Page 48 of Wrecked
“Nope.” That was all she said, then shoved a piece of steak in her mouth and started chewing.
Deacon frowned. “No?”
Piper shrugged and pointed to her mouth. Sorry. Eating. Can’t talk.
Leaving her to deal with her brother’s questions while he sat there with his mouth stapled shut did not sit well with him. Fuck this. Reid already knew. He needed to own up to what they were doing and deal with whatever consequences followed.
He put down his knife and fork and opened his mouth to confess, but Piper spoke up first, cutting him off.
“I went on a date. We made out a little. I decided he wasn’t my type. End of story.”
Deacon scowled at her. “Tell me you didn’t bring him back here?”
Piper’s silence and preoccupation with her roll said it all.
Deke’s fork clattered to the table. “Jesus, Piper…”
“Oh, lay off.” Rusty sat back in her seat. “She’s fine, and it’s not like she can get up to much trouble. Not now that you’ve assigned a surly ex-cop as her babysitter. Cut her some slack.” Rusty winked at him. “No offense, Cole.”
Cole shifted in his seat and forced a smile, but it felt more grimace than grin. Deke still looked pissed, and Piper hadn’t looked at him once. Fucking wonderful.
The rest of the night went further downhill from there. What with Piper seemingly ignoring him and Reid smirking his ass off every time he caught the other man’s gaze. He’d obviously picked up that Piper was avoiding him and was enjoying the hell out of it.
When it got dark, Piper lit candles and brought out a big tray of chocolate brownies. He watched her across the table, candlelight dancing across her lovely face, the way she laughed and joked with her family, the love that shone from her eyes when she focused on one of them—the people she cared about more than anything in this world.
Right then, he wished he was one of them.
Wished she could be his.
“How’s the new place?” Deke asked beside him.
Guilt instantly washed through him, and for the first time in his life, he couldn’t look his friend in the eye. “Fine.”
“Thanks again for moving down here. It’s a relief knowing you’re around to watch out for Pipe.”
“Don’t mention it.” Please, don’t fucking mention it. He took a pull of his beer so he didn’t have to talk, but then the conversation turned to work, and Cole made sure he kept it that way—until Alex slid into her husband’s lap, interrupting by whispering something in his ear. Deke grinned, and after a quick farewell, the pair were up and gone a few minutes later.
Piper and Rusty were deep in conversation, and Reid leaned over to him. “I find groveling works best.” Then he stood, grabbed his woman around the waist, threw her over his shoulder, and with a chin lift, carried a giggling Rusty to his car and drove away.
Leaving him and Piper alone.
She stood, blew out the candles, and started clearing up the few empties left on the table.
He watched her, confused, frustrated. “You going to talk to me, or give me the silent treatment for the rest of my life?”
She kept her head down. “I’m going to give you the silent treatment for the rest of your life.”
“Fair enough. You want to tell me what I did wrong first?”
Her head came up, and her eyes drifted shut, just for a second. Then her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I’m being silly. I just…I overreacted, and I’m taking it out on you. Please, forget it.”
“I can’t do that, not seeing how upset you are. Talk to me, Pipe.”
She crossed her arms, biting her lip. “One minute you were telling me how much you missed me, how much you wanted me…the next you were pulling your arm away like I had some highly contagious decease.” She shook her head. “See? I’m being silly.”
Shit. After what went down here tonight, he should back off, leave her alone. But he couldn’t. Not yet. Maybe that made him an asshole, but what’s new? He’d be here as long as Piper wanted him. There was no point denying that truth. Still, he had to make sure she understood. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt.
“I thought you knew what this was, Pipe?” She pressed her lips tight together, like she was holding whatever she wanted to say in. “You know why I pulled away.”
