“Aw, come on,” Zane teased. “I want to know what Harley has that every other guy who has tried to win you over doesn’t.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Willow waved her hand across the table. “Check out the way he’s looking at her, like there’s no one else in the entire pub.”
Piper’s beautiful green eyes rolled leisurely over Harley’s face, slowly moving down his body. She took her time, openly admiring his chest and lingering on his groin so long he felt the heat of her gaze blazing through him. Could the others tell how badly he wanted to drag her out of there and make good on his earlier promises?
When Piper finally looked at Zane, she slid her hand to Harley’s thigh under the table and said, “It’s not because of what he has. It’s because of who he is.”
Willow and Zane looked as astonished as Harley felt. He drew Piper close again and pressed a kiss beside her ear. Then he rested his forehead on the side of her head, taking a second to wrap his head around how hard that must have been for her to admit, before whispering, “Are you trying to make me fall so hard for you I’ll never recover?”
“Sorry we’re late!” Remi exclaimed, startling Harley and Piper apart. “Whoa! It’s really true. Harley and Piper are a couple! Look at you guys, whispering sweet nothings and getting all lovey-dovey. Remember last year when you guys came over to help me and Mason slip out of town? I told Mason that night that you two would end up together.”
Remi was an actress, and she’d had issues with a stalker last year. Mason had wanted to take her out of town without the stalker realizing she’d slipped away, and Piper and Harley had taken part in the ruse. Harley had made no bones about wanting Piper. She, on the other hand, had brushed him off just like she’d always done.
Thank God he’d finally forced himself out of the friend zone.
“Stop gushing and get your scrawny ass over here.” Piper pushed to her feet, pulling the Natalie Portman look-alike into a hug.
Harley rose to shake Mason’s hand, using the table for balance. “Hey, man. How’s it going?”
Mason was a formidable man, standing eye to eye with Harley. “Couldn’t be better.” He nodded toward the girls and said, “Guess you might say the same?”
Hell yes. “Better than ever.”
“Piper, look at you in that skirt! You have killer legs!” Remi pointed at Piper’s legs and said, “Look, Mase! Doesn’t she look hot?”
“She does,” Mason agreed.
“My girl always looks hot,” Harley said, pulling Piper into his arms.
Piper’s eyes narrowed, and he readied himself for a hefty dose of snark. But a second later she sighed and said, “Thank you.”
Laughter bubbled out before Harley could stop it. “Sorry, Trig, but this day is going down in history.”
“Get over yourself,” Piper said, pushing out of his arms to hug Mason. “Good to see you, hottieguard.”
Piper had coined the term hottieguard when Mason was Remi’s bodyguard, and Harley supposed it fit. Mason was tall, dark, and muscular, with steel-blue eyes and perfectly manicured scruff. Harley had wondered if Piper had been into him when he’d first met the guy, but he’d quickly realized she’d just been sizing Mason up. She was always watching out for her friends, making sure they were treated well. Harley had heard rumors about Piper threatening the men her sisters and friends had gone out with, including the ones they’d eventually married. If the gossip was true, she’d told the men that if they hurt whoever she was watching out for at the time, they’d have her to deal with. He had no doubt she’d done just that. Remi was among her honorary sisters, which meant Mason had likely encountered the same treatment.
When Harley had first moved back to town, he’d noticed Piper’s protective nature over her sisters and friends hadn’t changed much since before he’d gone away to college, and he’d wondered who’d had her back while he’d been living in New York. It hadn’t been a conscious decision to step in again when he moved back home. In fact, until this moment, he really hadn’t thought about it much. He supposed some things were simply meant to be.
Mason chuckled. “You, too, Piper. I see you came to your senses and gave the big guy a chance.”
“For now,” she said teasingly.
As everyone took their seats, Willow asked how Aiden was doing. Remi looked at Mason, and the flush on her cheeks told Harley that Piper had been right about where those two lovebirds had been.
“He’s good, and going out a little more often now,” Remi said.
Aiden was twelve years older than Remi, and he’d raised her after their parents were killed in a car accident. He was a brilliant businessman, a self-made billionaire, and in addition to Ben’s business partner, Aiden was also Remi’s manager, although she was currently taking a hiatus from acting. Now that Remi and Mason were engaged, Aiden’s role in her life had changed, and it had taken some time for him to get used to not always living in the same location as his sister or watching over her every move.
“A little?” Zane scoffed. “That man’s been on daddy duty forever. I’m sure he’s finally sowing his wild oats.”
“I don’t think Aiden’s a ‘wild oats’ kind of guy,” Remi said.
Piper’s eyes shot to Remi’s. “I hate to tell you this, naive one, but I’d put money on the fact that your brother has a red room tucked away in one of his many mansions.”
Harley’s ears perked up. Hm. Was his girl into that?
“Ew.” Remi wrinkled her nose.
“I hope not,” Mason said. “I’m thinking about setting him up with Krista.” Mason had spent several years in the military and then as a covert operations specialist. Krista Bishop was a single mother and the widow of one of Mason’s military buddies. “Did you see how close they were at the last birthday bash?”
Mason and Remi had recently partnered with Parker Collins-Lacroux of the Collins Children’s Foundation to help foster children feel grounded and special, and to give them a sense of family no matter how many times they were moved to different foster homes. They hosted quarterly birthday parties as part of that new program, which they called “bashes,” for all of the foster children in Sweetwater and Harmony Pointe, and on the children’s birthdays they provided birthday boxes filled with gifts. Many children carried their belongings in garbage bags from one home to the next. Through this program, every foster child received a duffel bag filled with personal items. Remi and Mason worked with major corporations to provide the items for the birthday boxes and duffel bags, and they hoped to take the programs national within the next year.
“Krista said Aiden hasn’t asked her out,” Mason explained. “I thought I’d give him a nudge in that direction.”
“But I still think we should set him up with Shira,” Remi said. Shira ran Hearts for Heroes, the nonprofit organization that Bridgette’s husband, Bodhi, had founded.
“How about Delaney?” Piper suggested.
Harley snapped to attention. “Whoa, what? My sister?”
“Why not?” Piper asked. “She’s smart, gorgeous, and has two kids who could really use a loving stepfather in their lives.”
“Yes!” Willow exclaimed. “Aiden would be perfect for Delaney. He took great care of Remi, even if he was overprotective. He had to be. Remi was in the limelight and Aiden’s instincts were right. After all, he found Mason. He’d be amazing with Jolie and Sophie.”
Remi cuddled closer to Mason and said, “He did find me the greatest man around.”
“Want to duke that out, princess?” Piper wrapped her hand around Harley’s arm.
“No way. I like my face just as it is,” Remi teased. “You’re right about Delaney and the girls, but Krista’s daughter, Brooklyn, could use a daddy, too.”
“What is this? An episode of The Bachelor?” Zane asked.
“Don’t you think Aiden might want to have a say in his life?” Harley asked.
Mason put his arm around Remi and said, “As my soon-to-be wife says to me often, ‘spoken like a true
man.’”
The guys chuckled, and the girls went on about the ridiculous things men say. Piper was the ringleader of that conversation, and she had the girls in stitches.
“Don’t even try to tell me that Zane and Mason haven’t given you guys the old ‘I could have gone all night, but you know, babe, I figured you were tired,’” Piper said in a baritone voice.
“Yes!” Willow and Remi said in hushed whispers, as if their men weren’t able to hear them.
“Well, my man has never told me that,” Piper said with a proud lift of her chin and a wink in his direction.
He nuzzled against her neck, kissing her there. “Damn right, and I never will,” he said.
“Or when the dishwasher needs emptying and they coincidentally walk into the kitchen when you’re almost done emptying it and say, ‘I was just about to do that!’” Willow patted Zane’s shoulder and said, “My man is famous for that. But I told him he didn’t have to be good in the kitchen as long as he’s excellent in the bedroom.”
Zane bumped fists with Mason and Harley.
“Before we have too many drinks and I forget, can we count on any of you to help put together duffel bags and birthday boxes again? We’re shooting for two weeks from this coming Tuesday at six o’clock in our barn.” Volunteers gathered once a month to fill the birthday boxes and duffel bags with the donated items.
“I’ll be there,” Harley and Piper said in unison.
Harley had no doubt Piper would be there every time they needed help. Her generosity with her time was just one of the many things he admired about her.
“Us too,” Willow said. “We’ll be there.”
Remi clapped. “Thank you! Now catch me up with what I’ve missed since we last saw each other, and then I’ll tell you our big news.”
“You’re preggers,” Piper said as she reached for Harley’s glass.
Willow gasped, Mason shook his head, and Zane laughed. But as the others chatted about Remi and Mason’s real news, their plans to foster children soon after their wedding, which was taking place in August, all Harley could think about was Piper drinking his beer. He didn’t know why she hadn’t ordered her own drinks when she’d always done so at the pub. But he loved that she was sharing his, as she had done at the hockey game. He chalked it up as another way she was telling him that she was into them as a couple without having to actually say it. Another Piperism. Like those alluring looks she was giving him.
“That’s wonderful. Do you plan on having your own children, too?” Willow asked Remi, drawing Harley from his thoughts.
Mason looked lovingly at Remi as she said, “At some point, yes. But since Mason went through the foster care system, we really want to foster kids and give them the fantastic experience he missed out on. We might even foster to adopt or foster several children at once. We’re trying to figure out how we can make the most difference in kids’ lives.”
“I love that idea,” Willow said. “You guys will be great parents.”
Harley brushed his lips over Piper’s temple, wondering if she wanted children. She smelled like sunshine and unspoken promises. She slid her hand over his thigh, holding tight, and lifted her eyes to his. He had the urge to pull her into his lap and tell her how much he adored her, but she was finally letting him in, and he worried about pushing too far.
“Speaking of having children”—Piper looked around the table and said—“you girlies better watch yourselves around Mom. Apparently there’s a baby war going on. Aunt Marilynn is upset because her kids aren’t giving her grandchildren fast enough. They’re keeping score. One Montgomery grandchild to three Dalton and Booker grandchildren.”
“So?” Willow wrinkled her brow.
“So our mother is dabbling in fertility potions, not just love potions.” Piper pointed around the table as Jasper approached, and then she pointed at him, too, and said, “None of y’all are safe. Grace and Morgyn are married, but they haven’t had any babies. Our mother is sending enough fertility boosts for Pepper, Amber, and Sable, too. Heck, she’ll probably send some for Axsel, even though he’s gay. You know how our mother is when she gets a bug up her butt about something.”
“I dated a woman named Grace who had sisters and a brother by those names,” Jasper said. “There’s no way there’s more than one family with daughters named Sable and Pepper and a son named Axsel. Do you mean Grace Montgomery?”
“You dated Grace? The playwright? She lives in Oak Falls, Virginia?” Piper asked incredulously.
Jasper nodded. “We went out on a couple dates when she lived in New York City, before she moved back home. She’s smokin’ hot.” He shrugged. “But we had no chemistry.”
“That’s insane,” Willow said. “She’s our cousin. She’s married now to Reed Cross, the guy who was her dirty little secret in high school.”
“I still can’t believe good-girl Gracie had a delicious dirty little secret like Reed,” Piper said with a smirk.
As Willow and Jasper continued their conversation, jealousy spiked along Harley’s skin. He leaned down and spoke into Piper’s ear, “Wishing you had Reed? Because I have no problem kicking his ass.”
She slid her hand along his thigh and said, “Why would I want anyone else when I have you?”
Damn, he loved that answer. He kept her closer and whispered, “Does it bother you that I’m no longer your dirty little secret?”
She brushed her fingers over the bulge in his jeans, drawing back just far enough to look into his eyes with a sultriness that made his body ache for her as she said, “Harley Dutch, you could never be a dirty little secret.”
“Damn, woman.” He pressed his lips to hers, and to his surprise, she didn’t pull away.
“Looks like these two are going to continue getting drunk on each other,” Jasper said. “I guess when the boss is away, he likes to play.”
Harley glowered at him.
Jasper chuckled. “Mason, Remi, what’ll it be? The usual?”
“We’ll have whatever Harley and Piper are drinking,” Remi said with a giggle.
“Two Harley specials coming up.” Jasper winked at Harley and headed up to the bar.
“Oh, my sweet Remi . . .” Piper dipped her finger into Harley’s drink and licked the alcohol off it. “You can’t handle what’s in our glass.”
Mason eyed Harley and said, “Wanna bet?” He took Remi’s face in his hands and kissed her hard.
Zane and Willow laughed.
“Nobody shows us up.” Harley pushed his chair out from the table, hauled Piper onto his lap, and proceeded to kiss the hell out of her. Thank God she loved a good challenge as much as he did; she ground against him, making him hard as stone.
Cheers and applause sounded around them, and he heard Mason laughing. But Piper was on Harley’s lap, kissing him like she never wanted to stop, and he wasn’t about to let her down.
“Geez, you guys,” Willow said. “Get a room.”
Piper laughed against Harley’s lips, her eyes shimmering with desire.
“That sounds like a great idea to me,” Harley admitted. He was having a good time, but he needed Piper naked and in his arms. “What do you say, Trig? Is it too early to get out of here?”
Willow and Remi yelled, “Yes!”
“Seriously? We just got here,” Mason reminded him.
“This is my sister’s first triple date, first kiss in Dutch’s Pub, and she’s with her first boyfriend in forever,” Willow said. “You are not stealing her out of here just yet.”
Piper hopped off his lap and said, “I see I have a new cockblocker. Thanks, sis. At least we won the smoldering-kiss contest.”
Harley put his arm around her, grinning like a lovesick fool. “That’s my badass babe.”
“We didn’t know it was a contest.” Remi pouted.
“It’s always a contest,” Piper said.
Remi gave her a deadpan look. “You get a boyfriend and turn even bossier?”
“I guess so. I’m going to the ladies
’ room.” Piper leaned down and whispered in Harley’s ear, “Before you show me your moves in the bedroom, you better show me your moves on the dance floor.”
She sauntered off like the sassy chick she was, leaving him to try to figure out how he was going to dance with a bum ankle and a hard-on.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE EVENING FLEW by in a flurry of hearty laughter, lustful whispers, steamy kisses, and illicit touches. There was no hiding Piper’s desire as she danced with Harley. She was sure it was oozing from her pores. She should be nervous about being so transparent and free in a local bar where everyone knew her, but no man had ever made her want to lower her guard before. She knew she couldn’t hold back with Harley, and no part of her even wanted to try. She’d never realized that letting her guard down could heighten all of her senses, amplifying the feelings that had been building inside her for who knew how long.
And she was by no means unguarded at the moment.
But she was definitely opening up in ways she never had, and even though it was scary, Harley had gotten under her skin. Most guys had great moves in only one place, and it usually wasn’t in the bedroom or on the dance floor. It was on a basketball court, in a boardroom, at a poker table, or in some other male-oriented business or sport. But even with a crutch in one hand, as they bumped and grinded, Harley touched her possessively, and his intoxicating mouth skimmed along her shoulders and neck without ever missing a beat. She already knew how good he was at sports and business, and although they hadn’t made out in an actual bedroom yet, she knew just how exquisite he was going to be in that domain.
The music slowed, and Harley drew her against his chest, moving sensually to the slower beat of “Rumor” by Lee Brice. Piper had never liked anything cheesy like pickup lines or slow dancing. But when Harley held her close and touched his cheek to hers, singing every lyric to her, it was utterly irresistible. Every word he sang made it harder to breathe. She had no idea she could feel this way, and she didn’t want it to end. She closed her eyes, soaking in his manly voice, and her thoughts skittered away. She held tight to the back of his neck, his body cocooning hers. Anticipation mounted inside her as the music rose and fell, and eventually the sound, and the people around them, faded away, until the only things that existed were the two of them and Harley’s deep voice serenading her. She had heard this song dozens of times, and she knew it by heart, but never had it sounded so good or so true.
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