Chapter 36 Piper
THIRTY-SIX
Piper
I smirked at Grayden as he got into the passenger seat of my car. “Thought I was going to have to drag you out of there. Was Milo trying to talk you into buying the Kawasaki?”
“Something like that.” Grayden leaned in for a kiss. “Missed you.”
“It was only fifteen minutes.”
But I missed you too, I thought. Ridiculous as that was.
I felt giddy. Waking up next to Grayden had been amazing. Comfortable and warm and just…nice. And sexy, obviously. I’d enjoyed the chance to admire him some more at a close distance.
It made me nervous when he talked about us doing things together in the summer. Bringing Ollie along, which was something we’d do if we were in a serious relationship.
I’d resisted the idea of being with someone for so long. But with Grayden…
I shook off that train of thought, not ready to follow where it could lead.
“Where should we head next?” I asked. “Back to my place?” I gave him my best flirty smile, remembering the steamy shower we’d taken an hour ago.
Everything we’d done together so far had been hot. But Grayden’s cock still hadn’t been inside of me yet. If this weekend ended without a chance to get underneath him, I’d be seriously disappointed.
He twirled a lock of my hair around his finger. “Let’s stop by my place. I’d like to show you something.”
“Is it sex-related?”
His head tipped back with a laugh. “You have a one-track mind, Piper. No, it’s not about sex. But we could break in my futon afterward.”
“Let’s do it. I haven’t had futon sex since college.”
His thumb brushed my nose and then my lips, his expression so full of affection I had to glance away.
“You make me so damn happy,” he said. As if that was a normal thing to say during…whatever this was. Were we still on the date? Was this just a wild sex weekend now?
I put my car in gear and pulled onto the road. “And then we can grab lunch.”
“Okay.”
I rolled my eyes. He was doing it again. Saying “okay” in that weird, complicated tone. Like he knew things I didn’t, and that fact amused him.
It was just a couple of turns to reach Grayden’s street. Our old street, though every time I visited the house, it felt less like the place where I’d grown up. Grayden was turning it into something different. Something better.
I parked across the street from the house, since I was pointed in that direction. Grayden unlocked the door, leading the way inside. He went to the wood stove to get the heat going.
Last time I’d been here, we’d been freaking out about the police visit and that fake package of drugs. Today, I actually looked around the front room. There was fresh paint, and the flooring was finished. Also an antique-looking desk piled with papers.
“This is what I wanted to show you.” Grayden put his hand on my back, ushering me toward the desk. “Here.”
They were sketches. Several of a mountain landscape with the buildings of Main Street nestled at the bottom. It was Silver Ridge.
I spotted my coffee shop, the details of the building perfectly accurate.
“Grayden, these are so good.”
“I’ve been brainstorming for a mural to paint on the big wall there, behind the desk. But I got inspired yesterday, before I picked you up for our date, and I tried it from a different angle.”
He handed me another sketch. This was a more stylized view of Main Street, close-up, less realistic. There was a single row of buildings, some of the most iconic businesses. Like Hearthstone Brewing, Main Street Market, and the souvenir shop that carried the weirdest stuff.
Silver Linings was front and center. Again, not realistic, since my building was on a corner.
But clearly, realism wasn’t the point of this drawing. There were evergreens and aspens growing all around the buildings, and the road was a meadow full of wildflowers instead of concrete.
There were people too. Just rough depictions. But I spotted a kid doing a trick on a skateboard in front of the coffee shop. He was leaping into the air with one hand on his board. The sight made me grin.
“There’s a lot more I want to add,” Grayden said by my shoulder. “But what do you think?”
“I don’t know much about art.”
“You know design. Your house is beautiful, and so is Silver Linings. You have a great eye. Imagine this is the first thing people see when they walk into the studio.”
I set down the sketch, turned to Grayden, and wrapped my arms around his neck. “They’ll be blown away. It’s incredible. You’re incredible.”
I’d said that last part without over-thinking it. Grayden beamed at me. “So are you.” He kissed me. One of his hands was in my hair, the other on my hip.
The kiss turned from sweet to dirty in seconds. His tongue licked into my mouth. Our bodies pressed close.
Then there was a creaking sound and an intake of breath. “Piper?”
I broke the kiss with Grayden and shifted toward the sound.
Grace stood in the open front doorway. Her hand was still on the knob, and she was frozen there with a look of horrified shock on her face.
“Gracie.” Grayden touched his mouth, like he was realizing exactly how much his sister had just seen. Just a kiss, but that kiss had felt like everything. What was she going to think?
“I was stopping by to say hi. I was going to knock, but I saw you inside through the window, and the door was unlocked, and… Oh my God, I’m sorry.”
Grace spun and dashed out the door.
Crap.
“I’ll go.” Grayden started to follow.
“No, it should be me.” Grace was my best friend. Basically my sister.
I had to explain why she’d just caught me with her brother.
Grace had left the house, but she hadn’t gone far. I spotted her in the driver’s seat of her SUV. She was just sitting there staring at the steering wheel. Hadn’t even switched on the engine.
I tried the passenger door. It opened, so I slid into the seat. “Hey.”
Grace barely glanced at me. “I just thought I’d stop by and see him. I should’ve texted first. Not just walked inside.”
“No, Grace, it’s fine. I’m sure Grayden would love to see you. We just happened to be…” I waved my hand. “I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.”
“I’m guessing you would prefer I didn’t find out at all. And I’m feeling the same way. You and my brother?” She sounded shocked and maybe a little disgusted. Which didn’t make me feel too great.
“It surprises me too,” I said.
Except I’d had a crush on him since I was fifteen years old, so I’d certainly imagined a scenario like this. I’d been smart to never tell her about that.
Grace’s hands gripped the steering wheel. Like she wanted to strangle something. I hoped it wasn’t me.
“I probably shouldn’t even ask, but how long has this been going on?”
There was so much she didn’t know. I had to start at the beginning if there was any way she might understand.
“Well, he spent the night at my house on Thanksgiving.”
“Thanksgiving? The same night he got to town, the two of you…”
“No. Hold on, no. That’s not what I meant.” This wasn’t going well. I brushed my hair back. “On Thanksgiving, I saw Grayden in his truck. I was pretty sure he didn’t have a place to stay, so I offered my couch. After what happened with Ashford that night, I wanted to make sure Grayden was okay.”
Grace’s throat moved as she swallowed. “Alright. That makes sense. Why didn’t either of you mention that before now?”
“I don’t know. He was embarrassed, I think. He didn’t want you and Callum worrying about him. And after that, he started renting the house from me. There was one day that Danny showed up here, and Grayden…”
I squeezed my eyes shut. It was hard to get all of this out.
“What happened, Piper?”
“Danny broke in here looking for something. I caught him, and Danny attacked me.”
“What?”
“But Grayden stopped him. He was there for me. And after that, we kept getting closer, I guess. Nothing really happened between us until just a couple days ago, though.”
I was leaving out the time Grayden first kissed me, but she probably didn’t need an exact play-by-play.
Grace breathed, seeming to process everything I’d said. “I heard something about police showing up here the other day. I was actually going to ask Grayden about it. Did that have something to do with Danny too?”
“Yes,” I said on an exhale. For once, I was thankful for the Silver Ridge gossips. They’d caught Grace up on recent developments. “Danny’s trying to punish Grayden for protecting me. It’s completely stupid, but you know my ex.”
She rubbed her face beneath her glasses. “So Danny has been back in town, and he’s been harassing you. Worse, he attacked you. Are you okay?”
Tears burned in my eyes. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
Because of Grayden. He’d made everything better.
“Can I hug you?” she asked, tears in her eyes too.
“Of course.” I leaned over, and Grace and I hugged tightly. This was why she’d been my best friend my whole life. Because, no matter what, even when we fought, she still loved me.
Yet I’d kept these secrets from her.
Guilt made nausea rise in my throat. “I’m sorry, Grace. I just didn’t want to scare you. Or for you to think you needed to fix it for me. You’ve already been through so much.”
She pulled back, frowning. “So you and Grayden both don’t want my help?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Sounds like that. And then you and Grayden, you’ve been… I mean, that kiss didn’t look like your first.”
“He spent the night at my place again last night. But not on the couch.”
She groaned and dropped her head in her hands. “I cannot believe we’re discussing this. Gross.”
“I’ve discussed my sex life with you plenty of times before.”
“But not involving my brother!” Grace swatted my arm.
A giggle snuck up my throat. She looked like she was holding back a laugh too. Then her expression smoothed out.
Her glasses had gone crooked, so I reached out and straightened them for her.
“Thanks,” she said.
“You know I love you. Always.”
“And I love you.” She took my hand and squeezed it before letting go. “I’m confused, though. Is Grayden just convenient? I mean, I know Hart County isn’t huge, but there have to be other attractive men out there.”
“Okay, ouch. Are you trying to ask if I’ve already slept with all the other available men in our county?”
She snorted. “You said it, not me.”
“I changed my mind. I hate you.”
Grace laughed and flipped me off.
“But Grayden’s trying to get back on his feet,” she went on.
“Trying to get settled again here. Why him? Why you? Piper, I don’t want to sound like I’m judging either of you, okay?
But if the two of you wanted a no-strings arrangement, couldn’t you look elsewhere? Not my brother? Not my best friend?”
“You sound pretty hypocritical. Dane is Ashford’s best friend.”
“Okay. Fair. But we didn’t keep it a secret from Ashford. And even from the beginning, it wasn’t just casual between Dane and me. I might’ve pretended it was, for like five minutes, but it always meant something deeper. Right away, we had feelings for each other.”
“Who says I don’t have feelings for Grayden?” I blurted, without even thinking.
Grace’s eyes widened. She stared at me. “What are you saying?”
Panic flooded me, making me want to run from the vehicle. Somehow I managed to stay put. “I don’t know.”
“Are you serious about Grayden?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where do you see this going? Like, a relationship? Love?”
My head fell back, and I groaned. I had a negative knee-jerk reaction to that word. At least its romantic sense.
But.
But.
“Piper, you’re the woman who swore up and down, on pain of death, that you would never fall in love again. Or have a relationship. All you would ever do is no-strings.”
“I meant it,” I said desperately.
“I know we had that no-dating pact, and I broke it when I fell for Dane. Of course I want the same for you. But I just didn’t expect it. Didn’t really think it was possible, given how adamant you were.”
“I didn’t either. Until…him.”
That admission cost me. It rearranged things inside of me that I’d thought were fixed in place. Atrophied, even. Grayden made me imagine a different possibility for me.
But imagining wasn’t enough to make it a reality. Real life was cruel and hard. Men you trusted could end up hurting you. Breaking you.
But.
“Okay,” she said softly. “I get it now.”
“You do? Because I don’t. I’m so confused.”
Grace reached for my hand again and held it. “I was confused about my feelings for Dane, too. Remember what you told me? You said I should trust myself. Trust my instincts.”
“Well, what did I know!”
She smiled. “Fear will lie to you, babe. But your heart tells the truth. Listen to it.”