“Harley?” she called through the closed door. “You okay? Do you need any help?” Please say no.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
The pain in his voice cut her to her core.
What kind of advice would Willow and Bridgette give her now? Patient and nurturing had been booted out the door by Holy fuck, look at that!
She was definitely failing this test.
Piper opened the door and peered around it, her hand over her eyes, cheeks flaming red, and said, “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
He didn’t know it was possible for Piper to blush, and he liked that look on her so much, it distracted him from the pain in his ankle and his ass. “I’m covered. You can look. Although I’m not sure why you are trying not to. You already got an eyeful.”
“That’s not my fault!” she said angrily, her eyes moving to the holes in the wall where the curtain rod hardware should be. “What were you doing? Acrobatics? Usually it takes two people in precarious positions to rip a curtain rod out of the wall.”
“Have you ever tried to shower standing on one leg?” His mind immediately placed her in a very precarious, erotic position. “Don’t answer that,” he said sharply.
It was a good thing he’d fallen when he had because he’d been planning on relieving the sexual tension that had been building inside him, heightened from the fantasies he’d had about Piper last night. If he’d started, this would be playing out very differently.
He held the towel around him with one hand and reached up with the other. “Give me a hand, will you?”
She averted her eyes as she helped him up. “What actually happened? How did you fall?”
“I dropped the bottle of body wash, and when I reached for it, my head hit the wall. I forgot about my ankle.” He lowered himself to sit on the toilet lid, and Piper turned off the shower and began gathering the shower curtain. “I put weight on my foot and immediately jerked it up and lost my footing. I guess I grabbed the shower curtain.” He cocked a grin, though Piper couldn’t see it as she placed the shower curtain and rod against the shower wall and began inspecting the holes in the drywall. “I’ve got to admit, this isn’t how I imagined being naked with you in the shower.”
“How long do you have to take those pain meds?” She turned to face him, but the second their eyes connected, she turned away again and said, “I’m not sure I can take much more of high Harley flirting.”
He snaked his arm around her waist, tugging her to his side and earning an eye roll that rocked the room. “Look at me,” he said firmly.
She huffed and put one hand on her hip, meeting his gaze. She looked hot in her work clothes and boots, scowling even as a flush rose on her cheeks, and she snapped, “What?”
He was kind of digging this new, embarrassed side of her. Her guard was down, which made it the perfect time to put his cards on the table. “I haven’t taken any pain meds other than Motrin since you left last night. This is all me, Pipe.”
She didn’t even crack a smile. “In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no one here to cockblock me from, so you can cut the crap.”
She tried to pull free, but he gripped her wrist, holding tight, wanting her to finally hear his words for what they were. “The last thing I want to do is block you from the only cock in this room.”
“Harley, cut it out,” she scolded him. “I’ve got to get the girls to school so I can get to work. I don’t have time for this. And don’t try to fix your shower. I’ll do it when I bring the girls back after Jolie’s soccer practice. Do you want help getting into the bedroom so you can get dressed?”
What he wanted was to pull her onto his lap and kiss her until she forgot whatever fear or frustrations were keeping her from taking him seriously.
“Piper,” Jolie called from the bedroom. “We’re ready to go.”
“I’m coming! Make sure you have your soccer stuff. I’ll be right down.” Piper pulled Harley up and said, “Come on. They can’t be late.” As she helped him out of the bathroom, she said, “How’d you get in here, anyway?”
“Didn’t you see the crutches by the door?”
“No, I was a little distracted.”
“Pipe, listen—”
“No, you listen,” she said sharply, giving him a nudge down to the edge of the bed. “I just saw you naked. Don’t make this any weirder.”
He grabbed his boxer briefs and said, “Why does it have to be weird at all? If I saw you naked, it would make things better, not worse.” He leaned forward to put on his briefs and his towel fell open. He couldn’t stop a chuckle from falling out.
“I’m out of here!” Piper stormed from the room and hollered, “Girls, let’s go!”
“Damn it.” Harley looked down at his cock and said, “This is the first time you’ve scared a girl off. Thanks a lot. She’s the only one I want to stick around.”
He dressed as fast as he could, listening to the girls and Piper as they got ready to leave and wishing he could haul ass downstairs to talk to her. But by the time he got his shorts on, the house was silent and empty, other than Jiggs, who wandered into his room. Harley hopped and hobbled to the window just in time to see them driving away. Damn injury. It hurt like a bitch, but he’d rather deal with that than be light-headed around Piper.
He’d said his piece, uncapped the bottle. It was time to tip it back.
He grabbed his phone from the dresser and thumbed out a text. At least now I know you’ll be thinking of me today. He sent it to Piper, pocketed his phone, and hopped into the bathroom to retrieve the crutches. After making the girls’ beds, he went downstairs and found a box of doughnuts on the kitchen table. Beside it was a plate with two blueberry scones. His favorite.
Smiling, he sat down and broke one of the scones in half, giving half to Jiggs.
Half an hour later his phone vibrated with a response to his text from Piper. Get over yourself. I have BIGGER things to worry about.
Like hell you do, he thought. He scratched Jiggs’s head and said, “That’s our girl, Jiggsy. She’s stubborn as an ox, but one day she’ll get out of her own way and realize she loves us.”
CHAPTER FIVE
MOTHERS MUST HAVE superpowers. Piper had no idea how they had time to breathe, much less work. Not that she minded helping Harley with the girls, but the morning had been an eye-opener. She and the girls had fun on the way to school. Jolie was in a better mood and looking forward to soccer practice, and although Piper and Sophie had to make a quick trip to the grocery store while Jolie was at practice, Sophie was excited to go to Aurelia’s bookstore afterward. Being with the girls was a great distraction from the burly man Piper was trying not to think about naked.
Or at all, really.
But the minute she was alone in the truck, every one of her thoughts led straight back to Harley. She saw everything more clearly now, the pain in his eyes when he’d been laid out on the shower floor, the heat and sincerity in them when he’d said he didn’t want to cockblock her from himself, and his disappointment when she’d shut him down.
Her chest ached at that last part. Why did he have to say that crazy shit to her?
She struggled to push those thoughts aside as she drove to the job site. By the time she arrived, it was almost nine o’clock—two hours later than usual. She’d thought work would bring her solace, but from the moment she’d arrived right up until now, as she packed her tools to pick up the girls from school, her every move was shadowed by thoughts of Harley. She’d wrestled with the urge to call and check up on him all day. What if he fell again? What if he tried to take Jiggs out and was lying injured on the side of the road? She told herself that the shower incident was a fluke and he was a big, smart man who didn’t need her to babysit him. Cognitively, she knew that was true, and she had no idea why she couldn’t shake those weird feelings.
She was taking off her tool belt when Kase and Mike came outside.
“Working banker’s hours, boss?” Mike asked.
“I
’ve got to get Harley’s nieces from school. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” She tossed her tool belt into the back of her truck.
“Are you meeting us later for drinks at the pub?” Kase asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve got to see how much help Harley needs.” He’d made it up the stairs this morning on his own, and she imagined he’d made it down since he hadn’t called for help. Maybe he wouldn’t need her help at all tonight. An odd sense of disappointment washed through her with the thought.
“Look at Harley’s little homemaker,” Mike teased. “Guess Kase might’ve been wrong about you putting on an apron after all.”
Piper walked around the truck to the driver’s side and started to tell him to fuck off, and then remembered Bridgette’s suggestion to stop swearing so much. She flipped him the bird and climbed into the truck, considering that a win.
Two wins to one big, fat loss? She guessed they sort of evened each other out.
After school, Piper saw Jolie with her teammates on the field while waiting in the pickup line. She looked happy enough, and Piper hoped that meant she’d had a great day.
Sophie climbed into the cab of the truck in a mood as bright as her aqua top and white capris. “Can we get purple hair dye at the store?”
“That’s an interesting request.”
“It’s crazy-hair day at school tomorrow and all my friends are dyeing their hair.”
As Piper drove out of the parking lot, she said, “I think I’d better check with your uncle and make sure your mom won’t mind first.”
“Okay. Also, when we go to the bookstore, can I get my mom a book? I can pay you back. I have savings from my allowance.”
Piper’s heart warmed. “Sure, but you don’t have to pay me back. Do you know what she likes to read?”
“Mm-hm. Anything with a man on the cover. Her bookshelf is filled with them.”
“Okay, one hot-guy book coming up. But first we have to go to the grocery store.”
“Can we get gummy bears?” she asked excitedly.
“I think we can pull that off.”
They drove to the grocery store. Sophie was singing along to the radio.
“I’m just going to make a quick call.” Piper stepped outside the truck and called Harley.
“Hey, Trig. Miss me?”
How can I miss you when I’ve done nothing but think about you? She decided to skip over his question. “Hi. I’m at the grocery store with Soph, and she asked if we could get hair dye for crazy-hair day at school. I wasn’t sure if Delaney would mind.”
“Nah, she’s cool. They did that last year. I think Jolie had pink streaks for a week.”
She looked in the truck window at Sophie, who was fiddling with the radio, and said, “Great. Are you okay? You didn’t fall and mess up your other ankle or anything, did you?”
He chuckled. “Not yet, but my ass has a nice bruise on it. It might need some attention tonight.”
“And that’s my cue to end this call.”
“Why? Because now you’re thinking about my ass?”
“Goodbye, Harley,” she said, humored by the big lug’s cockiness.
“Hey, Pipe?”
“What? And no, I won’t massage your ass.”
“Sure you will.”
“Goodbye, Harley.”
“Wait!”
“Harley! You have ten seconds. I’m on a tight schedule, and Sophie’s waiting.”
“Give Soph a squeeze from her uncle Harley, and I just wanted to tell you that Jiggs missed you today.”
She felt herself smiling.
“And I might have, too,” he added.
Her stomach flip-flopped as it had that morning when he’d said he didn’t want to cockblock her from himself. Darn it. She couldn’t afford to be flustered when she was with Sophie. “You’re just bored. I’m glad you’re doing okay, though.”
“Well, other than a certain throbbing appendage—”
“Harley!”
He laughed and said, “I meant my ankle. Damn, Trig, get your mind out of the gutter.”
“That’s a little hard to do when you can’t keep your clothes on!”
“I knew you thought about me all day.”
“Ugh!” She ended the call and shoved her phone in her pocket. Maybe she’d meet the guys at the pub tonight after all. It was either that or deal with a roller coaster of emotions that made her want to smack—and kiss—Harley.
When Piper grocery shopped for herself, it took ten minutes and her list was only seven or eight items long. She and Sophie shopped for almost an hour and bought six bags of groceries. Sophie was a great helper, checking items off their list and chatting the entire time, which was a lot more fun than Piper’s solo trips—and a great way to keep Piper’s mind too busy to think about Harley’s confessions.
When they arrived at Chapter One, Aurelia’s bookstore, Aurelia was ringing up a customer. Aurelia had purchased the Harmony Pointe bookstore last spring, and Piper and her crew had renovated it for her. The bookstore was thriving, and Piper was sure it had a lot to do with the literary-related events Aurelia held, like readings and children’s story times. Chapter One had a warm and welcoming vibe. Aurelia and Willow had partnered to bring books into Willow’s bakery and baked items into the bookstore, and Aurelia had decorated each area of the store to match the genre it housed. The children’s section boasted a large mural, and the classics section was decorated with ornate moldings, rough-hewn wooden shelves, and antique furniture. Even the reference and nonfiction areas carried their own theme—classic library style with heavy wooden furniture and leather reading chairs.
“Soph, why don’t you go pick out a book for yourself, and I’ll see if I can find one for your mom,” Piper suggested.
“Okay.” Sophie waved to Aurelia as she passed the register.
Piper headed for the romance section, stopping on her way to look through a display of journals. She had kept a diary when she was younger, and she wondered if that might be something Jolie would like. It might give her a private place to vent. She wasn’t sure what Jolie’s favorite color was, so she chose a simple red leather diary with a heart-shaped lock, and then she went in search of a book for Delaney.
Piper scanned the titles, though she had no way of evaluating them because she didn’t read romance. That was Bridgette’s thing.
“Uh-oh,” Aurelia said as she approached, looking cute in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that had REAL-LIFE WIFE. FICTIONAL POLYGAMIST written across the chest. “Piper Dalton in the romance section. Has hell frozen over?”
“Possibly. There’s some strange shit going on in my life right now. But this isn’t for me. Sophie wants to find a book for her mom, but you know, I have no clue what I’m looking for. My romance comes in the form of a football game, a cold beer in my hand, and a bunch of guys to bet on the game with. Do you have any idea what authors Delaney likes?”
“You’re in luck. I have just the thing. We just got in two of her favorite authors’ new releases: Charlotte Sterling and Emma Chase.” As Aurelia searched the titles on the shelves, she said, “I heard Harley hurt himself and that you were helping him with the girls. How is he feeling? How’s everything going?”
“He’s doing okay. His ankle’s pretty bad, but the girls are great. I just hadn’t counted on seeing Harley naked.”
Aurelia whipped her head around, eyes wide. “You saw Harley naked?”
“Yup, and everything Heaven Love said about him is spot-on. The man’s got a beast of a blissmaker between those thick thighs.” A streak of jealousy shot through her. Piper had grown up with Heaven and her siblings, Everly, Echo, and Magnolia, in Sweetwater. Heaven had once made out with Harley, and she’d deemed him the Muff Marauder.
“Damn. You shouldn’t have told me that. Now I’ll blush every time I see him.”
“Tell me about it,” Piper mumbled.
Aurelia pulled a book from the shelf and said, “So have you two . . . ?”
“No. What
is with everyone wanting me and Harley to hook up? He fell in the shower and I had to help him up.”
“Yikes. Is he okay?” She handed Piper two romance novels, and just as Sophie had suggested, they had hot guys on the covers.
“Yes, but I’m not. I think seeing his pocket rocket broke me or something.” She glanced at the books without really seeing them, because the image of Harley sitting on his bed and the towel slipping off his waist blurred her vision. “I’ve always had a fond appreciation for lust. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world. It belongs on a pedestal right beside orgasms. But now the big, burly oaf has ruined that for me.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Aurelia waved her hands excitedly. “Are you telling me that you’re lusting after Harley Dutch?”
“No! Yes? Ugh!” She pressed her lips together and looked across the store at Sophie, who was sitting on the floor reading. “I don’t know what happened,” she said in a quieter voice. “But I think whatever switch he flicked inside me was flicked last night, before I saw him naked, and seeing him naked this morning just made it irreversible. But it’s more than that. Do you know what he said to me?”
“No, but I’m dying to!”
“Stop it. You can’t get all excited about this. It’s not a good thing.”
Aurelia laughed. “Says who, exactly?”
“Me! Harley said he didn’t want to cockblock me from the only man in the room—and it was just the two of us.”
Aurelia grinned so hard Piper was sure she’d pop a blood vessel.
Piper gave her a deadpan look. “I can see you’re not going to be any help.” She handed Aurelia the books and the diary and said, “Just ring these up. And don’t say a word to my brother about this.”
“Wait. You can’t leave me hanging! And don’t worry. I’d never tell Ben any of this, but he knows Harley’s been after you for years.”
“He has not been after me,” she said for what felt like the millionth time. “This is new, trust me.”
“Why are you upset over this? You guys are great together.”
She Loves Me Page 7