Sadie’s eyes softened as she nodded sympathetically. “I understand.”
“I never meant to hurt you, or for you to feel rejected,” Piper said with heartfelt sincerity.
“Oh, honey, don’t fret. I was just joking about feeling rejected. I know how broken hearted you were after the breakup. I was pretty broken hearted too.” She laid a cool hand on Piper’s flushed cheek. “It’s just that I enjoy your company, and I’ve missed you.”
Piper wound her arms around Sadie and hugged her, careful not to press against her injured arm. “I’ve missed you too, Sexy Sadie.”
Sadie threw her head back and chortled. “I can’t believe you remember I told you that Rex used to call me Sexy Sadie in the old days.”
Piper flashed a grin. “How could I forget? The Beatles’ lyrics suit you.”
Sadie was one of those women who would be sexy till her dying day. She was confident in her skin and a free spirit. With her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and wearing a flowing rose-embroidered peasant top and snug denim capris, she looked carefree and youthful.
“Oh, that Rex. How he loved the Beatles. He used to croon the lyrics of “Sexy Sadie” in his deep voice to make me giggle.” Sadie shivered and then collected herself after a moment. “No more reminiscing from me. I want to hear all about you.” She patted Piper’s shoulder. “Come on in.”
She wound her good arm around Piper’s waist and ushered her inside, past the grand foyer, the living room and into her spacious kitchen. The Feng Shui style and vibrant colors of her home and the homey smell of fresh baked muffins put Piper at ease.
“Don’t tell me you baked blueberry muffins,” Piper said, hoping it was the case.
“I did.” Sadie grabbed an oven mitt and pulled the tin out of the oven. “Are they still your favorites?”
“They are. I’m touched you went to the trouble of baking, especially with your arm in a sling. How did you injure it?”
“I tore a ligament in my shoulder from a freak Jet ski accident.” She raised her eyes to the ceiling and back to meet Piper’s eyes. “You should have heard Roman chew me out. Damn near blistered my ears for taking up Jet skiing. If I hadn’t had a sore shoulder, I would have taken a wooden spoon to his insolent behind.”
Piper snickered at the mental image. She would have loved watching feisty Sadie in action.
Sadie tossed her head and harrumphed. “That boy might be a hot shot tennis champion, but he’s still my son,” she blustered. “Later he apologized for losing his temper, but still.”
Piper suppressed a chuckle at her umbrage. “He must have been very worried about you, Sadie,” she said, not sure why she was defending Roman. She could only imagine how he’d chewed her out. He was generally kind, but he had a short fuse. On several occasions, his fans had watched him unleash his formidable temper when he was competing aggressively on the courts. “I’m worried too.”
Sadie waved a dismissive hand. “Well, don’t worry. My shoulder is pretty much healed now. The doctor said I could resume the activities I enjoy.”
“That’s good.” Roman would be relieved since he was so concerned about her driving with a sling on her arm. “What activities are you going to resume?”
“No tennis yet, but I can dance,” Sadie said, shimmying her shoulders.
Piper grinned. “I can see that. You haven’t lost your moves, Sadie, even with the sling.”
Sadie looked pleased with Piper’s compliment. “Thanks. I don’t wear this blasted sling all the time. Only when I’m carrying stuff.” She gestured behind Piper. “Would you hand me that basket next to you?”
Piper complied, and Sadie made short work of piling the golden blueberry muffins into the small white basket and covering it with a cloth napkin.
Piper handed her a paper gift bag. “Here’s a little something I picked up for you. I hope you still like hazelnut coffee.”
“I do. Thanks, honey.” Sadie opened the bag of freshly ground coffee and inhaled deeply. “Aaah, nothing like hazelnut for a java junkie like me. I’ll brew a pot, and we can have breakfast on the patio. The coffee maker is already set up outside.”
Piper picked up the basket of muffins and followed Sadie out through the sliding glass doors to the curved pool patio with long sweeping views of the lake on either side. She sat at a square glass-topped iron table beside the glistening free form pool. Water burbled from a stone waterfall on one end, surrounded by multi-colored orchids.
The table was filled with small white bowls of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and walnuts, and plain Greek yogurt in a bowl chilling on a larger glass bowl of crushed ice. A glass pitcher of fresh squeezed orange juice, a bottle of champagne and two crystal flutes awaited them.
“My goodness, Sadie. You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble,” Piper protested, though she was delighted.
“No trouble at all. I love doing it. I hope you’re hungry,” Sadie said, holding out the basket of muffins to Piper.
Piper took a muffin and pulled apart a section, revealing a plump blueberry. She popped it in her mouth and sighed with pleasure. “Mmm, so moist. You must give me your recipe.”
“I will. Please pour us some mimosas while I brew the coffee. Just a touch of juice and lots of champagne.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Piper said with giddy anticipation. She had a weakness for champagne, and Sadie had chilled Veuve Clicquot.
But Piper’s giddiness didn’t last long when her gaze fell on the vase filled with daisies at the center of the table. She got a mental image of Sadie’s recent stint at the cemetery and her good spirits deflated. She really, really hoped that Sadie would come clean and save them the awkwardness of having Piper draw her out with pointed questions.
Had the older gent she picked up at the cemetery already made contact with Sadie? Had he come over to the house? How many men had she met in such an unconventional way?
Sadie was usually an open book, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find out…unless she was hiding something.
Chapter 5
Hours later, they had consumed two mimosas each, blueberry muffins, Greek yogurt and berries and copious amounts of hazelnut coffee. Replete and satisfied, Piper pushed back from the table and patted her tummy. “Everything was delicious. I usually have a power smoothie for breakfast on the go. This was a real treat.”
“I’m glad.” Sadie’s face glowed with appreciation. “I enjoy cooking and fussing over my special ones.”
Piper’s heart swelled. It touched her to be considered one of Sadie’s ‘special ones.’ She had always craved having a family life like Roman’s, where the mom and dad had sat around the dinner table and chatted with their children when they were little. Growing up, when Piper got home from her after-school job, she and her older sister Beth would have soup and sandwiches for dinner, prepared by Beth, while their waitress mom worked at her second job.
Her mom’s passing five years ago had hit Piper hard. She’d never expected to lose her in a car accident at such a young age. Knowing that she’d fallen asleep at the wheel after working two shifts had filled Piper with overwhelming grief. She wished she’d gotten to know her mother better, but her overworked mom had always been exhausted and worried about solely raising her daughters with very little means.
Piper breathed in deeply and tried to banish the sadness gathering in her heart. She touched Sadie’s hand. “Thank you. You’re special to me too. How are you doing…since Sam’s passing?”
Sadie managed a wan smile. “I’m OK…I guess. Sam’s passing was sudden and it struck me like a bolt of lightning. It was a second marriage for both of us. We made a pact to enjoy every single day…and we did.” She swallowed hard. “Sam made me promise on our wedding day that if he died first, I wouldn’t burrow at home and wallow in sadness. He said I had to continue making other people as happy as I made him.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Isn’t that the sweetest thing?”
Piper hugged her. “You do make people happy.”
&nb
sp; “Thanks, honey.” Sadie dabbed her eyes with a napkin. “It’s funny how life is sometimes. Odd really.”
“Why do you say that?”
Sadie toyed with the napkin. “I’ve met some very nice widowers when I’ve been to the cemetery to leave flowers at Sam’s grave. We’ve talked and even exchanged numbers.”
“You have? Did you go out with any of them?” Piper asked, surprised that Sadie would admit it so freely.
“Oh no, I’m not ready to date again. I usually strike up a conversation, and then decide which of my gal pals should meet them.”
Piper jerked upright and stared at her, flabbergasted. Sadie was picking up men at the cemetery for her friends, not herself? “Your gal pals?” she repeated to make sure she’d heard her correctly.
“Yes, I’ve been matchmaking.” Sadie’s face lit up with a proud smile. “Many of my single girlfriends are lonely and don’t know how to go about meeting men. Just yesterday, I met a retired surgeon at the cemetery, and we ended up having coffee at Panera. When he told me he missed his wife’s pot roast the most, I knew I had to introduce him to my friend, Betty, who makes a killer pot roast.”
Piper smiled in wonder. Sadie always managed to surprise her. “You are too much, Sadie.”
“Why? I’m just spreading the love. Poor Betty has been devastated since her husband dumped her after 40 years of marriage. The bastard had the nerve to blame her for his impotence and then hook up with a girl half his age.” She shook her head. “Men.”
“Yeah, men,” Piper agreed heartily. “Does Betty want to meet him?”
“Absolutely, she trusts my taste. Best of all, he wants to meet her too, so I’ve already set them up. Most of my friends don’t know how or where to start dating, and being shy doesn’t help.” She gave a hoot of laughter. “That’s never been my problem. I don’t have a shy bone in my body.” A flicker of mischief danced in her eyes as she gave a helpless shrug. “I love men and flirting just comes naturally.”
“Maybe I should take lessons from you,” Piper mused semi-seriously.
Sadie dismissed her suggestion with a snort. “Please. You don’t need lessons, Piper. My goodness, all you need to do is bat those gorgeous baby blues, and the men will come running. Speaking of men…have you seen Roman lately?”
Sadie’s seemingly innocent question took Piper aback, but she should have expected it. After all, Sadie was Roman’s mother and the natural thing would be to bring him up. She didn’t want Sadie to know that Roman had reached out to her and offered to pay her to see if his mother was showing signs of early onset dementia.
Piper wasn’t about to take Roman’s money, no matter how much he insisted. This was one occasion where she’d have to tell a white lie for Sadie’s sake. She didn’t want her to think she’d only come by because Roman had asked her to.
Piper looked at the lake to avoid Sadie’s scrutiny. “I haven’t seen him lately. How is he doing?”
“Professionally, he’s doing well, though it hasn’t been an easy transition from tennis superstar to businessman.”
“Is it ever easy for an athlete to do that?”
“I guess not, but Roman’s case was different. His career took a tumble after he brought home the gold Olympic medal. Somehow his name got linked with two players charged with using steroids.” Sadie’s eyes sparked with outrage. “My boy got bushwhacked by false rumors and it took a lot of testing and testifying for him to finally clear his name, but the taint lingers and it’s so unfair. I think that’s why he’s so keen on making his academy and foundation for kids a success.”
“I can see how that would be important for him,” Piper commiserated. “Roman was always driven to win, but he would never use drugs to get there.” She was sure of it.
“Those of us who know him personally believe that, but you know how vicious social media can be.” Sadie’s shoulders slumped as she twisted the napkin in her hands. “He’ll be OK on the business front. It’s his personal life I’m worried about. I sense he wants to settle down, but he’s going about it the wrong way.”
Piper’s gaze zeroed in on Sadie’s bemused eyes. “What do you mean?”
“He’s dating someone who is all wrong for him.” Sadie grimaced. “That chick has him hoodwinked.”
Roman was dating someone. Piper sank back in her chair as disappointment coiled in her stomach. Had she imagined the fire in Roman’s eyes the moment they’d seen each other? Or how he kept staring at her mouth while they talked? Or how his whole body had stiffened with jealousy when she had casually flirted back with Todd, the bearded dragon?
“How long have they been dating?” Piper asked.
Sadie’s lips tightened disapprovingly. “Three months too long.”
“So she’s his girlfriend,” Piper concluded, trying not to show her dismay. “Why don’t you like her?”
Sadie exhaled a frustrated groan. “Where do I begin? There’s quite a bit of backstory, but I really don’t want to get into it,” she wavered.
“Oh,” Piper said, disappointed that Sadie wasn’t going to elaborate.
Sadie eyed Piper for a thoughtful moment, then seemed to change her mind. “I can’t quite figure out why he would date her. She is a real piece of work. The little fake has somehow managed to clone herself to be a female version of Roman.”
“That’s weird.”
“And disturbing. Anything Roman likes, she adores,” Sadie said sarcastically. “She was vegan before she started dating him, now she is a rabid carnivore who eats her steaks rare, like he does.” She continued with a pained expression. “Whether it’s food, music, entertainment, politics, sports, religion, family – you name it – she claims she has the exact same tastes and goals that he does.”
“And you don’t believe her?” This was getting more interesting by the minute.
“She doesn’t fool me. What she really wants is to rope him into marrying her – even if it means losing her identity.” Her mouth twisted. “If he told her to jump off a cliff, she wouldn’t hesitate to do it.”
“Is she that much of a pushover?”
“Nooo, far from it. She is pushy, calculating and manipulative, but not when Roman is around.” Sadie’s eyes blazed. “You should see how patronizing she is toward me. Treats me like I’m an addlebrained old lady,” she grumbled. “I caught her trying to undermine my position as chief operating officer of Roman’s tennis foundation for underprivileged kids.”
“Really?” Piper leaned in. “What did she do?”
“She tried to elbow me out as the head of our upcoming charity event when I got injured,” Sadie grumbled.
“How did you find out?”
“Nadine, our secretary, overheard Brie tell two board members that given my injury, I wouldn’t be able to handle the workload. She said I might make bad decisions and mistakes because I was taking an awful lot of pain meds, which isn’t true,” Sadie huffed.
“Now I hate her,” Piper said loyally. “Does Roman know she did that?”
“No, I don’t think the stakeholders told him. I want him to
* * *
know, but I don’t want to be the whistleblower. He keeps a tight lid on his personal life.” She made a face. “Especially with me. He has to learn on his own how calculating and phony she is.”
“What’s her name?” Piper couldn’t wait to do some investigating of her own.
“Brienne Corrigan. He calls her Brie.” Sadie wrinkled her nose. “Like the stinky cheese.”
Chapter 6
Roman checked his watch again. Piper had agreed to meet him for lunch on Monday, and she was ten minutes late. He stood at the entrance of the Turtle Club next to valet and waited for her red convertible to turn into the circular driveway.
During their brief phone call yesterday after her visit with his mom, Piper had initially refused his lunch invitation, and he wondered why she’d sounded so adamant when he insisted. He won out in the end, but it had been a struggle to get her to agree.
; Another ten minutes went by and no sign of her. Was she keeping him waiting on purpose? Just as he got his phone out to text her, her car pulled up. The top of her Camaro was down, and Piper’s wild curls streamed behind her as she cruised into the driveway, drawing an admiring double take from the college-aged parking valet.
Black cat shaped sunglasses shaded much of her face and all Roman could see was her pouty scarlet lips. When the valet opened the door, the teenage kid’s Adam’s apple bobbed enthusiastically as one well formed, feminine leg slid out encased in a high-heeled black bootie shoe. The other leg joined, and Roman’s blood heated at the sight of shapely, tanned legs from slim ankles to toned thighs just below the hem of her mini, wrap-style red dress.
Gold and black infinity loop earrings, a slim gold and black enamel choker and a gold serpent bracelet encircling her slim wrist adorned the otherwise simple dress. What was with her fascination with serpents?
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said breezily when she reached him.
Normally, Roman would have leaned forward to kiss her cheek, but Piper turned away and took the claim check from the valet.
“I was getting concerned. You are usually punctual,” Roman said, getting a delectable whiff of her flowery scent.
“I got held up at a meeting.” She tucked the claim check in her purse and slid her sunglasses up her forehead to rest on the top of her head.
“I have a table waiting for us outside.” Roman refrained from placing his hand on the small of her back as he led her to a round table for two on the outdoor veranda facing the Gulf. Her back was so rigid, she would have shrugged him off. He signaled to a server as they sat down.
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