Almost Just Friends (Wildstone #4)(82)

Look at him, way overestimating her emotional ability. Had he not met her? In any case, she was feeling a whole bunch, thank you very much. But their needs were complete opposites. She’d been planning on going out and getting the life she’d been waiting years to get, and he was looking to sink roots and settle down.

If she gave in to what they had between them, it could mean compromising her life. Again.

Footsteps sounded on the deck, and then someone was knocking on the latched door. “Cam?” came Gavin’s voice. “Piper’s with you, right?”

Cam waited for her to hastily pull on the rest of her clothes before opening the door.

“Hey,” her brother said. He took in Piper’s state of dishevelment and then Cam in just the sweatpants and expansive bare chest. “I’m interrupting.”

“Yes,” Cam said at the exact same time Piper shook her head and said, “No.” Carefully avoiding looking at Cam, she shook her head again. “I’m going to work.”

“I know,” Gavin said, still looking unsure, clearly guessing he’d caught them at a bad moment. “Jenna called, said she needed a ride and you weren’t picking up. She wanted me to make sure you weren’t . . . preoccupied, and not looking at your phone.”

“I’m on my way out right now.” Piper grabbed her sweatshirt and accidentally made eye contact with Cam. She didn’t need a rocket scientist to tell her what he was thinking, that he was irritated because she was suppressing her feelings. And he’d be right.

But that was her only defense. It was all she knew, and she wouldn’t apologize for that. She bit her lip. Okay, dammit, she would apologize. “Gavin, we need a minute.”

When her brother was gone, she looked at Cam. “I’m sorry I’m so emotionally . . . challenged. I don’t mean to be playing a game or to lead you on. The truth is, I . . . like you. A lot. And I think we both know that’s more than a little terrifying for me, which I realize makes me a risk, and I’m sure, annoying as hell.”

“You like me.” He paused. “A lot.”

A small, disbelieving laugh escaped her. “Is that all you heard?”

“No, but that was my favorite part.”

“Good.” She went up on tiptoes and brushed a kiss to his lips. “Can we work on the more part?”

His hands went to her hips and held her still as he took the kiss deeper and hotter. “Absolutely,” he said when he was done rendering her stupid.

She kept her arms around him. “Good. Please be careful. Please come back in one piece.”

“To you?”

“To me. One piece,” she reiterated.

He gave her another kiss that curled her toes, and when she got home from work twelve hours later, he was long gone.





Chapter 26


It was anyone’s guess as to which of their current mistakes had stopped by.

A few days later, Gavin worked until late afternoon and then went for a run. He went hard around the lake, until his legs were quivery and rubbery, and then sat on the rocks facing the water, watching a thunderstorm move in. A raindrop hit him and then another. He didn’t care. He knew Piper still harbored nightmares in storms like this and he hated that for her. But he wasn’t afraid of storms.

He was afraid of loss.

And now that he’d looked into CJ’s eyes and seen the same sense of loss, loss he’d caused . . . Damn. He’d thought he’d created a shield to protect himself, that he’d be bullet-proof to more pain. But the truth was, life was fucking full of pain.

Feeling sorry for himself, he walked back in the rain, showered, and then made breakfast for dinner. And since he hadn’t figured out how to make up with CJ, and Piper was still at work, it was just him and Winnie. And speaking of his pregnant sister, her little baby bump arrived before she did as she came into the kitchen. She had a toolbelt slung around her hips just below her growing tummy, walking and watching a YouTube video on how to repair drywall at the same time.

“Yum,” she said, propping her phone up on the napkin holder, the one made of popsicle sticks, which they’d been using since Winnie had made it in kindergarten for Piper. She then began to pour syrup all over the waffles.

Gavin took the syrup from her.

“Hey! The Bean loves syrup.”

“Does the Bean love diabetes?”

“The doc says I’m fine, although my jeans are starting to disagree.” She ate for a few minutes, putting away a shocking amount of food. Finally sated, she leaned back, hands on her belly. “The place is looking good, right?”

“Really good.”

“So what’s our next step?”

“You keep growing a baby.”

“Yes, but I really want to keep helping around here too,” she said.

“You’re not exactly quick on your feet right now.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying I’m slow?”

“No,” he said carefully. “You’re just . . . slower than you used to be.”

“And now I’m fat?”

Gavin sighed. “You know, I’m starting to understand everything we ever put Piper through.”

She grimaced, and he had to laugh. “Just wait until the Bean pulls even a fraction of the shit you’ve pulled.” He stood. “I’m going back to work, I’m planning on finishing up the business plan this week.”