Page 84 of Definitely (Maybe) Dating
And there it was. The reminder that she was a complete idiot for ever thinking this could work. They were two freight trains headed for each other with no emergency brake.
Just look at today. She’d landed herself in hot water and now, according to Gage, Josh had to use favors to get her out. The exact kind of thing he’d avoided doing, even for his campaign. And if that wasn’t enough to have her feelings solidified, then seeing him, dressed in his courtroom best, standing at the entrance to the holding cells had her chest lodging itself painfully in her throat.
She’d rather stay in there all night than have this conversation in a cell with witnesses to overhear.
He walked toward her, his shoes clicking on the concrete floor, gripping the bars when he was in front of her. They stared at each other for a long while, and she couldn’t decipher what he was thinking, holding everything close to his chest. She had a feeling none of it was good.
“How are you?” he finally asked.
Piper’s heart pounded against her chest so hard and fast she was afraid she might pass out. Panic welled up, and she was mentally struggling to keep it together when his intense blue eyes locked with hers. She wasn’t sure if it was a low blood sugar thing, since she hadn’t eaten since last night, or if the huge lump in her stomach had slowly expanded its way to her throat, cutting off her air supply. But Piper knew that if this was Karma, she packed one hell of a punch.
“Confused,” she said, her voice full of so much emotion she had to look at her boots to hold back the tears.
“Me too. We need to talk.”
Piper looked up. Josh did not look happy. He didn’t look mad either. He appeared uncertain and a bit concerned, which was a new look on the confident and sure-of-himself lawyer.
“About?” Please say ‘us’. As in ‘I-didn’t-break-my-word us’.
“About the silo.”
She went very still. “You want to talk about the silo?”
“Not really, but I need to know if it was Rebecca,” he said, and Piper’s pulse skidded to a stop.That’s what he wanted to talk about?
She watched his expression. “So it’s true,” she said quietly. “You told your mom about Rebecca.”
His expression told her everything he needed to know, and the truth of the moment churned in her stomach until she swore she’d be sick.
“Why?” she asked. “Knowing how your mom would react, why did you tell her?”
“She was upset and scared about how it would blow back on her.”
“Shewas scared” And just like that, the bead of hope that he was there for her went dark. “Your mom. A sixty-year-old woman was scared about how this whole thing would blow back on her, so she went after a sixteen-year-old girl?”
“I didn’t know she’d call the cops.”
“I’ve known your mom for less than a hot minute, and I knew exactly how she’d react. Just like she knew what I’d do. And here we are.” She motioned to the cell. “And where’s Margo, by the way?”
They both knew that his mom was sitting happily in her garden sipping tea.
Josh scrubbed a hand down his face. “You and I know you didn’t break in to take that picture.”
“We don’t know anything because that’s how the system is supposed to work, remember? It starts with questions before accusations.”
“You’re right,” he said quietly. “But this had gone past that. You’re an adult, Piper. Rebecca’s a teen, they’d just let her go with a warning.”
“Would that be before she got a permanent ding in her file or after they threatened her with juvie that they’ll never follow through on, becauseWhy not scare some sense into her?What better way to spend a Friday than to scare the shit out of a kid who made a mistake that can be painted over?”
His expression said she’d nailed it. “I’m working something out.”
“Working something out to save Skye’s? Or working on something to soothe your mom’s delicate feelings?”
“I’m trying to do both, but it’s hard when everyone is making things complicated.”
She took a step back. “I’m sorry if real life is complicating things for you. Or your mom,” she said. “Because that’s what this is about, right? Your mom and her event and perception? God forbid she doesn’t get her way.”
“This isn’t about my mom or the event.”
