12. Vincent
12
VINCENT
I ’d never been happier to lose a round of golf.
As expected, Piper and Joe dominated the course. I’d started off the game ready to show Piper she wasn’t the only one with skills, but after two holes, it quickly became apparent she was way out of my league. I forced myself to downshift to a casual golf enthusiast instead of a real competitor and spent the eighteen holes laughing with Jean.
Which was surprisingly fun.
I had to pat myself on the back—golf was a phenomenal idea. I wanted the Sullivans to feel good about the business side of our arrangement, but getting them to like me was a part of the bargain as well. While it was easy to assume the contract was a done deal, I refused to count my chickens around the Sullivans until the ink was dry. But everything truly did seem to be on track for us to sign the papers soon.
The next few days only solidified that feeling. Piper had worked her magic with the Sullivans and, after walking them through how respectful Summit would be of their property, they were on board. I’d already sent word to Summit’s lawyers, and the contract was quickly whipped up. Now all that was left for the Sullivans to sign on the dotted line.
Yet, with the end in sight, part of me almost dreaded the moment. This trip had been a success by every measure, but… I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it to end. In just a few days, Piper and I had fallen into an easy rhythm, spending time together and sharing space in a way that felt natural.
On the morning of the contract signing, Joe insisted we celebrate with one last round of golf, and that’s how the day began. As usual, Joe and Piper dominated the course, and I… I tried to keep my composure every time Piper’s fingers tightened around her club and she settled into her stance.
After lunch at the Sullivan’s golf club, we headed back to Sugarview and agreed to meet for dinner once the sun went down, which meant Piper and I had the rest of the afternoon to do as we pleased.
After that first night I’d spent with Piper’s ass pressed up against my crotch, I had a few X-rated thoughts about what we could do together with our alone time. That first night we’d shared the bed, Piper had fallen asleep quickly, but I’d wound up awake for an hour, breathing her in. Luckily, she was a sound sleeper, because at one point I gave in to temptation and ran my fingertips along her velvety shoulder. The other nights, though, I’d been sleeping outside in the hammock. Piper didn’t protest too hard, and it was probably for the best. The thought of being in bed with her again…
It was almost too much.
The car dropped us off at the main house, and we meandered down the path to our bungalow side by side, each caught up in our thoughts.
“C’mere,” Piper said as she veered off the path through a patch of trees.
As always, I had no idea what she was up to, but I wanted to find out.
She strode to the edge of the heliotrope field and turned to me. “Tell me what it is about this flower that makes it the one for Evermore . What’s so special about this little purple flower anyway?”
I smiled at her. “You really want to know?”
“Well, yeah,” she answered. “It’s the reason we’re here, after all. And there are so many other flowers you could’ve used that wouldn’t require all the hoops we had to jump through.”
I walked over to pluck a stem and held it up to my nose to inhale the magical scent.
“There’s nothing quite like the fragrance,” I said, closing my eyes to take it in again. “And this crop? We struck gold here. I liken it to the grapes grown in the champagne region of France. This soil does something different to the plant. The fragrance is more nuanced.”
Piper fidgeted. “Yes, okay, I agree, but you still haven’t answered my question. There are so many other flower options, why this one specifically?”
I walked the stem over to Piper and held it out to her. “Take a whiff.”
She leaned closer, closed her eyes, and inhaled the aroma. I stole the moment to study her. She was lightly tanned and freckled from our hours on the golf course, wisps of hair escaping from the ponytail high on her head. I wanted to inhale her sun-warmed scent.
“I agree, it smells amazing. But so do lilacs and gardenias.”
“Like I told you at the farmers’ market, there’s a story behind every flower, and this one?” I held the stem up in the air like it was a glass of fine wine. “This one symbolizes devotion and faithfulness. My hope is that I can distill those very elements into Evermore .”
“Aw,” Piper said softly, looking up at me with a little smile playing around the corners of her mouth. “That’s sort of the core of love.”
I couldn’t stop myself from snorting at the thought of it, and Piper’s shocked expression made me understand that I’d gone and ruined the tender moment unfolding between us.
“Sorry, I’m not laughing at you , it’s just that in my experience, it’s the rare person who gets to enjoy those feelings. Take my father. Devoted and faithful?” I shook my head. “Four wives later, and I find it hard to believe it’s even a consideration for him.”
“Okay, but what about the Sullivans?” Piper argued, pointing over her shoulder toward the main house. “They’ve been together for forty years. Three kids, five grandchildren. There’s your devotion and faithfulness.”
I considered it. “I’m not denying that happens, I’m just being a realist about how rare real and lasting love really is. I have a family history that proves the Sullivans are the exception and not the rule.”
“So why does the heliotrope even matter then?” Piper huffed at me. “Why are you trying to capture the idea of faithfulness if you take such a negative view of love?”
I froze. I’d never stopped to think about the real reason behind my quest to capture and distill heliotrope. Sure, it was partly because I liked a challenge. I needed a challenge. But it was also because there was something about the warm scent that made me feel…I couldn’t put it into words other than to say that the aroma made me feel embraced. Celine had suggested substitutions to the fragrance profile as we’d worked on the scent together, but nothing else resonated with me quite the way the heliotrope did.
No matter how many roadblocks came my way, it was heliotrope or nothing at all.
Piper plucked a stem and moved closer to me. “Is it because deep down, you do believe in love?” She inhaled the flowers and blinked up at me. “And you hope maybe someday, it’ll happen for you?” Her voice faded to a whisper.
My heart thundered in my chest as I took a step closer to her.
“Trust me, it won’t,” I said softly, staring into her eyes. “I’m far too cynical.”
“But it could ,” she replied as the corner of her mouth turned up. “If the right woman came along.”
Oh, that mouth. What it could do to me.
I’d feared the kiss on the plane was a fluke, a one-time event that would never happen again. But now, the way Piper was watching me, with her lips parted ever so slightly, I could tell she wanted it as badly as I did.
I reached out and ran my hand down her back, drawing her closer to me. Piper’s breathing went shallow, like she was nervous, eager, ready. Her eyes tracked across my face. I could only stare at her perfect, waiting mouth.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a breathy whisper.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
I leaned even closer to her, relishing the sweet tension in the air the moment before our lips connected.
We were just centimeters apart when Piper’s phone rang, so piercing she jumped away from me in shock.
“Oh my god ,” she exhaled, clutching her heart. She staggered a few steps and answered the call. “Hello, this is Piper.”
My heart was about to leap out of my chest, and I silently cursed whoever had interrupted our moment.
“Oh, hi, Jean. I didn’t recognize the number. House phone, okay, that’s why. What’s going on?”
I watched her nodding as Jean spoke.
“Okay, that makes sense.” She paused. “No, no it’s a perfect idea. Uh-huh, we can definitely make that happen. Yup. See you then!”
She hung up and turned back to me.
“Jean wants to do a formal dinner, since it’s a ‘momentous occasion.’” Piper made air quotes with her fingers. “I think it’s safe to say this is a done deal.”
I was obviously thrilled about signing the contract with the Sullivans—but in this moment, I was way more interested in the other deal I wanted to close.
“I brought two dresses with me.” Piper stared off into space. “One is a glorified sundress and the other is more cocktail, which is probably more appropriate, right? What do you think?”
I hid my frustration about our lost moment. Honestly, I didn’t care which dress she wore—sundress, cocktail, it didn’t matter. The thought that kept nagging at me was that I’d prefer her out of a dress altogether. The image flickered through my mind before I could stop it: her standing in front of me, all soft skin and curves, no layers between us. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my expression neutral.
“Why don’t we go take a look?” I suggested. “You can do a fashion show for me.”
“Excellent idea,” Piper replied. “I want to make sure I look perfect for the celebration to come.”
She always looked amazing, but I got the sense that that feedback wouldn’t be helpful.
Piper still seemed unsteady on her feet from the moment we’d just shared, but neither one of us moved closer to try to rekindle it. We walked back to the bungalow in silence.
“More champagne, seeing as we have something to celebrate?” Jean suggested.
It was the moment I’d been waiting for, yet all I could focus on was my beautiful partner in crime. Piper looked stunning in a red cocktail dress with her hair piled on top of her head, and the way she kept smiling at me throughout the night made it hard for me to focus on the conversation.
As always, she’d charmed her way through the meal, picking up slack when I was at a loss for words.
“Indeed, we do have something to celebrate,” Joe said. “Look how far we’ve come since the first time we met.”
Piper giggled softly at the reminder of my monstrous behavior at Paul and Chloe’s engagement party.
The server refilled our flutes, and I took the opportunity to raise mine. “I’d like to say a few words before we move on.”
“That would be lovely,” Jean murmured.
I glanced around the table as everyone lifted their glasses.
“You might have noticed I can be rather single-minded when I have a goal in front of me,” I began.
Piper snorted out a laugh then slapped her hand over her mouth. I cut my eyes at her with a mock scowl then resumed.
“Thankfully, I’m lucky enough to have someone at my side who helps me remember life isn’t just about achieving goals.” I glanced at Piper again. “She forces me to slow down and enjoy the little things, whether it’s a fresh-baked croissant or the afternoon sunshine. Piper is the reason we’re all gathered here tonight, so I’d like to raise a toast to her, as well as to you, Jean and Joe, our wonderful hosts. This new partnership is important to me for so many different reasons, but I think the core is the strong connections we’ve forged over the past few days.” I lifted my glass higher. “To big dreams, new friends, and the happily ever after that is Evermore .”
The room filled with the sound of clinking crystal as we toasted our mutual success.
“I’d like to say a few words as well,” Jean said as she slowly stood up. She looked every inch the manor matriarch in a flowy beaded caftan with a bright orange and blue pattern. “Vincent, I think we all know our first meeting was bumpy ,” she paused to give me an eye-crinkling grin. “But now that we’ve had a chance to spend time together, I can see why Piper is in love with you. And vice versa. You complement one another so beautifully. You remind me of the two of us when we started our life together.” Jean glanced at her husband, and he reached out to take her hand. “This man of mine is a bit of a curmudgeon, but like Piper, I keep him laughing. If I may be so bold, I predict the two of you will have a long and happy marriage that mirrors our own, so here’s to your next forty years together!”
I felt a little off balance as I reached out to touch glasses. Forty years? It seemed like an impossible goal. But then I looked over at beautiful, effervescent Piper…yeah, I could picture her finding someone to love her for that long.
Spending a lifetime loving her would be easy.
I certainly wasn’t cut out to do it, but surely she’d manage to secure her fairy tale somehow.
I frowned as my mind flashed images of Piper in a wedding dress standing beside someone else. The thought of Piper with another man sent tension unfurling across my back, and I caught myself grinding my teeth. She deserved a lifetime of happiness, but I didn’t want to witness some other asshole getting to enjoy it.
I jumped when I felt a kick beneath the table.
“What’s wrong?” Piper whispered.
I must’ve been frowning without realizing it.
I shook my head. “I’m fine,” I mouthed back.
“Well, folks, I think the time is right,” Joe said, pushing back from the table to walk over to the sideboard. He opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of paperwork. “Your attorney approved the language in the contract, so all that’s left to do is put pen to paper. Shall we?”
“Hooray!” Piper cheered.
I was thrilled as I walked over to take the heavy black pen in Joe’s outstretched hand. This was what I wanted, after all. Evermore was so close to being finalized, and I could bask in the glory of achieving what I’d set out to do. My chemists now had everything they needed to extract the oils and prove that Summit was peerless in the industry.
So why did I feel like something was still missing as I leaned over to sign?