11. You Had Me at Chicken Wings
BLINKING HARD, I try to clear the burning in my eyes and the blurring in my vision so I can read the bill in front of me. I”ve been burning the candle at both ends and it”s definitely starting to catch up with me. Not only do my eyes feel like sandpaper, but my entire body aches, reminding me that I am not as young as I once was.
Simon and I have stayed up late the past handful of nights, hanging drywall in the back of my house. So far we”ve got the family room, where I spend most of my time, and the kitchen finished. We started on the open entryway, but the fucker is two stories high and proving to be a pain in the ass.
I”m determined to get those rooms finished and respectable looking. And although I’m not doing it for myself—I still don”t necessarily feel the burning need to have a comfortable home—the motivation is purely selfish.
I want my place to be comfortable for Piper. Especially now that I know she doesn’t feel that way next door. I want her to have somewhere she can go and relax. Somewhere she can feel content and calm. And I want that place to also bring her closer to me. I shouldn’t but I do. The decisions I’m making will have fallout, but the more I’m around her, the less I’m starting to care.
Nancy breezes into my office, saving me from the stack of bills I”m slowly working through. She looks me over with a deep frown. ”You okay? You look like shit.”
”Thanks.” I motion to the stack of papers in her hand. ”Those more bills for me to deal with?”
She gives me a grin and a wink. ”Smart man.” She sets the stack down in front of me. ”You need anything else from me? If not, I”m gonna cut out a little early. Got some errands to run.”
I wave her off. ”Go. Maybe the next person who comes in here won”t tell me how awful I look.”
Her head tips back on a laugh. ”I doubt that.” She shoots me a smirk. ”You look pretty bad.” Nancy’s still cackling to herself as she leaves me to finish paying for paint and parts and whatever else has been ordered from my suppliers over the past thirty days. I could have set my accounts with them up to autopay, but I can”t stand not knowing where every penny that comes into this place goes. The fear of ending up with nothing again would keep me up at night. Especially since I’m not the only one who would suffer.
My business has grown exponentially over the past few years, and that growth has brought in more employees to worry about and more moving parts to juggle. The only way I keep from living in a constant state of panic is by balancing the books nearly every day. Making sure everything stays within a range I can stomach.
I thought my fear of being poor again would eventually go away, but so far that hasn”t been the case. If anything, it”s gotten worse. It feels like the more I have, the more I have to lose.
As a result, I’ve never been able to enjoy the success of my thriving business. The better it does, the more terrified I get. It”s fucking exhausting on a good day. And today isn’t a great day. I’ve got way more than letting my employees down financially weighing on my mind.
That’s why I’m in here, doing this. Maybe knowing one thing is as it should be will ease the guilt I’m carrying over what’s happened between me and Piper. What will happen between us next.
I can’t deny there won’t be more any longer. Not when I’m actively making moves to bring her into my world on a much more permanent basis.
I spend the next hour meticulously going through the bills, paying each before settling in to look over the damage. I’m barely logged into my online banking portal when there”s a tiny knock on the door frame.
The squeeze in my chest that always comes when I balance the books relaxes a little at the sight of Piper. She gives me a small smile and lifts up the insulated paper cup in her hands. ”I brought you coffee.” She walks to my desk, her slight limp a little less pronounced today than it has been. Hopefully that means she”s been taking it easy. I doubt it, but I can still hope.
She sets the cup in front of me, but doesn”t leave. Her gaze moves over my face, brows pinched in an expression that looks a lot like concern. ”You look tired.”
I pick up the coffee and swallow some down, hoping the caffeine will give me a boost. ”I am tired.”
She presses her lips together, eyeing me for a second. ”Probably because you”ve been ignoring your bedtime.”
I lift my brows, this new tidbit of an admission refreshing me way more than coffee ever could. ”And how would you know that?”
Piper rolls her eyes. She hasn”t been doing it at me as often as she used to, so I make sure to savor every one. ”Don”t flatter yourself.” She leans against my desk, bracing her fingers on the edge. ”I live right next door to you. If I need a drink at night, I”m going to notice that all the lights in your house are on.”
She tries to act nonchalant. Unfortunately, Piper is never nonchalant, and it gives her away. ”And at that point you might as well look to see what I”m doing, right?”
Her eyes open wide, like she can”t believe I made that jump. ”You go to bed at the same time every night. Seeing all your lights on that late worried me. I thought something was wrong with you.”
I lean back in my seat rocking a little. ”What I”m hearing you say is not only have you been watching me work, but you also worry for my well-being.”
Piper rolls her eyes again and it feels good to fall back into our old ways. As much as I like the sweet, soft Piper I’ve been lucky enough to catch fleeting glimpses of—especially since I’ve never seen her like that with anyone else—I fucking love snarky, sarcastic Piper. ”You took down the sheets on your windows. Of course I’m going to be curious about what”s happening.”
I nod in agreement. ”Of course.”
All the exhaustion that”s been dragging me down lifts away like fog in the sun. If Piper’s been watching what I’m doing, she likely knows my reasons for doing it. I haven’t done shit in years, and then she comes over and suddenly there’s a fire under my ass? Not a difficult conclusion to make that I’m doing this because of her. For her.
She’s quiet for a minute, head tipped down as she lines up the pens and pencils strewn across my desk. ”It looks like you”ve gotten a lot done.”
”I have.” I like that she’s lingering here. Looking for reasons to be near me. To talk to me.
I’ve done the same thing. I took full advantage of her car needing work last week, using it as an opportunity to get more time with her. But then it was done and, outside of our evening after the show, I haven”t been able to find another reason to get her alone.
Now she”s unknowingly dropped one right in my lap.
”I need to start picking paint colors and I have no idea what I should choose.” Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on the desk between us. ”Maybe I could bribe you into helping me?”
She lifts her brows, obviously interested. ”And what are you using to bribe me? Lasagna?”
I slowly shake my head. I”m not a one-trick pony, and she”s about to find out just how closely I”ve been paying attention. ”Chicken wings.”
Piper’s eyes lock onto mine, widening just enough that I know she’s surprised at my knowledge of her preferences. ”You drive a hard bargain.”
I smile because she has no idea just how good this bargain is. ”And fried pickles.”
Piper laughs, the sound filling my office the way I want it to fill my house. My life. ”You just cost yourself money. You had me at chicken wings.” The sound of the bell from the front door has her glancing over one shoulder.
She”s gotta go, but not until I lock her in. ”Wait for me after the shop closes. We”ll head out once I”m finished with all this shit.”
Piper takes a step back, moving toward the door. ”Since now you have to buy me pickles too, I might be persuaded to help.”
I keep my eyes on her, taking in my last glimpse before she walks out. ”Deal.”
The last hour of the day flies by as I plow through as much work as I can, knowing the more I get done, the faster I will have Piper all to myself with no distractions. By the time the shop is closed and Piper has finished her front desk duties, I”m filing everything away.
She comes into my office carrying the deposit bag. ”Do you want me to lock this up, or do you want to drop it off?”
Nancy usually handles the deposits, but there”s no reason to leave it for her to deal with tomorrow. ”Bring it. We’ll drop it off as we go.” I turn back to the filing cabinets. ”That way you”ll know how to do it too.”
Piper is quiet behind me. After a few seconds, she comes around my desk to where I”m sitting. Her eyes flick from the stack I”m working on to the open drawer in front of me. ”Do you need help?”
”I”m just filing all these now that they”re paid. It helps me keep track of everything when I file them as soon as I”m done.” There’s a lot to keep track of, especially considering my financial hangups, so I do my best to make sure I stay as organized as possible. That way when I need to see that everything’s fine to ease the gnawing anxiety when it creeps in, it’s an easy task instead of an all-day job.
”How do you file them?” Piper picks the top one from the stack and looks it over.
”First letter of the first word in the business name.” I glance at her. ”Unless it”s A or The.”
She nods. Attention already on the task. ”Got it.”
We spend the next few minutes filing everything away. Piper quickly learns which drawers hold which letters, and by the last few, she”s outpacing me.
Once we’re done, I turn to her. ”That was quick. You weren”t fucking around.”
She shrugs. ”You promised me chicken wings and fried pickles.” Piper makes a beckoning motion with one hand. ”Now get your ass moving, because I”m hungry.”
We walk through the shop together, flipping off lights before locking the doors and going into the lot. I press the button on the fob to unlock the doors on my Jeep. ”I”ll drive.”
I make it to the door before Piper does and open it up, holding it wide as she gets in. Once she”s closed in, I round the front to take my place next to her. My Jeep is the one thing I”ve splurged on, and it was mostly because of other people”s expectations. Driving around a twenty-year-old car, no matter how well-maintained it is, somehow gives people the impression I”m not genuinely a car guy and maybe shouldn”t be trusted with theirs.
I never particularly cared about the bells and whistles that came with the purchase, but being able to flip on the fan in Piper”s seat when the late summer heat has her cheeks flushing, brings me a ridiculous amount of satisfaction.
When cool air starts to move through the tiny holes in the leather beneath her, she lifts up to look at the spot where she’s sitting. ”Is there a fan under my ass?”
I adjust the air conditioning, angling an extra vent her way. ”Yup.”
She settles back into her seat, letting out a long sigh. ”That”s magical.”
”Good.” I like the look of her next to me. Like the way she fits so well into that spot. “Food or paint first?”
“Paint.” Piper smooths down her dark hair but the airflow from the vents continues blowing it around. “I’ll be useless after you stuff me full of wings and fried pickles.”
I turn toward the home improvement store. It’s a short drive from my shop so we’re parked and walking inside in under fifteen minutes. Piper spends another fifteen minutes at the wall of paint samples, looking each row over while explaining which colors she thinks would work best in my house.
I’m a little surprised she hasn’t yet figured out I don’t give a shit what my house looks like. This isn’t about me.
Directly.
When she’s finally finished, the stack of options is almost an inch thick and she continues sifting through them as we drive to one of the chain wing places I’ve heard her go on about. We settle into a booth and she spreads all the samples out between us. “A lot of people stick to just a few colors so their house coordinates.” Her eyes lift to mine, like she’s waiting for me to reply.
“Do you think a house needs to coordinate?”
She hesitates, but finally shakes her head and says, “No.” Her lower lip pinches between her teeth. “That’s how Christian’s house is and I think it’s kinda boring.” Piper straightens. “Not that I don’t like Christian’s house. It’s just…”
“Not the kind of house you’d want to live in.” I finish for her so she doesn’t have to feel like she’s talking shit about my friend’s design choices.
I wouldn’t care if she was. I don’t particularly love Christian’s house either. It’s too fucking perfect.
Piper’s shoulders relax. “Exactly.”
“We can paint every room a different color if that’s what you think will look the best.” I slip in the we, just to see if she notices.
“I don’t think you should go too crazy. Maybe pick colors that have a similar feel so it’s not jarring going from room to room.” She shifts around the strips between us, separating a few out to one side. “It would be nice if they felt like different rooms, but not different houses.” Piper picks up a chip in a deep, blue-based burgundy, bringing it closer for inspection. “You know what I mean?”
“I know exactly what you mean.” I pluck the color from her hand. “You seem to like this one. You keep picking it up.”
“I saw someone on Instagram paint their kitchen cabinets that color and thought it looked really pretty and unique.” She takes it back from me. “But if it’s too dark, I can pick something else.”
“Not too dark.” I take the chip back, putting it off to the side with the other colors she seems to favor. “There’s plenty of windows to keep it bright.”
Her lips twist into a little smile. “Now that you took the sheets off them.”
“Maybe I took them off so you could get a better look at what’s going on when you spy on me at night.” I reach for a dark teal color, holding it out to her as I continue. “You don’t have to watch from Christian’s house. You can always come over if you want to see what I’m doing.”
Piper takes the swatch, her fingers barely brushing mine. I’ve just given her a blanket invitation to my house and she’s going to take it. I can see it in her eyes.
“I—”
“Fancy seeing you two here.”
The familiar voice freezes me in place and my stomach drops like I’ve been caught doing something I shouldn’t be.
Technically, I have.
Nancy stands at the end of our table, eyes swinging from me to Piper and then back to me again. “Must be the night to get wings.”
“It is.” Piper’s voice sounds off. A little too sweet. “I ran into Tate at the home improvement store. He was having a hell of a time picking out paint for his house.” She leans Nancy’s way, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “You know how men are when it comes to decorating.” She scans her paint samples, shifting them around. “So I told him I’d help in exchange for wings.”
Nancy looks between us a few seconds more before giving Piper a little smirk. “Make sure he knows all greens don’t match just because they’re green.”
Piper’s head tips back on a laugh that is as fake as her claims. “I’ll do my best.” She gives Nancy a little wave. “See you tomorrow.”
I watch Nancy walk away, waiting for her to get out of earshot before leaning across the table. “You didn’t run into me in the paint aisle, Piper.”
She continues fiddling with the samples. “So? It’s not her business how we got here. We’re off the clock.”
“It doesn’t matter. We probably shouldn’t be here at all.” All the reasons I was supposed to be keeping my distance from her come flooding back. “You’re still my employee.”
Piper lifts her eyes and her brows. “So?”
“So there’s a power imbalance between us.” I rake one hand through my hair. “It could make you feel like you couldn’t tell me to go fuck myself.”
Piper’s eyes narrow on me as she leans closer, voice low and a little terrifying when she says, “If that’s what you really think, then you can go fuck yourself.”