Almost Just Friends

by Jill Shalvis

  “Told you,” Winnie said. “They’re making up for lost time.”

  Piper yanked her hands off Cam.

  Cam did not yank his hands off Piper. He kept them on her. His gaze too. “What’s up?” he asked their audience.

  “We could ask you the same thing,” Emmitt said. “Or question your sanity, going for a swim in February.”

  “Love makes you do stupid things,” Gavin said sagely.

  Winnie gasped, her head swiveling between Cam and Piper. “Love?”

  “Love,” Cam said firmly.

  Emmitt grinned.

  Gavin grinned.

  The old Piper would have rolled her eyes and denied it, and then said something snarky to chase everyone off. The new Piper could only nod with a dopey smile on her face, one that made Cam laugh.

  Winnie smiled, but it wavered. “Piper, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’d like to blame the Bean, but I’m going to be a mom, so I figure I should probably at least try to grow up. I just want you to know, you’re important to me. So important. I love you so much, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything sooner. That’s not on you, not even a little bit. It’s all on me.”

  Gavin nodded. “What she said. We are assholes, and we’re going to do better. You deserve that, and so much more.”

  Winnie nodded. “And the Bean loves you too. She can’t wait to meet her aunt.”

  “She?” Piper asked softly, throat tight. “It’s going to be a she?”

  Winnie’s eyes filled. “I found out today. She’s a she.”

  “Oh my God,” Piper said, and hopped up to hug her.

  Winnie squealed with shock when Piper’s wet clothes clung to her, but like only a sister would do, Piper tightened her grip. Smiling at the second squeal, she said, “I’ve got to say some stuff now.”

  “Uh-oh,” both siblings said at the same time.

  Piper pulled back to look at them. “What you two did for me, working to get the money to buy me out, that was”—she searched for the right words—“incredible. I’d asked the two of you to grow up, and when I wasn’t looking, you both did exactly that.”

  “So you’re not mad that we want to stay and run the B and B?” Winnie asked.

  “No, because you’re only doing what I wanted for you all along. To have lives that fulfill you. And I want you to know that I’m proud of both of you. Really proud. Winnie, you’ve made the best of a rough situation, and with those new handywoman skills, you’re a serious asset to the property. And, Gavin . . . your charisma and charm make people adore you—you’ll be amazing as the face of the B and B. I’m happy we’re not selling.” She drew a deep breath. “And while I’m confessing, there’s more. I thought I had to leave to find that fulfillment for me. But I was wrong. Having you guys back here, being together as a family as grown-ups, it’s”—she shook her head, at a loss for words—“everything. I . . . want to stay.”

  Gavin frowned, looking concerned. “But school—”

  “I applied to SLO,” she said. “It’s only thirty minutes from here. I’ll commute.”

  “Okay, but what does this mean for us?” Winnie asked, hands on her belly, looking uncertain.

  Gavin took Winnie’s hand in his. “I think it means we’re going to stay together.”

  Piper nodded. “I love both of you soul-sucking idiots. More than anything.”

  “Me too,” Winnie said, and flung herself back into Piper’s arms. “So . . . we’re okay? Like, we’re all finally okay at the same time?”

  Piper’s heart squeezed hard as she looked first into Winnie’s hopeful face, and then at Gavin, who looked relaxed and okay for the first time since . . . well, ever. And then at the smiling Emmitt. And finally into Cam’s eyes. “Yes,” she said, holding Cam’s gaze over Winnie’s head. “We’re all okay.”

  NOT AN HOUR later, Cam got a notice he was being deployed. Unusual, he told her, so close to having just gotten back, but not unheard of. And this time he’d be gone a month, unless his unit was released early.

  During the weeks he was gone, Piper kept herself busy, working on keeping Winnie sane and the baby she was growing safe, and watching Gavin come into his own right in front of her eyes. And when they opened the Manning B&B three weeks after Cam had left, their guests raved about their stay.

  Another week went by, and though it was now nearly April and officially spring, they got a hell of a winter storm. Again, there was flooding and the town was a mess. So was the lake.

  She and Gavin and some hired help were up to their knees in mud working with Emmitt at the marina. She was wearing one of Cam’s T-shirts, pathetically hugging the neckline up over her nose every few minutes to catch his lingering scent.

  “I swear, nothing smells better than the person you love,” she said.

  “Have you ever walked by a Cinnabon?” Winnie asked.

  Piper sighed, but suddenly she felt a change in her force field. Whirling from where she was, facing the lake, she stared up at the hill as a single figure worked his way down, in jeans and a sweatshirt, a duffel bag on his shoulder, moving easily and efficiently through the mud like nothing could stop him.

  She stilled, but her heart didn’t. He wore the usual dark sunglasses, but she could still see the fatigue all over him. Tousled hair, longer than she was used to seeing on him. At least a week’s worth of beard on his jaw. His expression fierce and intense, like he was still on a mission.

  “Cam,” she whispered. She tried to look half as graceful as he while moving toward him, but instead she probably looked like an elephant fighting its way through a lake made of peanut butter.

  He closed the distance between them faster than she took a few steps. Dropping the shovel she’d been holding, she launched herself at him. His arms caught her and lifted her off her feet. She was already wrapping herself around him when he murmured her name in a reverent rumble.

  “You’re home,” she murmured, pressing her jaw to his unshaved, rough one.

  “Yeah.” He buried his face in her hair, tightening his grip on her. “Missed you, Piper. Missed you so fucking much.” Angling his head, he sought her mouth with his.

  There was a whole lot in that kiss. Love, affection, relief, hunger—and she’d never been so glad to see anyone in her life. Pulling back, she looked him over for obvious injuries and thankfully didn’t see any. “I made you all dirty.”

  In spite of his clear exhaustion, he gave her a wolf grin and leaned in, for her ears only. “I’ll be returning the favor as soon as I get you alone.”

  “Hey,” Gavin called. “You kids going to help, or are you going to make out all day?”

  Winnie, also there “supervising” the cleanup, patted her now rounded belly. “The Spicy Bean says get your asses to work!”

  Piper very reluctantly started to pull free, but Cam tightened his grip, brushed a kiss to her temple, and then put his mouth to her ear. “Just remember, you’ve got a date later.”

  THE NEXT MORNING, Piper woke up slowly, a smile on her face. She was alone in the bed, no doubt because Cam was off swimming or rowing, or something equally nutty. She knew he’d come back eventually, and knowing him and his endless source of energy, he’d talk her into some additional cardio right in this bed.

  Not that he’d have to do much to convince her. Smiling at the thought, she looked at the time and found something propped up against the clock.

  A beautiful brand-new leather journal, along with a stack of stickers and three different packs of pens and a bunch of pencils.

  Her inner office-supply ho quivered and she fell in love all over again.

  “I hope the look on your face means you think I’m so amazing that you’re going to make breakfast.” Cam stood in the doorway in running gear, looking damp with exertion and smiling like he’d had fun—freak.

  As for the breakfast comment, he was teasing, and they both knew it. If they were eating with the whole gang, Gavin did most of the cooking. If it was just herself and Cam, well, he took up the slack t
here because he honestly enjoyed it. The only part she enjoyed was the eating.

  “Sure,” she said, enjoying the view. “I’ll do the cooking.” She gave him a “come here” crook of her finger as she sat up, letting the sheet fall away from her.

  Cam’s gaze heated but he didn’t move. “Babe, I’m all sweaty.”

  “Isn’t that the point of exercise?”

  He laughed. “Yes, but you hate both exercise and sweating.”

  “Not all kinds.” She loved the way his voice sounded when he was at ease. A little lower, a little warmer, a lot sexier. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, she tugged. He fell over her, but only because he let himself. As she’d learned, when Cam didn’t want to budge, he didn’t budge.

  Except with her. He’d do anything for her, and she was never, ever going to get over the marvel of that. He’d changed since he’d come to Wildstone. In the beginning, he’d been grieving, guarded, and temporary. Very temporary.

  And that had worked for her. But she no longer needed or wanted that. Even when she was an unlovable mess, he looked at her in a way that stole her breath every time.

  He was her person.

  He hadn’t stopped missing Rowan and he never would, but he didn’t let it hold him back, and in turn she’d been able to do the same. When she was with him, she felt like she could do anything.

  He braced his weight above her with one arm, touching her face with his free hand. “What are you thinking about?”

  “That I didn’t think anything could still surprise me, but you do. I can’t wait to see what comes next.”

  He grinned. “It’s going to be you, babe. You’re going to come next.”

  She laughed and shook her head, but he dipped his to kiss her softly, the laughter gone. “You still surprise me too,” he murmured, voice husky the way it got when he was particularly moved. “Every day you show me more about love and life than I thought possible. I don’t know what comes next either, but I can’t wait for it. I think the next sixty or seventy years should be enough time to see, don’t you?”

  Her breath caught. “Maybe eighty . . .”

  “Yeah. I like the way you think.”

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  Piper and Winnie stood back from their creation and took a long look at their work.

  “Man, we’re good,” Winnie said.

  “We are,” Piper agreed.

  “Arf, arf, arf!” This came from Chance, the eight-week-old puppy Piper had rescued last week after a work call at the local SPCA. The manager had fallen and broken her leg.

  Piper had fallen too. She’d fallen in love with the tiny little puppy in a crate at the front desk giving her the biggest, saddest eyes she’d ever seen. She’d gone back three days in a row just to hold the puppy, until finally the lady who’d broken her leg gently asked Piper if she’d ever considered a dog.

  She hadn’t until that very moment. She scooped up the puppy and kissed the top of his fuzzy head.

  “Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma,” garbled the adorable one-and-a-half-year-old in the baby carrier strapped to Winnie’s chest.

  “Aw,” Piper said, bending in to kiss the top of her niece’s fuzzy head as well. “And you’re right, Ro. It’s definitely time for a food break.”

  “Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma!” This was accompanied by wild arm waving and a smile.

  Baby Rowanne, “Ro” for short, had come into the world much like her daddy had lived in it: wild and carefree. And she loved to talk. None of them could actually understand a word, but they all pretended they did.

  “You heard that, right?” Piper said. “She’s telling us it’s lunchtime. In fact, she quite clearly said she’s starving and that we are working too hard.”

  “Arf, arf!” Chance said, chiming in.

  Winnie laughed. “You know what? I think you’re both right.”

  Together they stepped back from the marina house to admire what they’d done. A year ago, Emmitt had asked Cam to become an equal partner in the marina, and to sweeten the pot, he’d offered his house to Cam and Piper.

  He’d then up and married Margaret and moved in with her.

  Gavin ran both the B&B and the marina, and had a few part-time workers for help when he needed it. Winnie was one of them. And when Cam wasn’t at the DEA office or on a mission, he and Piper had been renovating the house. He’d been called out a month ago, and to try to fill the time, Piper had wanted to surprise him.

  She and Winnie had finished the project he’d been working on before he’d left—painting the master bedroom. But he’d been gone long enough that she was starting to miss him unbearably.

  They moved down the stairs and into the kitchen, stopping short at the sight of CJ in full cop gear holding Gavin pressed up against the refrigerator. He was either trying to interrogate Gavin’s tonsils, or kissing him hello.

  “Again?” Winnie asked.

  “I think you mean still,” Piper said.

  “Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba,” Ro said.

  Winnie smiled down at her girl. “You said it, little mama.” To the guys, she said, “Isn’t the honeymoon over yet?”

  “Nope,” CJ said, and smiled into Gavin’s dazed-looking eyes.

  Gavin grinned dopily back at him. “Definitely nope.”

  “Come on,” Winnie said. “You’ve been married for months. CJ, you promised to love and cherish and to stop hogging the GameStation. Gavin, you also promised to love and cherish, and to still grab CJ’s ass, even when it gets old and wrinkly.” She pointed to the proof—the pics taped to the fridge where Gavin had just been held against it.

  There was a pic of Gavin and CJ beneath a rainbow altar being married by an Elvis in drag. And one of all of them grinning drunkenly and toasting gallon-sized champagne glasses toward the two grooms. And then another of both of those same two grooms jumping into the hotel pool in their matching tuxes.

  But Piper’s favorite was a shot someone had gotten of her and Cam slow dancing in a corner beneath a flashing disco ball, eyes only for each other. She was smiling, with a goofy look on her face. Right before, Cam had leaned in and asked her, “What do you think of us being next?”

  She’d said, “Next for what?”

  He’d just smiled at her, and she’d nearly swallowed her tongue.

  “Are you serious?”

  Cam had dropped to one knee and produced a gorgeous diamond ring, and she’d gasped. “I’ve loved you for a long time,” he’d said. “You make me smile, you make me feel like a superhero, like I can do anything. But the truth is, all I want to do is be with you. I want to sleep with you every night and wake up with you every morning for the rest of my life.”

  “Yes,” Piper had whispered.

  “Jeez, Piper, wait until he asks you,” Winnie had said.

  Cam, not taking his eyes off Piper, had smiled. “Will you—”

  “Yes,” Piper had said again, softly, past the huge lump of joy and excitement in her throat.

  Winnie had shaken her head.

  “What if he’s asking if you’ll do his laundry for the rest of his life?” Gavin had joked.

  Cam had dropped his head and stared at his own knees for a beat. Probably second-guessing his desire to join her crazy family. Then he’d tried again. “Piper, will you marry me? And to be clear, that doesn’t include doing my laundry.”

  She’d dropped to her knees and kissed him. “Yes,” she’d whispered against his mouth.

  Remembering this now made her miss him all the more and she moved to the kitchen window, staring out at the lake for a little bit of happy.

  Chance, sensing her sadness, whined and licked her chin.

  “Thanks, baby.” She hated these forced separations so much. She’d never let Cam know, not wanting to add any stress to his plate, but it was getting harder and harder to be apart. That was when she realized there was an odd silence in the kitchen behind her, and she turned around.

  Cam was right there in front of her, and with a gasp of surprise, she threw he
rself at him. He caught her—and Chance—with ease, and then, without any words, their mouths found each other. His kiss was hard and desperate and hungry . . . everything she was feeling, and it said everything that needed to be said. Love. Longing. Desire. Affection. Everything . . .

  When they surfaced for air, Cam looked down at the puppy giving him huge eyes. “Who’s this?”

  “Chance.” She held her breath.

  “He ours?”

  “Yes,” she said softly, hoping he’d be okay with that, that he’d understand she’d been lonely as hell and—

  “Nice. He’s cute.” He nuzzled the puppy, looking heart-stoppingly sexy while doing it, then gently set him down. He then picked up Piper and plopped her on the counter, making himself at home between her legs. He was holding her so tight that she couldn’t breathe, but hey, who needed to breathe?

  They were alone. Well, relatively anyway, as Chance was sitting on one of Cam’s feet.

  “Never again,” he murmured against Piper’s lips.

  “At least until they call you, right?” she quipped, trying to make light.

  “No.” His eyes were dark. Serious. “Never again.” He pulled a very official envelope from his back pocket and set it on the counter. “I’m out. It’s official. I’m a retired man, babe.”

  “Wow,” she breathed. “So I’ve got you all to myself now?”

  “Every inch.”

  She felt love and happiness fill her heart. “I’ve got plans for those inches. Lots of plans, Cam.”

  His smile went a little wicked as he picked her up again and, as she wrapped her legs around his hips, strode with her to their bedroom. He stopped short in the doorway at the fresh paint on the walls and the sheets covering all the furnishings.

  “Um,” she said. “Surprise.”

  Without skipping a beat, he took her straight into the bathroom and kicked the door shut. “The shower will do.”

  “Agreed.”

  “And then the hot tub.”

  She nodded eagerly.