Chapter 26 Piper #2
“Glad to make his day.” Felix’s tone is relaxed, probably because he’s totally used to people fawning over him. It makes me marvel at the fact that he seems to like that I don’t. “Thanks for being cool about me crashing.”
“Are you kidding? You have to promise to pose for pics. But first…” Christy moves to take my arm, then pulls back. “Can we talk for a second?”
Felix releases me after a squeeze to my hand. “I’ll go introduce myself to the groom.” He inclines his head toward the other end of the bar. “I’m guessing he’s the guy in the tux?”
“The one staring at you?” Christy laughs. “That’s Derek.”
As Felix makes his way toward the groom and his buddies, Christy leads me a few steps away. “Okay, first of all, Felix Barlowe is totally into you. We need to discuss this at some point.”
I shake my head. “We absolutely don’t. Let’s just say it’s complicated.”
“I’ll bet.” She takes my hand. “I need to apologize, Pip. I shouldn’t have invited Bradley and Marie.”
The apology catches me off guard. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. I’ve been a terrible friend since you moved back, and I’m sorry.” Her eyes are suspiciously shiny. “You deserve better.”
My own eyes start burning again. “Thanks for saying that.”
“I mean it.” She gives me another hug. “And if Bradley says anything out of line, you let me know, and I’ll give him the boot. It’s my wedding, and I can do what I want.”
A surprised laugh escapes me. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary, but thank you.”
“Right. Because you have a date who could kick his ass.” She winks. “And then throw you over his shoulder, which is hella hot.”
I don’t even bother to deny it. We join Felix and the rest of the wedding party, which has gathered around him at the far side of the bar.
Guests snap about a thousand photos, and a couple of the guys lament that he’s not wearing his Super Bowl rings.
This is normal for him, I know, but when his smile begins to look tight at the corners, I make an excuse to pull him away.
Our hands stay joined as we make our way toward one of the empty tables near the edge of the terrace. “Want to sit for a bit?” he asks. “I imagine it’s been a long day.”
The thoughtfulness of the comment is also hella hot, and I force myself not to climb this man like a tree right here in front of God and the rest of the wedding guests. “You can tell I’m tired?”
“I pay attention.” He pulls out my chair, waiting until I’m seated before taking the seat next to me. “Plus, you keep shifting your weight. Dead giveaway.”
“You’re very observant.”
“When it comes to you? Yeah.” He says it matter-of-factly, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
The sun is starting to set now, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, and the temperature is dropping. Even in the summer, Colorado evenings can get chilly once the sun goes down. I suppress a shiver, but Felix notices.
“Take this.” He shrugs out of his jacket, draping it over my shoulders before I can protest.
The fabric is warm from his body heat and smells like him. I want to burrow in and never give it back.
“Now you’ll be cold.”
His grin is wicked. “You know I run hot, Hart.” He leans back in his chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “On a scale of one to ten, how much are you hating being here?”
“I started at a solid nine, now down to maybe a four?”
“I’ll take that as a win.”
I’m about to respond, when a familiar voice makes my spine go rigid.
“Hello, Piper.”
Bradley stands a few feet away, looking like a condescending jerk in his seersucker suit with his Hugh Grant-coded mop flopping over his forehead.
“Bradley.” I force my voice to stay level.
His eyes slide to Felix. “Keeping it in the family. What a surprise.”
“We’re full of surprises.” Felix stands, towering over Bradley by a good six inches, but doesn’t extend his hand. “You must be the ex-fiancé. I’ve heard a lot about you. None of it good.”
Bradley’s face flushes. “Now wait just a—”
“I’m not waiting for anything.” Felix leans in, and even though he’s smiling, there’s something dangerous in his eyes. “Piper dodged a massive bullet when she called off your wedding. Any man who treats a woman the way you did doesn’t deserve her. Not for one second.”
Bradley’s mouth opens and closes like a fish. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Is that so?” Felix tilts his head. “I don’t know why you’re talking to her like you two are buddies, but I do know guys like you. The kind of douche canoes who make their partners feel small so they can feel big. As far as I’m—”
“Felix.” I stand and place a hand on his arm. “It’s okay.”
He looks down at me, and some of the tension drains from his shoulders. “You sure?”
“I’m sure.” I shift my gaze to Bradley. “I hope you and Marie are happy together, but Felix is right. I dodged a bullet. So thanks for that.”
My ex-fiancé’s face goes through several shades of red before he manages to stammer out, “Marie’s waiting,” and beats a hasty retreat.
I watch him go, then look up at Felix. “That was—”
“A little extra?” He winces. “Sorry. I might have gotten carried away with the whole caveman vibe.”
“It was a ten out of ten moment.” I rise up on my toes and press a kiss to his cheek, not caring who’s watching. “Thank you.”
His eyes darken, and for a moment, I think he might kiss me for real. But then he smiles and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Anytime you need someone to tell your ex that he’s a douchebag, I’m your guy.”
I laugh, feeling about a hundred times lighter than I did when I walked into the ceremony a few hours ago. “Can we go home?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” he says with a giant sigh of relief.
He tucks my elbow into the crook of his arm as we head toward the parking lot, and I let myself bask in the contentment I feel at this moment. Maybe I don’t have to have it all figured out right now. Maybe it’s okay to lean on someone while I find my footing.
Maybe—and this is the scariest thought of all—I don’t just want Felix here tonight. I want him here tomorrow and the day after that and every day for the foreseeable future.
“What are you thinking about?” he asks as he hits the button on his key fob to unlock the vehicle.
“How happy I am right now.” The admission slips out before I can stop it. “And how much that scares me.”
He stops walking and turns to face me, his expression serious. “Being happy scares you?”
I nod. “I’ve been here before. Convinced things were good, and then—” I shake my head. “I don’t want to be hurt again.”
“Piper.” He cups my face with one hand, his thumb brushing my cheekbone. “I can’t promise I won’t mess up. I undoubtedly will, because I’m an idiot when it comes to this stuff. But I can promise I’ll show up when you need me.”
The sincerity in his voice makes my chest ache. “That’s a pretty good promise.”
“It’s the only one I know how to make.” He leans down until our foreheads touch. “Is it enough?”
I can hear the faint sounds of the reception as we stand here together—laughter and music and the clink of glasses. The mountains are steady in the distance, and the first stars have appeared in the darkening sky.
And Felix Barlowe is here, wearing a too-tight suit, having crashed my high school friend’s wedding just to make sure I didn’t have to face it alone.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “It’s enough.”
His smile is brilliant and beautiful and aimed directly at me. “Good. Now let’s pick up Ellie and go home.”
“Home,” I echo, the word taking on extra meaning when it involves the three of us.
Sure, my life is a mess. I don’t have a job, I’m living in my childhood home with the father of my baby—who I’m pretty sure I’m falling for—and I’m carrying enough emotional baggage to fill a cargo plane.
But right now, I’m happy, which is also enough.