47. Piper
PIPER
Danielle Pepper Fan Club
Trina Dunn: All right, I managed to snag an early copy. Thoughts in the comments.
Comments:
Dana Holden: WHAT!!! How did you get one and I didn’t? I don’t even wanna know what you think! I bet you hated it.
Trina Dunn: Actually, I didn’t. I was always saying that her novels felt juvenile, but after some thought, I felt like she was just pretending with a lot of this.
This one is a turn for her. It still had moments that felt odd, especially with the smut, but the bond between them felt like it was coming from someone who fell in love.
Not just someone pretending to know what love is.
Judy Cohen: She had a change of heart! Finally!
Theo crashed after the town hall—hard. Kelsey opened the coffee shop back up and I let Theo sleep as long as he needed to.
Once I knew Kelsey had it, I did the same thing.
There had been many times in my life where I’d experienced a lot of emotion, and sleeping it off was always a good start.
The next thing I did was make an appointment with Scarlett.
Her jaw slowly opened more and more as I caught her up. When I was finally done, she was quiet for a long time.
“What the actual fuck?”
I blinked. “Uh, is that because I did something wrong or just shock in general?”
She seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts. “No, I’m sorry. That was . . . a lot to go through. Your friend’s decision regarding something he disagreed with was to try to out Theo? Are you kidding me?”
“I’m not.”
“That’s so . . . fucked up. And I know I should say more, but I can’t imagine thinking that’s the right course of events.”
“Me either.”
“And the way you fought for Theo, that’s really brave of you, Piper.”
“I feel like I shouldn’t have yelled. Or let it get this far. But I tried.”
“Telling him might have helped, but I’m genuinely concerned for Joey’s mental health and his desire to control you.”
“He says he cares.”
“Right, but it’s on his terms. Not yours. You’re a human being. You can make mistakes. You can do things your friends disagree with. But that doesn’t justify what he’s done.”
I closed my eyes. It helped to hear that I wasn’t entirely in the wrong. “I don’t want to talk to him now. I’m not sure I ever will again.”
“That’s within your right. Even if you did, he would need to prove he can change. From what you’ve told me, he thinks he did the right thing.”
I had no idea what he thought now. Mitch had messaged me, telling me that he didn’t think Joey should have done what he did. I had blocked Joey’s number after he wouldn’t stop calling, because I was not in the position to talk.
He’d keep trying too. And I couldn’t do it.
“How is Theo?” Scarlett asked.
“Asleep. He’s exhausted after all of that.”
“That’s expected. It sounds like both of you handled it well, and that brings me to something else I wanted to talk about in this session.”
“The last time you brought something up, you suggested we meet more often,” I said with a laugh.
“I was going to suggest the opposite. I think we could reduce our sessions.”
“Oh. Really? Are you sure?”
“You’ve come a long way. We could continue as we are, but you have the tools now where you don’t need me as much.”
“Wow. That would be great.” I wanted to be happy, but a thought popped up in my mind. “And after? What if I keep getting better?”
“Then we can stop sessions entirely.”
“Oh.” I blinked and looked down.
She cocked her head to the side. “Why ‘oh’?”
“You’re a part of my life. I know I pay you to help me, but it feels like losing a friend.” After I said it, I let out an awkward laugh. “That might be a little weird.”
“No, it’s definitely not. Despite us having a working relationship, I’ve become a part of your support system. It’s okay to be sad that it’s changing. But for now, we’ll still see each other, and if we do end our sessions, my door is always open if you ever need me again.”
I nodded. “I know. Thank you so much for all you’ve done for me.”
“You’re very welcome. But I also want to say you need to thank yourself for all you did. It’s been amazing to watch how you’ve grown.”
A warm feeling settled in my stomach, pushing away some of the sadness. “Yeah, I really should.”
“What the absolute fuck happened to me?”
I turned from where I was reading to see Theo had finally woken up. His hair was a mess as he rubbed his eye. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”
“Is it even morning?” he asked.
“No. You slept about sixteen hours.”
“Fuck. I should’ve opened the shop hours ago. And I needed to—”
I stepped in the way of his path to his car keys. “Kelsey opened the shop. Paxton came in for extra hours. Business is as usual, and you needed the sleep.”
“Wait, really?” he asked. “You handled that? You needed rest too.”
“And I got it. Someone else needed more.”
Theo blew out a breath. “Yeah, you’re right. Thank you.”
I smiled up at him before propping up on tiptoes to kiss him. “Want some coffee?”
“You made it?”
“No. Kelsey hasn’t outright banned you, and I know mine wouldn’t be up to your standards.”
“I would try it.”
“And be miserable. Come on. We can even see how things are going.” I turned to go toward the door, but Theo caught me and wrapped his arms around my midsection. “What are you doing?”
“I love you,” he said. It wasn’t the first time those words came out of his mouth, yet it made my heart skip a beat hearing it even now.
“Love you too,” I managed to reply.
His arms tightened. “I never imagined that love would be this . . . easy. But with you, it feels like it fits.”
“It feels the same for me.”
“Good.” Lips pressed to my temple before he finally let me go. I turned around and smiled at him before we got into his car and drove to the coffee shop.
It was the afternoon, and while I didn’t expect it to be busy, I knew there would be at least a few customers.
But when we walked in, I saw someone that hadn’t been in before.
“T-Tammy,” Theo said. “Hey.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Kelsey asked, pointing a finger in his direction. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“He got plenty of rest,” I assured. “And we’re only here for coffee.”
She frowned and her mother laughed. “I’ve never heard her sound more like me. I’m so proud.”
“You work just as much.”
“Hey, I took the day off. And I’m here to finally try the coffee.”
“You are?” Theo blinked, disbelief in his voice. “Even after yesterday?”
“Yeah. It’s nice knowing where you came from. I thought long and hard about it—”
“I yelled at her,” Kelsey interrupted.
“Which we had one hell of a talk about, young lady.” Tammy crossed her arms and glared at her daughter. “But she told me what kind of boss you are. She has been, but it means more now, I think. I’m glad you told us everything.”
“And now I get to see your face when you try this.” Kelsey set down a cup. “This is gonna change your life.”
“Not much changes this old lady.” Tammy rolled her eyes and picked up the drink. I leaned in, as did Theo. Tammy took a long, slow sip.
“So?” Kelsey prompted.
Tammy groaned. “God fucking dammit. This is good.”
“I told you!”
“You did.” Tammy sighed. “I heard that you sell your blend.”
“I-I do.”
“Mind if I buy it? I should really up my coffee game in the shop.”
Theo went entirely still, and Tammy raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t mind him,” I said. “He’s in shock. The answer is yes. Once he processes this, he’ll reach out.”
Tammy laughed. “He’s so easy to shock. What a cutie.”
She took her cup and said her goodbyes before walking out the door. I patted Theo’s head before getting our own coffee from Kelsey.
“How long do you think he’ll be out of it?” Kelsey added with a laugh. “Is this a terrible time to mention I’ve decided to be a ten-foot clown on stilts?”
“Oh, I’ll join you.”
“What the fuck are you two even talking about?” Theo muttered, shaking his head. “Shit, I have a ton to do. Sourcing enough for both Tammy and Riley? Jesus, I’ll never be behind the counter again.”
“What a shame.” Kelsey rolled her eyes. “I happen to like this spot, and Paxton makes drinks just as good as you do.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Theo gave me a kiss on the cheek before walking to his office. I knew I wouldn’t see him until later.
“So,” Kelsey said, “do you have any writing to get done?”
I blew out a breath. “I have other stuff to work out first. Like the fact that my agent is also my friend and is intertwined with the man who tried to ruin Theo’s life.”
“Oh, him.” She smiled, but it wasn’t a kind one. “Can I get his number? For . . . reasons.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got this.”
“You’re a badass.” She looked at my cup. “Want a free shot of espresso?”
“Oh my God, please. I’m gonna need it.”
Once I was armed with far too much caffeine, I went to my usual spot and sat. An email from Mitch waited for me, and the headline was him asking to talk.
I didn’t want to do this, but I did anyway.
Piper
Are you free now?
Mitch
Yes. Call when you’re ready.
I swapped to the phone app and hit call.
“Hey,” Mitch said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Where are you?”
“The Reserved Bean.”
He nodded. “I thought I recognized that wall. Good for you being out of the house after . . .” He sighed and looked away. “Look, I . . . I’m sorry about everything that happened.”
“Me too,” I said. “I should have told you two about Theo’s past, but I was afraid Joey would either never leave or try to get me to move back, which is exactly what he did.”
“Yeah, it was.”
“It’s a form of control, and I don’t want to live like that anymore.”
I wondered if Mitch would disagree since Joey was his fiancé. Instead, he sighed. “He’s like that with me too.”
“What?”
“Protective to the point of fault. I don’t know if it helps, but I’ve seen it. He doesn’t want me to go out to a bar with friends after work, or if I do, he has to join.”
“So he’s controlling you too.”
“Yes,” he replied. “And I wasn’t thrilled about it, but I thought I could handle it. Then he went so far as to try to ruin things with you and Theo. And when I needed space, he tried to stop me from leaving too.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t call to make you feel any worse than I do. I’d love to stay your friend, but I completely understand if you’re entirely done with this part of your life. At the very least, I can be your agent and remain professional. I hope we can at least be that.”
“We can be friends, Mitch. Of course we can.”
“Thank God. I . . . I don’t think Joey’s an evil person, but he has to get over this need to protect everyone. I told him to talk to someone about it, and I’m staying with my mom right now.”
“You guys broke up?”
“Yes. It can’t go on like this.”
My heart broke for my friend. “It can’t, but for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing.”
“You know, I look up to you a little bit. You were miserable, but you made things happen for yourself. That’s amazing, Piper. I’m so happy for you.”
My eyes shut and a smile made its way onto my face. “That’s . . . Thank you, Mitch.”
“No, thank you. You were more forgiving than I deserve.”
“We were both in a bad position. We did our best.”
“And it’s gonna get better from here.”
“Exactly.” I looked out onto the square of Strawberry Springs. “That’s always my goal.”