“That’s not fair to the kids or you,” he said. “You’re not part of Wingate Enterprises.”
“No, I’m not. But I am part of the family.” She sighed. “I’ve been dealing with this to a lesser extent in Dallas. Anyway, that doesn’t matter. What are you doing here?”
He tipped his head to the side, studying her. “I was hoping to see you. Want to have dinner so we can talk about things?”
Did she? Yes. But the things she’d have to talk about...she didn’t want to. She had made a break and she knew if she took a step back toward him it would be harder to leave again. “I can’t.”
Brian clenched his jaw but then relaxed it into a smile and she realized that he wasn’t happy about their breakup, but he was being a gentleman. Wasn’t that everything she adored about him? He was always a decent guy. The kind of man who deserved everything that life had to offer. A successful career, a sophisticated woman by his side...and kids.
A house full of them if he so chose.
“Fine. But hiding with your family isn’t going to last forever,” he reminded her.
“I’m not hiding. I’m here to help support Ava. It’s a rough time for her,” she said. “She’s still trying to get over Keith.”
“How do you figure? Ava’s not a shrinking violet,” he said. “And she broke up with him.”
“Why was she not herself when she was living with Keith?” Piper asked, realizing she was letting this devolve into a fight. She wanted to fight. Wanted to yell at him because it would make her feel better about the fact that they weren’t together.
But she wasn’t going to do that. “I’m sorry. It was nice seeing you.”
She walked away and didn’t look back. Just got to her car and drove out of town, hoping that it would be as easy to get over Brian as it had been to drive away.
Piper wasn’t prepared to see Brian when he showed up at Ava’s door later that evening. She and her sister had made tacos for dinner and spent the evening laughing and talking about men. It had been nice to talk to Ava and feel her sister had her back.
For so many years she’d felt like she was on the outside of the family looking in, trying to be someone she wasn’t. Brian had offered her a chance to be herself. But dare she trust herself enough to give in to her passionate side and live her life? Or was she always going to be afraid of it?
But here he was on her sister’s doorstep, stubble on his jaw, and he looked tired. Like he hadn’t been sleeping well. He clearly wasn’t about to let her close him out as he stood there. “Sorry to show up like this, but I just didn’t want to do this by text.”
“That’s okay. Um, let me grab my coat and we can go for a walk. This is Ava’s home and I don’t know—”
“Who is it?” Ava called as she came down the hallway.
“Brian,” Piper told her.
“Hello, Ava,” Brian said. “I’m sorry to show up unannounced but I need a word with Piper.”
Ava gave him a hard look and then shook her head and forced a smile. “You can use the study.”
Ava turned and walked away from them both. Piper stepped back to allow Brian to enter the foyer. She gestured to the left where the study was. As soon as he entered, she followed him, closing the door behind them. He moved farther into the room and took a seat on the leather settee while she stood there with her back against the hardwood door, trying to get herself under control.
Now that he was here, she discovered she’d missed him so much more than she’d even realized. And yeah, he looked exhausted, but also so good to her eyes. She was drinking him in as if it had been years since she had seen him instead of days. His voice was a low rumble as he talked, and she realized how much she’d missed the cadence of it. He leaned back, spread his arms along the back of the settee and just stared at her.
“What did you say?”
“I asked if you were going to sit down so we could talk,” he said. “Are you feeling okay?”
No.
She was a big hot mess, and spending time with her sister who was in the same boat hadn’t really helped her at all. Piper only hoped that he couldn’t see it. She forced a smile. “Of course.”
She sat down in one of the armchairs, perching on the edge before realizing what she was doing and sitting back, hopefully to give the illusion that she was chill with this. “What brings you here?”
“Are you serious?” he asked. There was an intensity in him that she hadn’t noticed before. She had the feeling she was seeing his courtroom persona, and honestly, he was rather intimidating.
“Yes. I thought we said everything we needed to the other day.” Piper crossed her legs and wrapped her arms around herself.
“No, we didn’t. I had hoped that once we had some time apart, you’d realize that,” he bit out.
“Realize what?”
“That what we have is too good to give up on,” he said. “If you don’t want to move to the next level that’s fine with me. I’m willing to keep things fun and light.”
She shook her head. “One of the things I have admired about you is that you don’t lie. Please don’t start now.”
“Fine. I don’t want to be casual. Do you think I like feeling like this?” he asked.
“No,” she admitted. This was hard and not anything she was prepared to deal with. “How about if we just leave things until after Thanksgiving, and then when we are both back in Dallas we can—”
“No, Piper, I don’t want to leave this. I want to fix this. I’m still not sure what your objection to the two of us is,” he said. “The age thing is a nonissue, so please don’t bring it up again.”
“It’s more than that. You have a young man’s dreams and I don’t—”
“Stop.” He cut her off as he got to his feet. “You are being closed-minded.”
“Better than being ignorant,” Piper retorted, standing, as well.
“We both know I’m not,” he said. “If you’re going to insult me, you’ll have to work a bit harder.”
“I don’t have to do anything. I’m a grown-ass woman and if I decide to end things with you, that’s it.”
“God dammit, Piper Holloway, you are ticking me off!” he said.
“Good. Maybe you’ll understand that I’m saying we are over.”
“Is this what you do with all your relationships? End them before they begin?” he demanded.