
Affectionate, faint laughter rippled out of me. A reverent softness curved into my words. “She’s excited for Christmas. We haven’t had a real one in years.”
Theo eased forward. He looped an arm around my waist, and he slowly swayed me in the peaceful beat that pulsed between us. His deep voice barely broke the silence that hovered in the room. “Can’t believe I get to be the one to spend it with you.”
My brow creased in question. “You don’t have plans with your family?”
“That’s what you are, Piper. My family.” The words were shards that rolled from his throat.
Rough and penetrating.
He lifted my hand and threaded our fingers together, staring at the union for a beat before he turned back to look at me.
“Want to spend it with you, if that’s okay?” he asked.
Emotion wobbled.
Overwhelming and beautiful.
“I would like that. So much.”
“Usually spend Christmas night with them, though. Want you to be there for that, too.”
The reservations I felt since I came to Moonlit Ridge no longer held their influence. Still, the words were soggy. “That sounds wonderful.”
Theo kept swaying me. Holding me tight in the middle of the small, enclosed space. The steady pace of Finn’s breaths echoing against the walls mixed with the thunder of our hearts.
“Can’t stop thinking about what you said earlier…” Theo finally drew out.
I angled my head, not sure what he was referring to.
The hint of a smile tweaked his mouth. “About you liking my room better.”
“Well, it is pretty amazing.”
I’d honestly never stepped foot in a more gorgeous place.
“It’s even more amazing with you in it,” he murmured.
My pulse increased, and I let a little flirtiness wind into my tone. “I wouldn’t mind another visit.”
“I was thinking something a little more permanent.”
Confusion dented my brow. “What do you mean?”
Fervency deepened his features. “You staying in this cabin was only supposed to be temporary, but that’s not what you and I are meant to be. Want you to move in with me. Stay with me forever.”
Surprise jolted out of me on a rasp. “Theo.”
He spun me, and I had to stop a squeal of surprise when he pushed me back onto the bed.
He crawled up to hover over me.
All that forbidding beauty clashed against the blinding light that emanated from within him.
“I mean, with all the wicked things I plan on doing to you, Finn is going to need his own room.”
It was nothing but an impish growl.
“Is that so?” I tried to play along like I wasn’t completely affected—like joy wasn’t screaming out from the depths of me—but the words were shaky.
“Oh, it is very so,” he grated quietly as he burrowed his face in the side of my neck. “What do you say, Little Liar? Move in with me? After we spend Christmas here with Finn?”
Pulling back, he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, his perception and care so thick. “Want him to experience it here first since he already has his tree, and I know he’s had to move around so much.” He paused, then urged, “What do you think?”
What did I think?
I thought I was hopelessly in love with this man.
I stared up at him through the babbling shadows of the room.
The man written in menace and peril.
Dangerous.
My perfect peace.
The horizon I could finally reach.
And I repeated what my son had told him earlier.
“I say yes.”