by Ali Parker
She moved to haul it off the bed, but I stepped forward. “Let me.”
“Thank you.”
I lifted the suitcase and set it on its wheels before pulling the handle up. Then I nodded at the bed. “Can we sit for a minute?”
“Of course.”
I sat on the bed, and Piper hopped up onto it. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stared at her hands in her lap.
Now that I was closer, I could see some things I’d missed when I first walked into the room, like her pink nose and cheeks and glassy eyes. She’d been crying.
I put my hand over hers in her lap. “I don’t want to make this any harder than it needs to be, but I need you to know some things. I’ll regret letting you leave without saying them.”
Her eyes swung up to meet mine, and she swallowed. Then she nodded almost hesitantly. “Okay. Go ahead. Please.”
“I wanted to thank you, Piper.”
“Thank me?” She blinked. “I haven’t done anything worth thanking me for.”
I held up a hand. “Just listen. I think you’ll understand. I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve taught me over the month. I don’t think I can capture it in words how much you’ve truly made me see the error of my ways, but I am really grateful. And I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Piper’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You did, just by being you. That was all it took. I consider myself really lucky to have gotten this time with you, Piper. It wasn’t enough, but if it’s all I get, it was more than enough.” I rubbed the back of my neck and laughed at my own stupid string of nonsense. “Did that make sense?”
Piper’s eyes were even glassier than before, and she dabbed at the corners of them with her thumbs. “Yes. I understand perfectly. I’m thankful too.”
“I hope you won’t forget me.”
“Forget you?” she asked, her eyes brightening and her smile stretching into one that wasn’t so sad. “Oh, Easton. I could never forget you. I enjoyed every single minute of our time together. Truly.”
“Really?”
“I promise.”
“Even when I yelled at you on the field after the game?”
Piper burst into a fit of giggles. The tears in her eyes were a mixture of sadness and joy, and she didn’t bother to wipe them away this time as they spilled down her cheeks. “Okay. Every minute except for that one. I swear.”
I wiped her tears from her cheeks with my thumbs. “You’re an incredible woman, Piper. I hope none of these other guys take you for granted or make you feel like you aren’t perfect just the way you are.”
“There’s no such thing as perfect,” she whispered, catching my hand and holding it to her cheek. She closed her eyes, and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. I wiped those away too.
“That’s what I used to believe.”
She smiled. “Who knew you were such a softy?”
“Nobody. Literally nobody.”
Piper kissed my palm and sat up a little straighter, regaining her composure. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“I know.”
We sat and stared at each other for a few awkward, sad seconds. And then I patted her knee, stood up, and offered her my hand. “Shall I walk you out?”
She nodded. When she stood, her hair fell over her shoulder and hid her face from my view like a curtain. She didn’t tuck it behind her ears this time. I suspected she might be crying or trying not to, and she didn’t want me to see.
I took her bags and rolled them down the hall. She held my hand and trailed along behind me.
We were in the driveway all too quickly. Raj was there, standing at the back of the SUV with the hatch open. He helped me load Piper’s bags into the back, and then he sat in the driver’s seat with the windows up and the doors closed.
He was a good guy. He knew a personal moment when he saw one. I was going to give him a raise.
Piper kept her eyes down and stared at her feet as I faced her. I lifted her chin, forcing her to look up at me. There were more tears, and I gave her a smile that I hoped she took comfort in. “I’m sorry I can’t go to the airport with you.”
“It’s all right.”
“It’s poor planning.”
I would have canceled whatever plans I had to take her to the airport, but today was the big team meeting before big changes started happening. Drafts. Retirements. New recruits. Potentially a new coach. I couldn’t miss this one. Jerry had put his foot down.
Piper wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her cheek on my chest. Her tears bled through within seconds. “You have to go. It’s important. You have a lot of decisions to make.”
She was right. This might be the year I retired.
I wished I had her to come home to after the meeting. Instead, I would be returning to an empty house, and it would be the first night I spent alone in weeks.
I stroked her hair and held her close, savoring the last couple of minutes we had together.
“If you ever need anything, you call me, all right?” I said.
She nodded.
“I mean it. Anything at all, Piper. I’ll drop whatever it is, and I’ll get to you. If you have a flat tire, I’ll be there. Or if one of these guys turns out to be an asshole, I will get to you, and I’ll kick his ass into the next dimension. Jackson never has to find out about it.”
She chuckled, and her shoulders shook. I knew she was laughing and crying all at once. So I held her tighter.
“Okay,” I said, rubbing her back. “It’s time. You don’t want to miss your flight.”
She nodded against my chest but didn’t let go.
I didn’t mind that. It showed me that she had grown just as attached to me as I had to her. It gave me hope that I might stand a chance in this crazy race for her heart. A small chance, but a chance nonetheless.
“Piper, you can do this. Don’t you want to see your family? It will all be fine. You know where I am if you want me. Or need me. Or whatever.”
She let her arms fall to her sides, and she took a step back. She nodded. “You’re right. I do.”
I smiled the best smile I could muster, took her cheeks in my hands, and kissed her forehead. “Don’t go falling in love with any other guys, all right?”
She held my wrists and nodded.
I let her go and went to the back door of the SUV. I opened it up for her. Piper stared at it for a moment before moving forward and climbing in. She paused in the backseat and looked back at me. “I hope you know how much you changed me this month too, Easton. It was a two-way street, and I owe you everything.” She lifted her chin and gave me her signature smile, the smile that made my knees weak. “I’ll see you around, Superstar.”
She leaned forward and pulled the door closed.
I couldn’t see her through the black tinted windows, so I stepped back. The brake lights went out, and Raj pulled forward, rolling down my driveway.
I didn’t know if she was looking back at me as she drove off, but I waved anyway, and I waited there until they turned the corner and the taillights disappeared.
Then I stayed there for another five minutes or so, letting the warm Miami sun beat down on my shoulders as I stared off after the girl who had jumpstarted my life after I stalled.
The girl who, if she chose me, I would get down on one knee for at the end of it all.
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The End
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About the Author
Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her.
She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.
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She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.
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Easton
The Casanova Club #3
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Copyright © 2019 by Ali Parker
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All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
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First Edition.
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Editor: Eric Martinez
Cover Designer: Hang Le from Designs by Hang Le https://www.facebook.com/designsbyhangle/