Trevor stepped up and stopped with his feet on either side of hers, leaning in he supported himself by bracing his hands on either side of her, pinning her in. “And?”
“I think Christina, Deanne, and I have the potential for a wonderful friendship. They’re my kind of people.”
He nuzzled her neck and her eyes drifted shut. Tingles coursed through her sensitive skin. “Was Rachel a complete wench?” he whispered.
“She might be onto us. You had a housewarming. I wasn’t there. Apparently, she was.”
“Shit.”
“It’s okay, I covered. I had school meetings for reorganization.”
“Got it.” He pulled away, cupped her jaw, and kissed her.
Nothing flashy, just a soft, lingering kiss that had Piper’s toes curling in her flats.
She wound her arms around his neck and sunk her fingers into the back of his hair, going for more, so much more. She sought his tongue with her own, just an easy glide, only a taste.
She didn’t want to let this go. These moments where it was just the two of them against the world.
Except…she was still just a woman he created in a binder. Monday, she’d slip her three-ring tethers and slide out from between the plastic cover and go back to Exclusively Piper with every hair in place and her stilettos firmly planted in the fashion world.
He dragged his lips away from her mouth and down her chin, finally landing on the underside of her jaw.
Was it really just yesterday morning she had stepped out like that? God, it seemed as though from the minute she’d laid eyes on Trevor, she’d been sucked into some alternate universe.
The sand in the hourglass of their time together languished by the second. In the here and now, she could act on the feelings she had carried for so long. She had a narrow window and she needed to focus on using it.
Not on capturing Trevor forever, but of getting her fill so when they parted ways, she might finally have a shot at dating a man without lying in bed in the wee hours, after said date, measuring his every quality against Trevor’s.
He brought his lips back to hers after leaving her a tingling, whimpering mess, and sunk his teeth into her lower lip bringing her right back to the present.
Back to him.
“I’m getting quite used to kissing you, Trouble.”
She glanced around, worried that someone might overhear, but they had all drifted back inside and circled the kitchen island where Davidson had put out appetizers. “Is this your way of getting your fill before you let me go?”
“Maybe I won’t let you go.”
She didn’t dare go down that road. She couldn’t. She didn’t want the heartache. She had spent years pining for him and he never even knew. She didn’t want to slide back into being that lovesick girl. “Ahhh, trying to be charming so you can avoid the question. Predictable. But I see right through you.”
“And if I’m serious?”
She pushed him away and grabbed her lemonade, sucking down the half full glass. “You’re not, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Piper—”
“Hey, Trevor. Davidson wants you to fire up the grill,” Mike said from the doorway.
Trevor glanced to Mike, giving Piper a second to take a breath.
A lust fueled breath.
“Sure, I’ll take care of it.”
“I’m going to go see if they need any help,” Piper said.
“I won’t forget where we left off.”
“Of course not,” she said, ducking inside. She’d rather dodge barbs from Rachel where she knew what to expect than Trevor throwing heart wrenching lobs at her that had her wishing for a man she knew for a fact she couldn’t have.
She didn’t need a second dent in her heart.
They dined and settled into the living room when Davidson declared it was time for the Newlywed Game.
Trevor had been dreading this from the minute he heard about it. They were going to be asked questions, questions about real events and in this case, there was absolutely no way for them to prepare so they could have the right answers.
This might well be where his hopes of a partnership died for good.
Piper sat in an easy chair, her feet tucked up under her, a glass of wine in her hands, chatting away with Deanne and Kent. He didn’t focus on the words, they didn’t matter. All that mattered was the way she lit up with interest in everything they had to say. She cared about people. She didn’t make conversations about her. She knew how to mingle with just about everyone. Despite Rachel’s jibes, she had even managed small talk with her while they set the table.
She fit.
But did he? And how successful could he be tied down to one woman?
“Okay, folks. I’m going to ask the ladies to head out to the deck for a few minutes while I ask the men their five-point questions.”
Trevor downed what was left of his beer, cracked open another, and took a hefty swallow of that as well.
Mike caught his eye, his head tilted to the side.
Don’t ask, guy. You’ll find out soon enough.
Davidson handed them all a note card and Sharpies.
“Alright, guys, my wife took into consideration that some of you aren’t married so she stuck to questions you could all answer. First question: Where did you go on your first date?”
Trevor took a deep breath. Okay, he could do this. Piper would have to say prom, right? Really, that was their only date so it seemed like it would be the safe answer. Rachel might zero in on it, but it’s not like he or Piper had ever discussed where they first met, so it was okay that they’ve actually known each other for years.
He smiled, sat back in his chair feeling a whole lot better, and jotted down his answer: Piper’s Prom. They had this.
Or maybe the sudden spike of his confidence had something to do with the warming in his veins as the alcohol worked through him.
“Next question: What was your first impression of your partner?”
Uh oh.
Okay, his first impression of Piper…she had brains and talent…plus one hell of a smart mouth.
This one might be okay, too. After all, it’s a subjective thing. Nothing too harmful if their answers don’t match.
“Question three: What is your partner’s favorite ice cream?”
Shit.
He should know that. Women loved ice cream. It wasn’t his thing, but wasn’t that their go-to food every time they suffered heartbreak? At least it was according to the movies.
The thought of Piper soothing herself with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s flashed in his head. He frowned.
“Did you write down your answer, Trevor?” Davidson asked.
“Sorry, got lost in thought.”
Okay, women love chocolate so it had to be chocolate ice cream. Sweat broke out on his back. He could not live with himself if his career swirled right down the toilet over chocolate ice cream.
Christ, this sucked.
He wrote his answer and nodded at Davidson to continue.
“Question four: What’s your idea of the perfect weekend?”
Oh God. He might have actually registered the blood draining from his face. The answers no longer had anything to do with him, but more of what he thought Piper would say. He didn’t know shit about what Piper would say.
Why? Because he was a giant asshole who gave her a made-up history, which meant he had no clue if she would continue to manufacture stories or default to real life. Even if she stuck with real life, how the hell would she have any idea of what his perfect weekend was?