Chapter 22
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The moment my eyes open, I know something’s wrong.
Piper’s chewing on her bottom lip, her brow furrowed as she stares at her phone screen.
She’s sitting up in bed beside me, her hair unkempt in a way that reminds my cock what we’ve been doing all night, but the sexy smile she’s been wearing is gone.
I can’t help feeling I’m to blame for whatever’s on that screen. It’s an immediate guilt that eats away at my stomach like acid.
“Hey,” I murmur.
She jumps a little. “Oh, I thought you were asleep.” She’s smiling again, but there’s pain underneath.
I raise my chin toward the phone. “What have I done this time?”
Piper’s cheeks are pink. “It’s not you. It’s nothing.”
Even though I’m still bone-dead tired from rescuing Billy yesterday, then fucking Piper six ways to Sunday last night, I sling an arm over her legs, drawing tiny circles on her hip bone through her pajamas.
“Can I see?” I ask.
“I know it’s not true,” she says firmly, but there’s still an edge of insecurity in her voice.
“You’re probably right,” I reply, even as my pulse kicks up a notch at the thought of what new bullshit the gossip mags have dredged up this time.
I turn my hand over, palm facing up in invitation, and she places the phone on it.
“Brody King’s Fake Fairy Tale: Ex-Girlfriend Says He Badmouthed Hideaway, Saw Piper as Sister.”
Fuck.
I exhale with a heavy sigh, roll onto my back, open the search bar, type in my name, and click on “News.” There are headlines and videos about my rescue of Billy yesterday, which are more than favorable. However, there are also plenty of others that make my blood run cold.
“King of Pretenders: Ex-Girlfriend Calls Brody King’s Relationship with Piper a Hollywood Fake.”
“Small Town, Big Lie: Brody King’s Ex Exposes the Fake Romance with Piper.”
“King of the Publicity Stunt? Ex Claims Cheater Brody Is Incapable of Love.”
Marisa. She has been busy.
“What should we do?”
I switch the screen off and pass it back, then sit up in bed and take her hands. “Nothing.”
“But do we have to put out a statement? A press release?”
Stroking her hands with mine, I try to soothe away her stress.
“Marisa’s hurting that I’ve moved on. On some level, she felt guilty for cheating and deflected the blame for our breakup onto me. That was okay when I wasn’t in another relationship, but now that I am, she’s lashing out.”
Piper’s cheeks flush, her gaze dropping. “So, have you … I mean, are we …”
“In a relationship?”
She nods.
I place a finger under her chin and lift it so her eyes return to mine.
“I sure hope so.”
The color in her cheeks deepens.
“If that’s what you want,” I continue.
“Yes, please.”
“Good. Because now that I’ve finally got you, I never want to let you go.”
She blinks, her eyes glassy with unshed tears, and my heart expands so much there’s not enough room to breathe.
Can I tell her I love her? Is it too soon? Will she believe me?
“Kids!” a cry comes from the hallway.
Piper jumps off the bed and opens the door a crack. “Hi, Mom. Do you want us down for breakfast?”
I pull on my gray sweatpants and adjust myself for decency, then pick up a tray from the dresser. Erica must have realized we didn’t want to be disturbed last night and left food outside our door.
“Does she want this?” I ask. “I can bring it down now if she does.”
“I’ll have that,” Erica says, opening the door wide and taking the tray from me.
“Mom!” Piper begins.
“What, honey? You’re taking a break from snuggle time. I’m not interrupting anything.”
I resist a glance at the molding where the wall meets the ceiling, trying to find the hidden cameras I’m paranoid she’s installed.
“I just wanted you to know that Judy Lowell called this morning. Billy’s mom,” Erica continues. “Apparently, Billy got out of the hospital last night and isn’t taking well to enforced rest. He’s asked if you both could visit today.”
“Of course,” Piper replies. “Unless you and Marv have another packed schedule for us today?”
“I don’t know, honey. There’s plenty going on in town, but Marv hasn’t come by yet this morning.”
“Maybe he thinks we’ve done enough to get Brody in the press?”
“Perhaps. You did create quite the stir yesterday with Billy. I expect Sonia will send you a basket of fruit.”
“Hernandez. The reporter from Down East News Now. I think she’s hoping for a call from one of the big networks after her scoop with you yesterday.”
Erica leans forward like she’s about to impart a big secret.
“And that’s another thing. Little Billy is desperate to be interviewed by her. Judy says his account of the rescue now includes a polar bear.”
I chuckle. “I told him his story had to be more exciting than what actually happened.”
Erica’s eyes widen. “Are you kidding me? Grant and Walter trekked back to retrieve Billy’s belongings first thing this morning, and—”
She thrusts the tray back into my hands, then crosses herself like she’s in church.
“What you two did … Lord bless you and keep you. Judy said you were one slip away from plunging to your deaths at the bottom of that gorge! Grant went across that fallen tree on his hands and knees. I don’t know how—”
Erica pulls a handkerchief from her pocket and dabs at the corners of her eyes.
She shakes her head. “You’re heroes, and I hope everyone knows it. You’ll be on the front page of The Almanac at the very least.”
She takes the tray back from me. “You just take your time coming downstairs, and I’ll let Judy know you’ll come by sometime today.”
As Piper closes the door behind her mom, I let out a long breath and run my hands through my hair.
I’ve just spent the last eighteen or so hours of my life either lost in Piper or dead to the world asleep.
There was no space to process the search and rescue of Billy and how fucking terrified I’d been for him.
Piper puts her arms around me and rests her head against my thudding heart.
I hold her close. Billy and Lucky are safe. We’re alive. All is okay.
“It certainly puts everything into perspective,” she says softly into my chest.
“Sure does.”
Thinking of Marisa now, all I feel is empathy. She’s not happy, but it’s not my problem. I relax into the warmth and softness of Piper in my arms. This is where I need to be. This is where I’m at peace.
“I think maybe I should turn my phone off for a few days,” she says.
“Good idea. And maybe the Google Alert with my name on it?”
Piper gazes up at me and grins. “I don’t need it anymore, now that I’ve got my news straight from the horse’s mouth.”
“You saying I’m a horse?”
She palms my cock and smirks. “Well, you are hung like one …”
I slowly shake my head and smile, then I have a thought that makes my good humor fade. “You feeling okay this morning? Not too sore?”
Her cute little nose wrinkles. “A little. To be honest, I’m surprised I can walk in a straight line after last night.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be! It was …” She blushes again but still keeps eye contact. “It was the most incredible experience of my life, and I can’t wait to do it again.”
My ego, as well as my dick, swells. “See how you feel later. I don’t want to put you under any pressure.”
“You’re not. And anyway, if we can’t have sex, I can always suck your cock?”
I take a breath as fireworks explode behind my eyes. When my vision clears, all I see is Piper’s cheeky grin.
“And if your pussy’s sore,” I rumble, “then I’m gonna kiss it better.”
She swallows.
“In fact,” I continue, reaching behind her to lock the door. “If your sweet pussy would like an appointment with my mouth, then the doctor is ready to see you now.”
Her nostrils flare as she nods.
“Good.” I undo the buttons of her pajama top, slip it off her shoulders, then palm her breasts, rolling the hardened peaks of her nipples between my fingers and thumbs.
“Now take off your pajama pants,” I growl, “and get back on that bed with your legs spread like the good girl I know you are …”
It’s afternoon by the time Piper and I are ready to leave the house.
Marv and Cara haven’t shown up, so I hope this means Cara’s on her way back to Milwaukee and Marv’s happy with whatever publicity I’ve gotten so far.
John’s out on mayoral duties, and Erica and Harper are looking at possible sites for Harper’s perfume store.
“Have you seen my phone?” I ask Piper as we’re about to leave for Billy’s house.
“Not since yesterday. Have you lost it?”
“I know I had it in the family room when we got back here from the Locke Reserve. Your mom took it from me.”
We glance around the room and spot it tucked behind a photo on the mantelpiece.
I change my number frequently, but anxiety always prickles my belly each time I look at the notifications.
For my own sanity, I’ve switched off most of them, especially now that I don’t have access to my own social media accounts.
There’s a message from Cara.
Cara: Traveling to Bangor this afternoon to fly home. I’ll be online if you need anything. Please thank Piper and her family for how kind they’ve been to me, and thank you for the holiday. You’re the best boss (and don’t tell Marv that I said that, since he’s technically my boss)!
“Cara’s on her way home, but I don’t have anything from Marv,” I say to Piper.
“No news is good news?”
I rub my forehead. “I suppose I should be grateful for small mercies. It just feels weird when he’s not all up in my business.”
“He’s a good man.”
“I know. He drives me up the wall, but he’s never steered me wrong and always has my back.”
We bundle up and leave the house hand in hand, making our way toward the center of town.
“I know so many actors who get ghosted or dumped by their agents,” I tell her.
“When they can’t land new jobs, or one doesn’t work out for whatever reason, they suddenly can’t reach their agent on the phone.
Because they’re not making the agent money, they get deprioritized.
Then it’s like they don’t exist anymore.
They aren’t invited to the Christmas party or the Fourth of July barbecue. It’s brutal.”
Piper squeezes my hand.
“Marv may be a lot of things, but he’s not like that. He’s ferociously loyal. Like a pit bull.”
“I can see that.”
“You should see him at press junkets. Agents never come; it’s usually a manager or an assistant. But I don’t have one. I just have Marv and Cara. And if a journalist starts asking questions he doesn’t like, he goes at them like a rabid honey badger.”
Piper giggles. “I can imagine.”
“He’s a short king with a big heart. We don’t often get real with each other, but I know he thinks of me and Cara like the kids he never had.”
“So you’ve changed your mind about firing him, then?”
I stop in the middle of the street so I can gaze down at her. “How could I fire him when he brought you back to me?”
Piper’s gloved hand touches my face, her lips parting like she’s about to say something, but my phone interrupts with the theme from The Godfather.
“Speak of the devil,” I say, showing her the screen.
She snorts. “The Godfather?”
“It was either that or ‘Money, Money, Money’ by ABBA.”
I take the call as Piper cackles with laughter.
“That Piper? She good?” Marv barks. “You good?”
“Yeah. We’re on our way to visit Billy.”
“He outta the hospital?”
“Yeah, and Lucky’s back from the vet as well.”
“Awesome, man. That’s great news. I just wanted to tell you Cara’s on her way home.”
“Thanks for getting that sorted. She didn’t need to be here.”
“Not when we’ve got Piper’s mom and her gang on our side.”
“Did you want us to do anything today?”
There’s a brief pause before he replies, “Nah. The Billy story’s gonna run for weeks and bury any other crap out there.”
“I saw what Marisa’s been saying.”
“Ha! She can’t beat a shirtless you, saving a little boy and a freaking puppy. She must be kicking herself after yesterday. She shoots her mouth off, and a couple hours later you turn into Wolverine after a trip to the barbers.”
I grin. “So, what about you? Going to head back to New York?”
“Dunno yet. Maybe. It’s nice here. Festive without the risk of getting mugged for your Rolex, y’know?”
Piper nudges me. “Ask him if we’ve done enough to get you the job.”
I hesitate. Yes, of course I want the job, but if I get it, what does this mean for Piper and me?
“Piper wants to—”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard. Tell her I dunno, okay?”
“Will do.”
“Okay, be good. I gotta bounce.”
When Marv hangs up, I face Piper. “He doesn’t know.”
She nods, but there’s something behind her smile—probably the same thoughts I’ve been having: If I do get the job, how can we make a relationship work when we’re on opposite sides of the planet?