Page 78 of Abyss

I’m debating on telling her that I’m not having this conversation with her when the word, “perfect,” slips out of my mouth, as if it was awaiting the right opportunity to do so. Both Piper and I freeze, both of us afraid to speak for a long moment.

She unwraps the towel from my head and comes to stand in front of me with both hands on her hips. “Hudson ‘Big Daddy’ Case, are you in love with someone?”

My brows furrow so hard, I’m pretty sure they touch in the middle. “Most definitely not. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Piper’s smile spans her lower face, her eyes glittering like a spangled sky. “Oh my hotdogs! The one and only Mr. Frownsalot is in love!”

I get off the chair and walk over to the one in front of the mirror where she’ll be clipping my hair and prattling off for the next twenty fucking minutes, wondering why I even came here. “Finish cutting my hair for the last time. I’ll be finding a new stylist.”

“No, you won’t.” She snickers. Why? Because, for whatever reason, none of the women in my life take me seriously. The fucking world might think twice about approaching me, but not the women in my life.

Including the one who I’m definitelynotin love with.

“Now,” she starts back up again once she’s got the black nylon cape around my neck, “is she going to be at the wedding this weekend?” When I give her no indication of a response, she continues with her assumption. “Ah, so she is. Are you taking her as your date?”

“No,” I snap, feeling a sharp searing sensation in my chest recalling the text I got from my daughter about Kavi being excited to meet Brie’s friend.

The thought of Kavi meeting someone unlocked a rabid beast within me. That, and all the sass she gave me after that,led to a kiss—a world-shifting moment—I couldn’t stop thinking about for days.

I turn my head, avoiding Piper’s eyes in the mirror. Piper turns it back, telling me to look ahead and to hold still, pulling some hair in between her fingers and clipping it.

“Got it,” she says as if she’s figured it all out with my one-word response. “So, you’re not taking her as your date. And I can only assume that’s because either she has no idea you’re into her or you’re not ready for everyone else to know.”

My jaw ticks. “Can you just do your fucking job?”

Piper presses the smile she’s trying hard not to release between her lips. Her eyes bounce around my face in the mirror, searching. “Oh my God. Does she know?”

“No,” I huff. “There’s nothing to know. We just had . . .” Fuck, I feel like a prisoner under this cape.

Piper’s mouth drops open, her hands freezing over me like she’s already piecing it together.

I don’t know why I feel the need to tell her anything more, but clearly, I have no restraint today. “We just slept together once, and it’ll stay that way.”

She drops the hand with scissors to her side. “But why? It’s clear you like her.”

My stomach sours. “She’s moving at the end of the summer.”

“So? That’s not a reason not to see where things go.”

I cup my knees under the cape and massage them with barely restrained frustration. “Can you just cut my hair already?”

Piper ignores me. “Is she bringing a date to the wedding?”

“No, but Maddy and Brie have someone for her to meet—one of Brie’s friends.” My molars grind, and right when I look at myself in the mirror, I see my nostrils flare. And so does Piper.

“Wait a minute . . .” She blinks rapidly, like a flickeringtelevision. “One of Brie’s friends? Maddy and Brie know her?” She pauses, and I feel the weight of her conclusions like boulders over me. So much for that shoulder massage. “How old is this chick?”

I swallow, but don’t respond.

Piper squeals out a laugh, putting together whatever it is she thinks she’s figured out. “Oh my goodness! If this isn’t the most riveting story I’ve heard all day.” She wipes the corner of her eye with the heel of her hand before finally getting to my hair again. “God, what I’d do to be a fly on the wall at this wedding.”

“Looking sharp, buddy!”

My friend Dev’s voice has my gaze disconnecting from my admin. She’s in a blush pink dress, sitting in the third row, while guests gather around her taking their seats. It’s as if she doesn’t realize where she is, because for the past fifteen minutes that I’ve been watching her from my spot at the backdoor of our farmhouse while waiting for Maddy, Kavi’s done nothing but look at her hands in her lap. And I bet, though I can’t see it from here, she’s playing with that silver ring of hers like she always seems to do when she’s thinking.

I turn to shake Dev’s hand. “Good to see you, Dev.”

“Killer tux and a new haircut. You sure it’s your daughter who’s getting married today and not you?”

---