Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Holding Piper’s hand felt right.
Sullivan was feeling things he had never expected to experience with any woman.
Because of the household he had grown up in, he had always guarded his emotions carefully.
He played everything close to the vest. Never let others know what he was truly thinking.
He didn’t want to play any games with Piper, though.
They shuffled through the sand, the dunes thick and hard to slog through.
Once they reached where the water had washed ashore, however, the tightly packed sand was hard and much easier to navigate.
He kept Piper’s hand in his as they strolled along the beach in silence for several minutes, the only sound being the waves moving in and out.
Then he said, “I want to get to know the real Piper Roberts.”
“You think I’m going to reveal all my secrets to you?” she asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Then you’ll have to do the same, Mr. Shepherd. So, what’s your favorite color?”
“Gray,” he responded.
Her nose crinkled. “Gray isn’t a color. Colors are vibrant. Rich. My favorite is teal. It’s bright. Electric. Eye-catching.”
“Gray is a color,” he insisted. “A neutral one. It’s soothing to me. Actually, soft, muted colors are who I am. The colors I’m drawn to.”
“I would say that you’re drawn to the colors of the sea,” she observed. “You should commission Keaton to paint a picture of the bay, showing all those colors.”
“Not a bad idea. It would be a nice reminder of my time in Driftwood Bay. What’s your favorite food?” he countered.
“Seafood,” she replied without missing a beat.
“Let me tell you, when you order it in places such as Kansas City or Phoenix, it’s not the seafood you get here in the Bay.
I never knew how spoiled I was growing up, eating the freshest shrimp.
The most tender grouper and different varieties of snapper. What do you like to eat?”
He paused, wistfulness spreading through him.
“Anything from Maine. Memaw was a terrific cook. Maine produces the most blueberries in the US, and she made an amazing blueberry cobbler. She could also fry up oysters like nobody’s business, and she baked the best brown bread and cooked the sweetest chowder I’ve ever eaten.
I’d give anything to sit at her kitchen table one more time and feast on everything she cooked. ”
“My mom is a great cook. She can whip up something delicious out of only a few ingredients. I really love her fried chicken and meatloaf. And her pancakes are the fluffiest ever.” Piper laughed. “You’re making me hungry, and I’m still stuffed from dinner.”
“What kind of movies do you enjoy watching?” he asked.
“Mysteries. Or crime dramas. Most of the productions I’ve appeared in have been musicals, with just a few plays thrown in.
I never had an opportunity to act in a mystery.
Not many have been written for the stage.
I like to see how they unfold. Try to put the pieces together and solve the puzzle before the big reveal. ”
She studied him. “That sounds more like what you might lean toward. As an architect, you plan things on paper. I can see you enjoying trying to construct a timeline and figure out who the murderer is. Am I right about that?”
He grinned. “Nope. Not even close. I’m into science fiction and dystopian novels and movies. I guess I’m curious about what our future holds and how mankind always seems to screw everything up. What do you like to do for fun?”
“Being on the road all the time, I couldn’t pursue hobbies.
No painting or crafting. It would’ve been too hard keeping supplies on hand.
We had to keep our luggage to a minimum.
So, I spent a lot of time reading. I also love to dance, but I couldn’t take dance classes while traveling.
That’s why I got into fitness and made dance part of my exercising, especially Zumba.
I like the energy exercise brings, plus it helps with stamina, having to stand onstage for hours.
I didn’t have a lot of time to myself as I traveled, though.
I tended to be around others so much that I valued the time I had away from them.
Reading allows me to get lost in different worlds.
Then again, I’ve been a reader since I started school. ”
“Do you have a favorite book, Piper?”
Sullivan watched her face, seeing it flush at his question, and she said, “I like to read romances. I have since high school. I enjoy the struggle of two people coming together. Learning about one another. Figuring out how to solve the obstacles which keep them apart. I find satisfaction when they reach their HEA—the happily ever after. It’s a nice payoff and just makes me feel good. ”
“I’ve never read a romance novel before,” he admitted.
“Not many guys have. They could probably learn a lot from them if they did so. How to treat a woman. How to really listen to her. How to be a good partner. How small, simple gestures mean the most. Women read romances because they don’t have any romance in their own lives. My favorite genre is Regency romance.”
He frowned. “Why? What’s it about?”
“It’s a time in England’s history when King George the Third was experiencing bouts of madness.
His son became Prince Regent and ruled in his stead.
It’s set against the background of the Napoleonic Wars.
” She smiled shyly. “I guess I’m a sucker for a pretty gown and a heroine who dances in a ballroom with a handsome rogue she’s secretly pined for. ”
He squeezed her fingers. “So, you’re telling me you’re attracted to bad boys?”
“Only on a fictional page. In real life? I suppose I’m looking for someone who’s steadfast. Loyal.
Honorable. Actually, that’s what those rogues turn out to be in the romances I read.
The heroine doesn’t just tame the wildness in a rake.
She brings him to his knees. The hero figures out she’s what’s been missing in his life, and he falls head over heels in love with her. ”
“Have you ever been in love, Piper?” he asked, preparing for whatever her answer might be.
“No,” she said wistfully. “Maybe it’s because I’ve read too many of those romances.
Real life doesn’t stack up. Sure, I had crushes on guys growing up.
Mostly, I’ve had relationships with fellow actors over the years because they’re the only men I’ve been around.
But love? I haven’t been lucky enough to be touched by it. ”
She worried her lip, causing desire to flicker in him. He wanted to take her into his arms and give her that storybook romance she craved. He fought the urge and kept silent, though, allowing her to unburden herself to him.
When she spoke again, he saw tears misted her eyes.
“Layne and Mila have been my closest friends—my sisters of the heart—since forever. I’m thrilled they’ve found real love with partners they not only care for, but men of good character.
It’s a little tough, though, to be left out.
It’s as if they got invited by their Prince Charmings to the most magical ball ever, while I’m sitting at home alone. ”
Sullivan wished he could be that hero in real life for her, but her future was in the Bay, while his was anywhere but on the Texas coast.
“You’ll find the man you’re looking for,” he told her, hating the fact that she would someday.
And that it wouldn’t be him.
“You’re a wonderful person, Piper,” he continued. “Exuberate. Outgoing. Caring. Smart. You’ll find the right guy, the man who deserves you.”
“Have you ever been in love, Sullivan?” she asked.
“Not even close. You’re right about me. I live in a different world from others. Most women I’ve dated—no, gone out with because dating implies a relationship—have been pretty shallow. They care about how much I make. Who my parents are in society. It’s a false world.”
“Then why do you stay in it?” she asked, frowning. “It sounds really depressing and disappointing. You’re never going to find happiness if you’re stuck doing things you don’t want to do with people who don’t interest you.”
He didn’t have an answer for that. Piper was exactly right.
In a moment of rare transparency, Sullivan said, “My grandparents were my rock. My touchstone with what the world was truly like, not the limited society I was exposed to in Manhattan. After they died, I told myself to simply go along to get along, as far as my parents were concerned. I did everything they wanted. In return for not rocking the boat, they pretty much ignored me. Left me alone. Father worked long hours and traveled a great deal. Mother had all her charity affairs to organize and lunched with ladies. I was more an afterthought to them, not a reality. They went their ways. I went mine.”
She looked at him, obviously shocked. “You’re right.
I can’t relate to that at all. I’m so close to my mom and dad.
They’re two of the best people I know and still madly in love after decades together.
I guess I’ve witnessed the example they’ve set—and it’s what I want for myself and the man I love.
I want to find someone who’s values are similar to mine, a man who enjoys his job but enjoys coming home to his family even more.
I need someone to share the big and little things in life.
A guy who is a good husband and an even better father.
I think that’s why I was drawn to returning to the Bay.
Because if I’m going to find that, it’ll be here. ”
She took a long breath and released it. “I’m not someone who needs to go travel the world.
I learned that Wizard of Oz lesson and know what I truly want in life is in my own backyard.
My bucket list is small, and at the top of it?
Vacationing in the mountains. We drove through them several times over the years in Denver and few other places, but I would’ve loved to stop for a week.
Hiked. Fished. Just sit on the porch of a cabin and enjoy the majesty of the mountains.