Harlequin Heartwarming April 2018 Box Set

by Amy Vastine

  “Piper definitely thinks I’m cuter than you,” Liam said as he filled up his bag with gummy bears, which were supposedly his little sister’s favorite.

  Sawyer laughed. “You might be right.”

  “But she loves you, so you’re pretty lucky.”

  “Very lucky.” Sawyer scratched the nape of his neck.

  “Maybe I can come to your wedding. I could be the ring boy.”

  The knot in Sawyer’s stomach tightened. One, there was never going to be a wedding and two, even if there was, Liam probably wouldn’t be alive to see it.

  “I don’t see why not,” Sawyer answered. He swallowed hard, trying not to think about how this kid would never grow up to be the big man he wanted to be. He wouldn’t fall in love and get that first kiss. He wouldn’t get to go to prom or marry the girl of his dreams. Or hold his own child in his arms.

  Lucky. Sawyer had been lucky enough to do many of those things, but he took others for granted. He was about to become a dad. It was one of those things he’d thought he wouldn’t get to experience since he had sworn off marriage. Meeting Piper had changed all that. For the short time they’d been together, he’d started to believe marriage wasn’t the dirty word he’d built it up to be. Of course, he’d never imagined those feelings would lead to them having to pretend to take the plunge. Now, he wasn’t sure where he stood on the idea of spending his life with someone.

  Liam ran back over to Piper. She was in her element tonight. She had walked into this room full of fans and lit it right up. She’d had no qualms about hugging whoever she could get her hands on.

  The fans had been mildly interested in Sawyer, but they were definitely more excited to see Piper. She’d reminded him of his sister—Faith and Piper both had a way of making everyone feel welcome.

  She’d had them under her spell. She was good at that. Sawyer couldn’t afford to let himself get caught in her web, though. He needed to protect his heart. Piper treated everyone like they were special, but who really was? Sawyer wasn’t about to fall for someone who held him in the same regard as she held a fan or a friend. He wanted someone who loved him back. Maybe he had more abandonment issues than he cared to admit, but he wanted someone who would choose him over everyone else. Piper wouldn’t…or maybe couldn’t do that.

  “I can’t tell you what it means to Liam that you guys are willing to support his foundation,” Liam’s dad said, joining him at the candy bar.

  “He’s a real inspiration,” Sawyer said. “It’s hard to believe he’s only six. He’s wise beyond his years.”

  Tears welled in the man’s eyes. “He’s been through more than most people ten times his age. Two months ago, the doctors told us he only had about three months left. I wish he would get those sixty years. But every day is a gift at this point.”

  Sawyer’s heart clenched. Liam was busy showing his mom and Piper everything he had in his bag and explaining all the people he wanted to share with. He was so generous when so much was being taken from him. Sawyer fought back his own tears at the thought of such a bright light being extinguished.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” Liam’s dad said. “It would have been worse not to know him at all. These six years have been a roller coaster, but I wouldn’t give them back for all the money in the world.”

  Sawyer couldn’t help but admire the man’s strength. Having been so caught up in his drama with Piper, Sawyer hadn’t thought about what loving a child would be like. He’d assumed it would be easy. Yet this experience had shown him it was anything but. What horrible helplessness this man must feel day in and day out.

  Piper, on the other hand, had firsthand experience with this kind of thing. Her family dealt with her brother’s illness every day. She was willing to do anything to help Matty and would most likely go to any extreme for their child, as well. Maybe that was why she was so afraid. She knew bad things could happen and that this job they were about to take on would be full of challenges—even if their child was completely healthy.

  Sawyer watched Liam’s father rejoin his family. He put his arm around his wife and kissed her head. The burden the two of them carried was so heavy, but because they carried it together, they could still breathe. Sawyer’s gaze fell on Piper. How much more could they accomplish together?

  Lana announced the end of the meet and greet. Time to shift into performance mode. If this was how all these things were going to be, Sawyer was in trouble. The emotional toll was more than he’d ever expected.

  “I have to go and you better get in your seats for the show,” Piper said, trying to sound as upbeat as she could. “But I want to thank you for coming to see me today.”

  “You’re welcome.” Sweet Liam smiled from ear to ear. “Sawyer said I can be in your wedding. Just email my mom with all the details.”

  Sawyer’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t expected the kid to tell Piper. Her jaw was tight, but she managed a smile.

  “I’ll do that,” she said and gave Liam a kiss on the cheek.

  When Liam and his family left the room, the only ones left behind were Piper, Sawyer, Lana and a couple security guards. Piper pressed her back to the wall and covered her face with her hands.

  “Hey.” Sawyer had to control the emotion in his own voice. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. Piper cried on his shoulder as he rubbed her back.

  Lana escorted the security guys out of the room and closed the door to give them some privacy. Wouldn’t want anyone to know this whole thing was nothing but a giant fraud.

  “Life is so unfair,” she said as she cried. “He seems so full of life.”

  “I know.”

  “His mom said he—he—he isn’t expected to make it to his seventh birthday. Why did you tell him he could be in our wedding?”

  “I wanted to give him something no one else could.”

  “What?” she sobbed. “Another lie? Is that all we do now?”

  Sawyer pulled back and held her wet face in his hands. “We gave that little boy hope. Hope that he might get to walk down the aisle at Piper Starling’s wedding someday.”

  “What good is it to hope for something impossible?” Her eyes bored into his, begging for an answer.

  “Without hope, all he’s left with is fear. Hope keeps the fear of death at bay.”

  “Can you stop?” She pushed him away and took a couple steps back. “You’re always making me feel things I don’t want to feel.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sawyer said, frustrated that they were in this situation. “I’m not trying to do anything but help you.”

  “Well, it’s not helping. I get that this is all pretend. But when you treat me like you care about me behind closed doors, you give me this false hope. Hope doesn’t make things better. It hurts.”

  Was that what he had been doing? And since when was Piper hoping there was something real going on between them?

  “I’m not acting like I care about you, Piper. You were the one who told me we were moving too fast, that it was the wrong time to get into a relationship. Or did you forget about that?”

  “Well, you didn’t argue with me. You seemed to agree that the timing wasn’t right, that we were caught up in something that wasn’t real.”

  “Maybe you made me feel things I didn’t want to feel. Maybe I let you go because I don’t trust you. I definitely don’t trust your dad.”

  “You don’t trust my dad?” The tips of Piper’s ears were bright red.

  “You do whatever he says. Don’t even deny it. You were happy in my arms until he showed back up and started filling your head with all these ideas about what you should and shouldn’t do. Next thing I know, you’re cutting me loose like I meant nothing to you.”

  “You didn’t mean nothing. Maybe I was confused,” she said with a little less fire.

  Sawyer raked his
fingers through his hair. “You sure confuse me. What do you want, Piper? Do you want me to care about you or not? I can’t tell.”

  “I want you to be honest with me. I know we have to lie to everyone else, but can you please be honest with me?”

  Did she have any idea how much easier things would be if he could tell her how he truly felt? If he could trust her, he’d happily give her his heart. They were going to be parents. Nothing would make him happier than to raise this baby with her. To be a family.

  But every time he let himself believe it might be okay to let her in, she proved his needs and wants weren’t a priority for her. Piper was committed to her family, her career, even to being good to her fans, but she was willing to walk away from Sawyer without a second thought.

  “Honestly, I don’t know how I feel—except sad that I can’t completely trust you.”

  Piper’s chin trembled before the anger reignited in her eyes. Whatever she’d been feeling a moment ago was gone.

  “Well, you need to be onstage in a few minutes. I suggest you go get ready and I’ll see you out there for our duet. Can I trust you not to mess this up?”

  Piper stormed out of the room and left him alone with nothing but his thoughts. The rumors about trouble in paradise would soon be brewing. Why did that make him feel worse?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “THANK YOU, CHARLOTTE! Good night!”

  The crowd roared as Piper waved and ran offstage. Lana handed her a bottle of water and they raced back to the dressing room. Her body vibrated from the euphoria of performing.

  Opening night was a success. Piper loved performing. She had loved it since she’d been able to put two words together. Singing for arenas full of adoring fans was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience that she was fortunate enough to get to do night after night. At least until the baby was born. All of this might change once she became a single mother.

  Darla, the head of Piper’s wardrobe department, was waiting for her along with her makeup artist, Trina. They were in charge of not only making her look good for the show but also deconstructing her afterward.

  “Everything is set for dinner. People are headed over there now,” Lana said. It was tradition after the first show for Piper to treat the crew to dinner to celebrate the kickoff of the tour.

  There was a knock on the door, and Heath popped his head in. “Great show, sweetheart. You were amazing.”

  Her father, Dean, Faith and Sawyer entered the room. They were full of praise and congratulations. But Piper went from elated to deflated the moment she locked eyes with Sawyer.

  “Thanks,” she said, forcing herself to look away. “There were a couple of transitions that didn’t go as smoothly as I wanted.”

  “We’ll talk about it later,” her dad said. “I’m going to head over to the restaurant to make sure everything is in order. I’ll take Dean and Faith with me. I’ll leave your fiancé behind and send the car back to get you in an hour.”

  “Oh.” Sawyer seemed hesitant. “I was going to head over with Hunter and the other guys from the band.”

  Clearly, he hadn’t expected to be stuck with Piper.

  “If you want to go ahead without me, you can.” Piper had a hard time hiding her annoyance. “I can get there on my own.”

  “No, it’s fine. I can tell them to go on ahead. I only thought, given our conversation before the show, that it was better if I gave you some space.” He said it like she might get the wrong idea if he went with her.

  Piper started to wipe off the thick layer of stage makeup from her face. She was far from being confused at the moment. “It’s a free country. You can do anything you want. Leave, stay. It’s totally up to you.”

  He sat down on the couch like a defiant child. “I’ll stay then.”

  Heath’s displeasure in their unfriendly display was evident. “I’m confident you two will work out whatever is going on before we get to dinner. I expect happy faces when I see you next.”

  “Sure, Dad,” Piper promised, knowing she had to plaster on a smile in front of the crew.

  Staring at Sawyer through the mirror didn’t make her want to smile, though. He glared back as the stylists finished taking off her makeup and hair extensions. What was he trying to prove?

  Once Piper was ready for a shower, everyone left the room except for Sawyer and Lana.

  “You two need to be careful,” Lana said. “People are going to talk if you argue like that in front of them. The goal is to convince people that you love each other.”

  “He’s the one who’s acting like a child all of a sudden.”

  “Oh, I’m acting like a child? Don’t you think it’s so interesting, Lana, that Piper will tell me this is a free country where people can do whatever they want, but when her father tells her to do something, she does it without question?”

  Piper turned to face him, her eyes narrowed in anger. “I do what he says because he’s right. Do you think we should go into this dinner looking like we hate each other?”

  “I don’t hate you, Piper. I never have and I hopefully never will.”

  “But you don’t trust me.” His earlier words had hurt.

  “You haven’t given me much reason to.”

  She tilted her head. “What exactly have I done that makes you say that? You act like I’ve lied to you over and over again. I was confused by my feelings for you. Is that a crime?”

  “No.” Sawyer rose to his feet. “It’s fine to be confused. But that’s not what happened. You turn your emotions off and on like a faucet. One minute, you’re letting me in and the next, you’re shutting me out. I guess your father decided having feelings wasn’t going to make you a pop star.”

  Piper got out of her makeup chair and right up in his face. He was not going to make this about her. “How dare you? I am grateful that my father is always there to support me and what I want.”

  “What you want or what he wants you for you? Do you even know if there’s a difference?”

  “You love to make this about my dad, about me. You want me to believe you let me go because of my priorities. But the truth is, you were never confused. You’re just mad I called things off first.”

  Sawyer dared to laugh. “What?”

  “Hunter told me at Thanksgiving dinner that you haven’t ever had a serious relationship, but you’ve never turned down a date with any of the pretty girls in Grass Lake, either. He said you were the love-’em-and-leave-’em type…until me.”

  “Hunter shouldn’t have been talking to you about that stuff.”

  “Was he telling the truth?”

  Sawyer turned his head and averted his eyes. That was all the answer she needed.

  “Tell me who’s more untrustworthy, Lana, me or Sawyer? Someone who was afraid things were moving too fast and that the timing was off, or someone who breaks hearts all over Tennessee?”

  Lana didn’t have to reply. Sawyer wasn’t interested in commitment; he was only sore about being rejected.

  “I’m going to jump in the shower and get ready,” Piper said, leaving the two of them standing there in silence. “We’ll leave in thirty minutes.”

  * * *

  SAWYER ORDERED A drink at the bar. The after-show party was in full swing by the time he and Piper arrived. They had walked in hand in hand for effect and quickly went their separate ways.

  She had put him in his place tonight, and he was still sore about it. Piper wasn’t wrong about him. He had issues. But she had issues, too, whether she wanted to believe it or not. It was both of their issues that were causing the trouble between them.

  “You aren’t making the rounds to say hello to everyone with the soon-to-be missus?” Hunter asked, sidling up next to him and adding a beer for himself to the order.

  “Nah, she’s throwing this party, not me.”

  “Everything all right? I
heard there’s been some tension. The tour rumor mill says that the happy couple had their first fight today.”

  Just as Sawyer had suspected. People loved to gossip. Heath would have his head for this. “We’re fine. It’s been a stressful day. And it didn’t help that you thought you should run your mouth to Piper about my previous dating habits at Thanksgiving.”

  “Is that what you were fighting about? I didn’t tell her that to make her mad at you. If she’s going to get all bent out of shape because you’ve dated a lot of women, maybe you need to rethink what you’re doing.”

  Hunter had no idea what he was talking about, and if he kept this up, there would be nothing but trouble.

  “I don’t need to rethink anything. I need you to be quiet.”

  The bartender came over with their drinks. “Here you go, boys. Let me know if you need anything else,” she said with a wink.

  “We will, thanks,” Hunter said, leaving her a couple dollars as a tip.

  Sawyer grabbed his drink and turned around to look over the crowd. Boone hadn’t been kidding when he said Piper employed a lot of people. This wasn’t even everyone. There was a whole crew back at the arena breaking down the stage and packing it up in the trucks.

  Piper had rented out the entire restaurant for this soiree. A bunch of tables were pushed together to form a horseshoe for them to sit around. The staff was busy setting up a buffet-style meal along one wall while the guests mingled and hung around the bar.

  “Did you see how she just looked at you?”

  “Who?”

  “The hot bartender. Man, I hate that you’re so much better looking than I am.” Hunter messed with his hair in a poor attempt to make it look tousled like Sawyer’s.

  “What are you talking about?” Sawyer glanced back and caught the bartender staring. She quickly looked away and poured a drink for someone else.

  “You must really be in love to not notice when gorgeous women are practically throwing themselves at you.”

  Love, love, love. He was tired of that word.