by Cindy Kirk
Anders grinned. “In that case, bring on the chow.”
“Honey, why don’t you sit?” Beck motioned to a chair. “I’ll get it.”
Ami shook her head. “Work on the bow of the ship. I’ll be back in a sec.”
With a bright smile, she headed in the direction of the kitchen.
With a soft smile lingering on his lips, Beck watched his wife until she disappeared from sight.
When Beck took a seat, Anders followed suit, dropping into the folding chair on the other side of the table. He lifted a puzzle piece, but only rolled it between his fingers as he cast his brother a questioning glance. “I never saw you as the puzzle type.”
He expected his brother to laugh. Instead, pulling his attention from the right corner of the puzzle, Beck looked up and arched a dark brow.
“Back in Athens, you were a ninety-miles-an-hour guy. If you weren’t working, you were on the golf course or attending some social event at the country club. Lisette was the same.” Anders spoke without thinking. “I remember wondering how the two of you were going to fit a baby into that insanely crazy schedule of yours.”
The second the words left his mouth, Anders wished he could call them back. “I’m sorry. I know you and Lisette would have been great parents. I—”
“It’s okay.” Beck shrugged. “We’d have adjusted our schedules and made it work.”
“I have no doubt.”
“Things are different here.” Beck spoke slowly, as if wanting to do justice to the sentiment. “Especially during winter months. Everything slows down. At first, it drove me crazy. Now I like it.”
“Like what?” Ami smiled as she set three pretty bowls and a handful of napkins on the table.
“The pace here during the winter.” Beck spoke as much to Anders as he did to his wife. “More relaxed. I have balance here. A good mix of work and personal life.”
Anders studied his brother. Rather than the restless energy he’d always associated with Beck, he had an aura of contentment. Especially when he was with his family.
Beck smiled at his wife. “And I couldn’t be happier.”
Scooping up a handful of the puppy chow, Anders munched. He found the taste very much to his liking. He opened his mouth to ask Ami if it was easy to make and found her moss-green eyes fixed on him.
She smiled. “I’ve been dying to know what you and Gladys discussed at the soup supper.”
Anders took a pull of beer, then pointed the bottle at her. “That’s the question I expected back at the social hall.”
“Something told me whatever you and Gladys were discussing involved Piper.” Ami shot him a quicksilver smile. “As I wasn’t sure you’d be comfortable sharing details in such a large group, I decided it was best to wait.”
“Nothing earth-shattering.” Anders pressed down a puzzle piece, and when it locked into place, satisfaction surged. He looked up. “Let me start by saying that Gladys Bertholf is one of the most fascinating women I’ve ever met.”
“There’s no one like her,” Ami agreed.
Beck nodded.
“We should warn you that Gladys fancies herself as the town matchmaker.” Ami chuckled. “She’ll deny it, but it’s a closely guarded secret everyone knows.”
Anders’s hand on the next puzzle piece stilled. “Is that right?”
“Gladys prefers to focus her efforts on one match at a time.” Ami’s tone was matter-of-fact. “She’s going to match Piper next.”
Forgetting the puzzle, Anders focused on his sister-in-law. “What makes you think that?”
“There’s this deck of cards that gets passed from couple to couple,” Ami explained. “They’re relationship cards. They have questions on them that couples have to answer.”
“Why?” Anders asked.
Ami cocked her head. “Why what?”
“Why do they have to answer?”
Ami opened her mouth to respond, but paused and closed it again. A small, puzzled frown furrowed her brows. “I guess…I don’t really know why.”
She turned to her husband for support.
Beck rubbed his chin. “From what I’ve observed, there’s pressure to go along from those who’ve gone before. Because the previous couple were forced to answer, they don’t want the next couple to get a pass.”
“Plus,” Ami added, “most will say they found answering the three required questions beneficial in deepening their understanding of each other.”
“Sounds like a royal pain to me.”
Beck ignored Anders’s comment.
“The bottom line is Gladys will do everything in her power to find Piper her perfect match.” Ami glanced at her husband and got a nod.
“Do you know the guy she has in mind for Piper?” Anders mentally kicked himself. He should have known Piper wouldn’t be unattached.
“Yet to be determined,” Beck drawled.
“I don’t think Piper is all that eager to be matched,” Ami confided. “I’m not sure why.”
Beck and Ami illustrated what Anders had always believed about happily married couples. They couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t be eager to walk down the aisle.
Anders fought a smile. “If Piper isn’t interested, she should simply give back the cards and tell Gladys to back off.”
“Not that simple. Anyway.” Beck gestured with the hand holding his beer. “We’re off track. What did Gladys want to speak with you about?”
His sister-in-law leaned forward. “More importantly, what did you tell her?”
Anders wished he’d known about Gladys’s proclivity toward matchmaking before their conversation. Even the information about these strange “relationship cards” might have been helpful.
Too late now.
Anders kept his tone casual. “I mentioned spending time with Piper at your wedding reception.”
“You did?” Ami shot a glance at her husband.
“I mentioned that at Muddy Boots,” Beck confirmed.
“You said they met,” Ami clarified. “Not that they spent time together.”
Anders carefully considered his words. “We danced and talked.”
Ami’s brows pulled together. “If you spent time together at the reception, I don’t understand why she didn’t come over and say hello last night.”
“She thought about it, but didn’t want to intrude.” Anders lifted a puzzle piece, but had no clue where to put it. He dropped it back on the table.
Beck inclined his head. “The dance and conversation must have made an impression for you to remember her after all these years.”
“I’ve always had a good memory for names and faces,” Anders reminded his brother.
“That’s true.” Beck must have seen Ami’s skepticism, because he added, “Ask anyone in the family.”
“Sounds like Piper also has a good memory.” Ami’s tone turned teasing.
Anders wondered what the two would say if he told them about the sizzling-hot kisses they’d shared by the pond. And her oh-so-tempting offer.
But he’d never kiss and tell. What happened at the pond stayed at the pond. Still, Anders wished he’d guarded his words when speaking with the town matchmaker.
The thought of how Gladys’s eyes had lit up when he mentioned remembering Piper had Anders stifling a groan.
He blew out a breath. “Thinking back on my conversation with Gladys, I’m afraid I played right into her hands.”
Chapter Six
Saturday ended up being a surprisingly busy day at Swoon. Piper spent nearly two hours helping a group of women look at dresses for a special forty-and-fabulous birthday party, only for them to leave without buying anything. In between that group and several others who were “just browsing,” she fielded text messages from her sister about wedding gowns.
Piper had been too busy to give much thought to Anders. She was in the middle of showing a bride and her mother from Egg Harbor several gowns that had recently arrived when the bell over the door jingled.
She
turned to see Anders step into her store and glance around.
Her eyes locked with his, and she started to excuse herself until he lifted a hand and mouthed, “Later,” before leaving the store. The rest of the day, her stomach felt as if she’d eaten a handful of jumping beans. By the time she locked the door at six, he hadn’t returned.
Had he come to say good-bye, to tell her he was leaving town? She experienced a feeling of something that felt a lot like regret, which made no sense. She barely knew the guy.
Rising early the next morning, Piper dressed carefully for church. Wearing her own merchandise tended to be her best advertising. The cashmere sweater she paired with leggings and boots was part of a line of cashmere she hoped would sell like gangbusters.
Piper loved the soft feel against her skin. and the gorgeous rust color sent her mind in the direction of autumn leaves. Unfortunately, since it was already mid-November, most of the leaves on Good Hope’s trees had already fallen.
Standing at the back of the sanctuary, Piper considered where to sit. Teenagers and parents of young children tended to gather in the back pews, so she rejected those seats.
Spotting the Bloom-Chapin clan near the front, Piper let her gaze slide over those sitting in the pews. She spotted Beck, Ami and the kids, but no Anders.
She’d been right. He’d obviously gone back to wherever it was he lived now. He’d probably had a job to get back to or maybe a girlfriend.
“I usually prefer to sit in the back, but something tells me I wouldn’t be welcome.”
Piper’s heart, heavy a second earlier, gave a leap. She turned, a smile already on her lips. She’d know that soft drawl anywhere. “Give it a try. Who knows? With that crazy hair of yours, you might fit right in with the teenage crowd.”
“You don’t like my hair?” His faux look of hurt didn’t fool her.
“I should find a place to sit.” Despite the pronouncement, she remained with her feet firmly planted in the center of the aisle.
“We need to talk.” Anders’s voice, soft and low, was for her ears only.
She cocked her head. “What about?”
“My conversation on Friday with Gladys.”
A chill slithered up her spine, and she spoke louder than she intended. “What did you tell her?”
Two teenage girls in a nearby pew stopped texting and lifted their heads, their attention now fixed on her and Anders.
“Not here.” Before she knew what was happening, his hand was on her arm, and they were out the front door of the church.
Piper noticed the second they stepped outside that the temperature had dropped even further.
He gave his head a quick jerk in the direction of the parking lot. “We can talk in my truck. It’s right over there.”
If the frigid air whipping the snow at their feet bothered him, it didn’t show. Piper wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. She should have worn her heavy coat instead of a jacket this morning.
Anders took her arm as they navigated the steps to the parking lot.
She supposed she could have refused the gentlemanly gesture, but despite the ice melt sprinkled generously on the steps and walkway, the concrete held a sheen.
His truck ended up being a massive 4x4 in midnight blue. If there hadn’t been a running board on the passenger side, he’d have had to hoist her up and in.
The second she was inside, he closed the door, then rounded the front. Once behind the wheel, he started the engine and set the heater to blast.
Blowers did their job, and blessed warmth flooded the cab. Beneath her, the seat turned toasty.
“Private, yet comfortable.” Piper offered an approving smile as she settled into the plush leather and let the warmth envelop her.
Glancing at the time readout on the dash, she calculated the service would just be getting started. Since Pastor Dan planned for a forty-five-minute service, there was no need to rush—except that being so close to Anders had desire surging.
Piper cleared her throat. “Okay, I’ll bite. Tell me what you and Gladys discussed.”
“I like a woman who gets right to the point.” He loosened the scarf around his neck and settled back. “She asked a lot of questions about you and me.”
“There is no you and me.”
He flashed a smile. “In Gladys Bertholf’s mind, there’s a you and me.”
Piper blew out a breath. “She’s always seeing things that aren’t there.”
The strange thing was what Gladys saw often came true. Like Clay and Bea. And, most recently, Adam and Charlotte. Piper sure hadn’t seen them being a couple. Now she couldn’t imagine them not being together.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Piper focused on Anders. “What did you tell her?”
“I kept it simple. We met at Beck and Ami’s reception, shared a dance and conversation.”
“She wasn’t satisfied with that.”
“You know her so well.” He laughed, looking almost boyish. “It was like giving someone an appetizer when they wanted the main course.”
“Did you tell her we kissed?”
Anders tapped a thumb to his chest. “Hey, this guy knows how to keep a secret.”
The tension gripping Piper eased. “If you didn’t tell her we kissed, you didn’t tell her I wanted to sleep with you.”
He shook his head. “I also didn’t tell her I wanted to sleep with you.”
What did it say, Piper thought, that hearing that admission, even after all this time, made her happy? “For not saying much, you two talked for quite a while.”
“The woman is a master at interrogation.” A slight smile lifted Anders’s lips. “She asked the same question a dozen different ways.”
Not surprising, Piper thought. Gladys was a smart, determined woman. Which was why she was so admired in the Good Hope community. “She didn’t break you.”
His hesitation had red flags popping up.
“What aren’t you telling me?” she demanded.
He lifted his hands. “The only information I gave up was I remembered you because I felt we had a connection.”
Golden eyes met brown.
“I felt it, too,” she reluctantly admitted.
“I learned later from Beck and Ami that Gladys fancies herself somewhat of a matchmaker. I’m sorry if what I told her puts you in her crosshairs.”
“Feel sorry for yourself. That comment puts you right there with me.” Piper waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry. I can handle Gladys.”
She reached for the door handle, but his hand on her arm stopped her.
“One more thing. You need to know that I wanted to go home with you that night in the worst way, but I couldn’t leave the reception.” His unwavering gaze met hers. “My entire family was there. I’d already screwed up. I owed Beck more.”
A strange remark, but one she chose not to pursue. That was the past. They’d both moved on. “Trust me, it is so not a big deal.”
“That red dress—”
“Made me look hippy.” Piper had dropped off the dress at the consignment shop two days later. Afterward, recalling her mother’s comment, she’d wondered why she’d been surprised he turned her down.
Anders blinked, then frowned. “Hippy?”
“The cut emphasized my big hips.”
“You have to be kidding.” He chuckled. “You looked amazing. You were the prettiest woman at the reception.”
She shot him a disbelieving look.
He lifted his hands. “May God strike me dead if I’m lying.” After one heartbeat, then two, he grinned. “See? Still alive.”
Piper couldn’t help but smile as she angled her body toward him. “Since we’re clearing the air, I’ll be honest with you.”
“Give it to me straight.”
Simple. Plain. To the point.
She liked that about him. Somehow, she knew she could be honest and frank with him, and he wouldn’t judge or gossip.
“You were nice to me at the reception. Not only list
ening to me ramble on about all my plans for the future, but pumping me up. Telling me you believed I’d be successful.”
He offered an encouraging smile.
“I don’t normally go around propositioning strangers.” She forced herself to hold his gaze. “I was feeling sad about some things in my personal life, and you were…” She paused, trying to think of a way to explain that he’d made her feel beautiful and desirable. “Well, you were…”
“Available?”
Piper burst into laughter. “Yeah, that was my criteria.”
A smiled tugged at the corners of his lips.
“I enjoyed being with you. I enjoyed kissing you.” She kept her voice matter-of-fact. “As I look back on that night, I think I hoped having sex with you would be the first step in truly moving on from the past.”
From his raised eyebrows, the admission appeared to surprise him as much as it did her.
“I’d just gotten out of this bad relationship.” Piper’s lips lifted in a rueful smile. “This guy I thought I was in love with cheated on me.”
Piper had thought she loved Heath. She now knew what she’d felt for him had been infatuation more than love.
“And you thought one night with me would help you turn that corner?”
Was that amusement she heard in his voice?
“I did.” It felt good to be honest, to say how things had been, rather than making up excuses about getting caught up in the moment. Lust might have played a role, but it wasn’t the whole story.
He grinned, then sobered. “I’m sorry about the cheating.”
“I walked in on them. The scene was straight out of a telenovela.” Piper remembered the look of shock on Heath’s face, how he’d scrambled to put on his clothes. “I’d wondered, suspected, but told myself I was being ridiculous. I know if I hadn’t seen them in bed together, Heath would have explained away my suspicions.”
Without saying a word, Anders took her hand.
She let her fingers linger in his for a second before pulling back. “I’m glad I found out. When I think I might have married him and never known his true character…” She trailed off. After a couple of heartbeats, she said pointedly, “That would have been the real tragedy.”
A moment of silence descended.