Chapter 19
Nineteen
Piper stood on the beach in front of the Grand Salt Cay restaurant, clutching Gabby’s bouquet in her hands and feeling the
warm ocean breeze on her face and through her hair, listening to the vows, remembering exactly how much she loved her sister.
When Piper was five and Gabby was four, the two of them ran away together. There had been some sort of controversy over the
tyranny of broccoli at dinner, and the girls had decided to strike out on their own. Well, it was Gabby’s idea to run away.
Piper thought they should stay and simply eat the broccoli. But that was the difference between them. Piper had always loved
the comforts of home.
With tears in their eyes, but resolute, they loaded up a Hannah Montana backpack with all the essentials—stuffed animals,
snacks, and Gabby’s blanket. They started down the block and Piper had felt the need to tell Gabby one thing: I will always
love and take care of you. That was why she was there. It was also the reason she came back. Then and now. Even when it was hard.
Piper glanced at Kyle, then averted her eyes. They’d had one short interaction at the rehearsal dinner, with Bridget by his
side. He said something about her looking well. Piper said something along the lines of congratulations and asked when the
baby was due. Then he asked where her Formula One driver boyfriend was. Piper deflected like she had before, saying he was
too busy to be there. It felt a little like saying she had a boyfriend who lived in Canada or went to another school. In short,
it was awkward as fuck, but everyone was polite, and Piper knew with absolute certainty she was over everything that had happened
with Kyle. It also left her with a bit of an epiphany—it wasn’t her future she’d been mourning after the broken engagement.
It was that he’d shaken her faith in who she was. She’d grown up around love and always felt secure. She’d lived her entire
existence in her comfort zone. And then the boundaries of that were torn away, leaving her the most vulnerable she’d ever
been.
As it turned out, he might’ve done her a favor. If her foundation hadn’t been shaken, she might not have had any reason to
take Emilio up on his offer. It would’ve been easier to stick to the status quo. Out of sheer need to change something, she found the courage to get on a plane with a handsome stranger and his dog, and for a few weeks, she’d figured out that
the world really was a beautiful place, full of love.
As for her heart, it was so full of love at that moment, it was heavy. But maybe that was because she knew a lot of what she
carried around was meant for one person—Emilio, and he wasn’t there. The thought of him walking around, having no clue how
she really felt, ate at her. But she also wanted to deliver the news in person. A phone call or a text? Too impersonal. With
the hurdle of the wedding behind her in a few hours, she had to take action. Get on a plane and fly to Canada for the Grand
Prix. Or perhaps go straight to London. To tell him how she felt. To express everything she’d left bottled up inside her,
all because she’d been afraid.
The ceremony was over in a scant twenty minutes. Thank God for Gabby’s unsentimental nature.
“Thank you for being here,” Gabby mouthed, then took her bouquet and marched down the aisle, arm-in-arm with her groom.
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Piper said to no one. It still felt good to say that—she knew it to be true.
Now the biggest hurdle was the reception, where she would deliver her maid-of-honor speech. She’d practiced it so many times
she nearly had it memorized. Still, she kept her printed copy, tucked into her bra. She couldn’t afford to mess up. Piper
filed inside the restaurant with her parents and Meghan, then found her seat at the head table and grabbed a glass of champagne
to toast Gabby and Luke as they walked in through the door. They truly did look happy.
Piper downed one glass of champagne, then another, which she realized might be a mistake, but she wanted to take the edge
off before she gave her speech. As they started to bring dinner to everyone’s table, Piper decided to take her chance and
run into the bathroom while everyone was focused on food.
Meghan had the same idea. “I can’t stop peeing. It’s all I do.”
“I’ve heard it’s worse when the baby gets big and sits on your bladder.”
“I’ve heard that, too.”
They met at the sink to wash their hands, and when Piper bent over to put her hands in the water, her speech tumbled out of
her dress and fluttered right into the basin. In an instant, it was soaked. “Oh, shit. My speech.” Piper stared as the ink
blurred and the paper became translucent. “Fuck. What am I going to do?” Piper turned off the water and lifted it out of the
sink, but it was too far gone. She tossed it in the trash.
“Did you practice? Can you remember it?”
“I did. I think so? I think I can?” She shook her head as she remembered what she’d said to Emilio every time he doubted himself.
Everything you need is already inside you. “Never mind. It’s fine. I can do this.”
Rattled, but undeterred, Piper walked into the banquet room with Meghan, then took her seat to eat, running over her speech
in her head. As soon as the plates were cleared, Piper was on deck. She picked up a butter knife and clinked it against the
side of her water glass. The DJ made his way over to her with a microphone. Piper stood, surveyed the room and smiled. “Let
me tell you everything I love about my sister, Gabby.”
Gus was being so hyper in the car. Like really, really hyper. He was thumping his tail against the seat, turning in circles
and he kept trying to lick Emilio’s face. “Gus, sit. I’m trying to drive.” Emilio was happy to finally have the return of
his dog’s previous demeanor, but this was a little ridiculous. Luckily, Emilio’s final turn was ahead. He pulled into the
parking lot and found a spot, then climbed out and grabbed his jacket and Gus’s leash from the backseat.
Gus hopped right out, but when Emilio went to attach his leash to his collar, his dog—his sweet, beloved dog—made a run for
it. Like a bolt of fluffy lightning, he was gone. Straight across the parking lot. “Gus! Stop!” Emilio tore off after him.
This dog. “Gus! You’re going to ruin everything!”
“It’s been wonderful to watch Gabby and Luke fall in love, especially since I wasn’t sure my sister was capable of it. I don’t
know if any of you have noticed she’s kind of a hard-ass.” Piper paused for laughter. She was killing it. “But something about
Luke made her heart soften ever so slightly. And that’s the thing about love. You have to be open to it, or it might not show
up in your life.”
She was about to express her next thought when one of her uncles yelled, “Who let a dog in here?”
A dog? Piper glanced at Gabby, who did not seem amused. “Sounds like the party is really getting started now.” When Piper turned
her attention to where her uncle was sitting, she saw a dog heading in her direction. She knew that face. That nose. That
relentless tail. But how in the hell had Gus figured out how to swim across an ocean?
Emilio came to a stop at the entrance to the reception, breathing hard. Straight ahead, on the far side of the room, stood
Piper, holding a microphone, while Gus was on his hind two legs trying to make out with her. Emilio did not want a scene at
Piper’s sister’s wedding, but he also didn’t want Gus to ruin Piper’s dress, so he marched across the room. “Sorry to interrupt,
everyone,” he said. “This is Gus and Gus loves Piper very much.”
Thankfully, everyone laughed.
As soon as he was within a few feet of her, Emilio’s heart pounded so fiercely he thought he might be having a heart attack.
Even in a race, it wasn’t this intense, but that was what Piper did to him. He clipped Gus’s leash on his collar. Gus took
the hint and stopped assaulting Piper.
“Emilio?” She placed her hand over the microphone. “What are you doing here?”
He might have wondered if she was mad, except she had a huge grin on her face. “I’m sorry. I tried to get here an hour ago.
I’ll tell you everything later. Finish your speech.” He tugged Gus back and they found an inconspicuous spot off to the side.
Piper cleared her throat. “Well, that was exciting. For everyone who thought my Formula One driver boyfriend was a figment
of my imagination, I would like to present the evidence, Emilio Baquero. He makes quite an entrance, doesn’t he?” Everyone
laughed while Emilio felt his heart swell to twice its size. Finally, she’d called him her boyfriend.
Piper needed to finish this speech, pronto. She only hoped she wasn’t going to burst into tears as she delivered these last
few thoughts. But she decided that talking about love with Emilio in the same room was only going to be practice for what
she planned to say as soon as this speech was over.
“Luke, I need you to know you’re not just marrying a beautiful woman, you’re getting a partner with a beautiful soul. She
has the capacity to love so fiercely, with a heart that knows no bounds, and I hope you take advantage of that every day,
by always letting her in and keeping her close.”
Emilio stood and listened, thinking Piper was describing herself. She was the one who loved fiercely and had a heart that
knew no bounds. He only hoped when she was done, she had left some of the love in her heart for him.
She received a rousing round of applause when she finished, then she skittered over to him. “I can’t believe you’re here.
What about your interviews?”
“I begged Claudia Simon to do her interview earlier, then I broke several major traffic laws to get to the airport in time.”
“You’re amazing. You’re so amazing.” She drifted into him and placed the softest, sexiest kiss on his lips. “I have something
I need to tell you. And I don’t care how you respond. I just need to put it out into the universe. I’ve been kicking myself
ever since I came back that I hadn’t had the courage to say it.”
He nodded, and his pulse picked up again, every molecule in his body hoping like it had never hoped before. He had so many
things he wanted to say to Piper right now. Romantic things. Declarative statements. Absolutes and certainties. Nothing in
his life had felt settled or certain over the past year. But the feelings he had for Piper, the ones that resided square in
the center of his heart, those were things he did not question. Even when he knew there were still no guarantees they could
be together. But he wanted her to lead the way. “Then say it.”
“I love you, Emilio. I know that sounds—”
She didn’t even get out her words before Emilio was kissing her and threading his fingers into her hair. “I love you, Piper.
And I don’t care about the timeline or what anyone says. I love you so much.” He kissed her neck. Her cheek. The top of her
head. “The second you left, I felt like I was dying. And I know Gus felt the same way. But I also didn’t feel like I could
burden you with all of that. You had to come back for this. You had to be here for your family.”
She smiled. “Thank you for letting me go. But also for coming back for me.”
“I’ll do that whenever you need me to. As many times as you need me to.”
Gus barked.
“Uh-oh. Someone’s jealous,” Piper said, crouching down next to him.
Emilio and Piper both lovingly stroked Gus’s head. “I hope it’s okay that I brought a dog to your sister’s wedding reception.
If you want, I can see if the valet can watch him or I can call the hotel I booked and see if they have someone who can take
care of him.”
Piper waved it off. “Gus is family as far as I’m concerned. I’ll get the flower girls to play with him. He’ll love it.” She
cast him a sly and sexy look. “You booked a hotel? Where, exactly?”
“Some place called The Beach Club?”
“Ooh. Do I get to stay with you for the night?” Piper leaned into him, making him hot from head to toe.
“I was hoping you would.” He straightened, then held out his hand for hers. He didn’t hesitate to pull her into his arms again,
then let his hand drift down to her ass and gave it a squeeze. “I haven’t seen you in almost a week.”
“True. We have to make up for lost time.” She looked around the room. “I think we’ll be okay if we stay for an hour. They’ll
cut the cake soon. We’ll dance to a few songs. Then we can get out of here.”
“Perfect.”
“I just need one thing from you.” Piper bit down on her lip.
“What?”
“Can I parade you around in front of everyone? Just a little bit? I think everyone at this wedding thought I had made you
up. That those tabloid photos were AI-generated.”
He laughed. “No problem. And I definitely want to meet Kyle.” He took off his suit jacket.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to show off my biceps. I mean, I got to brag about you in front of Victoria. It’s only fair.”
Piper snickered. “Does this make us evil?”
“No. It makes us human.” He touched her arm and let his hand trail down until he reached her hand. They laced their fingers
together. They fit perfectly. “I always want to be human with you, Piper. You’re my person. And I mean that. I love you.”
He watched as a tear leaked from the corner of her eye. “You’re my person, Emilio Baquero. And your dog is my dog. And I mean
that. I love you, too.”