Page 103 of The Wrong Date Deal

She was also excited for August to have that moment to breathe without having to worry about Ford. He’d be good here with Hermes.

“Who wants pizza?” Piper’s dad called from down the hall. “I’m going to run out for lunch.”

Piper slipped away from the kitchen before the others appeared, heading towards her dad’s voice.

As if they were all tiny kids, the whole crowd of them came running, excited to get their requests in.

Piper smiled when August appeared at her side, looking a little emotional but covering it well.

“Hi,” she said, grinning at the chaos around them.

“Feeling like you’re back in school?” Piper asked with a smile.

“Just a bit.” She pursed her lips, looking around for a moment. “It’s nice, though. I never got to have this kind of chaos growing up.”

Piper nodded and leaned in to nudge her. “Well, welcome to the chaos.”

“August,” Piper’s dad called, “any dietary requirements we need to know about? And pizza preferences? What do you want to drink?”

Piper couldn’t help but smile. Her parents looked like they were having the best day of their lives, which, maybe they were. Some people were made to be parents and it didn’t matter how old their kids got, they still loved parenting.

As August spoke, Todd added to the little notebook he was tracking orders in while April was typing away in her notes app. It was the one Piper knew she used to keep track of everyone’s needs and preferences. August and Ford were getting immortalized in the notes app. There was no getting out now.

“All right,” Todd said once he had everyone’s orders. “April and I are going to run and get the food. Anyone need a break and want to come?”

“Oh, my god, yes,” Shea said immediately. “I feel like I’ve been indoors for hours.”

Piper laughed. Shea had no issue being indoors, she just had a long-standing flirtation with a woman who worked at the pizza place.

“Yeah, I’ll go too,” Ford said, smiling widely. “I need to get to know my new area.”

“Fantastic!” April linked her arm through Ford’s. “How exciting that we get to help introduce you to the area.”

“And the pizza place. Pizza’s important to life,” Tood said, leading the way to the door.

Piper noticed the almost comical height difference between Ford—a very tall man—and her dad—a rather short man—but Ford still looked at him with all the reverence of a child looking at a parent, believing they had all the answers in the world.

She looked at August and was immediately struck by the look on her face, something akin to years of hurt being slowly healed by each tiny interaction Ford had with her parents. She slipped her hand into August’s. “Come with me?”

August nodded, looking away from the door to smile at Piper.

Massima and Hermes made no effort to pretend they weren’t smirking at the interaction as they headed back to Ford’s new room.

Sense would have suggested pulling August into the kitchen, but Piper led her into the bathroom, closing the door behind them. If anyone saw them leaving, they’d definitely think they’d been having sex, but Piper simply wanted a little privacy.

August looked at her with raised eyebrows before she gestured around the room with her finger. “Interesting choice of location.”

Piper grinned, allowing it to be salacious for one second before she shook her head and dropped into a regular, sweet smile. “I, uh, just thought I should tell you I was… listening in on your conversation with Hermes.”

“Oh.” August looked unconcerned. “Well, it wasn’t anything I wouldn’t say to you directly.”

Piper’s heart swelled. She’d thought that when she’d been listening—otherwise she would have given them more privacy—but having it confirmed felt warm inside. “I just wanted to make sure you knew that, whatever happens with us, Hermes was right. You’re safe here. You and Ford are part of this weird little family we’ve got now.”

August smiled. “They’re your family. If things didn’t work out, I wouldn’t keep muscling in and make things awkward.”

Piper laughed. “Oh, you think you get the opportunity to walk away from April and Todd Sutton? You think you get to walk away fromHermesonce he decides he likes you? Be real right now.”

August laughed too, shaking her head. “So, you’re saying I’m stuck with you?”

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