Page 25 of Definitely (Maybe) Dating
“Does handy mean hands are involved.” Owen added, then stopped. “Is it Pretty Photographer?”
“Piper. Her name’s Piper, and how would you feel if you were working, and a woman leaned over the bar and told you she liked your package?”
“I’d say it was my lucky night.”
“Out.” Josh stood. “Get out.” When they didn’t move, he went around the desk and forced them to stand then ushered them to the side door that exited into the hallway.
“You should have said five minutes,” Rhett suggested. “One minute makes you sound desperate.”
8
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Josh slammedthe door in their faces. Laughter and kissy noises erupted from the other side. Josh ignored this and walked back to his desk, feeling ridiculously excited that Piper had changed her mind.
He straightened his tie and was organizing his piles when the door opened and she walked in.
Josh went to say “Hey”, but his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, because he hadn’t prepared for a knockout brunette in a pretty blue top and hip hugging jeans. Their gazes locked and,damn,the air seemed to crackle around them.
Her mouth opened a little. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one experiencing this crazy chemistry sparking between them.
“This is a surprise.” The kind of surprise that had his heart racing. Piper, on the other hand, looked as if she was mapping out every exit for a quick escape. “Have a seat.”
“Okay.” She glanced over her shoulder then sat. “I, uh.” She looked at the stacks of files on his desk, the disaster of an office, then at the back at the door and blew out a breath. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything. You look busy. Of course, you’re busy. I should have called.”
She went to stand, and this weird sensation, something similar to panic, filled his chest. “Actually, you caught me at a good time. I was thinking about heading out for lunch,” he lied. The only way he’d make a big enough dent to go to dance and then poker with the guys was if he ate at his desk. But Piper was a hell of a lot prettier than his brothers. “Have you eaten?”
“No,” she said distractedly, and he was about to ask her if she wanted to grab a bite with him when she nervously bit her lip. “I need help.”
“The kind of help that requires a lawyer?”
“What? No.” She sounded pissed. “I don’t do that kind of trouble.”
He got the feeling there was a silentnot anymoretagged on the end of that statement. The thought of Piper being a troublemaking teen made him smile. He imagined Teen Piper would have been hell on wheels, whereas Adult Piper was a complicated mix of bad-assery and understated sweetness. Being around her was like walking a tightrope where one wrong step and he’d hang himself. “Never said you were.”
His answer seemed to please her. “I need help with a permit,” she began. “I spent the whole morning arguing with the head of the Department of Parks and Rec,” she explained. “A friend and I are planning a fundraiser for a local art program that benefits at-risk teens. We hope to have it in South Park or Chapman Square or maybe somewhere inside in case of rain. The girls are so excited, but I may have jumped the gun a little because I’m not sure if I can secure a permit.”
“What kind of event were you thinking?”
“Well, Urban Soul is a non-profit organization that gives kids who fell through the cracks a safe place to go after school. They get free art classes in a variety of mediums. I teach photography three days a week. I’ve even gotten some cameras donated from some of my contacts. It might not seem like a big deal to someone on the outside, but to those of us who went through the program, it’s everything.”
She worded it in such a way that it sounded as if she’d been one of the kids who’d fallen through the cracks and had found a sanctuary in the art program. It would explain her love of art and photography—and the haunted and heartbreaking smile that never quite reached her eyes.
“Is that where you learned photography?” he asked quietly.
“It’s where I learned a lot of things, which is why I need this event to happen.”
“How many people would attend?” Because that would determine what kind of permit and special services they’d need.
“That’s the problem. I don’t know. Fifty? Five hundred? Five? It’s our first stab at this, so it’s kind of a guessing game at this point. We considered having it at the home, like a block party, but the artists have worked so hard I really want this moment to be special for them.”
Josh wanted to know more. About the event, the place she loved enough to call home, and the passionate, tough as steel woman who worked her ass off for a group of girls she seemed to care a great deal for.
“Have you thought of asking Darcy to use Belle Month House?”
She slumped in the chair. “That would require favor number two.”
Josh got the distinct impression she didn’t like favors and that, at some point in her life, Piper’s world consisted of people offering assistance and demanding something in return. Which would explain why she was slow to trust.
