Chapter Two
They loved being outdoors; it’s what drew them to open a high adventure company.
Their grandfather, Dane, taught them everything he knew about survival in the wild.
They would often spend weeks hiking in the mountains, kayaking down a river, and living outdoors.
After their mother died, when he and Torren were six years old, their father took off.
In twenty-four years, he and Torren didn’t hear from their father, not even a birthday or Christmas card.
They were both better for it. Their grandfather stepped in to raise them, giving them both everything they needed to become the men they are today.
When their grandfather died two years ago, Tag persuaded Torren to take a chance and open a high adventure store.
They sold everything a person could want or need to either go it on their own or take a trek up a mountain as a group.
He was damn proud of the way they invested the money that Dane left them.
Tag knew that his grandfather would have approved.
At the sound of Tag’s keys hitting the counter, Torren peeked out from the back storage room.
“Well, somebody has their shorts on a little too tight. What’s eating you today?
” Tag was used to Torren’s teasing, but he didn’t want to deal with it now.
This morning, he waited in front of Piper’s store to ask her out again.
Today was the first anniversary of the first time he asked her on a date.
He knew not to get his hopes up since she had turned him down fifty-one times before.
But today, he allowed himself some hope.
That was his first mistake. His second was sitting in her little ice cream shop, watching her bend over the huge freezers to scoop ice cream.
He had a raging boner for most of the morning.
All he wanted was a chance, but Piper wouldn’t even give him that.
Sure, he heard about the little girl whose parents were killed in New York City while on a family trip.
He even felt bad for her when he saw her around town with her aunt.
He knew what it was like to be left, but he always had Torren to talk to about his parents.
Piper only seemed to have her aunt and Sunny.
He was four years older than Piper, so he didn’t hang around with her.
There was something about her eyes that drew him to her.
She had the most beautiful, sad blue eyes he had ever seen.
She had always been tall and thin; he often wondered how she could eat so much ice cream but stay so thin.
Every time he walked into her shop, she was eating ice cream.
She usually kept her long, blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, but on Thursdays, she would let it hang loose around her face.
He loved Thursdays. When he would see Piper walking down the street on Thursday, her hair hanging loose around her face, he would catch a glimpse of that young, sad girl, and it gutted him.
He got to know both Piper and Sunny a little better over the past few years.
They even took a few trips with him and Torren in the past, but his brother was usually the guide for local day trips.
Tag volunteered for Piper’s birthday trip, wanting any excuse to be around her.
After this morning, he was having trouble remembering what the point was.
The day trip was happening this Thursday, and he was no closer to Piper agreeing to go out with him.
He wasn’t sure what his next move should be, but he knew that telling Torren would be the worst mistake ever.
“Just had a bad morning, that’s all. What were you up to?” Tag motioned to the backroom that Torren had just come from.
“I was just getting a few things together for a white-water trip. I have that group of six businessmen coming in from the East Coast today. We leave first thing in the morning. This is usually your thing, man. Why the sudden change in plans?” Torren asked.
Tag shrugged, trying to play it off. “I just needed an easy week. I guess I’m a little burnt out with all the long trips I’ve been taking lately. I wanted a change of pace.” He hoped his brother believed him, but he could tell by the mischievous glint in Torren’s eyes that he didn’t.
“Yeah, right, Tag. It wouldn’t have anything to do with the two gorgeous women who happened to book a day trip on Thursday, would it?
” Torren slapped Tag’s shoulder and walked around the front counter, grabbing some life jackets from the display wall.
Tag groaned, knowing that his brother wouldn’t let it go.
“Seriously, Bro, I think that you need to move on. Piper hasn’t given you any indication that she’s ever going to say yes. ”
Tag staggered back as if his twin brother slapped him. “How did you—”
“How did I know that you have wasted the better part of a year chasing after a woman who isn’t into you? Dude, I’m your twin brother. I know everything about you. Plus, you talk in your sleep.” Torren couldn’t seem to help his smile; he even chuckled at his brother’s expense.
“Yeah, I don’t think so. Besides, who says she’s not interested in me? I think I’m wearing her down,” Tag said.
Torren laughed, “Sure, if that’s what you want to think, Bro.
Listen, I’m just saying that there are plenty of willing women in town who would love to go out with you.
Just don’t be so blinded by one stubborn woman and not see all the other possibilities.
” Torren slapped Tag on the back again and headed back to the storeroom.
Maybe his brother was right. Maybe it was time to move on from asking Piper out week after week, only to be politely turned down every time.
How many more times could he watch the woman that he so desperately wanted smile, shake her head, and walk away?
He needed to move on. And, if that was going to be possible, he was going to need to start dating again.
He pulled out his phone and found a dating app that he knew Torren would never be caught dead on.
He downloaded it to his phone and started to create a simple profile for himself.
He didn’t want to include too much information; he thought it was best to leave something to talk about on the first date.
He added a current photo of himself from a hike he went on last week.
Done. He stood there for a few minutes debating whether he should take his profile down when Torren reappeared from the back room.
“I’m off, Tag. I’m meeting everyone at the launch site to go over everything, and I’ll be in touch every two hours while I’m gone. You good, man?” Tag nodded and tried for a nonchalant smile. Torren just laughed and waved him on his way out the door. Yeah, nonchalant was just not his thing.
After a long day at her shop, the last thing Piper wanted to do was have a girls’ night in, but she had promised Sunny and their new friend Maddie.
Jack and Maddie moved to town a few months back, and they all became instant friends.
Maddie was fast becoming someone whom Piper trusted.
That was a small circle, so Piper was grateful for the new friendship.
Sunny showed up first, bearing some yummy-looking dessert with chocolate smeared all over the top.
Maddie ran up the pathway shouting something about bringing pizza, which won her a cheer from both Sunny and Piper.
“I’ve got the wine,” Piper added. “Well, Sunny and I get wine—sorry, Mads. You had to go and get pregnant and ruin all of our fun.”
Maddie smiled and palmed her barely there bump as if it were the best thing she had ever seen. “Yeah, that’s what happens when you can’t keep your hands off your hot husband.” Sunny and Piper both groaned at their friend’s bliss, and they all filed into Piper’s cheery little kitchen.
After Lorna moved out, she and Sunny went through the house, painting all the rooms bright, happy colors.
Her kitchen was her favorite; it was a lemon-yellow color.
It reminded her of her best friend and made her smile even on her darkest days.
They took their plates piled high with food into Piper’s family room, which was painted a pretty sky blue.
In the corner, she kept her dad’s brown leather chair, which Maddie claimed.
They all sat down to devour their pizza.
Since they could never agree on a topping, they always settled for cheese pizza.
It was still good enough to groan over, which they all did.
About halfway through dessert, Sunny filled Maddie in on Piper’s day of breaking poor Tag’s heart.
“Fifty-two times,” Maddie repeated after Sunny updated the number of denials.
“I just don’t get it, Piper. You have eyes, and I’m pretty sure you can see how beautiful that man is.
Why not say yes? Unless what I have heard about you in town is true.
In which case, never mind.” Maddie seemed determined to know the truth.
There was no way Piper was going to get out of this discussion.
“I’m pretty sure I can guess what they are still saying around town.
To answer your question—no, I am not a lesbian.
Not that any of that matters, but it has nothing to do with why I keep turning Tag down.
” Piper was hoping that would be enough to keep Maddie happy.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep Sunny quiet.
Her best friend knew everything and could probably guess the reason poor Tag never got his “yes”.
“You’re just being a big chicken, Piper.
I know that you’re afraid of losing someone close to you, but we all are.
” Piper tried to interrupt, but Sunny held up her hand to stop her from speaking.
“Piper, if you don’t take a chance, you’re never really going to experience life.
Do you think your parents would want you to live like this?
Do you think your mother would want you to be alone for the rest of your life because you live in fear of losing someone?
They both would want you to be happy and in love with someone who can give you that happiness.
I know that terrifies you, but give Tag a chance.
I know you think he’s hot; I see the way that you look at him when you think he’s not watching.
Just say yes, Pipe.” Piper couldn’t stop her tears; she stood and went into the kitchen.
Maddie tried to follow, but Sunny stopped her.
“Just let her go, Maddie,” Sunny said. “She’ll be back in a few minutes and pretend that everything is fine again.
” Hearing the disappointment in her friend’s voice as she left the room tore at her heart.
But Sunny was right. She needed to get herself together and pretend that everything was all right; it was how she got through these past thirteen years.
Sunny couldn’t help but feel sad for her friend. Maddie didn’t know the whole story from Piper’s past, but she was still a good friend to them both.
“She just needs a swift kick in the ass,” Sunny growled.
She was pacing in front of where Maddie stood, trying to get her temper in check.
Sunny was usually a pretty easygoing person, but when Piper was hurting, she wanted to fix everything for her.
Piper’s phone chimed on the coffee table, pulling them both back to the present.
Sunny glanced at the incoming message and choked back her laugh.
Piper signed up for one of those dating apps, and she received a notice that someone was a match in their area.
Sunny couldn’t help herself; she picked up Piper’s phone and opened the message.
“Well damn,” Sunny said, holding up the phone for Maddie to see what she found—a message that Taggart Harrison was a match for Piper. “I could have told them both this, but no one listens to me.” Sunny shook her head and laid the phone back on the table.
“Why would Piper be on a dating app if she doesn’t want to date anyone?” Maddie asked. She had a valid point.
Sunny picked up Piper’s phone again and looked at Tag’s profile.
He was a man of few words. He said that he was looking for an “outdoorsy” woman.
Sunny was pretty sure that wasn’t even a word.
And for his ideal date, he wrote, “Someone who likes pizza”.
Yeah, Tag was a simple man. He knew what he wanted, and he just asked for it using as few words as possible.
Sunny smiled, a plan forming in her head.
She knew that these two belonged together; she just needed to make sure that they had a chance.
“How about we just give them a little push?” Sunny silenced Piper’s phone and slipped it into her pocket.
“What are you doing? Piper will know that you have her phone.” Maddie seemed a little panicked at the sight of Sunny stealing Piper’s cell.
“No, she loses this thing about five times a day. I can’t tell you how many times she’s left it in my bakery after a visit.
I’ll just leave it there when I’m finished setting up a little date between her and Tag.
She won’t even question her phone being at my place.
” Maddie’s smile told Sunny that she was on board for helping to throw Tag and Piper together.
Sunny instantly knew she liked the new girl.
“Guys, I’m sorry for my outburst.” Piper returned as if on cue from the kitchen with her eyes dried and a smile plastered on her face.
“So, what did I miss?” Piper asked. Sunny couldn’t help but laugh.
Maddie pulled Piper into a tight hug, and they all fell to the sofa to finish their desserts.
It was as if Piper’s life wasn’t about to change, but Sunny knew better.
As soon as she could get home, she was going to set up two people who deserved some happiness, and hopefully, they would find it together.
Whether Piper liked it or not, this was going to be for her own good.