Love Sparkles in Fortune's Bay

by Julie Archer

  Mal stirred beside her, his arm reaching for her. “Morning,” he mumbled. “Why are you awake this early?”

  Piper propped herself up on the pillows. “Aren’t you nervous about today?”

  He opened one eye and fixed her with an amused grin. “Why would I be? I’m basically just doing my job.”

  “It’s the first time we’ll be out in public as a couple.”

  “Why would I be nervous about that?”

  Piper didn’t want to tell him that she was comparing herself—unfavorably—to the women he had been with before. She certainly wasn’t a beautiful, flexible, flaxen-haired goddess. She was nobody.

  Mal shifted so he was facing her. He took her face in his hands and pulled her toward him, his lips meeting hers. Piper couldn’t help but respond as tingles broke out over her body. Mal definitely knew how to take her mind off her troubles.

  A little while later, Mal had disappeared for a run, something to do with his pre-gig routine, and Piper had a leisurely shower. She hummed to herself as she went downstairs to the kitchen, dressed in a fluffy bathrobe, a towel wrapped around her hair.

  “Hey, Piper, excited for today?”

  Therese stood at the counter, popping capsules into the coffee machine as if it were something she did every morning in Mal’s kitchen.

  Piper squealed, clutching the robe tighter around her body. “Therese! What are you doing here?”

  “Boyd and I thought we’d get here early.”

  “But how did you get in the house?”

  Therese waggled a keyring full of keys at her. “I interviewed you here, remember?”

  Piper felt uneasy. The thought that Therese could just turn up at any time and let herself in filled her with dread. She’d be looking over her shoulder the whole time.

  “Hello, Piper. Nice to meet you, I’m Boyd.” A male voice came from behind her. “Therese has told me a lot about you and you seem to be working wonders for Mal.”

  Boyd Ross held out a hand. Piper shook it automatically, wishing she was at least dressed. “Nice to meet you too.” She paused. “Um, I think I’ll just go and put some clothes on. We weren’t expecting anyone to be here so soon.”

  Piper escaped upstairs and quickly donned a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt. She towel-dried her dark hair and let it flow loosely over her shoulders. It would have to dry naturally, if she wanted to keep an eye on Therese and Boyd. She returned to the kitchen within a few minutes.

  “Where is Mal anyway?” Boyd had settled himself down at the table and was looking out across the Bay. The view was enough to hypnotize anyone.

  “Out for a run.”

  Boyd’s eyebrows shot up. This must be a side of Mal that he was unfamiliar with.

  Therese passed her a mug. “Have you got everything ready for the booth?”

  The coffee was too hot, and Piper burned her tongue as she took a sip. All her stock was packed into cute little boxes, apart from the display items, and waiting in the study downstairs. She had a tiny cash box, full of change, and business cards to hand out to people who were interested, but not yet ready to buy. Mal encouraged her to set up an online presence as well, particularly for the tourists who might not come back to the Bay for a while. It was on her ever-growing list of things to do.

  “Mmm-hmm,” she managed.

  Therese turned back to the counter, seemingly busying herself with something. “You know Cora’s going to be there today?”

  The casual way in which she said it inferred she thought Mal had mentioned the presence of his ex on such an important day for Piper. Therese took her silence for acceptance and continued.

  “I think she’s bringing her new beau—that football player? He’s pretty hot.” Therese swooned.

  All Piper could think of was how Mal had neglected to mention it. She didn’t care whether Cora was there with her new boyfriend, but why hadn’t Mal told her sooner? And now he wasn’t there when she found out, so she couldn’t confront him about it.

  The front door banged shut, heralding Mal’s return. Piper wanted to run down the stairs and challenge him about it. But now wasn’t the time.

  He appeared at the top, sweaty and out of breath. “Oh, hey, Boyd, Therese. Still got the keys then?” He laughed.

  It was almost as if Therese caught the sour look on Piper’s face as she said, “I think it might be time to give them back. You probably don’t need me popping in so much now, and Alena should be back soon.”

  Another blow, thought Piper, it won’t be long before Mal realizes he doesn’t need me either.

  Boyd launched into a discussion about the set list for the afternoon’s gig and the logistics regarding the filming they were planning to do for social media. Therese and Mal joined him at the table, chatting animatedly, making suggestions and pointing out various glaring issues.

  “Piper, can you make some more coffee?”

  Therese’s request was friendly, but with everything Piper had just gleaned about Cora and Alena, it almost felt as if she had been dismissed, or simply downgraded.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I can’t, there are a few things I need to go over with Becki about the positioning of the booth and I need to get the stock over to the park.”

  Then, with as much strength as she could muster, she headed down the stairs to the study, trying to ignore the tears welling up.

  Chapter 18

  By the time the afternoon came, Mal realized he hadn’t seen Piper properly since they had first woken up that morning. With Therese and Boyd being at the house, they’d gone through all the plans, and she had disappeared. He wanted to see her before he went on stage, but he was finding it difficult to catch her on her own. He spotted her over by her booth, chatting with her brother, and began walking toward her.

  “I never expected that you would have been able to pull off something like this.”

  Mal recognized Cora’s voice instantly. “Why? Because I’m too self-absorbed and could never do it without help?” He turned to look at her and saw she was immaculately kitted out in white jeans, platform espadrilles, and a bright red-and-white-spotted top. Her long blond hair was glossy and freshly styled. It was typical that Cora would find an outfit that was about as far removed from the occasion as possible.

  Cora laughed. “More to do with the amount of work involved. Probably not something you did on your own.”

  Mal held up his hands. “You’re right. I had help. Piper and Becki have done a great job to pull this together in such a short space of time.”

  “It was such a good idea to donate all the proceeds to the ticket holders that weren’t able to get refunds from your cancelled shows.”

  “More out of necessity than choice.” Mal didn’t want to discuss that side of things with Cora—she didn’t need to know about his financial disasters.

  Mal glanced over toward the park, where Cora’s footballer boyfriend was throwing a ball about with some kids. Judging by the way Cora was staring at him, there was no feeling remaining on her side toward Mal, just like there wasn’t on his. He was very much enjoying being with Piper and the less complicated relationship they had. He felt as if he were allowed to be himself and wasn’t expected to be something he wasn’t. It was also good to be able to eat steak without being guilted about it.

  “I know you didn’t ask me here just to up the crowd numbers,” said Cora.

  Sometimes she had a way of knowing that he wanted something even before he asked.

  “Come with me,” he said. He took Cora’s hand and led her toward Piper’s booth. He was disappointed to find that Josh was manning it and there was no sign of Piper.

  “Where’s your sister?” he asked.

  Josh shrugged. “Said something about needing to talk to Bronte. Can I help you guys with something?” He tried to be casual around Cora, although the jiggling from foot to foot was giving him away.

  “Thanks, we just want to take a look at the stock.” Mal held up a set of Piper’s earrings. “What do you think of
these?”

  Cora examined them and then the rings, bracelets, and necklaces that Mal pointed out to her. She turned them over in her hands, slipped them on her fingers, and held them up to her lobes, seeing how they looked on her in the mirror that hung from the lintel. “They’re pretty. Why do you think I’d be interested in them?”

  Mal exhaled a sigh of relief. He was so pleased that Cora didn’t hate the range. “Piper designed and made them. I was wondering if you’d feature them on your blog, maybe get some of your friends to do the same?”

  Her eyes narrowed as she turned back to Mal. “Ah, it’s starting to make sense now. Piper likes you and you think you need to do her a favor.”

  The insinuation that Mal was only doing this for Piper because she had a crush on him made his blood boil. He and Cora had been over for a while now and she had already moved on. Just because he hadn’t hooked up with a Hollywood A-lister didn’t make his feelings for Piper any less real than Cora’s were for her new footballer boyfriend. “I’m not doing her a favor. I think she’s very talented and deserves a break.”

  Realization crossed Cora’s face. “Oh, it’s more than that then. You have a crush on her.”

  “We’re together.” As he spoke the words aloud, Mal’s heart swelled as he recognized the depth of the feelings he had for Piper. What had started out as an attraction, developed into more as they spent a greater amount of time together. “Whatever you think about me right now, I’m trying to do something nice for a woman I could very easily fall in love with.” He drew to a halt as he thought about what he’d just said.

  Piper’s brother’s head whipped round. “What did you just say?”

  Mal held up his hands. “Yes, it’s true; I think I’m in love with your sister.”

  “Then you’d better hurry up and tell her. Because she’s all up for moving back in with me and”—Josh gestured to the contents of the booth—“there really isn’t enough room in Kismet Alley for all this stuff.”

  He was right. Mal had to find Piper, and quickly. He scoured the immediate vicinity for any sign of her. Nothing. Just as he thought he spotted her at the entrance to one of the funfair rides, Therese and Becki came into his peripheral vision. Now there was a formidable duo.

  “You’ve got about fifteen minutes before you go on,” said Therese. She consulted her phone, tapping back a reply to whoever had just messaged her.

  “The crowd are really up for it.” Becki pointed to the swell around the front of the stage. People were swaying and dancing to the pre-gig music that was playing and for the first time in a long time, Mal got a rush of adrenaline. It was what he had been missing on the recent tour. He wondered how much of that was to do with Piper. If only he had chance to speak to her before his set.

  Chapter 19

  I definitely want to buy something; why don’t we go over there now?”

  Piper had barely registered what Bronte was saying, so fixated was she on what was happening with Mal and Cora. She’d watched as their heads had bent close together, and it had looked like Mal was whispering something in Cora’s ear. Or was he kissing her neck? She couldn’t see properly. Silently, she telegraphed a message to Josh, mentally telling him to interrupt or something, anything to stop what was happening. As Therese and Becki walked up to the pair, Piper hadn’t expected her guardian angels to come in that shape or form. Mal kissed Cora’s cheek and then disappeared into the crowd with them, leaving Cora alone with Josh.

  “Sorry, what did you say?”

  Bronte rolled her eyes. “I said I want to buy something, so can we go and take a look at your booth now?”

  The coast was clear. “Sure, of course.”

  The two of them went over to relieve Josh of his duties. While Bronte browsed the jewelry, Piper grabbed Josh’s arm and pulled him to one side, out of her friend’s earshot.

  “Well?” she hissed. “Are they getting back together?”

  Josh laughed, and Piper punched him on the arm.

  “I think that’s highly unlikely,” he said. “Mal’s only got eyes for one woman right now. And much as it pains me to tell you, dear sister, that woman is you. He just told Cora that he’s falling in love with you.”

  The bottom dropped out of Piper’s stomach. She and Mal hadn’t been together for all that long and hadn’t discussed the future—for instance, what might happen if he went back out on tour or if Alena came back. Everything had been focused on that day, the gig, and nothing more.

  “Oh, and he also wants her to feature your stuff on her blog.” Josh waved at Seb and Milla who were heading over to the stage. “Can I go now?”

  Piper waved him away, her thoughts focused on what Josh had just told her. She honestly thought she might throw up. If Cora did do her—or was it Mal?—a favor, the interest she could have in her range would be immense. Cora had hundreds of thousands of followers. What could that do for Piper’s reputation? All of a sudden, her vision swam and before she could do anything about it, she fell to the floor.

  When she opened her eyes, what felt like hours later, two concerned faces stared down at her: Bronte and Therese.

  “You fainted,” said Therese, gently stroking the side of her head. “Did you even eat this morning?”

  “No, I didn’t.” With Therese and Boyd turning up unannounced at the house, she had simply gone about getting herself sorted for the day, and food had been the last thing on her mind. Caught up in the added excitement of people she didn’t know actually buying her products, there hadn’t been time to get a snack and she hadn’t eaten since dinner the previous evening. She tried to get up, but still felt woozy, and the two women helped her to her feet.

  “Come on,” commanded Therese. “Let’s get you backstage and we can find something for you there.”

  “I’ll stay and look after the booth, if you like?” volunteered Bronte.

  “Thank you, that would be great,” replied Piper.

  Supported by Therese—who really was turning out to be her guardian angel—the two of them made their way across the park. As they did so, Mal’s voice carried across the air.

  “I want to dedicate this song to the person that came up with the idea for this concert, showing that I’m able to give something back to the Fortune’s Bay community. And that someone is very special to me…this is The Best Of The Crazy.”

  Once again, Piper’s legs almost buckled beneath her as Mal’s voice carried across the park. It was the song he’d written about her, the one he’d shown her the night they first kissed. She had no idea it was even ready to be played in public, but as she listened, she heard the sentiment. A tear threatened to escape, and she hurriedly brushed it away, not wanting to break down in front of the others. Therese took her to the wings and found her a chair. As she sat down, Therese pressed a pastry and a cup of juice into her hands. Piper crammed the food into her mouth and watched, spellbound, as Mal continued to play. Mal turned to the side she was on, caught sight of her, and his face broke into a massive grin. He waved and faced the audience again. Piper was glad he hadn’t asked her to join him. Going out in front of hundreds of people would not help her grumbling stomach.

  It was the first time that she had seen him play live and the set flew by in super-quick time. He was incredible, able to engage with the audience—laugh and joke with them. The man on stage now seemed miles away from the one who turned up at his house only a couple of weeks ago, grumpy and unfriendly. He finally finished a short encore and headed toward her.

  “Where have you been? Did you manage to see the set?” he asked, swooping down to give her a kiss.

  Piper nodded, unable to say anything. She finished her drink and stood up. “You were great,” she said. “I should get back to the booth.”

  Mal’s brows knotted together. “Why? Don’t you want to celebrate the success of your idea?”

  “The jewelry is my idea. And I think it’s going to be a success.” Piper waited, giving Mal the chance to say something about his suggestion to Cora. W
hen he didn’t speak, she turned and started to walk away from him.

  As she reached the bottom of the steps leading down from the stage, Mal caught up with her. “Wait, where are you going?”

  “I should get back to see what’s selling.”

  “No, you don’t. Therese just told me what happened; you need a rest.” Without giving Piper a chance to respond, he scooped her into his arms. He carried her through the crowd to the amusement park next door, despite her protestations. He came to a halt at the entrance to the Ferris wheel. The guy taking tickets waved them through for free.

  Mal set her down in front of the passenger car. “Have you seen the views from the top of here?”

  Piper shook her head. It had been years since she’d been near the Ferris wheel, bringing back memories of high-school senior parties and sneaking out late. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go on it now.

  “Come on, I’ve got a queue here. Are you going or not?” asked the attendant.

  Defeated, Piper sat down and Mal snuggled in next to her. The attendant banged the bar down in front of them, ensuring their safety. The car began to move, and Piper clutched the bar.

  “Is now the right time to tell you I’m not great with heights?” she admitted. There had been the time she and Bronte had ridden the Ferris wheel after drinking too much beer and she’d hurled as soon as the car had hit the top. And when Billy Jones dumped her in senior year when she’d thought he was going to ask her to be exclusive. Nothing good had ever come of going on the Ferris wheel.

  Mal’s hand covered hers. “You could have mentioned it a bit sooner.”

  “Like some of the things you should have.” Piper couldn’t help the words slipping out.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Cora.”

  Mal fell silent. The wheel continued to turn until their car was right at the top. It came to a stop and hung there, not moving. Piper’s stomach churned and she gripped the bar even tighter.