Take the Fall (Take the Fall, #1)(40)

She hands me a screwdriver. “Here you go.”

Closing my eyes, I try to keep my temper intact because, while I’m pissed at her for texting Seth, I am not irritated that she doesn’t know a torque wrench from a hole in the ground.

“Try again, honey. It has its own box, right beside you.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I like the company.”

Piper moves to retrieve the phone, holding it with the least amount of fingers possible as she attempts to clean it. Luckily, the protector on it is waterproof. She sighs when oil drips onto her flats.

Only she would volunteer to help fix a car while wearing a designer skirt and sweater with a string of pearls around her neck. She’s even wearing her hair in a fancy updo that I can never remember how to pronounce correctly. That’s her, though.

“You’d like Seth’s even better. I bet he knows the difference between all the tools,” she says pointedly and grins. “Guess who’s coming to see you tonight?”

“It better not be Seth.” I grab the torque wrench and go back to work under the hood, working the wrench hard.

“Oh, it’s not. It’s a hot Marine whose latest mission is to win you back,” she says.

“Stop watching The Bachelor,” I grumble, but inside I’m panicking and celebrating. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m terrified and excited. Seth is coming back and all it took was an invitation from me. And not even a real invitation at that. “How did you know what I said to him?” I ask, standing up.

“Because, despite what you think about me being so prim and proper, I am the world’s best eavesdropper.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, really.” She crosses her arms to mimic me, except her boobs are way bigger.

“Did you happen to overhear what I do to nosy bitches like yourself?”

“Buy them a drink at King’s?”

I roll my eyes at her mention of a bar that I can afford to go to only about once a month. “More like perform your last rites.”

“Only works if I’m dying, and you would never kill me.”

“Stupid morals,” I mutter.

“Rowan,” she says with a sigh. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I didn’t know any other way to get you back together.”

“We don’t belong together.” I grab a rag and wipe off my hands and then walk to the sink. I pump the soap container a couple of times and work the lather over my hands. I might be a grease monkey, but this stuff sure as hell keeps my skin smooth. It’s like a secret beauty regimen no one knows about but me.

“I think you do.”

“You can think whatever you want.” I dry my hands and unzip my coveralls, then hang them up beside Boyd’s. Those will need to be cleaned soon. I make a mental note to let Linda know.

“How would you feel if Seth went out with someone else?” Piper asks. “Be truthful.” Her eyes narrowed. “Or I will be forced to give away the second pair of shoes I bought for you.”

“I wouldn’t like it,” I say tightly. I hate admitting that Seth is my Achilles’ heel. Always has been, always will be.

“Aha!”

“But that means nothing, Piper.” I blow out a breath. “You want the truth. Here’s some for you. My brother loathes the thought of you with another guy, but that’s not going to stop him from hooking up with Giselle or any other chick. Guys don’t sit and wait with their legs closed like some damn prude with a special vagina only for the one. Why should we?”

Piper’s sparkling eyes go dull. She hands over my phone. “I think I need to go.”

I never should have opened my big mouth. Guilt lances me, and I chase after her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

She whirls on me, bright flags of color on her cheeks. Her hands are drawn into fists, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this mad before in my life. “Yes, you did. You made it perfectly clear that prudes like me are stupid for wanting something different. I never thought or said anything so insulting about your choices of whom to sleep with even though they weren’t the one. I respected your choices. There were times I was jealous that you could be so independent with your sexuality, but that’s not me. It’s never been me, and even now that I’ve moved out from under my mother’s thumb, it’s still not me. I want more than a one-night stand and there’s not a damn thing wrong with waiting for the guy I love.”

Piper clenches her jaw, waiting for me to respond, but I can’t argue with her. She’s right. She’s never judged me. She’s always celebrated with me before I went out with a new guy and cried with me when the men I dated turned out to be * losers. Not once did she judge or slut-shame me.

“Oh my God. You can’t even admit I’m right.” Without another word, she marches out of the bay and into the parking lot.

“You’re right, Piper,” I shout.

She waves her hand in the air. “Whoopty-doo.”

I make a face. “Whoopty-doo?”

“Shut up, Rowan.” Piper yanks open her cute little BMW’s door and climbs inside. “I’m getting Chinese tonight and I’ll think about getting you some, too. But I’m not promising anything.”