25. A Girl Can’t Keep Track of Everything
IT”S TAKING EVERYTHING I have to hide my true reaction to Piper’s story. I knew when she started I was going to struggle, but I owed it to her to listen. She knows about all my demons, and I need to know all hers.
The problem is, I want to do something much worse than sending a few thousand volts through a nut sack. But I have plenty of time to consider how I want to handle this, so I try to push it aside. Tonight is about us. About our first night together in our home. Granted, the home is unfinished, but I”m hoping she can see the potential.
I press a kiss to her forehead before forcing my arms from around her body. I can”t let her go completely, so I take her hand in mine. “Let”s go upstairs.”
As Levi and Niko promised, all Piper’s things are neatly stacked in the entryway. Her lips curve into a little smile as we walk past her dresser and nightstand, and the strangling squeeze in my chest eases the tiniest bit.
My blood is still boiling though, and I don’t want to ruin this moment. Don’t want to look back on tonight and only remember my rage. So I fall back on the one thing I know will help me relax.
Leading her up the stairs, I watch every step Piper takes, settling a little when there”s no sign of a limp. I”ve been able to keep a close eye on her the past handful of days. Whenever we stopped for food or gas, I made sure to grab ice for her ankle, so at this point it hasn”t been swollen in days. Knowing that’s because of me taking care of her cools the anger coursing through my veins.
Once we hit the landing, I direct her to our room. Currently, there”s nothing in it. The contractors I hired while we were gone cleared it out so they could hang and finish the drywall and lay down the rich teal paint she chose.
I watch her face as we step inside, basking in the bright glow of her smile as she does a slow spin, taking in the space. “The color looks so good.” Her eyes lift. “And painting the ceiling to match the walls makes it feel so cozy and calm.”
I”ve been interested to see how her idea of painting the entire room—ceiling, walls, and trim—the same color would flesh out, and she was right. It looks fucking fantastic. To be honest though, she could shit in her hand and smear it across everything and I would think it was perfect. As long as she”s happy and has the home she wants.
A little more of me relaxes when she peeks into the master bathroom and discovers the finishing touches I’ve been ignoring have been finally completed. The room was probably the most complete room in the house, but it was still missing paint on the walls and the tile on the floor.
She sucks in a breath as she flips on the light. “Oh my gosh. I knew this was gonna look good when it was done.” She turns to me, eyes bright. “It is so pretty.”
When I first started working on this place, I”d planned to just have a shower, toilet, and sink in this bathroom, but Christian wouldn”t fucking shut up about ‘buyer expectations’ and how kitchens and bathrooms sold houses because wives are who bought them. I wasn”t so much worried about resale, but the wife part did catch my attention, so I followed his advice and added a soaking tub. And, based on the look on Piper”s face, I owe him a beer.
Or two.
I go to the tub, running a hand around the inside to make sure it”s as clean as it looks. I hired one of Christian’s friends to do the work, so I know they left the place cleaner than they found it, but I still want to be sure. Like I expect, there”s not a speck of dust anywhere inside, making them well worth every penny I paid them.
It was a lot of fucking pennies, too. But all they were doing was sitting there staring at me. I finally realized all the money in the world wouldn”t keep me from becoming my father.
I”m the only one who can do that.
I plug the drain and twist on the faucet, holding my hand under the stream to make sure the temperature’s right before straightening and turning to Piper. “Why don”t you take a—”
She’s three steps ahead of me. Her hair’s already pulled up with the elastic that was around her wrist and she’s wrestling her shirt over her head while kicking off her shoe. Once her brace is off, Piper shuffles past me as she wiggles out of her jeans.
“I have some bubble bath down in the stuff they pulled out of my bathroom. Could you grab it for me?” She flashes me a grin. “I would totally get it myself, but I”m already wet.” She sloshes one foot into the water to keep her claim from being a lie.
Pinching her chin with my fingers, I lean in to steal a quick kiss. “I will get you anything you want, Sugar.” I push a loose bit of hair away from her face. “Whenever you want it.”
She rolls her eyes, but doesn”t argue, and I relax a little more. Piper knows me well—maybe better than I know myself—so I wouldn”t be surprised if she understands that, after what I”ve just learned, I need to take care of her.
I hurry down the stairs, going straight to the box marked bathroom. After flipping the top open I sift through the contents. There”s a few different kinds of bubble bath, so I pick the one with the emptiest bottle, hoping that means it’s her favorite. I”m getting ready to turn when I see something else in the box. I stop long enough to collect a few more items before hustling back to the second floor, taking the steps two at a time.
I pause at the smaller room we’ll be sleeping in until Piper picks out the carpet she wants in our bedroom, dropping the additional items onto the floor beside the mattress before rejoining her in the bathroom where I pour a tablespoon of lavender scented gel directly under the faucet.
Piper lifts her toes out of the water as the bubbles begin to form. She gives me a seductive smile. “You should get in here with me.”
I lean down, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Next time. I need to put fresh sheets and blankets on our bed.” I kiss her on the tip of her nose as she pouts at me, but I hold firm. “I”ll be back in a few minutes.”
Leaving her to relax, I collect my spare sheets. It takes longer than it should for me to change the bedding, but I know sleeping on a mattress on the floor isn’t what any woman dreams of, so I want them to be as perfect as I can get them.
Once everything is in place, I go back into the bathroom and find Piper is already climbing out of the tub. Small bits of hair have fallen loose and cling to her flushed skin as she towels off. I”m a little surprised she”s already out, but the pink of her body and cheeks makes me wonder if there”s a reason. A reason that’s my fault. “Was the water too hot?”
She swipes at her damp brow. “I normally like it really hot.” She wraps the large towel around her body. “I think I”m still just feeling a little weird from all the driving.”
“You”re probably exhausted.” I scoop her up because I don”t want her walking barefoot across the subfloor since I haven”t had the chance to make sure it”s free of debris after the drywallers and painter did their job. Piper relaxes against me as I carry her out of our bedroom and into the spare, settling her onto the mattress. My clothes have also been moved from the closet in the master to this room, so I grab one of my T-shirts and pull it over her head, working the towel from under her as she wiggles the T-shirt down her body.
Once it”s in place, she lets out a sigh. “That”s better. I was really hot.”
I adjust the pillows behind her back, making sure they support her properly. “Lean back and relax. I”m going to get some ice for your ankle.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but seals her lips together and gives me a small nod.
That simple confirmation, that she understands where my head’s at, has me leaning in to steal her lips in a lingering kiss. When I pull away, her eyes are a little dazed and her mouth is slightly plumped. The sight steals my breath and maybe my common sense. Having her here, wearing my clothes, laying in my bed, letting me take care of her because she knows it”s what I need, draws a confession from me. “I love you.”
I don”t mean to say it, but I wouldn”t take it back if I could.
All these years, I thought I wasn”t getting what my brothers had because I didn”t deserve it. Now I know the truth. I didn”t have it because I hadn”t found her yet. And she is worth every lonely night I endured.
Piper gives me a slow smile, her hand toying with the front of my T-shirt. “Does that mean I”m getting a raise?”
It’s not the response I expected. It”s better, and has my head tipping back on a loud bark of laughter. No one but her could make me laugh so soon after all I just learned. That”s why I need her in my life. She’s done what no one else could.
She”s made me trust myself.
I leave her lounging and go back downstairs. While I”m in the kitchen collecting ice, I also fill her favorite insulated cup with water and grab her cell phone and charger, bringing them up with me. When I walk into the room, she”s let her hair down and is shaking it out with her left foot propped up on a pillow. When my gaze falls to her ankle, she rolls her eyes. “I knew you were gonna want me to prop it up, so I went ahead and did it so you wouldn’t get your dick in a twist.”
I pass off her drink and her phone, crouching down to plug the charger in before setting the ice on her ankle. “You know me well.”
“I should. I’ve spent the last I don”t even know how many hours with you, and it seems like I”m gonna just keep on doing it.” Her lips twitch as she tries to look serious. “Which would probably be an issue if I didn”t love you back.”
I move to collect the extra items I brought up with the bubble bath. “Seems like you kinda dodged a bullet then.”
“Seems like.” Piper takes a long draw from her cup and thumbs through her phone. “What kind of flooring do you want to put downstairs?” She taps her screen a few times before turning it toward me. “I was thinking maybe something like this.”
I give it a quick glance, but it doesn”t really matter what it looks like. “Perfect.”
Piper laughs. “You barely glanced at it.”
I settle onto the bottom of the bed, propping her right foot up on my knee. “I looked at it. It”s tile.” I grab the first of the three small bottles in my lap and twist off the top. “Black-and-white tile.”
Piper groans. “Fine. You looked. You just didn”t look long.”
I carefully remove the excess liquid from the brush before gently grasping her big toe. “And how long exactly do I need to look?”
“A minimum of five seconds.” Piper leans toward me. “What in the heck are you doing?”
I stay focused on my task. “I”m polishing your toenails.” I carefully lay a stripe of base coat down the center of her nail. “It probably won”t be as nice as the professionals can do, but I figure if I can paint a car, I can paint a toe.”
While I painstakingly put her fully back the way she was before we went to Arkansas, Piper scrolls through her phone, occasionally showing me pictures as we talk about our plans for the house. It makes me glad I was so fucking stubborn and so set in my ways. If I’d finished my house three years ago, I would have simply let Christian pick everything out and it would be just like his. The kind of house that would remind Piper of a shitty part of her life and the jackass I plan to hunt down.
And then I’d have to burn the whole thing down and start over.
But now we get to finish it together. We get to make it the home neither of us had.
By the time Piper’s nails are dry, she’s yawning hard every few minutes. I switch off the light and tuck her in before going to shower. Then I come back and slide in behind her, curling my body around hers, one arm at her waist, listening to her soft breaths as I fall asleep.
I JOLT AWAKE to a familiar sound echoing down the hall. I’m up and moving, racing into the master bedroom as Piper retches again. She struggled with the drive to and from Canada, so hearing her throw up is nothing new.
But we’re not driving right now.
The door’s ajar so I push it the rest of the way open and drop down to the tile next to where she’s kneeling in front of the toilet. Her dark hair is everywhere, so I carefully work it away from her face as she takes gasping breaths. “Slower, Sugar. Gotta get that air all the way in.”
I look around for the hair tie she had last night, finding it hooked around her wrist. Sliding it free, I wrap it around the haphazard ponytail I collected before lowering my hand to make slow circles on her back.
“I feel terrible.” Piper drops back to her ass then lays back against the cool tile floor, slinging one arm across her eyes. “If I could just throw up it would get better.”
I glance into the bowl. “You didn’t throw anything up?”
She shakes her head, whole arm moving with the action. “Just dry heaves.”
I take in her pale skin and sweaty brow, my gaze swinging to the empty toilet and then back to her again.
“I think that food we had on the way home last night was bad.” She licks her lips as her nostrils flare. “I think it gave me food poisoning.”
I swallow hard, ignoring the sensation unfurling in my gut. “Piper, I’m gonna ask you a question, and I need you to think about it before you answer.” My breathing picks up until I’m panting almost as hard as she is. But while hers is from sickness, mine is from something else.
Excitement.
I know I shouldn’t be feeling it, but hell if I can stop it.
She moves her arm just enough so she can peek out at me. “What?”
I reach out to smooth back her hair, unable to keep myself from touching her in this moment. “When are you supposed to get your period?”
Her eyes slowly widen like the thought hasn’t occurred to her.
Or maybe like it terrifies her.
I hold my breath, waiting to see which one it is.
She lifts her arm, eyes locking on the smart watch at her wrist. Her already pale skin drains even more as she slowly looks my way. “Shit.”