by Jill Shalvis
“You’ll make a great physician assistant.”
She wasn’t sure she’d get the chance now, but she played along. “How do you know? You’ve never seen me in action.”
“Actually, I have.”
She laughed. “In your bed doesn’t count.”
“Hell yeah, it does.” He smiled, but then got serious. “But I’ve seen you in action on the job too. The other day, you arrived on scene for a guy who’d had a heart attack at the little diner in town. Caro’s. I was across the street getting gas when you and Jenna arrived. You dropped to your knees and began working on him, and you were amazing. From a hundred feet away, I could see your determination, could tell you wouldn’t give up on him, on anyone.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she turned back to the sky, then pointed to a cloud. “That one looks like an elephant. I love elephants.”
“You really will make a great PA, Piper. You can do anything you want to. I know it.”
She sighed. “Maybe I should hit on you again.”
“So we’ll stop talking?” he asked, sounding amused.
She glanced over at him. “You make me sound like a better person than I am. Because what I didn’t say was that I wasn’t all that sorry to be getting away from Wildstone for a bit.”
“Past tense?”
“Well, obviously I can’t go now. Winnie’s going to need me.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’ll find a way.”
She let his words wash over her. She’d told him her deepest, darkest shame, that she wanted to run away, from the house, her siblings, everything. And he hadn’t judged her, not even a little bit. “Cam?”
“Yeah?”
She came up on her elbow and met his gaze. “It turns out that I am going to hit on you again. You should brace yourself because I’m going to be very convincing.”
“I brought you out here so you could get away.”
“Captain, my Captain,” she whispered. “Whatever you say.”
He sucked in a breath. “You’re fighting dirty again.”
“I get it, you don’t want to take advantage of me, blah blah. But . . . how do you feel about me taking advantage of you?”
His eyes went heavy lidded, his expression smoldering as he lay back, interlacing his fingers behind his head. “You know what? You’re my neighbor, and your life choices are yours to make, and I’ll support you no matter what . . .”
She was laughing as she climbed him like a jungle gym.
Chapter 21
“Sucks to be the one left behind.”
Later, much later, now in the small interior of the boat, Piper and Cam dozed, lulled by the heat they’d generated. The windows were steamed and night had fallen, blocking the outside world, creating an intimacy that she wasn’t sure she was ready for.
Cam was terrifyingly amazing, and it wasn’t just because he knew his way around a woman’s body. Even out of bed, he was a distraction, and she enjoyed spending time with him.
Which wasn’t good.
But it didn’t stop her from sighing in pleasure as he murmured something inaudible in his sleep and tightened his arms around her, as if to keep her from sneaking off.
Which had been her plan.
But there was nowhere to go unless she wanted to swim back. But even if she could do that without drowning, she’d misplaced all the bones in her body thanks to the orgasms. Content for now, she pressed her face into the crook of Cam’s neck. Just for a few minutes, she told herself, and let herself float away.
She awoke sometime later, violently aroused, with Cam’s mouth working its way down her writhing body. Her fingers were digging into his shoulders and she was making the same “yummy” sounds she made when she ate ranch-flavored popcorn with extra butter.
She already knew he was as incredibly instinctive in bed as he seemed to be everywhere else. He knew exactly when and how to effortlessly take her to the very edge and hold her there just long enough to make her slide her fingers into his hair and tug.
The bastard just huffed a soft laugh against her and then . . . sent her flying. She came back to herself to feel him right there, kneeling between her thighs.
“Open your eyes, Piper.”
It took her a moment to find the right muscles, but she finally managed to meet his dark, wild gaze.
“I didn’t expect you,” he said. “You open me up.”
She might have argued that she was the one opened up at the moment, but she couldn’t joke, couldn’t tease, couldn’t do anything but soak in the sincerity of those words, which filled her both emotionally and physically as he pushed inside her. She gasped his name in a shockingly needy voice, exposing a vulnerability she never liked to reveal. But he was right there with her, laid bare, letting her see everything he felt.
It didn’t take him long to shove her over the edge again, but this time she took him along with her. As she closed her eyes and let herself float away, she smiled, because it seemed she’d found the one thing to make Cam Hayes lose his famed control.
Her.
A fact that was both thrilling and utterly terrifying.
CAM WOKE UP to a low but fervently uttered “Shit!” and opened his eyes. His arms were empty of one warm, soft, sated woman. And yeah, he didn’t have any doubts on the sated thing, because he’d heard every single sexy sound she’d made when he’d been deep inside her.
They hadn’t slept much. It’d been midnight when he’d taken them back to the marina, gliding into a slip without the motor so as not to wake anyone at either house. Docked, they’d started to dress, then gotten distracted by naked bodies under moonlight, and afterward had fallen asleep again.
Now, given the light slanting through the window—or the lack of light slanting through the window—it wasn’t even dawn. When another low feminine oath sounded, he rose from the bed, grabbing his jeans as he did. Pulling them on, he found the source of the cursing.
Piper, trying to get off the boat.
She’d apparently been going for stealth, which, considering she’d gotten out of bed without waking him, was impressive. The fact that she’d put on the life jacket to go from boat to dock made him smile.
It’d snagged on a hook, leaving her trapped and fighting to free herself. Damn. He was going to fall for this woman hard if he let himself. Trying not to laugh, he came up behind her. “Sneaking out without a good-bye?”
“Hey, I said good-bye.” She was tugging on the vest for all she was worth. “You just didn’t hear me.”
Taking mercy, he untangled her and turned her to face him, holding on to the straps of the life vest. “Nice touch.”
“Yeah, well, I figured it’d be just my luck to fall in and get eaten by a lake monster,” she muttered into his chest. “That adventure is most definitely not in my journal. Which, by the way, is in my pocket. There are whole days I fantasize about tossing it into the lake, but it’s going to be on my terms, and not because I was stupid and fell in.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Tell me why you’re sneaking off.” He bent his knees a little so he could see her face better. “Let me guess. Things got so good you got scared. Am I hot or cold?”
Her pretty eyes narrowed.
Yeah, he was hot.
She lifted her chin. “Maybe it was so bad that I couldn’t do it again, you ever think of that?”
“I’ve got ten fingernail indentations in my ass that say otherwise.”
She blushed. Cute. “Okay, fine, whatever.” She tossed up her hands. “It wasn’t . . . bad.”
He laughed, and she huffed out a sigh and a reluctant smile. “You’re an ass.”
“Noted,” he said. “Now tell me why you’re running away.”
She turned her head and eyed the lake, gorgeous and smooth as glass at this time of morning. “I like you,” she said to the water, quietly, as if admitting a state secret.
“Piper.” He waited until she looked at him. “I like you back.”
She bit
her lower lip, and he tilted his head. “Help me out here. I’m not sure I get the problem.”
“I said stuff.”
“You mean like ‘oh yeah, Cam, just like that’ and ‘harder, please, harder’ . . . ?”
She pointed at him, her cheeks blazing. “You know what I mean.”
“Actually, I don’t.” His smile faded because suddenly she seemed way too close to tears. “What’s wrong? If you tell me, maybe I can fix it.”
She closed her eyes. “I said that I need you.”
“Yeah? And what’s wrong with that? I’m right there with you.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You do realize I was sneaking out so I didn’t have to have this conversation, right?”
“Humor me,” he said. “What’s wrong with needing someone once in a while?”
“I’ve never said it to anyone before,” she admitted. “In fact, I do everything I can to never need or depend on anyone. So if I say it, it means . . . things.”
“Like the fact that you trust me?”
She nodded miserably.
“I trust you too, Piper. Or you wouldn’t be in my bed.”
She sighed, a sound that managed to hold all the memories from their time in his bed, as well as exasperation, probably at the both of them. “I can’t do this now,” she said. “I’m too hungry. I need pancakes and I’ve got a batter mix at home. They’re not going to be homemade, but if you—”
“Yes,” he said. Then he leaned in and put his mouth to her ear. “I need pancakes too.”
With a laugh, she shoved him away.
Grinning, he followed her up the hill. He thought about pointing out that she was still wearing the life vest, but decided it was best not to.
He followed her into her kitchen, having no doubt that she expected her siblings to still be sleeping. So the surprise couldn’t have been a good one when she realized everyone was there. Gavin was at the stove making pancakes—not from a mix—and laughing with CJ. Winnie was there too, with . . . his dad? The two of them were at the table, heads together watching a YouTube video on how to fix a leaky pipe. They were both dirty, suggesting they’d actually been working.
Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at Piper, and then at Cam.
Eventually, the shock wore off. Gavin gestured with a spatula at his older sister. “I want you to note that I’m a feminist, and also I think sex is good for the soul, so I’m not going to point out your walk of shame, even though you pointed out mine. But good God, woman, the least you could do is wipe that smile off your face so your brother doesn’t have to throw up a little in his mouth.”
“I’m not smiling!”
“Whatever, sis.” Gavin expertly flipped a very large pancake with a flick of his wrist. “Also, did you wear that life vest while getting that smile? Because that must’ve taken real dedication.”
Piper tore off the life vest and glared at Cam, like it was all his doing. It took a lot not to smile.
“I hope you used birth control,” Winnie said. “Did you know condoms are only ninety-eight percent effective?” She pointed to her stomach. “Meet the other two percent. I mean, who knew, right?”
“It’s on the box,” Piper said.
Winnie frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Winnie shrugged. “Like I said, who knew.”
“Glad we don’t have to worry about percentages,” Gavin said to CJ, who smirked.
Piper closed her eyes. “Okay, first, it’s not the walk of shame when it’s your own house. And being of age, it’s never a walk of shame. Period.”
Winnie grinned. “You might want to turn your shirt right side out and try saying that again.”
Piper aimed another glare at Cam.
He lifted his hands in a sign of surrender. “You were the one sneaking out on me. I was asleep when you put that thing on.”
Gavin was looking pained. “I just realized you’re doing my boss. There’s a high ‘ew’ factor here.”
Piper looked down at herself. Yep, shirt was inside out. She put the life vest back on. “And second,” she said, while everyone was still laughing, forcing her to point at all of them, including Cam. “I’m allowed a life.”
“Amen, sister,” Winnie said. “And it’s good to see you going for it.”
Cam watched Piper turn to Winnie, the irritation draining from her eyes, replaced by an affection he knew was years and years in the making. “Thanks,” Piper said.
Winnie smiled back. “So . . . we’re okay?”
“We’re okay.”
Looking relieved, Winnie nudged her chin toward Cam. “So are you two a thing now or what?”
“Or what,” Piper said noncommittally, and gestured to the opened laptop. “What are you up to?”
“Oh! We’ve got a plan!” Winnie looked at her brother, who gave her a nod of encouragement.
“Should I be scared?” Piper asked. “Cuz I am.”
“You were right before,” Winnie said.
Piper blinked. “I’m sorry, did you just say I was right about something?”
Winnie rolled her eyes. “I know, I know, you’ve never heard that from me before.” She rubbed her tummy. “But guess what? I’m going to be a mom. A really great one too, and moms are mature. I’m trying to work on that. I want to be taken seriously, and before you speak, I realize I’ve never tried hard at . . . well, anything. But that’s going to change. I’m getting really good at fixing stuff. So . . . meet your new handywoman.” She gestured to herself. “Which is me, in case I wasn’t clear.”
“And I’m taking over cooking duties,” Gavin said. “And not just because you suck at it, but because I miss cooking.”
“You’re just saying that because I messed up the chocolate chip cookies the other night,” Piper said.
Gavin nodded. “Never let a recipe tell you how many chocolate chips to use. You measure that shit with your heart, Piper.”
“Noted. But you don’t have to do it all. I can always get Girl Scout cookies.”
“You mean buy ten boxes at a time and eat them alone in the pantry?”
“Hey,” she said. “It’s called supporting young female entrepreneurs.”
“Also,” he went on, “Winnie and I want to rent out the cottages and turn this thing into a B and B, like Grandma’s parents did a million years ago. I mean, they’re even furnished. Besides, my blueberry pancakes should be shared with the world.”
“One hundred percent correct on that,” CJ said around a bite of pancake.
“And something else that should be shared with the world,” Winnie said. “My newly found handywoman skills.”
Piper gaped at them. “Do you have any idea how much work goes into running a B and B? We’re not Great-Grandma. We’d need a website, and an accounting program, and a whole bunch of other stuff I can’t even imagine.”
“I know,” Gavin said. “And I’ve been building a website. It’ll be ready by next week. And I’ve got a good bookkeeping program. I can set us up, just like I’m doing for Cam at the marina. It wouldn’t require any work from you. For once, I can step up and do something for you for a change.” He gave a lopsided smile. “Look, we all know our childhood was . . . well, royally fucked up. But look at us making something of ourselves regardless.”
CJ was looking as impressed by Gavin as Cam felt. But Piper looked . . . dizzy. She turned to Winnie. “What about your still-unnamed baby daddy? How’s he going to feel about you sticking around here instead of going back to Santa Barbara? Is he going to relocate to help you? Is he even interested in being part of the baby’s life?”
Tell her, Cam willed. Because the longer Winnie waited, the bigger the feeling of betrayal would be, and Winnie would be taking Cam right down with her.
“All that matters is that I’m staying here,” Winnie said, disappointing Cam along with Piper, if her expression was anything to go by. “I’ll figure out everything else later.”
“Me too,” Gavin said
.
Emmitt looked at Cam. “Any interest in making like these two, and sticking around for your old man? I’d love that.”
Cam grabbed two plates and held them out to Gavin to fill. “Thinking about it,” he said, unwilling to hide a damn thing from Piper—that he could control, anyway.
His dad beamed.
Piper whipped her head around so fast to stare at him that Cam was surprised it didn’t just fall off.
“I put in a transfer to be DEA West Coast,” he said. “San Luis Obispo office. It’s a long shot. I’ve got no idea if I’ll get it. But yeah.” He shrugged. “It’d be nice.”
“When did you do that?” Piper asked.
“Last week.” He didn’t want to be two thousand miles away, worrying about his dad, about Winnie. Piper . . . He’d known what he needed, wanted to do, almost from the moment he’d set foot in Wildstone.
Piper came closer, and with her back to the room, asked softly, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Haven’t had much time alone.”
She shifted even closer and whispered, “We had plenty last night.”
“After you freaked out about me extending my leave, I thought I’d wait and break it to you gently if it happened. Besides, we were . . . busy last night.”
“No really,” Gavin said. “Ew.”
Piper didn’t take her eyes off Cam.
“Do we have a problem?” he asked.
The look on her face told him they did indeed have a problem, a big one. And he knew why. She’d been comfortable with this thing between them when it’d been temporary. But if he stayed, it suddenly made their no-strings fling complicated.
And she hated complicated.
Emmitt went to the fridge to pour some more OJ. He turned to Piper. “Need anything?”
“Actually, yes. I need my sister to be realistic about what she’s facing. And I need my brother to understand that putting too much pressure on himself right now is a bad idea. And I need them both to be honest with me when shit happens, because how can we be a family if we’re not honest with each other?”