10. Vincent
VINCENT
“Sweetheart, you need to stop worrying about me,” Nana Dee chastised gently over the phone. “I’m fine. Good as new, actually. Like I spent a few days at a spa, that’s all.”
“I can’t think of a single spa that offers hourly blood pressure checks and glucose monitoring,” I replied.
She couldn’t help rolling her eyes, and I heard a chuckle come from off-camera.
I knew it was her friend Bernie, who’d stepped into the camera frame to say hello when the call started.
It made me feel a little better to know that someone was with her—especially someone as formidable as Bernie Branson.
The woman who’d single-handedly started the fashion empire known as Branson Designs could handle keeping my stubborn grandmother corralled for a few hours… probably.
“Let’s call it a med spa then,” she laughed. “Maybe I can sneak in a facelift as well?”
Nana Dee was finally out of the hospital but not out of the woods, because I knew for a fact that she still wasn’t back to her old self. I could hear it in her voice. It was softer, weary.
Yeah, I was still worried. I paced around my office, trying to come up with ways to take the reins. To fix everything.
“Do you have follow-up appointments scheduled?” I asked. “I can have that arranged for you if not. I can get in-home care if that’s your preference. Just tell me what you need.”
She sighed. “Sweetheart, what I need you to do is give me all the gossip about the young lady you brought to dinner with your father. He told me she’s an absolute delight! I want all the details, then we’re going to figure out a weekend for the two of you to come visit me.”
My dad and Nana Dee had forged their own relationship years ago, and now it felt like they were related to one another as well.
I’d meant it when I’d told Piper that Nana Dee would love her…
but introducing the two of them would add a wrinkle I hadn’t considered yet.
Her one goal in life was seeing every one of the Lost Boys wifed-up and happy, and I could only imagine how hard her campaigning would become once she met and fell in love with Piper.
The pressure from my father was more than enough for now. And besides, Piper and I had an expiration date. There was no point in getting Nana Dee’s hopes up. On the other hand, it wasn’t like we could avoid her completely. If nothing else, we’d all be at Paul’s wedding together.
“Piper is one-of-a-kind, that’s for sure,” I admitted.
“So? Grab your calendar and let’s pick a date!”
My office door flung open, and the woman of the hour practically skipped into my office. I held up a “one moment” finger, and she responded by doing a little dance in place, grinning maniacally.
I had to look away because she was in a dress that bounced up her thighs when she hopped. Those legs were killing me.
“Hey, I’m sorry but I need to run—I have a meeting, Nana Dee. We’ll figure everything out, okay?”
“We’d better,” she scolded. “I expect to hear from you soon, got it?”
“Of course. Take care. Love you.”
“Love you too, sweetheart,” she cooed.
I sighed as I hung up and turned my focus on Piper. “You look like you’re about to burst. What’s happening?”
She punched the air triumphantly. “I did it!”
There was only one thing it could be. My pulse kicked up. “Please tell me you’re not kidding.”
“I would never kid about something so important.”
“So…we’re going to Hawaii? You actually got them to agree to it?”
“Yup! They’re one hundred percent in.”
I had to hold back from letting out a whoop, because that would most certainly summon Linda in to check on me, and I wanted to savor the moment with the woman who made it happen.
The incorrigible, incredible, fender-destroying spitfire currently having a solo dance party on the other side of my desk. Piper kept surprising me, in so many ways.
“Let’s get those tickets booked,” she said as she circled her fist in the air.
I chuckled. “Tickets? Please. Piper, we’ll be taking my private plane.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she jogged a little closer to me. “Oh my gosh, seriously? This just keeps getting better and better.”
I caught the faintest hint of her citrus perfume. Damn it, I needed to upgrade her.
I forced myself not to think about the scent of Evermore on the nape of her neck. “I’m impressed you made it happen. Congrats.”
“I told you I would,” she fired back, wagging her finger at me. “I’m a woman of my word, and now I get to hang out in paradise as part of my payment!”
“I hate to burst your bubble, but we will be working on this trip. There are contracts to be signed,” I cautioned.
“Yeah, um.” Piper cleared her throat. “Jean said we’ll sign on our last day there.”
“Last day?” Doubt kicked up inside of me. “Well, that’s odd. Why wouldn’t we just set up a meeting, tour the fields, and get everything signed right away?”
Her grin slipped. “Um, well, in order to make this happen, I had to lean into the couple aspect of our relationship pretty hard. Jean is very invested in us now. She loves the idea that we have a working partnership.” Piper hesitated.
“And once I realized she liked that about us, I really played it up. Talked about how romantic you are, and how you love to surprise me. I even made up a convincing lie about why you were such a jackass at Paul’s party. ”
I frowned. “What did you tell her?”
“I said you’d planned a romantic surprise yoga retreat in India, and you’d just been notified that it was canceled.”
“Piper,” I sighed. “Why did you have to embellish?”
“Because it was how I hooked her! She’s a romantic at heart. She’s so excited to host us now. She’s insisting we spend the whole trip with them instead of at a resort. She even sent photos of the little bungalow we’ll be staying in.” Piper snorted. “It is not little, at least not by my standards.”
Shit. We’d be rooming together? I wasn’t expecting that development. How was I going to resist her twenty-four hours a day?
“So we have to pretend to be a couple for the whole time we’re there?” I asked. “We can’t just book two rooms in a hotel and meet with them for a quick tour?”
“Nope.” She bit her lip. “If you want that contract signed, we need to deliver on what they’re expecting. You have to pretend to be utterly, head-over-heels crazy in love with me.”
Pretend to be in love with Piper? I’d climbed mountains and explored the bottom of the ocean, so why did it feel like this latest challenge was going to get the best of me?
Not because I didn’t think I could pull it off. No, it was going to be easy faking affection for a woman as incredible as Piper. The hard part would be remembering that it was all for show.
“And what about you?” I demanded, not wanting to consider how much loved-up playacting the facade was going to force us into.
Piper held her hand over her heart and batted her eyelashes at me. “Oh, that won’t be an act. I simply adore you, Mr. Forde.”
She collapsed into giggles.
“You’re going to be obnoxious, aren’t you?”
“Snookums, whatever do you mean?” She batted her eyelashes so hard, it looked like she was trying to start a breeze.
“This,” I gestured to her. “You’re going to try to embarrass me.”
“Try?” Piper’s eyes went wide. “Oh Vincy-poo, just you wait. I’m going to be the clingiest, sappiest, most devoted fake girlfriend to walk the earth! By the end of it, you’re going to be convinced it’s for real.”
I could only imagine how corny she was going to be, and how much fun she was going to have trying to make me squirm.
Ridiculous.
So why did my heart trip out of rhythm at the thought of it?
Looking at the world through Piper’s eyes was a revelation.
I was used to women who acted like they were owed everything they received and then some.
Piper, on the other hand, was open and expressive in her enjoyment of every single luxury I’d long since gotten in the habit of taking for granted.
She was having the time of her life, and we were only two hours into the flight.
Everything delighted her, from the personalized toiletry set waiting for her in her seat on my plane to the snacks hand selected just for her.
Little things that would barely warrant a “thank you” from my former companions made Piper beam with pleasure.
“I can’t believe I’m getting paid to do this,” she sighed as she settled into the buttery leather chair. “I keep pinching myself!”
I felt the same way. I didn’t like admitting just how much I enjoyed having Piper around, because our time together had a hard stop. I had to keep reminding myself of that fact.
“I’m glad you’re already having fun. I’m sure we’ll be able to make the most of the trip, so long as we keep our eyes on the prize.”
“I can’t remember the last time I traveled,” she continued like she hadn’t heard me. “I mean, I get to go places for photography jobs every now and then, but it’s not like I’ve had much of a chance to travel for fun.”
“Piper, this is still work,” I reminded her gently. “You need to take photos for the web site and social media posts in addition to getting that contract signed.”
“And play the part of your adoring girlfriend,” she said with a cheesy grin. “Doesn’t matter, it’s still a good time!”
She got a chuckle out of me. Her ability to find positivity in every scenario, even when I was trying to level-set her with reality, was ridiculously adorable.
“Where’s the last place you went for fun?” Piper asked.
I paused to consider her question, trying to ignore her bare leg just inches from mine. It made my mind wander. Were we going to be forced to go to the beach? Did she pack a bikini? Would we have to be lovey-dovey in swimwear?
I felt myself getting hard at the thought of it. Getting that contract signed was going to be enough of a task without having to fight my attraction to my fake girlfriend.
“Well?” Piper demanded, startling me out of my sexy daydream. “Last vacation spot?”
“Uh,” I squinted as I tried to remember. “I think it was Spain with my ex.”
“Ooh,” Piper exhaled. “I would love to go there!”