Chapter 27
Two months later, they remained at an impasse, and the strain wore on both of them. They had taken to baiting each other into ending the stalemate, with no success other than to drive the other crazy.
Paley had started wearing her workout gear nearly round the clock, to garden, to cook, to serve breakfast and supper. Piedmont pretended not to notice and paid for it by twice running into walls and once falling off the treadmill.
Piedmont first tried to woo her with gifts—flowers, chocolate, even a bottle of expensive vanilla. Next he turned to physical touch, sliding his fingers gently along her forearm when they sat together on the couch, sifting his fingers through her hair. Mentally, they were ready to snap. Physically, they were hanging tough.
Now Piedmont was about to play his first league baseball game with the other partners. He was nervous and trying not to be.
“You’re going to do fine. Your batting is really coming along. You’ve gotten better in each practice,” Paley said.
“Thank you,” Piedmont said, a bit snappishly. He should be happy she was fully clothed in shorts and a t-shirt, her hair in a ponytail and topped with a baseball cap, but it was a reminder of the first day he met her and his heart pinged, wanting to reach out, to draw her close, to end the ridiculous standoff once and for all.
Too soon they arrived at the baseball field and were met by Arthur. “It might be a wash; we don’t have a pitcher.”
“I don’t know how strict your rules are, but I could pitch,” Paley volunteered.
“Brilliant,” Arthur said, leading her forward to present to the umpire.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Someone from the opposing team stepped forward. “We’re going to trust Piedmont’s girlfriend to pitch? No offense, Paley.” It was Thomas, the District Attorney and Piedmont’s good friend. Paley had also gotten to know him over the last few weeks of discussing Aaron’s case, as well as the case of her captor.
“Offense taken, Thomas. I baked you scones. That’s like becoming blood brothers in my world,” Paley said.
Arthur laughed. “It’s either Paley or no game, Thomas.”
“Are you scared?” Piedmont taunted.
Thomas put his hands up. “Fine, Paley it is.”
“No more scones for you,” Paley said, making a slitting motion across her throat. She still held Piedmont’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “A kiss for luck?”
“You’re diabolical,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head before trotting to the dugout.
No one but Piedmont had ever seen Paley pitch before, and therefore no one but him knew how badly she cheated, tossing as many easy lobs to his team as she could get away with and pitching no hitters to the opposing team, all while making it look like she wasn’t.
“I’m fairly certain you cheated,” Thomas accused when the game was over.
She shrugged. “I’ve always been an inconsistent pitcher. What can I say? I’m just a girl.”
“You’re a cheater,” Thomas insisted.
“Prove it, counselor,” Paley said.
“You owe me double scones,” Thomas said, putting her in a headlock.
“Roughing the pitcher, foul, penalty,” Piedmont said, removing her from his clutches.
“My hero,” Paley said, jumping on his back.
“I’ve never carried a girl on my back before,” he said.
“We’ll put it on the list and scratch it off,” Paley said. He carried her to the car and held the door for her. “Are you sure you want to go tonight?”
“I’m sure I don’t, but it’s my first function as a partner, so it’s rather vital I attend,” he said. “But if you’re adamant, I can get us out of it.”
“No, I’m good. I bought a new dress.”
He groaned. “It’s no doubt going to be gorgeous and tempting.”
“It’s strapless,” she agreed, nodding.
“You’re killing me,” he said.
“I’m trying my best,” she said.
Later that night they arrived at the same hall where they attended their first event together. “Déjà vu,” Paley said as they stood at the entrance to the room and surveyed the landscape. She now recognized several familiar faces, including Thomas, Arthur, and Brewster. They mingled, saying hello to several of Piedmont’s friends and colleagues, and then encountered a new group, someone Paley had never met before. Piedmont tensed, and Paley wondered why until he made the introduction.
“Paley, may I introduce Biffy and Rover Huntington.”
Paley blinked twice, trying hard to force her expression to remain neutral, adamantly refusing to glance at Piedmont, lest she lose it completely. Somehow in all the months she’d been attending these events, she had avoided meeting the famed Biffy and Rover. To make matters worse, Biffy had a dog in her purse that kept popping its head out, and Rover insisted on calling Piedmont, “Old Bean.” Sensing Paley’s veneer was wearing thin, Piedmont made an excuse for them to get away and led her behind the velvet curtain where she bent over laughing. Every time she thought she had herself under control, the laughter started again.
“Her dog was cross eyed,” she said, breathlessly, bending over and clutching her stomach again. Finally, at long last, she stood up and sucked oxygen, tamping down the giggles. “How’s my mascara?”
“Not good,” Piedmont said. He cupped her face, wiping the smudges away, and then he kissed her. She responded, standing on her toes with a sound between a sigh and a whimper.
“Really,” she said when the kiss was over. “I’ve thrown myself at you in multiple different ways, and hysterical laughter was what pushed you over the edge?”
“No, it was the memory of our first time behind this curtain. When I touched your face all those months ago, that was when I realized I was in love with you.”
“My realization came later that night, when you bowled a 47 in a tuxedo,” she said.
“Weird,” he said.
“Weird is my calling card,” she said.
“I know, and I love it.” He reached for her again when someone pushed aside the curtain to reveal them.
“I wondered whose disembodied feet these were,” Thomas said. “I should have guessed.”
“Sorry,” Paley said, her cheeks going immediately pink.
“It’s okay, we’ve all taken a turn behind the curtain,” Thomas said.
“Hopefully not with Piedmont,” Paley said, and Thomas laughed.
“I was actually looking for you because your ex hashed out his plea agreement today. He’ll serve twelve months.”
“Great, thanks,” she said. “Why don’t you come over for brunch on Sunday? Bring a date.”
“Will there be scones?” Thomas asked.
“Two kinds,” Paley promised.
“I’ll be there,” Thomas said. “Carry on, young ones.” He closed the curtain and disappeared.
“I think you fit better in this world than I do,” Piedmont noted. “A good thing since you’re going to be in it for the rest of our lives.”
“Are you proposing to me behind a curtain?” she asked.
“Do you see a ring? That was merely a statement of fact,” he said. “Although it’s kind of cozy back here. What are the odds we could get away with hiding back here for the remainder of this event?”
“That’ll be our thing for the night, to see how long we can last behind the curtain before being rediscovered,” Paley said. “Although we should think up a good excuse for why we’re back here, in case it’s someone important.”
“I love how you don’t think the DA is important,” Piedmont said.
“It’s hard to think of him that way when I’ve seen his face covered in scone crumbs,” Paley said. “I meant a judge, and none of this local nonsense.”
“Federal?” he suggested.
“Higher,” she said.
“Are you trying to tell me we have to remain behind this curtain unless discovered by a member of the Supreme Court?” he asked.
“Yes, and don’t say it’s impossible because I saw two of them out there,” she said.
“Still, the odds aren’t great. We could be here a while.”
“If only we had some way to fill the time,” Paley said. “I wish I knew someone really smart to think of a solution, a genius perhaps.”
“This is your lucky night in so many ways,” Piedmont said, reaching for her again.
T hank you for reading The Baker and the Barrister, the fifth book in the Spies Like Us series.